Mt. St. Helens Bonnaroo Band

Jared Price

Over the weekend, Seattle's own Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band played a show at Bonnaroo and further got their name out there as one of the city's most prominent indie bands on the rise. I remember hanging with this five-person ensemble fairly tough at Sasquatch almost a month ago -- so I'm glad to know they just played an even bigger music festival this past weekend. The enormity of Bonnaroo must have left a sizable impression MSHVB's lead singer, Benjamin Verdoes, as he penned this note on his way of Tennessee a few days go.

June 13, 2009

We are leaving Bonnaroo at the moment, driving away from that humid, sticky Tennessee swamp. It is a charming swamp, one I'd like to return to. Having been to only a few festivals in my life (only the ones we've played), Bonnaroo is definitely the most immense. It is like the New York City of festivals (US festivals at least)-it is swarming with people everywhere you turn; it goes on and on.

In my assessment the show went well. As usual, we put every bit of energy we had into our set, and it ended up somewhere between magic and a train wreck. The crowd gave a good response. It is always amazing to meet people who come to see us at these types of events. There was a kid who came to the festival just to see us.

We are infants compared to the lot of festival bands. As we set up we listened to Al Green perform on the stage adjacent to us. It was incredible, and it put some kind of historical perspective on our time here. As we loaded up our gear the massive crowd across the field roared for the introduction of the Beastie Boys. I can't imagine playing for that many people.
Marshall was an angel today.
-Benjamin

The band's bassist, Jared Price, took the above shot of Bonnaroo hippies shortly after their set.