There is that point at the high peak of a jam where a musician finds a way to reach beyond one’s skills and bring everyone just a wee bit higher. After Friday’s colossal highlight reel leading to Tool’s Main Stage gig and the Superjam featuring Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Saturday delivered its true moment of transcendence. On the 40th Anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival, the Police continued their triumphant return to the stage with a two hour show covering a wide variety of their classic hits. Keeping to his word about lifting the Police to an A-game level at Bonnaroo, Stewart Copeland managed to pull out all the stops as he played drums and percussion sitting, standing, jogging and jumping.

The day began like a litany of future superstars as Dr. Dog tore through an incendiary set of post-garage psychedelic rock in This Tent. Regina Spektor was overwhelmed by her Roo turnout on the Which Stage; the scene was hot, boisterous and emotional as her performance radiated from the strong communal reception. Gogol Bordello, meanwhile, was all dark side of the soul with a cavalier and infectious stab at performance art as a musical form via an Eastern European setting. John Paul White wooed an intimate crowd in the Troo Music Lounge while beaming Thom Yorke vocals through a reading of ELO’s “Can’t Get It Out of My Head.”

Not to be overshadowed by their younger brethren, Hot Tuna—featuring two Monterey Pop fest alumni Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen—offered 100% genuine old school blues in the Other Tent while Warren Haynes played a solo acoustic set at the Sonic Stage while quipping that he “began guitar at the age of seven and started with [Haynes played the “Smoke on the Water” riff] and then learned [he vamped on “Louie Louie.”].”

Speaking of tales of birth and tradition…the afternoon press conference featured Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne and Bob Weir in a panel discussion which turned lively when the two spoke of the legacy of the music festival. “If I wasn’t playing at Bonnaroo,” said Coyne, “I’d still want to be here. It’s an adventure. We’ve got to live it with some sort of intensity and it is easy to get inspired here.”

Weir was equally forthright about Bonnaroo and a poignant and timely question was asked about the Grateful Dead’s appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival. “It was the first rock ‘n’ roll festival,” said Weir. “The party backstage was pretty damn wonderful. We had some fun jams including one with a guy in a headband. This kid plugs in; we clicked immediately.” The “kid” turned out to be Jimi Hendrix and a legend was born.

With that in mind, Saturday continued its own path towards legendary status as Dublin, Ireland’s Damien Rice blanketed the crowd with his warm brand of acoustic tapestries.

The Hold Steady had more than a few raising their eyebrows as a large crowd embraced the band—double neck Gibson guitar, piss and vinegar vocals and a cutting-edge indie hard rock tone that was “the last stand on their American tour,” according to lead singer, Craig Finn. He mentioned that “it was good to see so many familiar faces,” which furthered the curiosity about a band that has a small tribe following them around from town-to-town. Sound familiar? Perhaps that attribute is no longer the sole property of the jamband circuit. That ethereal dynamic was apparent also in the Firecracker Jazz Band performance in the Bonna Rouge tent as Dixieland came to Tennessee with the proper velvety ambience including some old fashioned N’Awlins humidity. Meanwhile dragging entire continents along in his large muse bag, Xavier Rudd had his own version of musical topography with an amazing combination of Euro deep house sounds, traditional Australian outback music and various fringe Western rock strands.

The unique esprit de corps together with what was and what could be continued as the puzzle pieces started to finally fit together in the festival matrix. A complicated amalgamation of a festival’s diversity based upon an echo of the Monterey Pop Festival came into view. Like so many things in life, the activity revolved around a children’s game (which somehow seems appropriate since Sunday is, indeed, Father’s Day.) What had to have been the world’s widest, most elongated Frisbee toss was taking place outside the Art of Such N Such late in the afternoon—about eight people in a football field-length rectangle encompassed a huge patch of grass while throwing the disc.

Once in a while, someone random would join in and suddenly, the thought that a massive, improvisatory game of Frisbee was going to cover the entire festival grounds appeared possible. It didn’t need to happen; but the thought that it could mean that seeing Hot Tuna after Regina Spektor alongside Ziggy Marley guesting with Ben Harper betwixt Ween, Spoon and Keller before the big Police reunion extravaganza prelude to the UFO landing at the Flaming Lips midnight show leading to Luther Dickinson, Bob Weir and John Paul Jones sitting in with Gov’t Mule after Galactic gathered a calvacade of MCs to share a stage made a heck of a lot of sense. If the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival was the prototype for bringing diverse acts together in a multi-course sonic buffet then Bonnaroo 2007 updated the template to include a few new chapters in a grand musical tradition.

