Bonnaroo 2007: Rodrigo Y Gabriela & Flaming Lips

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Man, have I missed you guys. I just got back from Bonnaroo a few days ago, and must say that it was one experience that will be with me for the rest of my life. I had the opportunity to catch up with some good friends, and watch some amazing live performances. Here is a list of everyone I had the opportunity to see:

Tea Leaf Green, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Brazilian Girls, Kings Of Leon, Michael Franti, Lily Allen (for a minute), Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Tool, STS9, String Cheese Incident, Ziggy Marley, Xavier Rudd, Ween, Spoon, The Police (for a few songs), Flaming Lips, Sasha and John Digweed, Bob Wier & Ratdog, Wilco, and The White Stripes.

There is no disputing that the Lips concert was the most mind-blowing concert there. Anyone who was part of it will remember that night for a very long time. Before the show, hundreds of those little pointing lasers were thrown out into the crowd, and the laser, confetti flying, balloon bouncing, spaceship landing, festivities that took place afterwards were magnificent–it’s one of those things you just really have to be there to see. I know that many of the Lips shows are relatively similar, maybe besides the spaceship, but there was something really special about being outside that night with that many thousands of people.

While the Lips concert was great, there was a performance on Thursday night from a lesser known band, that really grabbed my attention–in fact, it was probably my second favorite show at Bonnaroo-Rodrigo Y Gabriela. I have never seen anyone in concert before who is as captivating to watch while playing the guitar as these two musicians. On stage, they sat on chairs with their acoustics, and showed off their quick hands, while performing some wonderful Mexican melodies. Most American musicians would not be able to play with the kind of talent these two displayed, particularly Gabriela. As you can see in the above picture, there were screens behind them, and the videographer who was filming their performance added that much more to the show, often focusing in on Rodrigo and Gabriela’s hands, and giving unique camera shots and nice effects. They are on a tour right now, so if you have an opportunity to see them, I highly recommend doing so.

Was anyone else at Bonnaroo? If you were there, what were your favorite shows? Hey, even if you weren’t there, what do you think would have been your favorite shows? I hope everyone is enjoying their summers, and that I’ll get to write more about Bonnaroo and some other great music I’ve been listening to soon.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Tamacun

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo

~R & G Official Site~

 

Bonus:

 

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Flaming Lips – She Don’t Use Jelly

Flaming Lips – SpongeBob & Patrick Confront The Psychic Wall of Energy (great song)

Video for Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s “Diablo Rojo”:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=9KBgg-hrtyo[/youtube]