City Beat: Kanye West gets a do-over at Bonnaroo

photo Kanye West was announced as one of the headliners of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this year.

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival lineup was announced last week. While I was not at first impressed, when I sat down with a yellow marker to highlight acts I want to see, it might be the best schedule yet from top to bottom. What's interesting is that it was the headliners who caused more head-scratching than the so-called undercard this time around. Sound familiar?

In case you missed it, the four main headliners are Elton John, Kanye West, Jack White and Lionel Richie. Richie surprised me, but West seemed to stun a lot of people. He was there in 2008 and angered thousands of people by not taking the stage until 4:45 in the morning. He was supposed to go on at 2:45 and had an elaborate glow-in-the-dark stage show. He was delayed because Pearl Jam played well over their scheduled time, and West refused to go on until everything was just right. People were not happy, and since much of the show took place after the sun came up, the light show kinda fizzled.

Anyway, my guess is he and Bonnaroo want a chance at redemption, and I predict it will be a show to remember.

The one thing about this lineup for me is that there isn't one bucket-list act on it. John very likely is that person for a lot of people, however. In fact, Bonnaroo released the most-liked acts shortly after the lineup was announced, and Sir Elton topped the list. Arctic Monkeys, Jack White, Cage the Elephant, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Skillrex, The Avett Brothers, Cake and The Flaming Lips rounded out the Top 10 in order.

West was 11 and Richie was 16, one in front of Fitz & The Tantrums.

¦ File under duh: If you have a new digital TV, and even if you have cable or satellite, the chances are very good that you can plug an old fashioned antenna into it, find channel scan in your menu listing and, depending on your reception, receive most or all of the over-the-air channels that appear in the TV guide. They are the ones with decimal points: 3.1, 3.2, 9.1 etc. You don't need to buy a converter box because the new TVs are digital.

The best part, of course, is these channels are free, but the other cool thing is that "Soul Train" looks and sounds good in high definition.

¦ Unsolicited etiquette tip: A single diner choosing a table for four in a crowded restaurant when a two-top is available is not cool.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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