So, chances are, even if you’re only half as neurotic as I am, you probably spent hours, days or even weeks plotting your perfect plan of attack, figuring out how to slot Manu Chao, Lily Allen, The Roots, Kings of Leon, Tool, String Cheese Incident and so many more into a single schedule, without skipping a beat or, worse yet, missing a note of music. But as Thursday night’s last call gently segued into Friday’s first Shakedown Street firecracker display, that familiar festeroo feel took over and the only thing to do was drop your meticulously folded schedule like a bad date--or old DAT---and succumb to that mysterious condition most certainly known as Bonnaroo ADD.

And, indeed, the beauty of Bonnaroo is that, in a single day, one can bounce between stages and styles with the ease of a stray Tigger, figuring out the perfect blend of music and perfect balance of sun and shade, all the while trying to find the missing link between String Cheese and Tool (the answer to which, of course, is artist Alex Gray).

Not that most artists on Friday’s marquee didn’t arrive with enough energy to fill a full set of music. In the morning, new-school, old-time sensations Uncle Earl kick-started both the day’s musical offerings and the weekend’s string of sit-ins by inviting out Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones to play on a series of acoustic selections. Instead of showing off his trademark bass skills, Jones, who produced the all-female group’s third album, Waterloo, Tennessee, played mandolin on a series of covers and originals, which were both current (King Wilkie’s “The Last Goodbye”) and classic (Bob Dylan’s “Wallflower”). As if to take advantage of Warren Haynes’ delayed arrival, John Paul Jones made an early run for the weekend’s ‘collaboration king,’ sticking around The Other Tent long enough to join Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for one of their best songs, “Back in Time.” A Bonnaroo vet herself with two tours of duty under her belt, Welch aptly noted that “it’s not a Bonnaroo show without at least one special guest” and proceeded to dub JPJ “the King of Rock and Bluegrass” (and, yes, after three shows today alone, JPJ and I are on a first initial basis). Meanwhile, in the Troo Music Lounge, a representative from a very different lineage of rock-royalty, “Sir” Joe Russo, as he was known in his days at New York haunt Wetlands Preserve, played percussion with rising indie-rockers Sam Champion for their entire set.

In fact, no matter which style of music you fancy, Friday offered enough choices to make you wish it was still socially acceptable to schedule a nap. For those who preferred beats before brunch, Brazilian Girls started things off just right with a set of X-rated dance music that culminated with one lucky fellow invited onstage and many more singing the lyrics to “Pussy” with a passion which might not make their parents proud. Of course, there was also the carefully calculated peaks and valleys of Tortoise’s post-rock, the Euro-dance blips of Hot Chip and the catchy dance-pop of current indie-queen Lily Allen (sorry Amy Winehouse, you’re just a princess).

If you’re more into the roots side of the Roo---and we’re not even up to ?uestlove yet--- than perhaps your day began with a set by South Carolina blues-revivalist James Blood Ulmer in This Tent or included an large chunk of Fairport Convention visionary Richard Thompson’s performance in That Tent. Then again, you also could have spent time a good chunk of time with country-rocker Dierks Bentley (with special guest Sam Bush) in The Other Tent or noted jazz-heir Ravi Coltrane (with special guest air conditioning) in the Somethin’ Else performance space. Late night, String Cheese Incident brought its Bonnaroo legacy full circle, inviting the guitarist it backed late night at the inaugural Bonnaroo, Keller Williams, for “Stayin’ Alive” at the start of its second set on the Which Stage. Earlier in the evening departing guitarist Bill Nershi ran so many laps during “Jellyfish,” he might want to think about a career in gymnastics after leaving his longtime band in August.

