PerformaRoo

Are you ready? Now that you are well aware of what Bonnaroo is and what it is like, I think it's about time you had a taste of an actual Bonnaroo performance.

First though, I'd like to explain to you why I chose this to show you. Though this is one of the smaller performances - it was the best of the festival last year in my opinion.  It could not compare to the sound quality and the extravagance of the headliners on the Bonnaroo main stage, such as Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, and Stevie Wonder, but the energy put into the show was unmatchable and created an amazing atmosphere for the audience - even at four in the morning.

B.O.B a.k.a. Bobby Ray

After a long day of heat and non-stop shows, it might be difficult to stay awake until 4 a.m. for an hour performance, but let me tell you how happy I am that I did.  Prior to the show, I was unfamiliar with B.o.B as an artist, but my friend Mike and I had pushed to the front of the stage for the prior KiD CuDi concert and B.o.B was coming out a half an hour later.  Mike left for the bathroom (we had been watching shows since 9 p.m. nonstop and had been drinking insurmountable amounts of water to stay hydrated - so I could not blame him), but there was no chance I was leaving my great view of the stage.  I stuck around and when B.o.B came out I completely forgot about the fact that I had to go to the bathroom so badly my stomach hurt, that I was so sweaty and hot from being surrounded by people for over four hours, and that my mouth was so dry from running out of water an hour ago.  The performance was unreal.  He had an incredible stage presence and seemed genuinely happy to be there, performing for this disgruntled crowd so late in the night.  He had so much energy that everyone forgot about any of their prior 'ailments' and enjoyed their last show of the night.

B.o.B is a well rounded artist and performer.  Even though the performance was short, he mixed up the music and kept the crowd from ever experiencing a dull moment.  Not only did he sing, but he rapped, played guitar, and involved the audience through out the entirety of the show.

The video I'm about to show is B.o.B performing "I'll Be In The Sky" at Bonnaroo last year.  Throughout the song, the audience (from the farthest person back to the closest person to the stage) was throwing glow sticks onto the stage.  From where I was, five people back from the stage in the dead center, it was an incredible sight.  It was pitch black and the only thing I could see above me was the colors of all of the glow sticks flying over my head.  B.o.B did not miss a beat - he continued to sing and dance around the stage, while simultaneously catching the glow sticks and even throwing some back out into the audience.

To this day - Mike's "one regret" is not sticking it out for the B.o.B show.  Sometimes you just have to sacrifice your own well being for the music.