Bonnaroo 2008 - First Images!

Trawling for sights ‘n’ sounds with WNCW-FM and BLURT.

By Fred Mills

BLURT’s buddy Joe Kendrick is the morning drive deejay for WNCW-FM (www.wncw.org), a public/community radio station based in Spindale, NC, near Asheville. (Joe also co-hosts a music talk segment with yours truly and Jeff Eason of the Mountain Times, of Boone, NC. Called “What It Is,” it airs weekdays at about 8:15 am; selected “What It Is” podcasts can be accessed via the WNCW website so check it out if you want to hear Joe and Jeff’s suave erudition alongside my hick accent.)

Joe’s presently at Bonnaroo conducting interviews for the radio station and he graciously offered to share some of the photos he’s been taking. We’re not exactly sure who the dude pictured above is, but he certainly looks like he’s well into the spirit of Bonnaroo – dig that belly button!

Three pics from the Bonnaroo grounds. According to Joe, “Bonnaroo is more like Walkaroo. I've made a good five miles yesterday, easily.”

The radio production tent where media can do live broadcasts.

And this is what it’ll look like at night, pressing into the crowds, natch…

MGMT onstage. “A yawner,” says Joe. “I should have seen Battles instead. My friend Brad says they tore the roof off.”

Two shots of the Felice Brothers performing. “They had tons of sound problems in front of their show but rocked,” says Joe. They showed off lots of new material and look to be heading into more of the stomp-rocker territory. They are so much of a throwback at times. The whiskey bottle was passed around stage as the techs futzed with popping amps. Their second or third tune was a completely amped version of 'Whiskey In My Whiskey,' which was at full shout-along clip. Also they show a strong Vaudevillian streak, with subject matter wandering through a kind of maudlin, whiskey-soaked alleyway on its way to the tent revival. A new tune, ‘Saved,’ I guess, gave the audience a lift with its anthemic chorus of ‘I used to lie, I used to cheat, I used to stomp on people's feet...but now I'm saved!!’, slamming together acoustic and electric elements into one hooky shot of rock.”

More to come! Drive By Truckers today!

[All photo credits: Joe Kendrick]