FESTIVAL REVIEW: The Top 10 Performances of Governor's Ball

So you may remember that back in April I released my Top 10 Music Festival Power Rankings. Number 6 on that list was Governor's Ball, which at the time I didn't even consider attending. My heart was set on Lolla, and I figured Gov Ball would be an instant sell out. Much to my good fortune, the 45,000 capacity festival took a bit longer to generate sales than expected, and some friends and I ended up with some three day passes for a semi-spontaneous trip to NYC.

Taking place on Randall's Island, Gov Ball featured 4 stages and over 60 bands. There didn't seem to be one main music genre, satisfying the wide variety of fans in attendance. Some positives of the festival was an easy to navigate layout, plenty of food and drink options, as well as a city backdrop offering plenty of post-festival entertainment.

Some negatives - much like NYC in general, it's tough to get anywhere. Entering the festival from Manhattan required a lengthy mile long walk across the Robert Kennedy Bridge. Also, this festival clearly comes with a New York City price. Food and beverages were NOT cheap inside.

But ignore the ancillary characteristics, this is about the MUSIC. Here are the bands I was able to catch this past weekend: Phoenix, Outkast, Damon Albarn, Hunter Hunted, Tanlines, Fitz and the Tantrums, Broken Bells, The Naked and Famous, The Strokes, Jack White, Bleachers, Frank Turner, The Head and the Heart, Foster the People, Empire of the Sun, and Vampire Weekend. 

And now I present my Top 10:


#10. Bleachers 

Getting the day started on Sunday was the new project from Jack Antonoff, former guitarist of Fun. You can tell Jack is a seasoned performer, as he had great stage presence appearing as a friendly frontman, but also surprisingly shredding on the guitar. He even joked with the audience how impressed he was with the turnout despite the band only releasing two songs so far.

Despite the lack of knowledge on the bands material, the audience was still entertained. Both released Bleachers songs - "I Wanna Get Better" and "Shadow" are excellent. They also threw in a nice Tom Petty cover of "Don't Come Around Here No More." The Bleachers debut album is due of July 15th, and I anticipate it will receive solid radio play all summer long.


#9. Outkast

This is the first of three bands that also appeared on my top 10 list for Big Guava Fest, taking place in Tampa, FL last month. I rated Outkast number 2 overall at Guava, as they really did put on a top notch performance. If I hadn't seen Outkast in Tampa they may have been just as high on this list. But since the feeling of seeing them for the first time was gone, the effect of the ATLiens wasn't the same.

Like myself, so many festival goers will be seeing multiple Outkast shows this summer, so my personal opinion is that they should mix up the setlists a bit. The Gov Ball show was a song for song, move for move identical twin to the Guava show. It was fun, but there were no surprises, and Andre 3000 didn't seem to have the same pep in his step as he did in Tampa. Still though...worthy of a top 10 placement.


#8. Foster the People

Another Guava band also on the GovBall lineup, Marc Foster and Company proved to be very enjoyable, even for the casual onlookers that may only know one or two Foster songs. Marc himself is a solid frontman, playing multiple instruments and using the entire stage while singing and dancing. He commented multiple times on the energy and spirit of the New York crowd, and you could tell he was enjoying himself.

Foster mainly played tunes off their new album - Supermodel. Their recent single, "Best Friends," should begin dominating radio waves soon. They also didn't forget about all their best tunes from superb debut album Torches. ("Call It What You Want," "Houdini," "Helena Beat") The group actually received some instrumental help from Spencer Ludwig of Capital Cities, which was a nice added bonus.


#7. Phoenix

I missed seeing this alternative favorite at Lolla last year, so was happy to have the chance to see them at Gov Ball. The rock band from France had a huge crowd for their Friday evening set as much of the audience was staging their spot for Outkast. Phoenix performed an excellent 90 minute set, heavy on hits from their most successful album - 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus.

The crowd went nuts for hits "1901" and "Liztomania." One of the coolest moments of the weekend was seeing lead singer Thomas Mars jumped off stage and hopped the railing into the crowd. He then crowd surfed an impressive distance and stood up on the hands of all the screaming fans to close the set.

#6. Frank Turner

I'm a bit biased as Frank is one of my favorites, but this is absolutely deserved. Frank Turner put together an absolute poetic combination of punk rock and folk for an excellent Sunday afternoon set. Frank mainly highlighted material off his most recent album - Tape, Deck Heart.

Some highlights were a rowdy "Plain Sailing Weather," a 'crescendo' version of "If Ever I Stray," a passionate "I Still Believe" and a sing-a-long "Recovery" that Frank actually had the crowd doing jumping jacks too while singing the chorus. Overall, Frank Turner is simply a rock star that actually seems genuine on stage. I love this guy.


#5. The Strokes

One of the most unique things about GovBall was that they nabbed The Strokes, who rarely play live anymore. The Strokes themselves come from New York, and even though they played a Saturday evening slot vs. a headlining set, they were clearly the band to see this weekend. I saw more Strokes t-shirts than any other band combined.

