Few people who saw Bruce Springsteen perform with Phish yesterday at Bonnaroo (and were still even remotely compos mentis) are ever likely to forget it. Whitney Pastorek’s blogging of the event got us to thinking about our own best ever festival experiences. My favorite show was probably an outdoor greatest hit set Neil Young performed with Booker T. and the MG’s. I seem to recall actually starting to weep by the time they got round to performing “Powderfinger.” But my favorite actual moment occurred at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival in the mid ’80s when it was still very much a total hippiefest. Reggae legends Black Uhuru were due to play on the main stage at 3pm. But 3pm came and went with no sign of the Sly and Robbie-led dubmeisters. As did 3:15. And 3:30. Eventually someone who looked vaguely in charge (ie they were wearing clothes) wandered onstage to announce, “If anyone sees any member of Black Uhuru could they please direct them towards the stage!” I think they did play in the end. But by that point I had become distracted by something else. Juggling, probably.
Anyway, what is your favorite festival memory? And is it better than the video below of one guy kicking off an impromptu dance party at the recent Sasquatch?
More on Bonnaroo ’09:
Sunday: Springsteen goes Phishing
Saturday: Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!
Friday: Al Green would like to give you a rose
More from EW’s Music Mix:
Mel Gibson’s girlfriend releases single
Kanye West and Lady Gaga to tour together
Gwen Stefani possibly confirms her solo music was crap; hopes her kid doesn’t turn out to be a ‘freak’
Daniel Merriweather: Will he break big in America?
Empire of the Sun: A Music Mix pick
Showing my age here. We were living in Chicago and Stevie Ray Vaughn had just burst upon the scene with the release of Texas Flood. Luckily for us he was on the bill to appear at Blues Fest at Navy Pier. The crowd was small and we were lucky enough to be in the first row. I had never seen anyone play nor handle a guitar like SVR. About midset out comes Buddy Guy for a blistering version of Mary Had a Little Lamb. I can still picture them on stage to this day! Goosebumps. SVR played several sets and we stayed for them all.
History hasn’t been too kind to this moment, but seeing Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones onstage together at Live Aid was amazing…on the day. Other great festival moments: The Police reunion at the Conspiracy of Hope tour at Giants Stadium in 1986, U2 and Peter Gabriel (separate sets) at the same show.
I can’t top it. Here’s video of the Phish/Bruce collaboration from last night. Epic:
http://www.gotchamediablog.com/2009/06/phish-and-bruce-springsteen-jam-at.html
I would have to say Live Aid in Philadelphia was the highlight for me.
Favorite festival memory? It certainly wasn’t at Bonnaroo. The beauty of the old festivals is that places like EW had no idea they were even taking place.