REVIEW: Boston Calling May 2016
In comparison to other music festivals, Boston Calling clearly isn’t the biggest or the grandest. There’s no camping, audiences stand on nothing but brick, and there’s only three stages – two for big acts. And yet, the festival marches on, consistently bringing in impressively large artists for their lineups each season. On the third anniversary of its inception, Boston Calling continued to strive for new heights, introducing a new, third stage for local acts and comedy. While the festival still feels like it’s finding its footing, it provided some true highlights and memorable moments during its Spring 2016 festival this past weekend.
To headline their lineup, Boston Calling brought in some strong ladies and immense talent through the likes of Sia, Robyn, Janelle Monáe and HAIM. While some of the lineup seemed sporadic and poorly planned, such as the shift on Saturday from the lowkey, more indie vibe of The Vaccines, Børns and City and Colour straight into a more upbeat techno sound through Miike Snow, ODESZA and Robyn, each day provided a mix of genres and artists to give any fan something they were interested in.
The back to back dynamic of Sufjan Stevens and Sia on Friday night was unmatched. Sufjan Stevens has just come off touring his newest album “Carrie & Lowell” and opened his set exclaiming that he’s spent a lot of time singing about death and just wanted to have some fun. Fun morphed itself into neon costumes, bouncy tunes and balloons… lots of balloons. While not what most people were expecting, it was energetic and uplifting, Stevens bringing the crowd along on his psychedelic, somewhat intergalactic ride.
Sia’s performance was truly a cinematic masterpiece, featuring Maddie Ziegler, Kristen Wiig and Paul Dano to the crowd’s delight. Each song had a story and Sia playing the role of the narrator, not moving once, standing in the back of the stage belting out hit after hit as the actors and dancers took the stage. The footage on the festival screens was clearly filmed and edited ahead of time, but none of it felt insincere or overdone. Her curated set told a story of helplessness versus power, of celebration versus misery, a really enthralling festival performance complete with a curtain call and bows.
Saturday was a sweaty, whirlwind of sounds and experiences, from Palehound’s opening set to ODESZA’s full band performance. Palehound’s performance was exciting for many because most people had seen them in a much smaller setting, like a house show or small venue, and watching them dominate one of the large main stages was thrilling. The Vaccines were cheery, the crowd jumping and dancing around regardless of the unforgiving 90 degree heat. Børns provided a groovy vibe, playing a set full of great summer songs as well as some Arcade Fire and David Bowie covers. Courtney Barnett had people head banging as she rolled around on the stage with her guitar, in all of her rugged and deadpanned glory.
One couldn’t write about Boston Calling without referring to Robyn’s deeply debated remix set. While some found the set to be a cool experiment, many found it to be a little disappointing compared to her usual set. While she did sing, the majority of the performance was club beats mixed with dancing. Robyn is known for her great dancing, but it’s usually paired up evenly with singing, while her remix set featured mostly her dancing with her backup dancers. Definitely something new for her and she seemed to be having a great time, but mostly people focused on the fact that she didn’t play crowd favorite “Call Your Girlfriend.”
Sunday was a powerhouse of performances, balancing out the polar opposite of Saturday’s weather with overcast skies and 60 degrees. The afternoon started out strong with Vince Staples and Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, moving onto the snide sounds of The Front Bottoms, with lead singer Brian Sella dedicating multiple songs to his ex-wife and talking about wanting to drown people that you love.
Sunday’s headliners were unreal, a strong way to wrap up the weekend. Janelle Monáe was truly captivating, hitting every vocal riff and lyric perfectly, with some inspiring onstage banter and an amazing Prince tribute to match. HAIM kept the audience on their toes, debuting two new songs off their eagerly anticipated new album and providing a lovely second Prince tribute with the help of fellow lineup act Christine and the Queens. Their onstage energy and presence is immensely charming, each sister playing their role and instruments in their own way but supporting and balancing each other out perfectly. Disclosure was a perfect way to end the night and the whole festival. Members Howard and Guy Lawrence knew the audience was there to listen and dance, not watch them, so they provided some intricate and mesmerizing visuals, a different one for each song. They played a pulsating, entirely high energy hour and a half set that never faltered, all the way through to the last note of “Latch.”
As the festival announces its move from City Hall Plaza to Allston next May, cancelling their usual fall festival in September, change is bound to come. As proven through each year, Boston Calling is figuring out what works for them and what people enjoy. A move in venue might just be what the festival needs, but this May weekend was on track for the majority of the time. Putting their name out there as a newer festival can be hard, but Boston Calling is holding its own.
– Mariel Cariker