The summer music festival season offically kicks off at Merriweather
Though not the first small, single day festival held at Merriweather Post Pavilion, it was the first Sweetlife Festival, I believe named after the local salad-specialty restaurant, Sweetgreen. With a much smaller line up and a relatively inexpensive ticket price, Sweetlife featured about a ten bands all of which played on the main state at Merriweather, guaranteeing that patrons could see every band in the lineup but leaving them to sit through whatever was up next.
I had some trouble with my car keys in the early afternoon and the additional logistical wrangling caused our group to arrive at the venue later than expected. So by the time we arrived, we had already missed nearly half the acts of the day, including several that I did not really care to see anyway such as Modern Man, U.S. Royalty, Walk the Moon, and Theophilus London, as well as a few that I would have liked to see including Ra Ra Riot and the majority of Cold War Kids, the latter of which we only arrived for the tail end of their set. However, it had been raining most of the afternoon and it was still coming down at a good clip when we arrived, so it wasn’t terrible to have to stay out of the rain a little while longer. It was tolerable with a rain jacket, but even sitting on a blanket, it was impossible to prevent one’s ass from getting damp. I lamented not buying VIP tickets underneath the pavilion.
The first act we saw in its entirety was the indie electronic Crystal Castles, with a fun, danceable set to start the day off. The female lead singer was quite a site as well. It was clear she was excited to be playing such as large crowd, taking swigs from a fifth of bourbon and screaming at the top of her lungs. However, judging from the fact that she had a broken foot, which I heard was caused by her failed attempt to stage dive at a previous event, perhaps her demeanor had little to do with the crowd.
Following was Lupe Fiasco, performing what I would dub pretty mainstream and uninteresting hip hop (though I’m no connoisseur of the genre). I still can’t decide if I love or hate his new song which utilizes for its hook the notes from the chorus of Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” While I’m happy to hear the ditty in a new context for a new audience, it’s always disappointing to hear the bastardization of a song that you love so much. However, I was sure that I thoroughly hated his long, nonsensical political rant towards the end of his set.
The sun had not quite yet gone down as mash-up master Girl Talk hit the stage. Though I’m still disappointed that I have not seen Girl Talk in a club atmosphere, being treated to his live performances in a festival setting is still without disappointment. More so than anything thus far, the whole crowd was moving and singing along to his various samples.
Garage rock revival indie gods The Strokes were the final act of the night. While I certainly consider them an act to see for posterity, I’ve never been a huge fan. Nonetheless, it was a solid set and I realized how prolific their music is after over a decade together.
No comments:
Post a Comment