Saturday, June 11
Today was the day. We had to see Old Crow Medicine Show and Mumford & Sons. They were both playing at Which Stage, so our plan was to wait there the whole time. So we left ou
r campsite around11:30or so and waited at the stage. On our way there, we saw a man in a teddy-bear suit. I have no idea why or how he was wearing all of those. Who knows where he was going….maybe to the water slide. It was still morning but it was already incredibly hot. He must’ve been sweating like nobody’s business underneath all of those bears.
Some people were already there waiting. There was a pit this year, which was annoying. We watched Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens’ set (12:30-1:30). Just waiting that long was about enough for us to fry in the sun. My shoes started to get really hot and made my feet burn. There were hardly any clouds out and little breeze so in addition to baking, the sweating would not stop. I drank most of my water by this time, which was hot anyway. Then I started to feel very sleepy about three or four different times, which a
pparently isn’t good if you’ve been out in the sun for a long period of time.
At2:00, Old Crow Medicine Show took the stage. Although I wasn’t in the pit or front row at the barricade behind the pit, I had a really good view of the stage and the jumbo screen. More people started filing in for OCMS but it wasn’t packed, so I had a good view. It was great fun – clapping and singing along. Ketch made me laugh when he said he could see some down-home girls in the crowd who must’ve rolled down the mountain to Bonnaroo. (I wish I could’ve seen them closer or at least a video stream of their performance. Still haven’t found one yet.)
OCMS ended at3:15and next up was Alison Krauss & Union Station (4:00-5:30). I think this was around the time a pregnant woman and her husband came. I figured they must’ve come fresh off an RV or somewhere with air conditioning because they looked too clean and put-together. At one point she was eating an apple. God, I’d never wanted a fruit so bad in my life. I imagined it being cold and juicy – you get food and a beverage all in one! Apples became magic, then, and I was fixated on the one this mom-to-be was gobbling down. When I wasn’t eyeing people’s fruit, I was fantasizing about ice cubes. Just to have one settle in my mouth and disappear would h
ave been a blessing.
Even more people started crowding around the stage, presumably to grab spots for Mumford & Sons since they just stood look like trees while Alison Krauss played. She was very funny and kind, joking around with the audience and poking fun at some of her band mates. Some of the crowd (namely the people around my section) stayed still for most of their set until they played “Man of Constant Sorrow.” During their set I went to check out the line for the pit. Some girl was standing in line and said she was at the end. Then two snotty Mumford & Sons fans (pre- or post-Grammy fans? Not sure) said, “This isn’t the end of the line. It’s way back there.” Then there was just a conversation (or argument) among those three.
“Where’s the end of the line then?”
“It disappeared, like, 45 minutes ago.”
“Well, I’ve been here forever.”
“Really? Have you been in line?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, we’ve been here for hours.” (I should’ve butted in and said I’d been there before Naomi – nay, before Naomi’s equipment was even on stage! Bu I didn’t.)
“I’ve been here for hours, too.”
“If you’ve been here that long, did you see the woman who came by?” “Yeah, there was a woman that came by earlier and told us something.” “Yeah, what did she tell us?”
They had those dumb smirks plastered across their faces. I just left that one girl standing there. I was a bystander and hadn’t even spoken to her, so I didn’t feel too bad about that. My sister said we should’ve made up something, repeated what everyone there tells you: Drink water; if you feel like you’re going to pass out or see someone about to pass out, tell them so they can get you water; know your neighbor; and stick with your buddy. We could’ve been golden, but we just went back to where we were at earlier. They were the third-best spots we could’ve gotten. Since we were right in front of a barricade, we could lean against it, which I ended up doing most of the time
and may have been the cause of some of my toes going numb afterwards.
Finally Mumford & Sons came on at6:15. I can’t believe we’d waited that long. So many people came and tried to squeeze into the smallest of spots. I was a bit surprised at where they would try to step to get through. I used to think people would attempt to get passed you if there was even a smidgen of ground showing. I was wrong. People put their feet down on anything that was anywhere near the ground. “Oh, my friend’s just over there.” Yeah, yours and everyone else’s. At first, we were all so close that we couldn’t really move. Then it started to get roomier in the area I was in. People just shoved their way up to the front of the non-pit section. It was nice having the railing to lean on behind us. However, that area housed VIPs. They stood on the barricade bit that sticks out kind of like a chair. The people directly behind us talked the entire time, except when M&S played a single. They talked during the songs and in between. About getting food, the crowd, other acts, and getting caught having sex in the morning. Shut up! I came to see and hear M&S, not listen about to you go on about your embarrassing moments. It was also kind of difficult to get pictures of anything other than people’s hands or huge hats. This was my camera view for some of the time: 
Regardless of the annoying people behind us, the M&S set was really fun. No one else in our section sang along to every song, and I saw only a few people in the front who sang along to the “new” tracks. I think this was the time I lost my voice. For their last song, they played “Amazing Grace” with members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Apache Relay, and Cadillac Sky. They all seemed to have just as much fun as the crowd, if not more. Then 
Ben came into the crowd (between the barricades) and stayed under the camera crew set thing. That was the thing within the VIP area and the area right behind us. Of course, we were a bit more centered and could just see him from a slight distance. People squeezed over there to that corner to take pictures and reach out to touch him.
Once they finished, we had to wait a while just to get out. Then we went on over to see The Black Keys at What Stage. We saw them briefly the year before when they played a tent, but we couldn’t stay awake and left after a few songs. This year we plopped down on the grass and watched mostly the jumbo screen. Not the same, but it was okay. No matter how far back you are in the audience, it can always become crowded. I didn’t get any fingers stepped on this year, but my brother did get an umbrella to the head.
After the Black Keys, we went back to the campsite. We could hear Eminem from there. I remember him singing (uh, rapping) “Slim Shady” and “Cleaning Out My Closet.” I wanted to see Scissor Sisters with my brother and sister at around2 a.m., but I was really tired and getting worse on the illness front. I would cough up mucus in the mornings and my voice would seem to be okay. Then I’d sing and yell, which isn’t good for the voice but very fun, making it worse. And usually by the end of a night my voice would be gone. I heard Scissor Sisters were really fun and had some costume changes. Apparently they encouraged the crowd to take off their clothes and some thought about it but not seeing anyone else around them reach for their shirts, decided (fortunately) to keep their clothes on.
I usually have at least one regret each year, and I think not seeing Scissor Sisters was the biggest (not the disrobing in front of them part, mind you). I just imagined how much fun it must’ve been to dance along to “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing,” while I snuggled up to my Kleenex box. (Yes, I really did sleep with it in my tent. What? When you need a tissue, you need a tissue. Am I right?)
More photos here.
