Pearl Jam To Play Bonnaroo!

LukinFan wrote:

How tough is the security bringing it and pipes in?

Yellow Ledbelly wrote:

Well, after much difficult agonizing on whether or not to bite the bullet and go, my buddies and I have decided it's a go! Fearing a miserable festival experience, I was reluctant to agree to it, but while cleaning the house Saturday afternoon i put touring band in the dvd player, cranked the surround sound and realized I would be a damn fool to skip it.

One of my main concerns is whether or not it is likely to have a good close view of the stage? I'm told the field is huge, but are we going to be looking at setting up shop at 7 in the morning to have a good spot for the show that night? If thats what it will take, thats what I will do.

I'm really excited because there are a lot of acts I'm excited to see aside for PJ. Levon Helm is going to be there for Christ sake, he's a legend in my mind!

So, who thinks Ed is going to show up on the acoustic stage to perform a few ITW ditties and a few more gems? I think it will happen

NeilJam wrote:

You will get searched and security (driving in and every time you go to the main stage and Centeroo) could take that kind of stuff if they find it. Also, when first driving into the festival, your car is searched by security but could be selected by Police for a more thorough search. If they find anything you would be in some trouble, so I suggest you get your goodies in the campground.

RockMan wrote:

I'm getting conflicting reprts here. Some people are saying anything goes at bonnaroo and others are saying the police are strict and search you everytime you move. So wich is it?

Red Lukin wrote:

You're pretty much free to do whatever you want once you get into Bonnaroo, although I have heard about undercover cops. I'm sure if this is true they are only there to stop ppl with large amounts of drugs or selling "bad" drugs. I'd suggest going there with no drugs in case you get pulled over. If you're looking for something take a 5 minute walk : )

The farm is privately owned, and the owners don't want ppl getting busted for smoking a J. Saying that you can basically drink or smoke as you wish. As much as Cops would like to be inside Bonnaroo they can't because it's privately owned.

Wookiee_Blaylock wrote:

If anyone's reluctant to go to Bonnaroo due to whatever issues they have with festivals, well, please know that the absolute irony of this is that, unlike all of the other 'normal' (arena) shows, there is no limit to the length of their set. I doubt they'd want to play for more than three and a half hours regardless of the circumstances. How often do they play shows which are that long in any other controlled venue? There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, you're looking at about an average of what, 2 hours and 25 minutes for a PJ show? Like others have mentioned, it's on a PRIVATELY OWNED FARM. You CANNOT beat that! It's not subject to any sort of local laws or curfews as far as that goes. As it is, bands are scheduled on the other, smaller stages, officially until about 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. If the band stops playing after three hours [start time for the headliner of the night is 9:00 p.m.] it would be because: They just don't feel like it; they're simply tired; there's a mad thunderstorm (bringing hail and heavy winds) approaching; they feel bad for holding the crowd there, resulting in other bands starting their shows around midnight having hindered audience numbers.

As for getting up close for those still unsure, you really don't have to get there at 7 a.m. to get a good spot. Bands are playing on that stage throughout the day, up until about 8:00 p.m.ish. If you want to be really close, you might want to wade through the crowd during whoever's playing prior to Pearl Jam, or at least just as that band finishes. Ok, if you want to be up along the fence, it might be easier to go there mid-to-late afternoon. Even if a single additional band wasn't added to the lineup from this point on, I really doubt that everyone going there this year is going to be a die-hard pearl jam fan. Granted, there might be an additional ten or twenty thousand more than say last year.... What I'm saying here is, you have the fact that there's such a diverse mix of artists playing there to your advantage in that sense. You have much better chances of being in good spot (with a decent view, and more importantly, a great spot sound-wise) there than at some tight indoor place like the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Fran., where TC tickets were GA. The two big headliners last year were The Police and Tool. For both shows, getting well under a hundred feet from the stage (so, in front of probably 85% of the people there) minutes before show time was easy as fuck. Lots of people there were pumped for either - or both - bands. Yet, even fairly far up, people were nicely spaced apart, some just sprawled out on blankets. [Lots of people were also content with being way at the back of the crowd, with loads of space and easy access to the shithouses.] There was also never any relentless mad pressing of people. At the same time of course, you can't go there expecting to have your own little space, ten feet from Mike or Stone or Jeff or Ed, as you're kinda there to SHARE the experience with countless others. What's killer about that stage is how godly the sound system is.

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8510989&type=product&id=1186005750966

Will I be able to bring a camera like that into Roo? I don't think it has a removable lens so it should be good to go in...right?