Bonnarooing: Jam On It

Pearl Jam is on stage at Bonnaroo, and not only did they open for the first time ever with the rarity "Hard To Imagine," the proceeded to play the even more rare outtake "All Night," its maiden live appearance. How's that for a quick start? Also early in the set: "Corduroy," "Why Go," a mass sing-a-long to "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"  ("Since basically I'm looking out at a small town right now," frontman Eddie Vedder said) and "Who You Are," which hadn't been played in 10 years prior to the start of this mini-tour.

Bonnarooing: Masto Blastos

We don't think Bonnaroo is turning into a hard rock festival anytime soon, but by golly if they didn't wind up booking both the most influential and still most popular metal band in the world (Metallica) and also the most promising relatively new act in the genre this weekend.

The latter would be, of course, Mastodon, who were absolutely jaw-dropping during their Saturday set. Moshing isn't usually part of the deal at Bonnaroo, but it was in full force during crushing rockers like "Crystal Skull" and "Crimson Rider," which used Metallica's harmonized guitar leads as a jumping-off point for exceedingly adventurous twists on the metal template.

There's just something about the riffs and stop-on-a-dime time changes these guys pull off that puts an enormous smile on our faces. We think they may have played at least one new song from the album they're making in Atlanta right now with producer Brendan O'Brien, but don't quote us on that.

Bonnarooing: My Morning Jacket ... Um, Wow

Yeah, this happened during My Morning Jacket's three-hour marathon last night, mostly during a torrential downpour, at Bonnaroo (thank you, message board on MyMorningJacket.com for helping us with all the little details). Name us one other band that covers Funkadelic, Erykah Badu and Motley Crue in the same set, and finagles a guest appearance from frickin' Metallica's Kirk Hammett for good measure?

"Evil Urges"
"Off the Record"
"Gideon"
"Hot Fun" (Sly & the Family Stone) *
"Highly Suspicious"
"What a Wonderful Man"
"I'm Amazed"
"Thank You Too"
"Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 1"
"Sec Walkin"
"Golden"
"Two Halves"
"Lay Low"
"Hit It and Quit It" (Funkadelic)
"Tyrone" (Erykah Badu)
"Steam Engine"/drum solo
"Anytime"
"Aluminum Park"
"Easy Morning Rebel" *
"Dancefloors" *
"One Big Holiday" (with Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett)

SET BREAK

"Cold Sweat" (James Brown) *
"Get Down On It" (Kool & the Gang) *
"Across 110th Street" (Bobby Womack) *
"Wordless Chorus"
"Phone Went West"
"Mahgeetah"
"Oh Sweet Nuthin" (The Velvet Underground)
"Librarian"
"Bermuda Highway" (Jim James solo)
"Dondante"
"Run Thru"
"Smokin From Shootin"
"Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt. 2"
"Home Sweet Home" (Motley Crue, featuring Zach Galifianakis in character as Little Orphan Annie)

* = with Jeff Coffin on saxophone and the Nashville/Louisville Horns

For additional Bonnaroo coverage all weekend, visit Billboard.com.

Bonnarooing: And Justice For You

Metallica wasn't perfect during its headlining slot on the Bonnaroo main stage, but the massive crowd totally ate it up and the band looked like it was having a blast up there. Frontman James Hetfield got the audience involved from the beginning, leading a sing-a-long during the end of "The Memory Remains" and working them into a lather with the promise of oldies from as far back as "Kill 'Em All."

The group effectively transitioned from full-on assaults like "Master of Puppets" and "No Remorse" ("That was a little too fast, don't you think?," Hetfield asked) and dynamic jams like "Sad But True" to other sides of the musical coin like "Nothing Else Matters" and "Fade To Black," the almost-mellow opening section of the latter washing over the crowd like a cooling, calming breeze.

As the set rolled into its last 30 minutes, Hetfield shouted, "You need something fast, or is it time to go back to the tents? You need something to wake you up, yeah?," leading to a frenetic run through "Whiplash." The track served to demonstrate quintessential Metallica: eye-popping virtuosity, unbridled energy and more than enough power to satisfy 50,000-some hot, tired and sweaty fans.

Then they demonstrated it again on "Nothing Else Matters" and "Enter Sandman," somewhat predictable but no less effective finales to the first encore. Their vintage cover of the Misfits' "Last Caress" was a nice surprise, as was the shreddy "So What." "Seek and Destroy" brought it all to a close (20 minutes past the announced curfew!), with Hetfield modifying the lyrics to the site-specific "We're scanning the scene at Bonnaroo tonight."

One semi-bummer though: still no new material from their upcoming album. Guys, if not here, when?

For additional Bonnaroo coverage all weekend, visit Billboard.com

Bonnarooing: Off To Never, Neverland

The annual Bonnaroo festival technically got underway last night in Manchester, Tenn., but the real fireworks begin today, with sets from the Drive-By Truckers, the Raconteurs, Willie Nelson, the Swell Season and Rilo Kiley. After dark, Chris Rock and Metallica will storm the main stage, followed by a soon-to-be-legendary midnight to 3 a.m. blowout from My Morning Jacket.

Metallica already put smiles on a few hundred lucky fans' faces by playing a secret show last night at Nashville's the Basement. Fan club members watched the band pound through a nine-song set featuring "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Master of Puppets" and "Seek and Destroy." But there's also been some bad news to report, as a guy allegedly headed for Bonnaroo was busted was a crazy large amount of LSD. Bummer.

Visit Jaded Insider and Billboard.com throughout the weekend for updates and photos from on site.