Thousands of people descended upon Randall’s Island in New York this past weekend with a want to indulge in three days of bands, booze, and whatever else they could get their hands on at Governors Ball 2016. Unfortunately, the festival was cut short due to severe weather on Sunday, as you may have heard from Kanye West, but the music fest did provide two full days of pretty extraordinary performances from huge acts across every genre. From punk to hip-hop to dance, the festival delivered on everything it could in its abbreviated timeframe. Here was the best of what we saw at Governors Ball 2016.
Big Grams
In 2015, all-time great rapper Big Boi linked up with psych pop group Phantogram to release the eclectic EP Big Grams. The release was a delightful surprise to fans of both, and a welcomed return from anyone who enjoyed their earlier collaboration on Big Boi’s Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. Threatened with the specter of the rain that was to come, the trio brought a fascinating, high energy set filled with cuts off of their previous releases, as well as live mashups, like OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” combined with Phantogram’s “Mouthful of Diamonds.”
Beck
Veteran alt-popper/freak-folker/indie rocker Beck flexed his various musical muscles during a career-spanning set on Day 1 of the festival. In addition to the funky hits like “Where It’s At,” “Devil’s Haircut,” “Mixed Bizness” and “Sexx Laws,” as well as new tracks “Dreams” and “Wow,” he also paid a tribute or two during the evening show. Not only did he pay tribute to Prince twice with “Raspberry Beret” and “1999,” but he also told a heartfelt story about the only time he met the Purple One — when he won his Grammy for Morning Phase. Most of you probably remember that night because of Kanye West questioning Beck’s artistry, but he had a different memory of that night entirely. He said he immediately reached to hug Prince as soon as he greeted him with the award, and was immediately mortified as if it was the wrong thing to do, but it was all a blur. And when Prince passed back in April, Beck tried to find any press photos of the moment just to remember, and he saw the legendary musician had a huge grin on his face and gave Beck a huge sigh of relief and one of the strangest, sweetest moments of his life.
Robyn
Taking the “Ball” in Governors Ball literally, Robyn performed in what felt like a non-stop dance party with elaborate costuming, voguing, and all the glamor you would come to expect from such an affair. And when I say non-stop, I absolutely mean it; Robyn did not stop dancing for at least 50 minutes, she clearly has more stamina than anyone I’ve ever met. While closing Day 1, the Body Talk singer ran through her huge hits like “Hang with Me” and “Dancing on My Own,” but in one extended remix, weaving the songs into each other like a live mixtape, versus start and stop songs. It truly felt like something special you would only see once.
Mac Miller
Possibly one of the largest crowds all weekend was present for Mac Miller’s Day 2 mid-day set. He commanded a massive audience that overflowed past his stage nearly into another. The usually wacky Mac was all business during his set with incredibly charged up performances of “Donald Trump,” “100 Grandkids,” and “Loud.” He also paid tribute to the late Prince by getting the entire crowd to sing Purple Rain along with him. As someone who played Gov Ball back in 2011 to an audience of hundreds, to controlling thousands in 2016, it’s got to be a cool feeling.
Against Me!
Of all the performances I witnessed during the two-day festival, Against Me! was far and away the best. Right out of the gate, Laura Jane Grace and company ripped through old favorites like “Pints of Guinness Make You Strong” and “Walking Is Still Honest,” and new stuff like “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” and “Unconditional Love.” No other artist felt more urgent than Against Me! as they roared through their dusk set. As a quick aside before she launched into a song, Grace mentioned that right before the band got onstage, a man in a golf cart passing her yelled, “Is that a man or a woman?” She replied with a middle finger and told him to f*ck off, and then launched right into “True Trans Soul Rebel.” The crowd, as you’d expect, went nuts.
The Killers
If there was a takeaway to be had, at least from the two days that Gov Ball 2016 got to have, it’s that early ’00s rock is back! The Strokes closed out Day 1 with an enormous performance, Death Cab for Cutie were set to close out the third night, and The Killers absolutely nailed what ended up being the weekend’s closing performance. Starting with “Mr. Brightside,” what felt like all of Governors Ball could not help but sing along with classic tracks like “Somebody Told Me,” “All These Things That I’ve Done,” “Read My Mind,” “Human,” “Runaways,” “Smile Like You Mean It,” and so many more. The post-punk revivalists even paid tribute to their genre-mates in Interpol with an on-point cover of “Obstacle 1.” All of that to end with a powerful rendition of “When You Were Young” which ended with fireworks bursting over the New York sky. If things had to end prematurely, it was definitely the way to go.
