KanYe Flops

A 2:35 am Kanye West performance accompanied with an over hyped light show sounds good. Then when this is to follow performances on the same stage with Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam it sounds great. But, it didn't turn out quite as it was planned. The Chicago native didn't take the stage until around 4:30 am, which caused his perfomance to end as the sun was rising. According to an AP article:

"Ken Weinstein, a spokesman for the annual festival held on a 700-acre site south of Nashville, said the delay was simply a matter of unloading the Pearl Jam stage (the band went an hour past its scheduled end time, playing until about 1:15 a.m.) and loading the West stage."

But, the major rumor circulating around the campground was that West had refused to take the stage until all other acts had finished playing. Is it just a coinicidence that Phil Lesh and Chali 2Na( the last two scheduled acts) had finished before West took the stage? The festival goers didn't seem to think so, as "Kanye Sucks" was written on the spray-paint walls entering CenterRoo and chanted before concerts, including before O.A.R. took the stage on Sunday evening.

Delayed Kanye West gig angers Bonnaroo crowd [AP]

State Radio set to rock 'Roo

Fresh off opening a few shows for Dave Matthews Band, State Radio played a half-hour acoustic set on the Sonic Stage before they'll play their full set at That Tent later tonight. "It was cool, a little different," said bassist Chuck Fay of opening for DMB. Drummer Mike "Mad Dog" Najarian labeled it "the future," as he hopes to turn State Radio into that major headline act that DMB has become. Najarian joined the band following the realease of their first full-lenght "Us Against The Crown" and his presence can definitley be heard on their second and latest release "Year of the Crow." Frontman Chad Stokes met Najarian outside Boston's Fenway park, as he noticed him playing drum buckets. "2 years and 84 days ago," according to Fay.

Over the past few years, the band has taken an active voice against the Genoicide in Sudan, including aptly-titled song Sudan on "Year Of The Crow." "It's just a mess over there right now," said Stokes as he placed blame on the fact that the rebel leaders can't seem to find common ground with eachother. Along with Sudan, the band has contributed to "How's Your News?" a video project that lets mentally ill persons become journalists. The project had run out of money and according to Stokes recieved a shot in the arm when MTV approached with the aim of shooting a series that will air in September.

State Radio will take the stage in a little over an hour.

Vampire kicks off the Weekend

Talk about stealing the show. Last night indie pop-punk band Vampire Weekend closed out the night at This Tent. Besides being the coolest thing since sliced bread, Vampire Weekend rocked the crowd for about an hour with their fast hooks and catchy melodys. Who would've thought that one of Bonnaroo's best perfomances thus far would be turned in by four Ivy Leaguers? With only one release under their belt Vampire Weekend didn't have a plethora of songs to chose from, therefore they played almost their enitre cd, including hit single A-Punk. Here's the music video for A-Punk.

Bonnnarrrrroooooooooo

Welcome to the official Bonnaroo blog of Wonka Vision Magazine, the leading voice for independent music. I'll be down there for all four days of the madness that is Bonnaroo and will feature instant reviews of the shows and exclusive artist interviews. Here's a list of who's playing at this year's festival and an article from the Times about last year's festival. It reads:

"But when the sold-out audience of 80,000 arrived, the sixth annual Bonnaroo stayed hippie. Tie-dye, long hair, peasant dresses and flowers were everywhere amid the organic food stands and recycling displays. So were smiling faces, pot smoke and the willingness to dance to anything with a beat."

A Festival With More Than Just Jam-Bands[New York Times]