With the final day of the festival finally upon us, my friends and I did our best to savor the final shows. Smith Westerns kicked off the day with an enjoyable set that featured Dye It Blonde favorites “Weekend‰” and “All Die Young.‰” Singer Cullen Omori succinctly addressed the crowd, “If you didn‰’t like this set, fuck you.‰” Meanwhile, Mavis Staples offered a show perfect for a Sunday afternoon, as she and her terrific backing band took the crowd to church with classics such as “I‰’ll Take You There‰” and “For What It‰’s Worth.‰”

I soon moved to the This Tent for back-to-back sets by Black Dub and Cold War Kids. Led by famed producer Daniel Lanois, Black Dub laid down groove after groove, while also boasting the terrific vocals of Trixie Whitley. Following a fairly slow-tempo show, Cold War Kids delivered a lively performance that featured a healthy mix of material from their three albums. While older tunes such as “Hang Me Up To Dry‰” and “Hospital Beds‰” are still their best material, new songs “Royal Blue‰” and “Bulldozer‰” were immediate crowd pleasers.

However, the night’s headliners, the Strokes, were as disinterested as the Cold War Kids were passionate. Don‰’t get me wrong ‰ÛÒ the band’s sound was incredibly tight, and it‰’s hard not to have fun listening to “Reptilia‰” or “Hard To Explain.‰” Still, the band was fairly stationary, and Julian Casablancas made multiple comments that made it seem like he‰’d rather be at the nearby Beirut show than actually performing. As for serving as a conclusion to Bonnaroo, The Strokes were entertaining if not a bit anticlimactic.

Terrible heat and crowds notwithstanding, this was as perfect of a weekend as I can imagine. Whether it‰’s Bonnaroo or another weekend of music, if you have the opportunity to attend a major music festival, do yourself a favor and go.