Bonnaroo Hot for Police, Wilco, White Stripes

06/18/2007 6:35 AM, E! Online


Bonnaroo called, the Police came, and a sell-out crowd of some 80,000 music fans followed.

The reunited rockers took the stage Saturday night at the sixth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, before a horde of cheering concertgoers that fanned out in all directions.

From the synchronicity Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland displayed as they tore through their 18-song set, one might have never guessed they had ever parted ways.

The band delved into their catalog of classics for the performance, with some songs remixed into new arrangements or featuring slower tempos than the original versions.

Though their set was almost an hour shorter than advertised by Bonnaroo organizers, Sting and the boys made every minute count, kicking off with "Message in a Bottle," and continuing on with such guaranteed crowd-pleasers as "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Roxanne."

Other highlights of Saturday included a predictably flamboyant post-Police performance by the Flaming Lips that featured confetti, a UFO landing and lead singer Wayne Coyne rolling around on stage in a giant transparent bubble.

Earlier in the day, Russian-born singer Regina Spektor wowed a sizable crowd with her soaring vocals, drawing laughter when she forgot the words to one of her songs and shrugged it off, saying, "“I knew this was going to happen!"

A lively set from the Hold Steady kept concertgoers dancing through the late afternoon heat, as lead singer Craig Finn's visible enthusiasm during the performance proved contagious to the audience.

The festival kicked off Thursday night, with well-received sets from the eclectic Mexican metal duo Rodrigo y Gabriel and New Orleans rock-electronica act Mute Math. The latter band was joined on stage for a brief period by a dancing streaker who was eventually removed by security.

On Friday, fans turned out in droves for a performance by native Tennessee sons Kings of Leon. The southern rockers marked their third appearance at the festival with a well-received set, despite a technical issue that caused the sound to go out for almost a full song.

Bonnaroo first-timer Lily Allen offered up a fun, pop-drenched set in between swigs from a bottle of Jägermeister, at one point asking her audience, "Are you as drunk as I am?" The festival appearance was one of the few North American performances the British singer kept on her schedule after calling off her summer tour.

In a departure from the festival's formerly hippie vibe, heavy rock band Tool was the headlining act Friday night, turning in a hard-driving performance that elated some while leaving others wistful for the jam-band genre that once defined Bonnaroo.

Some of that nostalgia was alleviated Sunday, when Wilco came through with a stunning set, featuring lengthy jam sessions that left fans awed and wanting more.

The White Stripes' Sunday timeslot was one of the festival's most-anticipated performances, and the electrifying twosome of Jack and Meg White did not disappoint. The duo kicked off their set with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," and moved on to "Blue Orchid" and "Icky Thump," the title track from the band's new album, before closing with "Seven Nation Army."

As is only fitting, Widespread Panic was the final act to play the festival, with a lengthy set that had a charged-up audience hanging on every note.

One of the most frequently sighted individuals of the weekend was former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, who seemed to pop up all over, from joining all-female bluegrass group Uncle Earl, whose album he produced, onstage for several songs to teaming with Ben Harper and Roots drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson for a raucous late-night Superjam session Friday.

The collaborations were in keeping with the spirit of Bonnaroo, where musicians often take the opportunity to contribute to one another's acts. Other notable guest appearances included Mavis Staples joining the Decemberists on stage, Ziggy Marley sitting in on Ben Harper's set, and ex-Rage Against the Machiner Tom Morello taking a turn with Tool.

The four-day event was not without tragedy. On Friday morning, 25-year-old Kentucky native Cody Conover was rushed to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, marking the festival's sixth death in its six-year history.

Meanwhile, 77-year-old jazz legend Ornette Coleman collapsed from heat exhaustion during his performance Sunday and was taken to a local hospital, where he remained under observation Sunday night.

Coleman wasn't the only one felled by the heat. The weekend's high temperatures of over 90 degrees sent scores of concertgoers in search of medical assistance for dehydration and other heat-related conditions.

Police made at least 73 arrests, mostly for drug-related violations, and handed out close to 200 citations, which was comparable to the number of incidents reported last year.

As the weekend wound down, grimy and exhausted festival attendees packed up their camping gear and bid farewell to the 700-acre farm that for a few days was transformed into the sixth-largest city in Tennessee.

Many looked like they were already plotting their return for next year.