Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Bonnaroo: Polite Jamfest

Those no-good hippie jam banders continue to amaze with their recycling prowess and ability to say "pardon." According to K-town natives who attended the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn., the event was a model of organization, politeness and, of course, rockin' sets.

"All I saw were smiles," says Bonnaroo camper (and Metro Pulse photographer) Kimberly Bell. "Even when you were jampacked with each other, it was 'excuse me,' 'pardon me,' 'thank you.'"

That cooperative attitude isn't surprising, considering it's the jammers' brotherhood that spread the word about Bonnaroo in the first place.

"We all knew what we had to do to make this a successful festival," Bell says. She adds that litter was not a problem on-site, making Bonnaroo quite an unusual festival.

Four hours after returning from Manchester, Mike Kuczmarski's grin was audible.

"It was just a blast," he gushed. He raved about performances both from the bands he's long loved and from those he discovered this weekend. Kuczmarski and Bell also praised the site's design as a city. Street signs, maps and camp sites named for Simpsons and Diff'rent Strokes characters helped music lovers find their way. The city center, or "Centaroo," offered a marketplace, two smaller music venues and a cinema. Of course, the festival really was its own city, boasting 70,000 inhabitants.

Kuczmarski and Bell applauded AC Entertainment's efforts, saying security worked flawlessly (not that it had any real mischief to contend with), and shows started on time. They didn't even complain about the traffic.

"I think you're going to expect having to sit [in your car] when you have 70,000 people," says Kuczmarski, who estimated he waited in his vehicle for 3 1/2 hours to get in. Bell said she waited "a couple hours."

"There was a lot of traffic, but no one was fussing about it," she adds.

Go.

Thursday: First, on Market Square, enjoy Best of Knoxville favorites Robinella and the CC String Band, free of charge. Afterward, go see The Wooten Brothers at Blue Cats and watch those fingers fly.

Friday: Laugh off your week with The Foreigner at The Bijou. Or, if you're in a Celtic mood, check out the Irish music of Turlach Boylan and Pat Egan at Macleod's.

Saturday: Get cozy with a yellow-billed cuckoo at the Summer Birds of Ijams walk.

Sunday: Get down with the blues at Kuumba.

Monday: Pose for a caricature at the SKARD Rock Cafe (see Calendar).

Tuesday: Go buy fireworks.

Wednesday: Surprise your neighbors—set off fireworks early.

—Emma "Isn't All Coke Vanilla?" Poptart with Tamar Wilner