By Jake Folsom
Click to view slideshow.Lucius
I didn’t get to see as much of them as I wanted to (about half their set) but Lucius really lived up to the glowing praises The NYT has heaped on them. The group’s music videos have drawn accolades for their surreal, retro-cool aesthetic, and even with the hot sun beating down, the group had plenty to offer (clock the shades). My favorite song off their 2013 debut album “Wildewoman” has to be the title track, but on Saturday it was “How Loud Your Heart Gets.” The warm expansive song filled up the grassy field, and it sounded every bit as resonant as the album cut.
Fitz and the Tantrums
I haven’t listened to them a lot, but they were very fun to see live. The twin-frontperson set-up (as with Lucius) leads to a really fun show; twice the fun persona, twice the opportunity for great onstage action and banter. The set felt very camp; the highlight of the afternoon with them was, for me, an obviously adoring nod to Annie Lennox that got the crowd singing along and screaming their approval: a cover of Eurhythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.”
Disclosure
Disclosure hooked us in and didn’t let go. The set started with what Popjustice would call (has called?) the “proper version” of their hit “F For You” — the one featuring Mary J. Blige. Regrettably, the Queen of Hip Hop-Soul wasn’t there to add the “EVERYTHING!” she brought to the music video, but it was awesome enough to see the band without scribbles intermittently covering them up. Even though the music they were playing amped the whole crowd up and got many singing along, things stayed low-key on stage. The duo sang the whole time, but didn’t stop playing their instruments: musical talent-wise, this group is no joke.
Sleigh Bells
The review of Sleigh Bells I most remember reading was one of “Treats” that referred to them as sounding like (I’m paraphrasing here) “A frat guy and his girlfriend has gotten f***ed up on Four Loko and started fiddling with a couple drum machines.” (Got to admit, I think it was Pitchfork I read it on. It was high school, OK? I can’t find the review via Google, anyways…) I love the image of the duo as fratty “outsider artists,” but it turns that it’s less true in practice. When Sleigh Bells started their explosive set, a couple bro-girls behind me were heard saying “Wow! Way too loud.” and they moved along. Too bad, but they were given no respite for the remainer of the show. The group went through old and new stuff with balls-to-the-wall shredding, strobes, and reckless abandon. It was great. The only thing I ask is that they bring back those “SLAY BELLS” jerseys to the merch table. So covet-able.
Shout out to Tanlines, who I really really wanted to see (like the most) but long lines kept me from getting in on time. Besides, closers Jack White and Skrillex, some highlights for the day were the Strokes and Spoon. I was able to catch some of the former’s set (the tail end) and was glad to hear a superb two track closer with “You Only Live Once” (Somewhere, 4ever) and “Last Nite.” I was glad to see Julian giving great vocals on both tracks, after hearing festival whisperings that he seemed a little “under the weather” (in the Lohan sense) during his solo set Friday.
