Beck Puts On A Show For The Hippies

As Beck took the stage at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, he had dancers in bear suits and a band that played on water glasses and dinner plates.

He also had a puppet alter-ego take a swipe at "sweaty hippies stinking of patchouli" — a friendly jab at his audience and the jam-band culture that has supported Bonnaroo over its first five years.

The camping and music festival on a 700-acre Tennessee farm still has its neo-hippies and free spirits, but Bonnaroo has grown into something more than a celebration of endless guitar solos.

Rather than be pigeonholed into the jam-band scene, Bonnaroo has diversified its lineup to include major artists in rap, blues, indie rock and this year, classic rockers like Tom Petty and Elvis Costello.

"At first it was a jam band festival. But is it still?" said Mike Gordon of the former jam band Phish. "There still is a lot of jamming. I think it's grown in respect. It's not considered a niche festival anymore."

Or perhaps it just proves that hippies will listen to anything — as long as it's not heavy metal or punk.

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