Due to the massive (and repeated) server outage of baudburn.com, I was unable to post this set of blogs until now. They recount the experience I had with VIP tickets to this years (Bonaroo)[http://www.bonnaroo.com/2005/] music festival.

As a final note, I apologize in advance for the writing below. I’m sure it’s terrible as it was composed at 3:00 am.

—Snip—

It’s 3 am here in Manchester, TN and I’m typing this blog entry in a tent in the middle of a field in the VIP parking and camping area.
Question: How the hell did I get here? Answer: I’m still not exactly sure why he did it, but Kerry’s dad’s friend Rick had an extra VIP ticket to this festival and was gracious enough to donate it to the “special K” graduate school fund for music and the arts. So here I am. Now to summarize the day..

Kerry drove in late last night and crashed my place after grabbing some coffee with Dan and I at Cocoa’s. We got a late start the next day and rocked the IHOP international crepes with lingonberry sauce on the way out of town. After a short ride we exited on some random road that took us on the “VIP route” to the festival. We ran into no traffic on the way (though we drove over 24 once giving us a view of the 5 hour traffic jam below). At the end of the road, we quickly picked up the tickets and only waited in a short line before getting to the camping field. This is my first festival like concert.. I’m now going to be spoiled forever.

After setting up tents and all that good stuff we basically just chilled all day long. Had some food, walked around, looked at the booths and things. Dinner was served in the VIP area, buffet style. Some Caesar salad, mashed potatoes, baked fish, and chicken. I was happy.

In the evening we walked around and checked out a few different bands. Nothing was outstanding except for the arcade/disco which seemed to be hopping… weird man.

Random point of interest: The silent disco was interesting. Think people with wireless headphones rocking out on a lit stage while everyone else looks on in confusion.

After all that we came back to the RV and chilled. A cool ass couple in their early 30’s starting chatting with us. They were really cool. The guy was getting his PhD in Psychology and she taught Japanese and French at the local technology magnet school in Louisville, KY. They have traveled quite a bit ( She lived in Paris for a while, they have lived together in Japan and the Czech Republic for more than a year each). They were a very interesting couple to talk to and a great way to end a great first night. Now I will crash, for Brazilian Girls, Jurassic 5, Mars Volta, and many other good shows are on tomorrow. Good night.

I saw VNV Nation & Imperitive Reaction last night, but I missed the opening act (soman). The crowd was an interesting mix of goth and raver kiddies which made for an interesting time.

VNV was great, but played a short show. After finishing their last song, they all disappeared quickly from the stage, leaving everyone hanging. Everyone was expecting the obligatory encore, but nearly five minutes later, no one came back out. Finally the drummer came back out to announce that the singer had collapsed because of the heat, but was OK. It was hot in there, I had a hard time keeping the energy to dance because I was sweating so badly.

After the show, Jeff+McC and I grabbed a bite to eat, we talked for an hour or so about a myriad of topics, and called it a night. Good times, good shows, good friends. What else could I ask for?

This weekend: Chicago baby! it’s my kind of town, Chicago is.

So I know that I just bought the new NIN album last night, but it took me entirely too long to realize that the first single, which has been out for a few months now titled **the hand that feeds**, is political in nature. I’m slow, but I must be getting better if I even noticed it. So for that I’m happy.

Verse 1:
> You’re keeping in step
In the line
Got your chin held high and you feel just fine
Because you do
What you’re told
But inside your heart it is black and it’s hollow and it’s cold

Verse 2:
>What if this whole crusade’s
A charade
And behind it all there’s a price to be paid
For the blood
On which we dine
Justified in the name of the holy and the divine

Chorus:
>Just how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you want to change it?

While I still largely feel like I’m in “I don’t care mode”, it makes me happy that one of my favorite artists is on the side I will be on when I get done with this. Until then, happy dance.

I am a fanboy. I’m one of the people I have made fun of in the past. I’m no better than they are. I bought the new NIN cd, with teeth, tonight at 12:08 am the day of it’s release. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I bought both the dual cd and the vinyl version.

**Why?**

Because the Vinyl version has an extra track on it and because it’s part of my collection. Yes, it’s that bad. Listening to this takes me back to my angry highschooler days. Sometimes, when things get bad, I fall back into that mood, and NIN, the soundtrack of my adolescence, is strangely cathartic way. So there you have it kids, straight from the fanboy’s mouth.

This will be short and sweet.

I had a first experience last night. I went to my first EBM show. For those who don’t know what EBM, let me explain. EBM stands for either (Electronic Body Music) or (Electro Beat Modulation). Its basically what you get when you take industrial and trancy dance music and smash them together. Front 242 coined the term in the early 80s, and it still has an 80s feel to it even today.

Goth kids love EBM and I love both EBM and seeing goth kids, so it made for a great night. The show was great and I found out that VNV Nation will be playing here next month. That will be equally outstanding.

