RAC
You may know RAC for his remixes, and, as such, he opened the set with 3 of his best. The likes of Two Door Cinema Club ("Something Good Can Work"), The Temper Trap ("Sweet Disposition") and Lana Del Rey ("Blue Jeans") filled the air in extra-poppy editions. Just when the crowd seemed to be wondering if the group had any original songs at all, bandleader André Anjos proved his worth by breaking into the refreshingly guitar-driven "Tear You Down".
Anjos provided a bit of band trivia by informing the crowd that he had actually proposed to his wife in this very park. His wife - stationed over on keyboard - clarified that she had, of course, said yes. It was one of the only crowd interactions of their set, but it was a fun reminder of the humanity of this remix machine.
Perhaps the highlight was crowd favorite "Cheap Sunglasses", featuring up-and-coming pop singer Matthew Koma. By the time its opening keyboard notes floated through the crowd, however, the absence of a lead singer was becoming painfully obvious. Each band member had wonderful instrumental performances, but hearing prerecorded vocals on every track got a little odd after a while. When the band's name stands for "Remix Artist Collective", though, it's kind of to be expected.
Future Islands
It was back to the main stage for synth-pop giants Future Islands. Though we elected for a spot to lay outside of the crowd, the beachy melodies of the band made a hell of an impression even from afar.
Though we only stayed for a short amount of time, we danced with our bad selves to "Seasons (Waiting On You)" like our lives depended on it. It was a fun surprise to hear post-hardcore influences in the form of a few songs featuring screamed melodies at a festival otherwise buoyed by safe pop-rock and fun dance beats.
Yo La Tengo
A good friend of mine by the name of Ryan has championed Yo La Tengo to me for years. So, when they were announced as Kelis' replacement on the lineup, I made sure to make room in my schedule for them. After hearing a few of their songs, I actually decided to leave Future Islands early in order to get the best spot possible for them. They had actually become one of my most anticipated acts solely due to my unfamiliarity with them; I had never seen a true "jam-rock" show prior to this. So I had high hopes and an open mind going into the 30-year-veteran act's set.
Unfortunately (I'm so sorry Ryan), Yo La Tengo ended up as my biggest disappointment of the weekend. However, I have to admit that it was entirely my fault that they disappointed. While they opened with my favorite song by theirs ("Mr. Tough"), the entire rest of the set was comprised of songs I didn't know and extended jam seshes. After about 10 minutes of one jam showered in distorted bass and screeching guitar, I found myself checking my watch only to see that we weren't even halfway through.
That said, even though the music wasn't quite my cup of tea, by god were they talented. And I mean talented. Each member of the three piece played each instrument and several pieces of percussion, and they played each one well. Lead singer Ira Kaplan in particular showed his guitar prowess during the extended jams, playing each note with the passion that only such a seasoned rocker can. Though by the latter half of the set I was waiting for the final note, I remained impressed the entire time with the sheer talent being displayed on the stage. Though I don't know that I'd go to a Yo La Tengo show on my own, they certainly left me inspired to pick up the guitar again.
Oh, and did I mention that they're all over 50? I cannot stress this enough - Yo La Tengo was probably the single most musically impressive act of the festival, despite not quite being what I expected genre-wise. Perhaps going into their set only knowing them for latin-tinged songs like "Mr. Tough" was a bad idea.
I'll continue shortly with the final acts of day one, Cake and Arctic Monkeys!
No comments:
Post a Comment