What do Michael Jackson, The Doors, trap lord A$AP Ferg, and indie faves Warpaint all have in common?
They all featured, in some form or other, in dubstep superstar Skrillex’s Bonnarroo ‘Superjam’ set last Saturday night, in what sounds like one of the most insane gigs of the year and certainly in the US festival’s lifetime.
Billed on the lineup with “Friends”, Skrillex roped in a huge guest-list that would put even Dave Grohl and Kimbra to shame, a roster that crossed over all manner of genres and periods in a three-hour set that didn’t wrap ’til 3:30am.
The rotating collection of guests joining the EDM linchpin on stage included the aforementioned Warpaint and A$AP Ferg, along with The Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, Janelle Monáe, Damian Marley, ‘Shake Ya Ass’ rapper Mystikal, Cage The Elephant’s Matt Shultz, and a surprise appearance from Ms. Lauryn Hill, as Billboard details.
“I wouldn’t even call this a live band. It’s like… some alien race of music.”With a backing band that featured virtuoso bassist Thundercat, the Big Gigantic horn section, and Zedd, Skrillex and his Superjam accomplices worked through about three to four songs a guest, with most of the setlist consisting of amped-up covers and genre-bending experimentation.
A fully recovered Monáe tackled Michael Jackson’s ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ and James Brown’s ‘I Feel Good’; Warpaint performed unlikely renditions of Technotronic’s ‘Pump Up The Jam’ and David Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’; A$AP Ferg performed Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Juicy’, and his own singles ‘Work’, ‘Shappa’ and A$AP Rocky collab ‘Wild For The Night, and Damien Marley performing ‘Welcome To Jam Rock’ and his father’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up’.
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All the while, according to Billboard, “Skrillex would inflect the songs with his standard bass drops and screeching electronics, but the producer was often giddily manning the table or a guitar, and letting his friends do their thing.”
Mystikal surprised festival-goers by giving unannounced turns of ‘Bouncin’ Back’ and ‘Shake Ya Ass’. Lauryn Hill was another unscheduled guest, taking to the stage with Skrillex a few hours after her own set, ending the show with a set that included Bob Marley & The Wailers classic ‘Jamming’, her solo number ‘Lost Ones’, and The Fugees hit ‘Ready Or Not’.
Billboard notes the highlight of the performance was Krieger noodled through signature Doors song ‘Break On Through (To The Other Side)’ alongside Cage The Elephant vocalist Matt Shultz and a de-spectacled, guitar-playing Skrillex. “It’s been years since I actually played with a live band,” he told the audience. “I wouldn’t even call this a live band. It’s like… some alien race of music.”
A few scant clips of Skrillex’s Bonnarroo 2014 performance have surfaced on the net, offering a minute or so’s worth of the insanity, but there’s still 179 more minutes of ‘Superjam’ goodness that we haven’t seen – hopefully someone captured the whole thing on more than just shaky mobile phone footage.
Mystikal & Damian Marley – ‘Bouncin’ Back’
Warpaint – ‘Pump Up The Jam’
A$AP Ferg – ‘Work’