And, while Thursday may indeed be the new Friday, as we mused yesterday, its still not a festival until Michael Franti asks, “How ya feelin’?” and, luckily, the Spearhead singer asked each and every one of Bonnaroo’s 80,000 fans how Friday was treating them before delivering a touching salute to Sesame Street. The schedule also spotlighted some new faces (rising ska/punk/jam hybrid RX Bandits), old friends (perennial late night kings Sound Tribe Sector 9, who played so late their crystals actually carbonated into computers), undercover spies (self-proclaimed hippie-hater David Cross who played a game called “You know you’re a Dead-neck when” to the tune of “You Know You’re a Redneck When”) and conspicuously absent regulars (let us here tip our hat to fallen Perfect Attendance Award champ Les Claypool, who sent along a copy of his new film Electric Apricot to screen in the Cinema Tent). Meanwhile the Roots delivered inspired takes on both Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” and Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War.”

Of course, Bonnaroo has long served as a launching pad for tomorrow’s festival favorites and Saturday’s lineup featured a number of able-bodied contenders for next summer’s big thing. Cold War Kids, who have attracted niche followings in urban pockets across the country, played for a sprawling crowd of hipster looking hippies and hippie looking hipsters, peaking with their on-point version of their recent single “Hang Me Up to Dry.” Tennessee’s own Kings of Leon, who, more than almost any other performer, have grown along with Bonnaroo since first appearing in 2004, made their What Stage debut, overcoming both a light drizzle and a brief power outage while celebrating the release of 2007’s Because of the Times.

It also seems particularly fitting that today, June 16, marks the fortieth anniversary of Monterey Pop, the first large scale rock-and-roll festival and the unofficial start of the Summer of Love. At the time, few would have thought that those three days would lay the groundwork for Woodstock, Watkins Glen, Lollapalooza, H.O.R.D.E. and all the rest of the great American music festivals which helped lead 80,000 music fans to Manchester, TN, this weekend. Yet, as presented on the Monterey Pop film screened in the Silent Disco Thursday, Bonnaroo at times feels “like Christmas, Easter and New Year’s” all rolled into one with a little Dazed and Confused thrown in for good measure.

And so, on the eve of the Summer of Love’s 40th anniversary, Bonnaroo presented its most left-field headliner, prog-metal icons, Tool, to a packed crowd of fist-pounding glowstick throwing, fans who in just two days time may be mistaken for Spreadheads. While Maynard James Keenan’s haunting simian dance moves and guitarist Adam Jones’ pulsating guitar assault would most certainly have scared Monterey Pop promoter John Phillips into prematurely surrendering his tie-dye flag, in certain ways there is a direct line between the Who and Jimi Hendrix’s controversial sets at Monterey Pop and Tool’s mainstage performance. Between the group’s kaleidoscope of visual images and amplified rhythmic beats, there seemed to be an Anakin soul beneath Tool’s Darth Vader mask and, if nothing else, a surprise appearance by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who performed earlier in the day as the Nightwatchman, proved that sit-ins aren’t just for jambands and environmental activists.

For many, Friday’s highlight took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, as John Paul Jones, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Ben Harper played a set primarily composed of Led Zeppelin covers as part of Bonnaroo’s annual SuperJam. The evening opened with John Paul Jones on slide, before he switched to bass for a set that coiled “Dazed and Confused” around a number of Led Zeppelin chestnuts and choice selections like Band of Gypsys’ “Them Changes” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” (both of which featured the Roots’ Anthony Hamilton on guitar).

So even if that folded personalized Bonnaroo schedule now almost certainly floating aimlessly like the plastic bag in American Beauty argues otherwise, Friday isn't just the new Saturday, it's a continuation of yesterday's Thursday.

In case you hadn’t heard, Thursday is the new Friday at Bonnaroo (second only to dust being the new black but you know, whatever, it’s cool). While there were still some major pistons not firing—the two main stages—it felt as if there was plenty of momentum to get anyone going anywhere they needed to be musically.

If festival going conditions weren’t entirely idyllic—Manchester is currently experiencing its worst drought in 110 years with rainfall being 15 inches below normal— fans still made the most of their initial forays into the site proper, milling about Centeroo as they sipped microbrews, scoped the many clothing booths, listened to fundamentals on glassblowing, got reacquainted with the layout or found old friends once again at the annual gathering. As the sun set into a golden soup, temperatures dropped and the anticipation for the festival’s first real notes of music ramped up.

