Boston Calling has certainly surprised the festival circuit since its debut three years ago being the first mainstream festival to court New England’s largest city. That being said, it’s not your typical music festival. The inner city layout presents a picturesque view of the heart of Boston leaving the surrounding streets echoing with music bouncing off the dense skyscrapers. The grounds of Government Center are transformed into a dance floor, replacing buzzing businessmen with music lovers of all ages. It’s a small festival with more big name talent turning up each year.
Boston Calling Released Its Fall Lineup At This Summer’s Boston Calling
With only two stages right next to each other the line up rolls along nicely without any overlap. For a festival previously heavy on indie rock, they’ve made some strides into other genres this spring. Sharon Van Etten kicked off the festival with booming but haunting vocals. Australian psych rock band, Tame Impala, is no stranger to a festival stage, quickly moving up the ranks while touring before their third album, Currents, drops next month. As people were still flooding in from work, this could have been the most underrated set of the evening.
Top 10 Photos From Shaky Knees FestivalÂ
Beck could arguably be the biggest name yet to be booked at Boston Calling, closing out the evening to a packed but surprisingly not sold out crowd. Thus began a 90’s headliner theme for the remainder of the weekend. His last album, Morning Phase, dropped last February and continues to show his versatility as a musician. Despite his years on the stage and constant touring he still brings high energy and variety into every performance.
The early summer heat only intensifies with nothing but brick under your feet as Saturday started that afternoon with some fresh Boston local Talent Krill, and folk / indie rock band DMA both giving stand up but short sets. The rising hip-hop group, Run The Jewels, amped the audience with their political yet party oriented lyrics. Later that evening they would sell out the Sinclair.
Newly reinvented My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way hit the stage with his solo act, followed by Swedish party culture Queen, Tove Lo. The young pop star displayed more than just her vocals when she flashed the crowd in support of #freethenipple movement, producing what may have been the biggest cheer of the evening.
Annie Clark of St. Vincent in herself is an art installation. The 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist is in the midst of a world tour, appearing on the line up at Governors Ball in a couple weeks. At the peak of her set, she dove into the crowd, before returning to stage and collapsing into herself in a passionate fit a musical expression.
Watch St. Vincent Climb Scaffolding, Steal the Audience’s Clothes, And Other Antics At ACL
Ben Harper was up next with wailing 60’s style guitar riffs that can only be softened by this soulful voice. The three-time Grammy winner is best known for his gospel and blues singing, with his last album, Childhood Home, released a year ago.
Lately, no one can argue that My Morning Jacket fits a festival bill nicely with a perfect blend of psychedelic and southern rock. Their set, which included tracks from the band’s new album The Waterfall, rinsed off the audience after the day’s actions along with a well-developed visual display off the surrounding buildings. You could see the love and appreciation for the city on Jim James hairy smiling face.
The Ballroom Thieves opened Sunday with soft folk music to ease the small but still gathering crowd into the day. Halsey, the future pop star, was up next with bright blue hair and white dress that could grab your attention from the top of City Hall. Lucius played in Chet Faker’s absence due to an injury, and despite the band’s high energy performance, it was a little disappointing to see what would have been the best electronic set of the event replaced with a different genre entirely.
New York based indie rock band TV on the Radio were both a surprise and pleasure to see on the line up. The group has remained active since 2000 releasing five studio albums. The soulful yet dark progressive rock can feel like a completely different band between songs.
Tenacious D came on next, with Jack Black performing his usual theatrics while Kyle Gass, who tours with the other members more frequently for his solo project, kept the rhythm. The combination lead to a crowd pleasing set getting attendants ready for one of the biggest bands to come out of Boston.
The Pixies were an ideal choice to top off the weekend, playing familiar tunes throughout the night. You could feel their comfort, playing the hometown streets. Their next album is likely to be released early in 2016, and the band has kept busy with constant touring.
Although the festival never felt too full at any given time, the small layout leaves the capacity under question with the festival growing more and more every year. The location may be what makes this Boston Calling, and it will be interesting to see how it will expand in the future to compensate its growing crowds.
[Words by Morgan Louchen, Photos by Ignacio Photos]
