The J Train

Damn

Why didn't I remember that The Swell Season is the couple from Once? This could change my afternoon considerably.

Roo--Thursday recap

The trip down, with its anticipated logistical difficulties, actually turned out to be really cool. There was no traffic whatsoever in Manchester itself, so dropping us off was a breeze. It was a beautiful morning, and there was a Hardee's just down the street to keep us in coffee while the sun came up. Comps and media pass in hand, we found some new friends from Georgia who were willing to scoot some camping supplies around in the back of their truck, so we had a nice sunny 90-minute ride to the gate. (Unfortunately the lip of the truck bed was right at my kidneys, and I'm more than a little sore as a result.) It was a short walk to where Sam and Tricia had already set up camp.

In addition to the four of us, we also have Tricia's friend Eddy joining us, as well as Colleen's friend Amy and her crew (Amy, Jaci, Misty) at our campsite.

Musical highlights:
What Made Milwaukee Famous--I saw these guys at SXSW 2006, and I remember why I liked them so much. I thought they were poised at the edge of making it back then, and maybe they really are this time.

Newton Faulkner--this is a singer-songwriter from the UK who does the solo acoustic guitar thing, but does it the way I like it--he treats the guitar like it's a percussion instrument. Not as frantically as, say, Hammell on Trial or Ani DiFranco, but enough that a full band would be superfluous. The highlight was his closer of "Bohemian Rhapsody", and between his guitar pyrotechnics and the predictable crowd sing-along it worked like a charm.

Grand Old Party--I can't help but compare them to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, since their styles are similar and both have the brunette-frontwoman-and-two-guys thing happening. Unlike Karen O, though, their frontwoman is also the drummer, which is, and will always be, hot.

Grupo Fantasma--Kicked my ass, and kicked it hard. A band like this was made for a hot, sweaty (practically) summer night. Percussion up the ass, energy to spare, just what I was looking for.

Battles--I was lukewarm on this band's album, but their live show brought the visceral side that I thought the album was missing. I was shocked at how into it the crowd was; they must be bigger than I thought.

I was jockeying for position for Vampire Weekend, but since I was nowhere near the stage and was passing out on my feet, I decided to give it up in the interest of pacing myself. The reward for my restraint was a chance to hear a great set from Dark Star Orchestra as I drifted off to sleep.

Coming up today: metal gods, Kentucky rockers, dance icons, and most importantly, no sex in the champagne room.

Don't forget to check out the pictures at the Flickr page!

'Roo bound!

Headed out for Bonnaroo in about an hour! Next update will be from the oppressive heat and drug-induced haze of Manchester, TN. Watch this space for all the 'Roo you can do!

Previoo!

Tonight, the Spaceship of Fools presents the second annual Previoo! Three hours of tracks from bands playing at Bonnaroo.

Don't miss it! 8-11 PM EST, 88.7 WMMT-FM. Stream it here!

RooTube! Saturday lineup, Part 1

Too much going on Saturday to wedge into one post (or even two)...

The Wood Brothers, "Luckiest Man"
The bass-playing half here is Chris Wood of Medeski Martin and Wood. John Medeski will be sitting in with them on the keys, so it's a real shame they couldn't round up Billy Martin.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, "100 Days, 100 Nights"
Minimally reconstruced soul that sounds like it couldn't possibly have been made this decade.

Gogol Bordello, "Wanderlust King"
I can't possibly explain these guys, but whatever you do, don't miss them, and plan for a nap afterwards.

Ozomatli, "Saturday Night"
I hate that these guys and Gogol Bordello are playing at the same time, but I can understand why; trying to see both of them in the same day would probably be hazardous to your health.

Cat Power, "The Greatest"
Ever since Chan got over her stage fright, her live shows are supposedly wonderful.

Ben Folds
I won't spoil the surprise of what this cover is, but suffice it to say it isn't safe for work/kids/anybody.

(By the way, I can't embed it, but here's Ben doing one of my favorite Elton John songs, and one that always got just a bit too high for me to do.)

Iron and Wine, "The Devil Never Sleeps"
Best known for his cover of "From Great Heights" that showed up in Garden State and in an M&Ms commercial. This should be a nice way to come down from the insanity of the afternoon.

RooTube! Friday lineup!

Drive-By Truckers, "Women Without Whiskey"
A hell of a way to kick off Friday!

Tegan and Sara, "My Number"
The Quin Twins should draw a huge crowd to their afternoon show at This Tent.

!!!, "Heart of Hearts"
My favorite pronunciation-defying band (it's generally said "Chk Chk Chk"), they're supposed to be insane live. I can believe it.

Les Claypool, "Tommy the Cat"
Primus bass god and weirdo rock icon. Insanity is guaranteed.

Raconteurs, "Bang Bang"
When we saw the White Stripes at last year's 'Roo, who knew it would be one of their last shows for a while? Fortunately, we'll still get a taste of Jack White.

Rilo Kiley, "Does He Love You?"
I haven't liked any of RK's records nearly as much as I loved Jenny Lewis's solo album, but Jenny is still a goddess.

