Jenny Lewis / Photo by Michael Didyoung

THE WORST

Best Set -- Worst Billing Accuracy: Elvis Costello
His performance on Saturday evening was billed as "Elvis Costello Solo," but while the erstwhile angry and bespectacled young man played plenty of his classics accompanied only by his own acoustic guitar, he was never lonely for long: New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaint, Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, and country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale all took turns lending EC a hand. Even in the stripped-down setting, gems like "Everyday I Write the Book," "Watching the Detectives," and "Radio, Radio," as well as covers of the Beatles "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said," and the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale," showed that with nary an Attraction to be found, Costello can still command a room, er, tent. -- DM

Worst Lyrics to Listen to While High: Robyn Hitchcock
Certain subjects are guaranteed to harsh your mellow: insects, death, loneliness, paranoia. Eccentric English psych-rocker Robyn Hitchcock's songs touched on all these things during a tight, driving set under cloudy skies. Aided by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, the former Soft Boys frontman, dressed in a bright pink button down shirt and purple trousers, and his backing band the Venus 3, spun jangly, eerie guitar webs, exploded jagged rhythms, and sang soaring Beatles-esque melodies (the sugar that helped the spooky medicine go down) with far more assurance than you'd expected from someone who told the crowd that he hadn't been to a festival since 1979. Sober, it was easy to appreciate how the aforementioned sounds were slyly welded onto lyrics about lovers "trying to lay eggs underneath my skin" and the sad death of New York Dolls bassist Arthur Kane (on "New York Doll"). Stoned? I'm glad I didn't find out. -- DM

	PHOTO GALLERY: The Best of Bonnaroo VIEW >>
	PHOTO GALLERY: Bonnaroo: 25 Must-Hear Acts VIEW >>
	REVIEW: Best & Worst: Day 2 VIEW >>
PLUS: >> Best & Worst: Day 1 >> VIDEO: Interviews Day 1 >> VIDEO: Interviews Day 2 REVIEWS: >> Bruce Springsteen >> The Beastie Boys >> Phish

 

Worst Battle of the Bands: Kuroma
Athens, GA, rockers Kuroma drew the unenviable assignment of being sandwiched between Nine Inch Nails on one side and prog-rockers moe. on the other. Frontman Hank Sullivant and company made the best of things, though, with a tuneful set of glammy psychedelia that was audible if you got up real close to the stage and pretended that the music of the other bands wasn't roaring in the background. It was tough to make out Sullivant's one-liner about the situation, but whatever he said about Trent Reznor elicited laughs from his bandmates, who were just about the only ones who could hear him. -- BFW

Worst Stage Tinkering: The Decemberists
Granted, they had an elaborate configuration of lighting, props, and instruments to get in place, but other than that, there was no apparent reason why the Decembrists took the stage nearly a half-hour late for their 90-minute slot on Saturday. Not that the faithful who cheered frontman Colin Meloy's every instrument and chord change seemed to mind the delay. And to be fair, the band sounded terrific, rocking out one minute, getting whimsical the next, their penchant for all things mythic transforming the darkness gathering around This Tent into something along the order of Avalon wood. Heightening the effect was the hot-air balloonist who drifted over the tent right as the sun was going down -- that and the arcane likes of harpsichord and glockenspiel that figured prominently in the group's baroque arrangements. -- BFW

Worst Escapist Fantasy: Jimmy Buffet
Appearing with Cape Verde singer ILO and his own Coral Reefer Band, Jimmy Buffet looked like a tanned, relaxed version of Larry David as he strummed his Telecaster while decked out in khaki shorts, wristbands the color of the Jamaican flag, and a plain white t-shirt. He had far less edge, though, as he sang his tepid and unimaginative country-rock tropical postcards about sailing, fishing, and eating "Cheeseburgers in Paradise." I didn't hang around to see if he played "Margaritaville." I'm sure I'll hear it next time I stay at Club Med. So, never. -- DM