Lineup: Tame Impala/Hozier/Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals/King Princess/Denzel Curry/Pile/Many more artists/comedians that I didn't watch
Venue: Harvard Athletic Complex, Allston, MA
Pile: The day started off with a pretty pleasant surprise. I found the little bit of Pile's studio material that I heard leading up to this show to be way too stoic for my tastes. Live, vocalist Rick Maguire, who reminded me of a less nasally version of Paul Banks from Interpol on record, sounded significantly more passionate and the instrumentation was a nice mix of traditional somber indie atmospherics, muddy noise rock and pure, old-school punk. There was even a couple of full on post-hardcore songs that were angsty enough to start pits and fully capture my aggressive-music loving heart. Definitely going to have to give their new record Green and Gray another chance after this solid performance.
Denzel Curry: There aren't many artists that are better suited to get you back into the swing of things after a long layoff at a festival (Pile had wrapped up almost three hours earlier) than Denzel Curry. From the moment he stormed on stage following the drop of the beat to the thumping title track from his upcoming album Zuu, Curry seemed hellbent on raising the pulses of everyone that was there to see him. With the help of a setlist that emphasized his more aggressive material and cuts from Zuu-which seems like it's going to be the closest thing he's made to a traditional trap record thus far, that mission ended up being a huge success. The crowd absorbed and reciprocated all of the energy Curry was omitting with his frenzied rapping and stage presence. There was only a few songs out of the nearly 20 he performed that weren't met with dancing, furious jumping up-and-down or moshing. Clearly it wasn't quite as wild as one of his headlining shows, but getting a legitimately rowdy response at a festival -especially in the middle of the day- is a very impressive accomplishment and says a lot about just how great of a performer/artist Curry already is at the age of 24.
King Princess: Only caught the first six songs of her set before heading over to the Main Stage to see Anderson. Paak, but what I did hear was pretty damn good. Over the roughly 25 minutes I watched her play, it became evident how she was able to amass a rabid following so quickly. Her voice is strong, there's prominent rock undertones that helps distinguish her from other young, somber synthpop artists and her deeply personal lyrics have allowed her to establish a deep emotional connection with her audience-particularly in the LGBTQ community. Her upcoming full-length debut has a ton of potential and I'm looking forward to checking it out when it releases later this year.
Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals: An alarmingly quiet sound mix for the first chunk of the set wasn't enough to bring down the infectious spirit of Anderson. Paak and his terrific backing band The Free Nationals. Their unique blend of R&B, soul, funk and hip-hop made for a joyous set that radiated positive energy from start to finish. Paak also deserves major props for incorporating Lil Nas X's cameo performance of "Old Town Road" into his show. He could've easily told the promoters to pound sand when they asked him to carve out 5 minutes of his set for a last minute "surprise" appearance, but his graciousness made for a really cool and hilarious moment. If the sound wasn't ass for such a sustained period of time, this might've ended up being the set of the day.
Hozier: Ireland's most prolific blues rock export RULES live. Hozier's show is about as stripped-down as something in this massive setting can possibly be (lighting largely consists of normal spotlights, minimal effects on the video screen), but that doesn't prevent him and his immensely talented band from being a haunting force of nature. There were several occasions during the set ("Arsonist's Lullabye", "No Plan", "Movement","Jackie and Wilson", "Someone New") where his soulful crooning even managed to generate legit goosebumps-which is the ultimate sign that you're in the presence of singing royalty. Seeing elite vocalists perform is one of the greatest delights live music can possibly deliver and Hozier is without question among the finest I've ever seen.
Tame Impala: Knowing your audience is often vital to achieving success in the entertainment industry. Tame Impala understands their fanbase so well that it borders on being comical. A backdrop of vibrant colored lights and trippy imagery (ex: Kevin Parker turning into a monster with laser beam eyes during "Elephant", his face slowly disappearing and reappearing behind a kaleidoscope-esque visual palette during "New Person, Same Old Mistakes") set the mood as Parker and co. delivered roughly 90 minutes of woozy guitar grooves, funky synths and mesmerizing spacey vibes. It was akin to being dropped into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory while an impromptu rave was taking place. I've truly never seen experienced a sheer sensory overload like this before and anybody who was under the influence of psychedelic drugs during this more than likely had themselves a life-altering experience.
Grades:
Pile: B
Denzel Curry: A-
King Princess: B
Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals: B+
Hozier: A-
Tame Impala: A-
Setlists:
Denzel Curry (order may be a bit off):
Zuu
Ultimate
Switch It Up
Ricky
Black Balloons
Aloha (Charlie Heat cover)
This Life
Sirens
Super Saiyan Superman
Black Balloons Reprise (Flying Lotus cover)
Bulls on Parade (Rage Against the Machine cover)
Clout Cobain
ULT
Speedboat
Automatic
Vengeance
Percs
Sumo
King Princess included:
Talia (opener)
Upper West Side
Untitled New Song
Pussy is God
Anderson. Paak and the Free Nationals:
Heart Don't Stand a Chance
Saviers Road
Come Down
Tints
King James
6 Summers
Glowed Up (Kaytandra cover)
Ron Avant Keyboard Solo/Vocoder Interlude (Ginuwine's "Pony"/Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road")
Old Town Road (w/Lil Nas X)
Make It Better
Suede (NxWorries cover)
Bubblin'
Milk N' Honey
Come Home
Encore:
Am I Wrong
Lite Weight
Dang! (Mac Miller cover)
Hozier:
Would That I
Dinner & Diatribes
Nina Cried Power
Someone New
Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene
Nobody
From Eden
Work Song
Arsonist's Lullabye
No Plan
To Be None
Almost (Sweet Music)
Jackie and Wilson
Moment's Silence (Common Tongue)
Movement
Take Me to Church
Tame Impala:
Let It Happen
Patience
The Moment
Mind Mischief
Nangs
Elephant
Love/Paranoia
The Less I Know the Better
Yes I'm Changing
Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?
Eventually
Borderline
Apocalypse Dreams
Encore:
Feel Like We Only Go Backwards
New Person, Same Old Mistakes
No comments:
Post a Comment