Prior to the music starting, however, the first live attraction was legendary documentary filmmaker DA Pennebaker. Speaking to a packed house after the screening of his Monterey Pop—a project he completed shortly before his groundbreaking Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back—Pennebaker stood out amongst the crowd in a dapper blazer, trousers and leather loafers. “I liked that people could come in and out of the film screening,” he said in earnest. As for his first Bonnaroo experience, he drew upon his previous adventures in praising it: “Anything you can to do bring talent together.” There was indeed quite a bit of talent brought together last night—and a wide variety at that.

New soul man Ryan Shaw kicked off the evening at The Other Tent while indie rock-poppers The Little Ones revved up That Tent. “I don’t know how the first night is here usually,” said Little Ones frontman Ed Reyes. “I expect people to go for it.” Dripping their way through an hour worth of songs, the Los Angeles quintet nailed the set, a sure primer for their upcoming festival gigs which include Glastonbury, Redding and Leeds.

Shortly after, psychedelic blues rock outfit The Black Angels seemed to channel a dustier, more droning version of The Jefferson Airplane via the Velvet Underground at its moodiest. The set-closing cover of The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” crushed in its amplitude and bombast.

Shooting over to The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars—with a quick stop at the comedy tent which heard Finesse Mitchell quip that only two days ago he was “hula-hooping and smoking a blunt”—the experience couldn’t have be more different than just minutes earlier. Weaving traditional Jewish folk music with New Orleans jazz, the group made their way through rounds of improvisation. With a particular emphasis on the accordion, clarinet and violin, the set ended in the expected, whipped-up frenzy.

Triangulating back to Mute Math, one could hear the rollicking and ragged alt.country, folk-rock of Langhorne Slim who’d semi-stuffed the Troo Music Lounge with his thump-n-shuffle trio. Mute Math, one of the few bands to return from last year, seemed to tweak early U2-like conventions at will, twisting and flexing songs like “Control” into triumphant charging melodies (to such a degree that frontman Paul Meany was doing handstands on his keyboard; he also made the oft-maligned keytar look pretty hip).

If the comedy tent seemed to have shockingly long, winding lines of hopeful attendees, its neighbor directly across the way, the Somethin’ Else tent, often gave it a run for its money as the seated-style jazz club holds roughly 500 people and did a brisk business packing each of its four sets to capacity. The highlight was legendary saxophonist Lou Donaldson with organ player Lonnie Liston Smith, the latter donning a black vest, long white-sleeve button down and black turban all of which framed his draping white beard and mischievous smile. While working through various classics, they slowed down the tempo with a languid and slow-honey version of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.”

 “We were a little shocked,” said guitarist Bryce Denser of indie rock princes The National who enveloped That Tent with a finely-wrought set heavy on songs from their recent Boxer. “We thought it was just going to be haystacks and tumbleweeds out there and it turns out the place is already teeming.” Indeed things were just getting started.

Shifting some of their original, more metal-based sound for bluesier hard rock, Clutch delivered a writhing, full-throttle set across the way, igniting a decent amount of ambitious crowd surfing (perhaps a first for the festival). If pumping fists were something fairly foreign to Bonnaroo in years past, it would seem from the rapturous and rib-crushing crowd that they’ve found a new home. Maybe it was the Tom Waits-sounding cover of the Willie Dixon blues classic “Who’s Been Talkin’” or the incendiary thump of “You Can’t Stop Progress”—whatever it was, it worked.

Clutch wasn’t the only metal band to have changed its sound. Acoustic, folk-rock, flamenco-metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, once in a thrash metal band together, were perhaps the evening’s most anticipated performance. Coming onstage a half-hour late, the two had the crowd in its nimble hands at the first Metallica tease on their acoustic guitars (there would be many Metallica’s teases including a full version of the ballad “One”). The two volleyed back rhythms and leads back and forth effortlessly, one minute Rodrigo flying through eloquent lines, the next Gabriela throwing devil horns in the air as she pounded out beats on the guitar body. A highpoint, after teasing Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” into Rage Against the Machine’s “Bombtrack,” was a full, audience-led and sung cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” That Rod and Gab vocalized not a word of it nor needed to cue the audience was an indication of the rapport in play.

 
Earlier in the evening The Little Ones closed their set with the refrain “Show us where your heart is.” On this Bonnaroo Thursday, that location was self-evident.