Lineup: Jack White/Queens of the Stone Age/St. Vincent/Royal Blood/Daniel Caesar/The Menzingers/Lillie Mae/Several others including Tyler, the Creator, Brockhampton and Manchester Orchestra
Venue: Harvard Athletic Complex, Allston, MA
Lillie Mae: Pure country/folk isn't my thing, but Lillie Mae's decision to close out her set with an 8-minute hoedown that featured multiple fiddle solos is an all-time flex move that I immensely respect.
The Menzingers: This festival served as the introduction to The Menzingers that I've somehow managed to avoid since they dropped their widely-acclaimed third LP On the Impossible Past back in 2012. While they're not an act I can see myself listening to with any degree of regularity, I get why they're arguably the most beloved midlife crisis punk band on the planet right now. With their sincere emotion, amusing stage banter and collection of relatively catchy songs, the Pennsylvania-based quartet made for a nice, early afternoon diversion.
Daniel Caesar: While watching Daniel Caesar play, I couldn't shake the feeling that he'd arrived in 2018 via a wormhole. The 23-year Toronto native's smooth voice, lush, guitar-driven instrumentals and romantic lyrics are straight out of the early R&B/soul playbook. Sadly, Caesar couldn't parlay his distinct nostalgic vibe and considerable vocal talent into a memorable performance. After the first couple of songs, everything began to bleed together and that lack of variety ended up making his set kind of a slog to sit through.
Royal Blood: After sitting with relative indifference through the first few hours of the festival, the block of artists that I came to see to play had finally arrived. Royal Blood made that wait worth it with an energetic set that showcased the riff-driven joys the British hard rock duo have delivered in spades during their relatively brief career thus far. The straightforward catchy grooves their songs are built around sound absolutely massive in person and their tightness as a unit is pretty impressive. Special shoutout to vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr for soldiering through the final quarter of the set after he clearly sustained a foot or ankle injury following a jump off the stack amps.
St. Vincent: Annie Clark is a mad genius. Her absurd vocal range, commanding stage presence, bizarre video backdrops and occasional bold rearrangements of her songs (ex: tropical guitar on "Rattlesnake", upbeat synths on "Slow Disco") resulted in a mesmerizing show that only got better as it went along. Even with the greatness that hit the stage after her set, this beautiful, eccentric display of virtuoso musicianship managed to be the day's undisputed top highlight.
Queens of the Stone Age: I've voiced my dissatisfaction with the recent output of Queens of the Stone ad nauseam over the past several years, so I was pretty fucking shocked that I ended up really enjoying their live show. The combination of thunderous riffs, stoner weirdness and vintage rockstar attitude that made them such a uniquely destructive force in the late 90's to mid 2000's was present during every moment of their hit-filled 75-minute set. I left their performance with a big smile and an overwhelming sense of regret that my stubborn ass emphatically passed on multiple opportunities to see them over the past five years.
Jack White: As strong as his dense studio catalog is, the live environment brings out the best in Jack White. The spontaneity that this setting allows for gives White the opportunity to tap into his blues/jazz/punk roots, which makes his shows an authentic, fun as all hell throwback to the days where talented people got together and created music on the fly. Being on a stage with several other gifted musicians grants him the freedom to improvise with each composition in interesting ways without completely disregarding the feel of the original studio track while also beefing up the rawness that has made him one of the most influential figures in rock music over the past 15-20 years. It was abundantly clear that this simple sense of freewheeling adventure is why he feel in love with music and it made his set a triumphant, joyous finale for the incredible stretch of performances that closed out the middle day of this year's Boston Calling.
Stray Observations:
-Jack White's guitar tone belongs in the Louvre.
-Despite the fact it was over 90 degrees and sunny when he was on stage, Daniel Caesar still felt compelled to wear a hoodie on stage. I guess Canadians are actually coldblooded.
-Josh Homme didn't kick any fans in the head! #progress
-Most WTF-inducing festival moment of the day: A 50-something couple that looked like Sons of Anarchy extras carrying folded up Razor scooters during Queens of the Stone Age's set.
-Boston Calling doesn't get enough credit for how well run it is. Nearly every set starts on time, the grounds are easy to navigate, there's good sightlines at every stage and just about every small issue from last year's festival (long entry/concession lines, PA issues on the main stage) were solved this year. If this level of near-universal proficiency continues, this festival is going to be on a Coachella/Bonaroo/Lollapalloza level in no time at all.
Scores:
Lillie Mae: C
The Menzingers: B-
Daniel Caesar: C+
Royal Blood: B+
St. Vincent: A
Queens of the Stone Age: A-
Jack White: A-
Setlists:
The Menzingers:
Tellin' Lies
Good Things
House on Fire
The Obituaries
Thick as Thieves
After the Party
In Remission
Your Wild Years
Burn After Writing
Lookers
I Don't Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore
Daniel Caesar included:
Japanese Denim (opener)
Hold Me Down
Best Part
Royal Blood:
Figure It Out
Where Are You Now?
Lights Out
I Only Lie When I Love You
Little Monster
Come on Over
You Can Be So Cruel
Hook, Line & Sinker
Loose Change
Out of the Black
St.Vincent:
Sugarboy
Los Ageless
Pills
New York
Savior
Masseduction
Huey Newton
Year of the Tiger
Marrow
Cruel
Cheerleader
Digital Witness
Rattlesnake
Young Lover
Fear the Future
Slow Disco
Queens of the Stone Age:
You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire
No One Knows
Feet Don't Fail Me
The Way You Used to Do
Smooth Sailing
In My Head
My God is the Sun
The Evil Has Landed
Make It Wit Chu
Sick, Sick, Sick
I Sat By the Ocean
Domesticated Animals
Little Sister
Go With the Flow
A Song for the Dead
Jack White:
Over and Over and Over
Lazaretto
Wasting My Time (The White Stripes cover)
Corporation
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes cover)
Love Interruption
Hello Operator (The White Stripes cover)
I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather cover)
Black Math (The White Stripes cover)
Steady as She Goes (The Raconteurs cover)
Freedom at 21
The Hardest Button to Button (The White Stripes cover)
Connected by Love
Encore:
Little Bird (The White Stripes cover)
I'm Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes cover)
Ice Station Zebra
Why Walk a Dog?
Sixteen Saltines
When I Hear My Name (The White Stripes cover)
Blunderbuss
That Black Bat Licorice
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes cover)
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes cover)
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