M.I.A., "Paper Planes"
With Jenny Lewis on one stage and M.I.A. on another one at the same time, the universe might end in a giant lust-fueled explosion. Worth it.

Chris Rock, "No Sex in the Champagne Room"
If a woman tells you she's 20 and looks 16, she's 12. If she looks 26 and tells you she's 26, she's damn near 40.

Metallica, "Battery"
See, they used to be cool. Really.

My Morning Jacket, "One Big Holiday"/"Anytime"
I haven't seen these guys since their club days, but a lot of people I trust are calling them the best live band in America right now.

Tiesto, "Adagio for Strings"
Late night dance sets don't get much better than this.

'RooTube! Thursday lineup edition

Welcome to 'RooTube! It's my second annual lineup of YouTube clips from bands playing at Bonnaroo. Here are some of the highlights of Thursday night.

Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk".
I've written plenty about this band, so I'm excited to get to see them.

What Made Milwaukee Famous, "Selling Yourself Short".
These guys were all over SXSW 2006, but I haven't heard much from them since.

MGMT, "Time To Pretend"
I've heard all kinds of great things about these guys, but I haven't really gotten into them myself.

Felice Brothers, "Waterspider"
These guys have been popping up everywhere lately. I caught them at an instore set at Ear X-tacy before they opened for the Drive-By Truckers.

Grupo Fantasma, "Mentiras"
Might be one of the sets not to miss. This is an 11-piece Latin funk band from Austin that has backed up Prince from time to time.

The Sword, "Freya"
If you like the metal, this is the set for you.

Battles, "Atlas"
Don't really know how to describe these guys; I've heard them called "math rock", except that I generally hate math rock and I like this.

Lez Zeppelin, "Dazed and Confused".
Four hot women playing Led Zeppelin covers. I trust I don't need to say more.

Porter Batiste Stoltz, "Bring the Flood"
This is a New Orleans funk supergroup, playing at the Somethin' Else tent until 4:00AM. Worth staying up for.

Dark Star Orchestra, "Terrapin Station"
The best and most relentlessly accurate of the Grateful Dead cover bands does a late-night set.

No one knows who they were, or what they were doing...

In honor of their new series on new research at Stonehenge, National Geographic talks to the only real expert on the subject.

(Obligatory video link...)

Slow code

Cracked lists 8 Medical Terms Your Doctor Uses To Insult You.

Only a couple of the ones on the main list are really in common use--"craniorectal syndrome" (patient has his head up his ass) and "slow code", but I think he misses the spirit of that one:

Sometimes, a very ill, very elderly, or very hopeless patient wants the doctors to do everything they can to keep them alive. And sometimes, doctors don't want to do that: it's too much work, the patient will die anyway, or the person just isn't worth preserving.

"Slow Code" is usually used when one physician is checking out to another and describing the patients on his service. Sometimes a patient has zero chance of surviving the hospital stay--very sick to begin with, bad heart, multi-organ failure, not triggering the vent, maxed out on pressors, etc.--but, for whatever reason, there is not yet a "no code blue" order. "He's not a no code," you might tell your colleague, "but he's a slow code."

That doesn't mean you won't go and do everything you can possibly do, it just recognizes that there isn't much you'll be able to do.

That still sounds more cruel than it is, because it's really the opposite of cruel. If you haven't been around for a code, you don't know what a frenzied, chaotic, and truly violent thing it can be. It's no way to spend one's last few minutes on Earth if it can possibly be avoided. A patient in the state I'm talking about has an infinitesimal chance of surviving the code, so it seems cruel that instead of letting him go with his family at his side we shove them out of the room and crack all of his ribs doing chest compressions. We'll still do it, but we'll feel bad about it.

Spaceship Setlist, 5/27/08

Gillian Welch - Orphan Girl Neko Case - Porchlight Joe Bucci Trio - Topsy Whiskeytown - Yesterday's News (live) Whiskeytown - Jacksonville Skyline Whiskeytown - Avenues (acoustic) David Bowie - Rebel Rebel Neko Case - Behind the House (live) B-52s - Quiche Lorraine The Eames Era - Little Brother Sufjan Stevens - Holland Bjork - Bachelorette Jimi Hendrix Experience - Little Wing Vitalic - Poney Pt. II Old 97s - Big Brown Eyes The Bees - The Start Los Fabulosos Cadillacs - Howen Muddy Waters - Mean Disposition Aimee Mann - Real Bad News The Postal Service - We Will Become Silhouettes Cat Power - Ramblin' (wo)Man (solo acoustic) Robert Johnson - Love in Vain Cream - White Room The Smiths - Asleep Rhett Miller - The El They Might Be Giants - The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) Pink Floyd - Dogs Squirrel Nut Zippers - Blue Angel Neko Case - That Teenage Feeling Black Lips - Lock and Key Neil Young - For the Turnstiles Elliot Smith - Sweet Adeline Elvis Costello - (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes Johnny Cash - He Stopped Loving Her Today Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullabye (live) Mountain Goats - Your Begian Things Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 Paul Simon - I Know What I Know Jimi Hendrix Experience - Earth Blues U2 - Running to Stand Still