Bonnaroo 2008 In Review: Channeling a Sense of Appreciation

Alas, it was not to be.  You can read all about how Kanye was boo’d and heckled at Bonnaroo 2008 and various theories about how and why he showed up late in the article and associated comments on Rolling Stone or Fox News. What isn’t mentioned in that article is that Kanye performed earlier in the evening at Young Jeezy’s ‘birthday bash’ in Atlanta.

Since the event, Kanye published a blog entry calling the festival organizers “idiots who didn't really have the capacity to really put on this show properly.”  Big Hassle representative, Ken Weinstein issued a statement in response simply saying “Our world-class event production team strives to accommodate the needs of every performer.”

To festival-goers it was clear that Kanye had no idea what he was flying into when he walked on stage to perform at Bonnaroo.  Over the course of his one hour set he never apologized for his lateness offered explanation or otherwise recognized the existence of the audience in any way.  This lack of appreciation led to waves of fans departing the performance early, something never before seen at Bonnaroo.

The Censure

The sense that Kanye West had failed the festival seemed to come from a general understanding that the festival had done everything it could and as a result both attendees and artists delivered nothing but scorn.  The port-o-potties nearest to this author’s campground were spray-painted with the words, “F*** Kanye.”  During his set at That Tent, Robert Randolph gave a small speech on appreciation and artist professionalism that ended by encouraging the crowd to chant “Kanye Sucks.” listen here.

A number of artists seemed to follow Robert’s lead: Broken Social Scene called a equipment problem that had interrupted their show a “Kanye moment,” O.A.R. mentioned his name only to be hit with a chorus of boos and Rogue Wave spoke up on the value of respecting their audience. In the end, one of the most respected bands to perform Bonnaroo gave their own endorsement of the festival sentiment: Widespread Panic brought Robert Randolph on stage to guest on four different songs during the closing set on the What Stage.