Governors Ball 2014 Recap

govball1 GOVERNORS BALL 2014 RECAP

Out of the bazillion new festivals popping up these days and the same 50 or so bands seemingly playing the vast majority of them, it’s hard to set yourself apart. However, four-year-old Governors Ball has the advantage of being located in New York City and has a bigger name lineup than the likes of Northside Fest in Brooklyn. Skyline views with the tunes of your youth and a few from your present? Sounds like a good deal.

New York is also a city that views long lines (Have you tried to get your Cronut yet?) and crowds as near honorifics, and yeah, there were plenty of both on Randall’s Island. Not that these are serious dealbreakers for those without anxiety disorders since it’s not unlike most other places in the city. This is just so you know and can practice walking with elbows up for next year.

The Setup: Located on Randall’s Island the last three years, it’s within (somewhat) easy access to the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan. Four stages, two concert areas, two acts playing at any given time, 58 total performers and a few grassy, open areas between the two sections to eat, meet up with friends and try to find some shade to relax in.

The Weather: Pretty perfect. Sunny, not too hot and dry. If last year’s mudfest was the worst-case scenario then this was basically the best-case scenario. Hope you had sunblock.

The Crowds: Imagine rush hour. Now picture it with more tank tops on the men and floral sundresses on the women. Each of these people are carrying a bag and probably wearing sunglasses. Some of them are drunk. Others are stoned. They all look like they’re about to fall onto the third rail. Now you have the crowd at the Union Square platform waiting for the 4, 5, 6 to take them all the way uptown for Gov Ball. It doesn’t really let up from there. If you chose to walk, it took about an hour to get into the fest from the bridge during peak-ish times (mostly because of crowds) and two hours at the very end of the night to leave.

Food Options: Improving the food was a focus this year, according to the promoters, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. There were a combo of stalls and food trucks, including city favorites like Pok Pok (only with VIP access, though), Crif Dogs and Mile End serving up meals mostly within easy earshot of a stage. Lines took anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour for food, half that for booze.

Not Your Festival if: You can’t handle crowds or aren’t willing to fork over the extra cash to avoid them. Or if you want to sleep outside at night because you can’t here.

Best Song from the Acts You Didn’t Think You’d Miss: Jenny Lewis, “Silver Lining”. We all knew that the magic of college and high school — okay, middle school for a lot of the crowd — would be rekindled during The White Stripes “We’re Going to be Friends” and The Strokes’ “Last Nite”. Who would have thought you’d get so excited over that lesser Rilo Kiley micro-hit, “Silver Lining”? Rainbow clothes, apparently, put everyone in the mood.

Daytime Act You Wished Played at Night: Disclosure. Yes, Madonna spotting is easier when it’s bright outside, but while everyone loves a good daytime dance party, there’s something to be said for a catchy, tight set of danceable tunes when the sun goes down. Mostly it’s slightly less sweaty that way. Plus, those flame effects would look cooler in the dark.

Daytime Act You Didn’t Know You Were Ready for: Diarrhea Planet. Dirty guitars. Banging drums. Screaming. Moshing. Crowd surfing. Climbing on equipment you’re not supposed to climb on. All while most New York restaurants were still serving brunch.

Best “We’re in New York” Moment: Interpol playing “NYC”. Maybe this is only something people who grew up listening to Interpol (Recalling getting issues of Spin with Interpol on the cover in the mail!) in the Midwest feel, but oh shit, that was cool.

Most Consistent: Phoenix. Like the paper plate award for Perfect Attendance, showing up to every gig sounding great (It’s just like the album, but with real people moving on stage! Is it a hologram?!) and playing all the songs the crowd loves — without bitching about it in interviews later, to boot — is an underappreciated art form. Phoenix nails it, every time.

Coolest Prop: Skrillex’s spaceship. He had a spaceship that fit a human inside it, and looks like it could hold more. I couldn’t name a single song of his if it played in the background but lights, bass, spaceship. Dance. Dance. Dance. It’s all the bass. You can’t stop.

Proof that the 1% is Still at Work: VIP Passes. Want to see all the bands on your list without a wait? Want food stalls nobody else has access to? Want beautiful, clean toilets that actually flush? Want to see the stage — all the stages! — without wading through a pond of sweat? Governors Ball definitely proved that paying the big bucks for a VIP pass ($500 for three days vs. $230 for the normal three-day) is worth it if you can afford it. Or you could be like the guy who was trying to bribe the VIP area guard to let him and a girl in during Sleigh Bells. That didn’t work for him, though.

Popular Topic of Discussion in the Crowd: How to pass back a fake ID.

Topic That Should Have Been a More Popular Discussion in the Crowd: There are babies at music festivals where people that passed back their fake IDs are very obviously falling down drunk. Think piece: Is this the end of helicopter parenting?

Most Apt Corporate Sponsorship: Gap, bringing you unintimidating t-shirts to go with the Foster’s that’s the size of your head and a flower crown (for purchasing since there weren’t exactly a lot of flowers on the venue grounds) since 1969.