Fans in NYC have waited over 3 years to see The Strokes, during which time the band released a full length album but never toured to promote it. Fans were rewarded on Saturday though with a very satisfying performance. Julian Casablancas and the four other members performed an impressive 18 songs, heavy on material from the bands first two albums, which are highly regarded as the groups strongest.

Highlights included "Barely Legal" to open, "Heart in a Cage," "You Only Live Once," "Last Night" to close, and an encore of "New York City Cops." One thing I would have likes to have seen more is some audience interaction from the guys. The crowd obviously loved them, but the band members didn't seem to be having much fun playing. I like seeing emotion in performances. How about a thank you to NYC or a welcome back? It's a pet peeve but not a huge deal. At the end of the day it was just cool to hear some Strokes songs live.


#4. Vampire Weekend

Much like Outkast, Vampire Weekend put together a show very similar to their performance at Big Guava last month. They slightly altered the setlist. But the big difference was that this time Vampire was playing in front of their hometown crowd in NYC.

The group remarked on how special it was for them to be playing back in the city, and their placement as the final Sunday headliner seemed very fitting. The four piece group played songs from all three of their albums, but concentrated on their Grammy winning Modern Vampires of the City. This album alone is a recipe for success. The crowd danced around for all 90 minutes and were properly left with perennial closer "Walcott" as the final song of the festival.

#3. Fitz & the Tantrums

This one really caught me by surprise! I've seen Fitz & the Tantrums before, but have yet to see a performance like this. The indie-meets-R&B/soul group killed it Saturday afternoon in a 13 song set at the Big Apple Stage.

For those that don't know the band, Fitz has always received critical acclaim. Their debut album Pickin' Up the Pieces is phenomenal, and their follow up album, More Than Just a Dream has already produced two No. 1 singles on the US Alt Rock chart. ("Out of My League" and "The Walker") Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs used this momentum to create outstanding energy. They're also backed by a very talented band. Check these guys out!

#2. Empire of the Sun

Closing out the Gotham tent Sunday night was Empire of the Sun. The crowd for this Australian band spilled out from the tent, going deep into the lawn of the crowd awaiting Vampire Weekend. I sneaked my way into the very back corner of the tent and was not prepared for the performance I was about to take in.

Empire of the Sun is not a concert, it is a production. Lead Singer Luke Steele was dressed like an alien Egyptian, and the backing band all followed the same theme. There were professional dancers in equally crazy costumes and tentacle arms, and the lights to correspond with the music was ridiculous.

Empire is a electronic band, but they don't feel like other EDM acts from the festival. The duo played on the drums and guitar for the majority of the 13 song setlist. The loudest cheer of the set was for first single "Walking on a Dream." Empire threw in a bonus encore of "Alive," which was one of the best performed live songs of the weekend.


#1. Jack White

The crazy thing about seeing Jack White live is that you are essentially seeing three live bands. White started The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather. He has since released two solo albums, the latter of which, Lazaretto, actually hit stores yesterday.

Closing the main stage Saturday night, White led the crowd through 18 songs spanning his entire career. The beginning of his set was incredible. He opened with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" from The White Stripes, and went straight into two excellent new songs - self-titled "Lazaretto" and the ridiculous no-lyrics-needed "High Ball Stepper."

White touched on a few tunes from 2008's Grammy Album of the Year nominated Blunderbuss. Most notably - "Love Interruption," "Freedom at 21," and "Sixteen Saltines."

Raconteur's hit "Steady, As She Goes" also earned one of the largest ovations of the night.

The inevitable closer was White's best known song and one of the greatest rock songs of all time - "Seven Nation Army." It's always pretty wild hearing the audience chant along to a guitar riff, and this was the perfect example.

I've never seen a musician like White before absolutely murdering a guitar. I've been to rock shows, but this is an entirely different level. The Rolling Stone - named "Willy Wonka" of rock sure did deliver. Congrats to the winner of GovBall!




In conclusion, this was a great festival to attend. I won't guarantee a return next year, but a lineup of equal nature will definitely persuade me. I do see this as a festival that will continue to grow. You can't beat having a huge musical market like New York City as your backdrop.

Concert Review: Deer Tick at Crowbar

I was quite conflicted on the night of May 14th. Playing just a few hours north of Tampa was one of my favorite bands - Dawes. Unfortunately, they were only the opener on tour with Conor Oberst. And even more unfortunately, they were taking the stage at 8pm in downtown Orlando, which is quite the difficult drive to make from Tampa on a weekday night. The silver lining was that there was a respectable show going on that same night in Ybor - featuring a band by the name of Deer Tick.

