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
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.
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
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
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.
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