Now it is all over, I would rank the 2015 Governors Ball below 2014 but above 2013 and 2012, when you read about the rioting at Summer Jam Sunday night, if nothing else you have to admire their security. I saw no fights, hell I didn’t see a disagreement, there was a lot of security but it wasn’t the obstructive sort: essentially, you can go here, you can’t go there, and taking dehydrated youngsters out of the front rows. I have no idea how many people visited, maybe 100,000, but they did so without an incident to be seen.
Really doing Governors Ball is exhausting but fun, the 12 minute trek between Honda and GovsBall stages is exhausting, though the GovsBall to Gotham Tent is a blast. I only missed a show because I didn’t want to lose my position once, that was for Bjork.
The food was fast food tasty, a special shout out to the Sliders And Sushi, and the weather was nice enough for neither heat nor cold (except at the tail end of Sunday) to be a factor. The water fountains were excellent. But I didn’t see a set as great as Kanye in 2013 or the Strokes in 2014, or a revelation as thrilling as Chance The Rapper, or the superlative Janelle Monae. I know it sounds ungrateful but the headliners were the problem. Except for Drake, the headliners were a little on the weak side. You couldn’t throw a brick in Manhattan without hitting a Ryan Adams gig in Manhattan last December, hell he didn’t sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom. As for Deadmau5…
It was the second tier that made the weekend so memorable, Florence, Noel, Tame Impala, Kiesza… the list is large. I didn’t see everyone (though I’ve already reviewed around 20 acts), here is another look at who I saw and what I thought of who I saw….
Thanks so much Alyson Camus, for posting in real time from LA for me!
Alphabetically
Bjork – With her widow garb gone, the multi colored coated artist was excellent if not AS excellent as last March – A-
Black Pistol Fire – Austin Canadian garage rough and tumble blues hard rock duo, they covered Dylan! – B+
Charli XCX – Biggest dog of the weekend, Avril Lavigne cmon down – C
Chromeo – They kinda sucked at Summerstage last year but this fleet footed dance show was the real deal and the appearance of Ezra Koenig was just an added plus – B+
Chronixx – Much better than the last time I saw him, this is old time reggae made by a Rasta – A-
Clean Bandit – Bringing the beats to violin strings – B+
Death From Above 1979 – Loud Canadian bores – C
DIIV – Slow fuzzy indie rock by Sky’s druggy squeeze – C+
Drake – Third great show in the last four times I’ve seen him – A-
Echosmith – Katrina And The Waves for the 10s – B
Florence + the Machine – No complaints on the lung front – B
Flying Lotus – Djing behind a screen makes the man’s always impenetrable beats even harder to get a handle on – B-
Future – if I could go back in time, I would see more of this electric rappers show , what I saw was excellent. My biggest mistake of the weekend – B+
Gorgon City – Full tilt disco dance by UK sensation – B+
J Roddy Walston And The Business – No nonsense hard rock – B+
Hermitude – Another disappointing DJ duo – C
Kate Tempest – This is what I said to Kate when I found myself standing next to her at the Bjork set: “The guy who makes your beats deserves a raise” – A-
Kiesza – Hit songwriter plus took lead vocals on that Skrillex-Diplo hit song and is a firefly live – B
Little Dragon – very lively EDM pop with a great lead singer and lots of electronic hoop jumping – B
Mayer Hawthorne – Blue eyed soul, now if only he could write a hook – B
Mo – UK disco diva in training – B
My Morning Jacket – I knew I’d get the new album when I heard it live, and I did – B+
Odesza – Excellent US electronic duo, blew away the Gotham tent – B+
Marina And the Diamonds – Bland disco pop – C
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Best set of the set, looked back but not in anger – A
People Under The Stairs – Straight outta Compton old school rappers – B+
Rae Sremmurd – They look like Willow Smith but rap like a party has just broken out (and broken a foot) – B
Rudimental – As soon as this UK dance band discovers how to capture their thrilling live show on record, the world will belong to them – A-
Rustie – This guy from Glasgow is the best DJ I heard for the entire weekend… including Flying Lotus – A-
SBTKRT – Second biggest disappointment of the festival, starts with a pop but doesn’t follow through – C+
Sharon Van Etten – My friend saw her open for Conor Oberst at MHOW later that night and thought she was great, at a festival she was pretty damn boring – C-
St. Vincent – All that pop stuff she does on her last album? She doesn’t do it on stage – C+
Sturgill Simpson – The man has everything except a few more killer songs – B
Tame Impala – Australian psychedelic makes more friends with every passing moment – A-
The Decemberists – A complete revelation to me, I’ve had no interest in these guys for years despite Helen Bach and my buddy Ken Davis insistence they were the real deal. Hell, I love em if only for the three piece suits these neo-folkies rock – B+
Vance Joy – All you guys going to see Taylor Swift in July? Arrive as late as you can – D+
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Second best set of the three day fest was so much fun his audience grew and grew – A
Grade By Day:
Friday – B
Saturday – B+
Sunday – A-
Governors Ball 2015 – B+