Strange things to note:

1) While I was walking around the club, some kid taps me on the back:
Random Short Kid(RSK): “who are you?”
Me: “What?”
RSK: “You’re wearing a phreaknic shirt, who are you?”
Me: “I go by the handle baudburn, who are you?”
RSK: “I’m me.”
Me: “Uhh, ok that’s nice.. ”

Later in the night he comes back up to me and asks:
RSK: “Do you know Dan so and so.”
Me: “What?! it’s loud in here, I can’t hear you.”
RSK “DO YOU KNOW DAN SO AND SO?”
Me: “No, I don’t know many of those people in real life.”

2) I felt bad for Tom, the man who is Assemblage 23. He was manning the booth at the back selling cd’s and shirts right up until about 5 minutes before he had to go on. That has to be hard work.

3) It’s weird to see people who look like straight metal heads dancing to dance music.. I kept waiting for them to mosh, but it never happened.

I was listening to a drum & bass song called “No More” by Roni Size today and I found a most unexpected gem in the middle of the song. A little verse that I think sums up what I both believe in my head is possible and often times feel in my heart is impossible.

>Don’t try take, take, take and hate just try giving
>Cuz one could make a difference,
>Ten could make a change,
>One Hundred could make things get better on your lane,
>One Thousand a new start,
>Ten thousand a revolution
>One million we’ll finally be close to a solution!

I suggest listening to the audio clip that i made of that verse [here](http://www.baudburn.com/blog/archives/RoniSizeClip.mp3).

The rest of the song specifically addresses violence and gang activity, but I like the verse above because you can apply it to many situations. I guess little things like this give me some hope, and currently, I can’t ask for much more than that.

Go buy [this cd](http://www.paulschwartz.com/aria3.html). Do it now. It is amazing. Think opera by Handel and Monteverdi, but with a subtle electronic twist to it. 75-80% traditional music, 20% electronic, it doesn’t go the way of cheesy remixes of classical songs, but instead uses technology to accent what is beautiful about the originals. This cd is already among my favorite of all time. It’s a little bit Enya at times, but then that isn’t a bad thing in my book. Do it now! You’ll thank me later.

I saw the Crystal Method again this weekend at eleven50 and got to visit with Kerry and company. The set was pretty good despite some technical difficulties at the start. Most notable from the set was a bit of Bjork mixed in, as well as the Unkle single “I am the reign”. Worst song choice of the night was to put AC/DC into the mix. It didn’t fit and it didn’t sound very good. Nonetheless, an excellent show. Dan and I played some capoeira on the stage for a while before everyone else decided to flood the stage. While we were playing this Atlanta Bboy totally showed us up. I really need to learn how to do some of the groundwork. The guy was cool though, he tried to explain how to make a few of the moves I can already essentially do work better. I gotta work on that.

I got a fun package in the mail today that I’m super excited about! I picked up a new set of “Cans”. For those of you who don’t know, the term cans is used in the audio world to refer to headphones. So I picked up these [Sennheiser HD280 Pro](http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=004974) cans. They are pro quality and cut a whole lot of outside noise (about 32 db, I can’t hear a damn thing with them on). I can’t hear anything with them on, which is excellent. I’m very excited about them. They have a linear response which means that they do not color the music. What you hear is what the producer intended you to hear, bringing new life to all my music. There is a downside though. I can now hear a bit of background static on my music. I need to do some tests to determine if the static is coming from a lower encoding rate, or from the laptops audio output. I’ll have to do some experiments to find out. But for now I’m going to enjoy the superb aural experience provided by my swank new cans.

To quote my friend Ben, “You have to see Sasha no matter what it takes. It was an experience; that’s all I can say about it.” I really liked seeing Tiesto last week, but Sasha seriously blew my mind. His control of the music, the crowd, the mood was impressive.

[McCall](http://www.livejournal.com/users/mccausland) bailed out on us because she apparently sold a lot of art this weekend (*Congrats McCall*) and no one else could go, so Barbara and I headed to Atlanta. Luckily I was able to get “Mexican James” and [Tom](http://www.memestreams.net) to take the two extra tickets I bought. The night started slow. There were very few people there when we first arrived which was nice in a way, but I was getting a little bit nervous at first because there was no one dancing, and it would be incorrect if Tiesto packed the house and Sasha didn’t. Luckily that didn’t happen.

After checking out the club, we walked over the the chill “white” room and had some drinks while we waited for Sasha. The opener wasn’t that great and his mixes were definitely nothing special. After relaxing on the couch and chatting we headed back out to see the dance floor packed and Sasha starting his set. We all danced and had an amazing time. James fed me too many drinks (thanks James) and so if the [pictures](http://baudburn.com/gallery/sasha2004) are a little bit crooked, it’s his fault.

After dancing all night Barbara (the only sober one) drove us home. We were sitting around when we decided to go for a Taco Cabana run. Barbara tried to talk Spanish with the drive through guy, who pretended to speak, but did a poor job of it. We came home, snarfed that food down, and passed out. The end.

Thanks to everyone who came with me. The night was truly a religious experience for me, as raver kiddie as it sounds.

Don’t forget to check out the great pictures of the beautiful club, sexy people, and Sasha himself [here](http://baudburn.com/gallery/sasha2004).