Bonnaroo 2007 VIP

Well today marks one week since my return from Bonnaroo 2007 and I am still having a hard time adjusting to life in the normal world. Anyone who has been to the Roo and experienced all of the craziness understands the decompression time needed to re-acclimate to a society with rules.

This year was my third trip to Bonnaroo and it was easily the best trip so far. I attended the 03 and 05 Roo's and was stuck in general population. This year my girlfriend and I decided to go with the VIP tickets. I know a lot of people thought we were absolutely crazy for paying $600 a piece for tickets, but I can honestly tell you that the extra 4 bills was well worth the experience.

So I bet your asking yourself what could possibly make it $400 better? Well lets start with the sectioned off camp sites. The VIP parking pass (which is included in the price) entitles you to your own parking spot which I would estimate is about 10 yards by 20 yards. And each camp spot has access to a road so you can come and go as you please. If you have stayed in the Mad Max setup that is general population then you know how huge that is. The second great thing about VIP is that you have your own entrances into Centaroo. This is great for two reasons. The first is there are no lines to get in and the second is that they don't search you at all going in. This is why there are no lines going in. This means that you can bring in your own beer and food so you don't have to spend the money inside. But you really don't need to bring much food anyways because there is a free buffet for VIP that runs from noon to midnight everyday. The food is not gourmet but it is definitely not bad so the setting.

All of these things in conjunction with the fact that you could sit at your campsite and listen to the music because you are so close make it almost worth the money. So what pushes it over the edge into definitely worth it? Well when I first pulled into my chalked off campsite after sitting in traffic for a couple hours, I had to pee. I walked around for a second looking for a port-a-potty but didn't see any obviously sticking out. I asked one of the many VIP representatives where the closest bathroom was and he pointed toward two large trailers. I walked over skeptical that the bathrooms could be in these trailers. I opened the door and sure as shit (no pun intended) there was a full service bathroom which real stalls and real toilets and real plumbing. Not to mention the fact that they were lit and air conditioned!!!! Well that right there sold me on the extra money. Then I discovered the showers! Hot, personal showers with better water pressure then I get at most Holiday Inns.

If being able to see where you are crapping and getting to wash the mug and sweat off of you everyday doesn't sound worth $400 than you truly are a dirtier hippie than me and I guess I wont see you in VIP. To everyone else, I hope this makes your decision next year easier. I know I will be buying my VIP tickets the second they go on sale. I am never risking having to stay general population again.