I actually only know Deer Tick because of a side project lead singer John McCauley is part of. He actually has teamed up for a folk supergroup called Middle Brother with Dawes front man Taylor Goldsmith and Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit. (participant at GMF...review here)

Deer Tick formed in 2004 and has quite the following. Although not completely sold out, this was the most packed I've seen Crowbar for a show. The opening act was a very talented singer-songwriter, Langhorne Slim. He kept the crowd very entertained on this late night in Ybor. His current single, "The Way We Move," is excellent and is featured on an ESPN ad.



Following Langhorne, the five piece group from Providence, Rhode Island took the stage. They were on tour in support of their recent album, Negativity. Seeing Deer Tick at a small club like Crowbar was quite a treat, especially since this was their second show following a highly praised performance at the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.

Deer Tick highlighted songs from all five of their studio albums throughout the night. I was most excited for their tunes from their 2007 debut, entitled - War Elephant. If you haven't listened to these guys before, War Elephant is the album to check out. It combines country roots with a pleasant blues-rock sound.

The crowd at Crowbar was fortunate to hear some of the best tunes off War Elephant. Most notably - "Baltimore Blues No. 1," "These Old Shoes," and an acoustic version of "Dirty Dishes." Deer Tick also played War Elephant opener and crowd favorite "Ashamed" as the final song of the night.

Other highlights included "Main Street,"off of 4th studio album, Divine Providence, as well as their most recent single, "The Dream's in the Ditch." I must also give credit to crowd pleaser - "The Bump," which was very entertaining to watch. Check out a live example here.

In total, it was a pleasant night of music at Crowbar. The one critique I have is that Deer Tick played for a bit too long. They came on stage around 11:30pm and were still playing at 1:20am. I'm usually not a guy to complain about a band playing too long, but this one seemed a bit late for a Wednesday night. Regardless though, it was a worthwhile time.

Concert Rating: 2.5 Stars

Concert Review: Old Crow Medicine Show

You may not realize it, but I guarantee you know the band - Old Crow Medicine Show. The string band / country / alternative / blue-grass / folk group from Nashville, Tennessee rolled into Jannus last week for their first ever concert in St. Pete. And the wait for fans of the group was well worth it!

Old Crow hit the stage right around 9pm, following the support of opener - Black Lillies. The seven man group attracted a fairly large crowd to Jannus, but the venue was not completely sold out. OCMS has released four studio albums since their inception in 2000, so have built a solid following. I am most familiar with them from their railroad revival tour, where they toured the states by train, opening up for Mumford and Sons. (For any fan of these bands, check out Big Easy Express.)

The Nashville boys wasted no time getting to work as the show started promptly at nine and jumped into fan favorite, "Alabama High Test," early in the set. This tune gives you a fair overview of the band, balancing multiple vocal harmonies with foot-stomping ferocity.

The group is mainly led by Ketch Secor, who did most of the talking in between songs. He is the lead vocalist but it felt as though all members of the group made their contributions throughout the night. In fact, one of the main reasons OCMS were so enjoyable to watch was simply the size of the band. At all times, there were 7 band members on stage. (Sometimes even more when opening acts joined in) The members showed great versatility, often changing instruments each song. With banjos, fiddles, and upright basses, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to be bored watching this act.

Of course the song that OCMS is most well known for is bar-anthem "Wagon Wheel." Yes, although country star Darius Rucker won a Grammy for this single, it was Old Crow that originally recorded it after Bob Dylan handed off some unfinished lyrics to the guys. They were never able to get it to a top 40 radio hit, but it's still a pleasure to hear live.

Unsurprisingly, "Wagon Wheel" was the largest sing-a-long of the night. This was by no means though a one hit wonder show. The crowd sang proudly throughout the concert, most prevalent on "We Don't Grow Tobacco" and "CC Rider."

Another one of the highlights on the night was "Methamphetamine," a crowd pleaser that tells the story of poverty alleviated by the horrors of meth trade. This song is highlighted by a wailing harmonica and sounds like it belongs on a video compilation for "Breaking Bad."

The final jam of the set had Secor introduce the band. Each member played a solo snippet and a quick one liner from assorted OCMS songs. The front man was the last introduced before playing a few lines of "Tell It To Me" to close out the set.

Old Crow didn't even bother exiting the stage at the end of the set, as the hyped up crowd was certainly ready for an encore. The guys made some great choices. After speaking briefly about Florida, they went into John Anderson's "Seminole Wind." The very last song of the night was universally-loved "American Girl," the Tom Petty classic.

I knew Old Crow Medicine Show would be an entertaining group to see, but they impressed me even more than expected. They're a big band that is simply fun to watch. I feel I can relate this show most closely to the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's concert at Jannus last fall. Both shows featured large bands and their concerts flew somewhat under the radar not selling out. But both made it fully worthwhile for fans in attendance.

I sure was glad to be in attendance and I know everyone else at Jannus was too. I'm putting this in my Top 5 for 2014 so far.

CONCERT RATING: 4 Stars


*Poor Quality Video


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