The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

Boston Calling: two days, two different vibes

?Boston?s City Hall Plaza was the destination for a variety of festivalgoers this past weekend for the second Boston Calling music festival.Warm sunny weather and indie rock bands welcomed attendees on Saturday while electronic and hip-hop artists closed the show in a daylong dance party Sunday.?I volunteered with the Work Exchange Team for both days,? Boston resident Michael Gower said. ?The artists, the way people dressed and the overall vibes made it feel like I went to two separate festivals.?Openers earlier in the day such as You Won?t, Luscious and The Airborne Toxic gave Saturday attendees a taste of what to expect for the rest of the night. Mayor Thomas Menino was a surprise opener for Local Natives, who thanked everyone for making the festival possible.Local Natives performed a mix of songs from their newest album ?Humming Bird,? which was released earlier this year, as well as hit songs such as ?Airplanes? and ?Wide Eyes? from their earlier album ?Gorilla Manor.?The band also made time to cover ?Warning Sign? by Talking Heads.The Gaslight Anthem, a Punk Alternative rock band from NJ, played a handful of songs from their newest album, ?Handwritten,? released in 2012. They also used their hour and a half set time to play some of their older songs including ?Here?s Looking At You Kid? and ?The ?59 Sound.?While plenty of fans enjoyed The Gaslight Anthem?s set at their stage, many attendees took this hour and a half to sit on the steps within the Plaza to save their energy for the closing headliner, Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend closed Saturday night performing various songs from all of their albums including their newest, ?Modern Vampires of the City,? on a stage with a floral background.?Vampire Weekend was a great way to finish the first day,? Work Exchange Team volunteer Mikey Gower said. ?They made you want to dance and that was good preparation for the acts that would follow them the next day.?Vampire Weekend encored with ?Walcott,? which was appropriate at a Boston show due to the lyrics mentioning Cape Cod a total of 15 times. On Sunday, a change of genres brought a change of clothing attire. ?The day before people were wearing sweaters and jeans and today people are wearing glitter, neon and too much skin,? said a volunteer escorting a young boy out of the festival.The day started with Flume, an electronic producer from Australia, Flosstradamus? trap set and Solange?s R&B serenade.The opener?s mix of electronic and hip-hop paved the way for headliners Wolfgang Gartner, Kendrick Lamar and Major Lazer.Major Lazer, an electronic dancehall DJ project created by American DJ and producer Diplo, asked the crowd to ?take an item of clothing off and wave it in the air? and eventually to throw it into the crowd as confetti. Clothing was not the only thing thrown into the crowd during Major Lazer?s set. At one point, Diplo crowd surfed the audience in a plastic bubble.Following Major Lazer?s dance party, Kendrick Lamar fans came together to enjoy their hip hop fix of the night with songs such as ?Swimming Pools? and ?P&P.?Passion Pit, an indie pop band from nearby Cambridge, Mass., closed the festival with high-pitched vocals from lead singer Michael Angelakos, and upbeat pop instrumentals and synth from the band.The band played a set of old and new but closed with ?Take a Walk? from their latest album ?Gossamer? released in 2012.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Vermont Cynic Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
Boston Calling: two days, two different vibes