I write this entry after the oven that was Wakarusa, and the dusty-madness that was Bonnaroo. Both were amazing and challenging in their own right.
Wakarusa came first, and tested my heat tolerance. Camped on Mulberry Mountaintop, near the tree line (but not close enough), it was hard to sleep in once the sun found your tent. Sleeping challenges persisted through the night as our intern camping compound was cornered by two stages that featured late night shows and effective speakers. Each night I would go to bed with my internal organs rattling to two different acts…but I always managed to fall asleep. Also when I set up my tent in the dark, I totally put it on a rock. Somewhat concerned that I will sleep through a fire alarm someday….
The work at Waka was fun as well as challenging, and proved a good conditioning exercise for Bonnaroo. I was a “Wizard,” which means I made sure that every department got the appropriate amount of volunteers. It’s a fun job because you get to interact with both the volunteers, and department heads.
I volunteered myself for an extra shift in hopes that I might score a free supper (which I did!), but it also granted me the opportunity to meet Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, which was pretty ballin’. Following that, I stumbled into a Mumford and Sons private jam session, but there was only a few people watching so it was kinda lame and I left…not! Definitely an unreal night that made sleeping on a rock between two womp tents worthwhile.
After seven nights on Mulberry Mountain, we headed straight to Bonnaroo in Tennessee. This was an 11 hour drive, and my first time traveling in an RV. I felt very American, partly because the RV is upholstered with stars, stripes, and bald eagles. Again, we arrived in the dark, so we slept in the RV for a few hours before we arrived at Coffee County High School to check in some 2,500 volunteers. A small feat.
I’m fairly sure that I have never eaten worse than I did that check-in day, and I won’t recount all of the empty calorie I consumed…but I will tell you there were no vegetables and I got my protein from a Snickers, which was my breakfast. It was a hectic day that went by very quickly, and I was happy to be in the air conditioning. After 13 hours of check-in, we proceeded to our campsite which was thankfully in the woods this time. I set up my tent in the dark again, pumped up my new air mattress and slept like a baby. When we arrived, the population of Bonnaroo was scarce and the fields for camping were bare…and I still cannot believe how fast that changed. By Wednesday much of the volunteer camping had filled up. By Thursday the population of Bonnaroo was challenging that of Fredericton. By Friday it was the sixth most populated city in Tennessee. And by Saturday it was hard to see through the dust.
Bonnaroo was different in a lot of ways from the first two festivals I had worked. It was larger by way of area and population. Once we left our campsite in the morning we usually didn’t return until bed time, and were always trying to hitch golf cart rides as destinations were so spread out. We worked longer shifts with more volunteers, but were fueled by delicious catering that featured brownies at least once a day. I was content. The weather was hot, but not as bad as I anticipated. Bandanas were a staple in everyone’s wardrobe, as they served as a shield for your mouth from the dust, and a cooling apparatus when drenched in cold water. I never did wear either pair of the pants I packed…
I was stationed across from “That Tent,” and because it got so loud during sets, I got to wear a headset instead of a regular walkie talkie. I thought I looked totally legit until people started making McDonalds jokes. No you can’t have fries with that.
Again, I had a great time with the volunteers and the department supervisors, and the Wizarding shifts flew by. Things went pretty smoothly for the most part, thanks to my Hogwarts education.
I had Saturday night off to see Buffalo Springfield. It was a great set, and I had every intention of carrying on to the next show, but the combination of sun beams and Jim Beam dictated otherwise. I walked myself up to our headquarters where I pounded several bottles of water while watching the Eminem show from a distance. After an inspiring performance of Lose Yourself, I made my way down to the tent, trying to ignore the fireworks that I kept mistaking for gun shots.
The end of the tenth Bonnaroo was celebrated with a karaoke/crawfish/open-bar staff party that got going when two large men sang Total Eclipse of the Heart, and really got going when our fellow intern Sophie sang Journey. She can really wail!
On Tuesday, we packed up and headed back to the world of automobiles and flushing toilets. All of us had two weeks worth of laundry to do, and lots of sleep to catch up on, but much of the team decided to keep the party going by seeing Phish that night. Naturally, I opted for laundry and sleep, and do not regret that decision.
This Tuesday we hit the road for the last time this summer, and are packing for four weeks. The interns will be split up until we meet for the final festival, All Good, in West Virginia. Prior to that my team will be working in Atlantic City at the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, and Phish SuperBall in New York State. I am looking forward to seeing my friends from home at DMB…and I guess seeing the shows won’t be too bad either.
