It’s now officially been a week since this years Governors Ball, and I’m still trying to recuperate from it. For a few years now, Governors Ball has dominated the New York festival scene. And with Panorama popping up out of nowhere making direct competition, Gov Ball really had something to prove in 2016. Performances last weekend were some of the best festival sets I’d seen in years. Artists were determined to put on a show and we were blessed with many covers.
I kicked off my Friday with electronic band Bob Moses at the Bacardi House Stage. And man oh man was this the best way to start off the weekend. Bob Moses encapsulated everyone in the crowd, getting the audience to sway to the beat of their smooth and groovy music. Bands that go on before 5pm often have to try a lot harder to get everyone moving, but Bob Moses had no issue with this. Another stellar set from Friday was, of course, Jamie XX. I’m sure that doesn’t really surprise anyone though, has Jamie ever put on a bad show? I’d seen him perform at last years Bonnaroo, so for some reason I expected a similar set. I was wrong – I’m glad I was wrong. He played covers like “Don’t You Want Me” and “I’ll Take Care Of U”, along with some original favorites like “Gosh” and “Loud Places.”
I ended my Friday with The Strokes. Sorry Robyn, I really wanted to see you but I’m sure you understand. Opening with “The Modern Age,” The Strokes started with a bang – wasting no time in riling the crowd up. Then effortlessly going right into “Soma,” a song they hadn’t played since 2010 (well except for at that warm up show at Capitol Theatre, but I wasn’t there so….). Other songs they hadn’t played in a long time included “Clampdown” (The Clash cover), “Red Light,” and “Electricityscape” – which they dedicated to the passing of Brett Kilroe. They also played new songs “Drag Queen” and “Threat Of Joy”, reaffirming my love for the band.
On Saturday, The Killers obviously killed it, ha (sorry that was lame). Now the Killers are a band I haven’t listened to in quite a long time, but could still remember every lyric as they sang them. And as an added bonus, they covered Interpol’s “Obstacle 1.” Haim also made a memorable performance, but the stand out set on Saturday, for me, has to go to De La Soul. They engaged the crowd, they danced with us, and they pit us against each other (there was the party side, and the hip hop side. Obviously I was the on the party side). They even restarted a song three times before playing it in it’s entirety because photographers in the pit just refused to bounce their hands in the sky. De La proved themselves to be the hip hop legends that they are, but not that they needed to.
And lastly, as I’m sure you all heard, Sunday was canceled. Which is a shame because acts like Courtney Barnet, Vic Mensa, Prophets of Rage, Kanye West, and many others were scheduled to play. And I know a lot of people were upset, myself included. But dangerous conditions are nothing to mess with, and I believe Governors Ball did what they needed to. So now, all we can do is look at our photos from this years fest and dream about next year.
Story by Brittany. Photos and gifs courtesy of Brittany’s shitty iPhone. Follow her at @brittanyamarino.