maxwell barna wraps up our coverage of The Governors Ball Music Festival with words and pictures …
MAC MILLER
For someone who might smoke as much weed as Snoop Dogg … Well, maybe not Snoop Dogg. But for a kid who’s written several songs about smoking, including one called called “Let’s Get High,” he was full of energy at The Governor’s Ball. He ran up and down the stage for the duration of the set, singing song after song after song. The Pittsburgh native drew a ton of people to his set and though I never really turned around to look at the crowd, it sounded more like a Backstreet Boys concert than a hip-hop set. I guess the ladies really jock this dude. Either way, he was friendly, tight and really kept the energy moving. He also made an appearance later on with People Under The Stairs, which wound up being pretty insane. But I’ll get to that later.
MIAMI HORROR
I would describe Miami Horror as this era’s disco revivalists. And I don’t particularly like disco, so …
NEON INDIAN
I wound up enjoying Neon Indian a lot more than I first thought I would. While electronica isn’t necessarily the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning, this band pulled it off well and is full of talented performers. Aside from running around scrambling for decent shots during their set, I also took a moment to observe the band. There was no point throughout the entire set, at least from what I saw, where the entire band wasn’t moving, grooving and smiling. Neon Indian frontman Alan Paloma transitioned between the synthesizers and the microphones, clapping his hands and jumping around in-between. The crowd was transformed into a walking, talking, breathing dance party for the entirety of the set.
PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
I almost feel dirty writing a review for these guys, because they were, and remain to be, one of my primary influences and all-time favorite hip hop bands. I’ve been to a lot of shows over the years and have seen some pretty crazy stuff, but I’ll never forget the shivers that crept up my spine when I heard the opening lick to “San Francisco Knights.” From what I recall, they opened their set with “Trippin’ At The Disco,” and I remember going so crazy that I could barely hold the camera straight. People Under The Stairs also announced their new album, Highlighter, due out Sept. 9 or 10 (there was some confusion between Thes One and Double K). On a more personal note, it was great to finally see these hip hop legends live. If they should somehow come across this interview, thank you for showing the East Coast some love; I hope you feel we reciprocated.
BIG BOI
Let me preface this by saying I’m a pretty big fan of Outkast. It was cool to hear “Ms. Jackson” and “B.O.B.” live, but at the same time, I wasn’t there to see Outkast, I was there to see Big Boi. Let me also say that due to time constraints, we couldn’t stick it out for his whole set. From what I understand, he played a lot of Outkast stuff at the beginning of his set and then broke into more of his solo songs later. Personal opinion aside, Big Boi was joined on stage by fellow Dungeon Family member BlackOwned C-Bone. The energy and movement was there and the crowd loved it. At one point, a bunch of girls took the stage and danced alongside them. The performance was extremely tight, Big Boi didn’t miss a beat, and the crowd was crazy, excited, and energetic, even though Big Boi hit the stage late -– I guess the suspense kept everyone hyped.
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