Governors Ball NYC Music Festival, Randall’s Island, New York , New York

East River music festival

We entered the festival on Randall’s Island, situated in middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens, on a bright, warm Sunday afternoon. We arrived as The Jezabels, one of the first bands of the day, were onstage but didn’t venture close to the stage until Queens, New York based Freelance Whales. I’m a fan of their debut album, Weathervanes, but wasn’t blown away the last time that I saw them live; I believe at Bonnaroo. However, afternoon sets on hot days at festivals are tough to play and it’s rare that I’ll be blown away. It was pretty much the same experience again. Enjoyable way to start out the day though.

Governors Ball was set up like many other festivals, with two stages and no overlapping sets. We spent the next several hours wandering from stage to stage. For most of the afternoon, we had fleeting interest in the bands and often watched most acts, including Phantogram, The Cults, Devendra Banhart, Built to Spill, and Cage the Elephant from a distance. Sometimes, we just sat off to the side in the shade, at other times we were a little closer in the sun. All were entertaining but none made a particularly large impact.

Explosions in the Sky was the first act of the day that we were really excited to see, so after Cage the Elephant ended, we slid up as close as possible, only a few rows from the stage; it was a great spot. The experience was vastly improved compared to the last time that we saw them, sitting on the lawn at Merriweather amongst various groups of people who weren’t too into the music. This time around was completely different, surrounded by people who also sacrificed seeing any of Fiona Apple in order to get up close. Explosions in the Sky played for a little over an hour, which only consisted of a half dozen long, hard hitting songs. Having a better vantage point allowed us to really hear and feel the build ups and crescendos in the music. And they certainly picked a set from their long repertoire that accentuated that point. Plus, since we were in the middle up close, we were listening to the stage speakers instead of the large stadium speakers on the side. It made everything sound really crisp and clean. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

Explosions in the Sky Setlist:

Catastrophe and the Cure

Postcard From 1952

The Birth and Death of the Day

Your Hand in Mine

Let Me Back In

The Only Moment We Were Alone

After Explosions in the Sky wrapped up their set, we rushed over to the other stage so I could round out my week with a second night of Modest Mouse. They only played five of the same songs that they played on Thursday night at the 9:30 Club. However, because it was a festival set, they did not play for quite as long either, only 14 songs instead of 19. Their set included a pair of songs from their debut album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996), only one song from The Lonesome Crowded West (1997), once again three songs from The Moon & Antarctica (2000),an extra songs from the smash album Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004), again stuck with three songs from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007), and only one unreleased song.

We were a little further back than I was on Thursday’s show at 9:30 Club, but still pretty close considering that we had to rush over from the very front of Explosions in the Sky. We could certainly see and hear quite well. Isaac Brock was his usual confusing, manic self, complimenting the crowd only by comparing his enjoyment of us to the disdain he felt for the Metallica fans at their Orion Festival the previous evening. Even if a little confused by his comments, the crowd was chanting for more as their set ended. Being a festival, the request could not be honored. Again a fun show as far as I was concerned, with lots of energy and movement on my part. Furthermore, now that the sun had set, it was a much more comfortable evening than a sweaty night at 930 Club.

Modest Mouse Setlist:

Paper Thin Walls

Bury Me With It

Fire It Up

Dashboard

Heart of Mine

Custom Concern

Satin in a Coffin

Bukowski

Gravity Rides Everything

The View

Dramamine

Shit Luck

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

Missed the Boat

We finished up with Modest Mouse and made our exit. It was Sunday and I had very early train, so I was not too interested in staying to seeing the main headliner of the evening, Beck. Even if only for Explosions in the Sky and Modest Mouse, the festival was well worth it.