While Jam (Stoner) Rock has never been a strength of HearYa’s, the same has held true for Bonnaroo the last few years. This year’s line up is no exception with bands such as The Police, The Roots, and The Decemberists. However, this year’s crop of bands is rife with indie bands. The Hold Steady, Dr. Dog, and Cold War Kids are just but 3 of excellent crop here in the middle of Tennessee.

I kind of backed into a free ticket about two weeks ago when my friend’s friend’s uncle’s cousin’s half sister ended up having to go to a wedding this weekend. It’s really not that complicated, but it might as well be. Regardless, I flew into Nashville yesterday afternoon and took in the nightlife downtown there (4 different versions of Sweet Home Alabama). If you’ve not been to downtown Nashville, it’s a live-music-lover’s heaven. Fifteen bars in a row, all with live music of every hour of every day.

Fortunately for me, I have a place to stay at a friend’s apartment about 30 miles north of the festival. We left for Bonnaroo around 3:30 planning on getting to the grounds with plenty of time before The Little Ones took the stage at 7:30 for the first show of the weekend. The drive was uneventful enough, 4 music hungry guys crammed into a VW Rabbit. After we found the entrance, we tried to find shortcuts past the 4-mile long line of cars, but the gods were not on our side. Mapless, we wandered around southern Tennessee.

After nearly finding both Alabama and Georgia accidentally, we came upon a gas station. While I’m not normally one for stereotypes, there was a child there that may very well embody “The South” we all know and love from Deliverance, with dirt smeared face and hands, overalls with one strap undone sans both under shirt and wear, and no footwear of any kind. After a 70 mile return trip through the foothills, we were at the end of the line which we had sought so hard to avoid. By this time, our lack of camping equipment and 2-hour line in front of us, we decided to head home for the night. What should have been a 30-minute drive turned into 6-hour jaunt in a tiny car and no live music.

So, for me (and you, subsequently), here are some mp3’s of bands that neither of us saw today.

The Little Ones – There’s a Pot a Brewin’

Mute Math – Typical

The National – Start A War

Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Diablo Rojo

The Whigs – Violet Furs