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Thursday, June 2, 2016

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ARTS

Highs, lows and stars of Boston Calling

MUSIC FESTIVAL REVIEW

Eclectic group of 
artists make their 
way to New England

By KAREN HUA

Daily Arts Writer

BOSTON - Three days, 39 acts, 

smack in the middle of historic 
Beantown.

Revealed in a press release Friday, 

2016 is the final year that City Hall 
Plaza will host Boston Calling, as 
the music festival is slated to move 
to Harvard’s athletic campus in 
Allston, Mass. next May and expand 
to incorporate Natalie Portman’s 
(“Black Swan”) film festival. The 
traditionally biannual event will 
also discontinue its September 
edition.

Saturday reached a high of 99 

degrees 
while 
Sunday 
chilled 

the plaza with unusually cool 
temperatures. 
Likewise, 
here 

are the highs and lows of Boston 
Calling’s seventh festival.

Sufjan Stevens
Many of the 50,000 attendees this 

year didn’t know how to pronounce 
Sufjan (Soof-yan) Stevens, but they 
most likely witnessed the most 
alien concert of their lives. Kicking 
off the weekend, Stevens brought 
every flashy prop, costume and 
pyrotechnic imaginable to the stage: 
butterfly wings, pompoms, blow-
up figurines, eccentric wigs and 
goggles and hats, a full disco-ball 
suit and a whole balloon suit. Unlike 
music 
festivals 
like 
Bonnaroo, 

Boston 
Calling 
isn’t 
notorious 

for encouraging egregious drug 
experimentation, 
but 
Stevens 

and his neon-clad backup singers 
danced around like robotic versions 
of Richard Simmons, reminiscent 
of an acid trip. Every performer 
on his stage breathed his electric 
aesthetic, producing sounds that 
(albeit didn’t sound like English) 
glittered and sparkled. He ended 
his set on his more recognizable, 
“Chicago,” a semi-autobiographical 
song about youthful idealism. In a 
nutshell, it embodied Stevens’ show: 
a dreamlike fantasy manifested into 
reality. He cooed: “All things go / 
All things go,” as though to assuage 
the youth in the crowd. Needless to 
say, Stevens’ performance shattered 
the schema for a typical concert 
experience; he defined an out-of-
body sensation.

Sia 

Even though Sia closed only 

the first night, she takes home the 
prize for “Best of the Fest.” There 
was absolutely no performance 
that could compare to her drop-
dead stunning multimedia concert 
– an experience that intertwined 
live-action 
performance 
with 

audiovisual beauty. The Australian 
pop singer arrived in her iconic 
black-and-white wig that covered 
her eyes, and she commanded the 
back corner of the stage, where 
she didn’t budge for the entire set. 
Instead, she surprised an erupting 
audience with her music-video 
star, “Dance Moms” child prodigy 
Maddie Ziegler, whose live talents 
were unparalleled by any other. Sia 
arrived with her entourage of other 
eccentric dancers as well, ranging 
in gender and age, all donning 
nude-colored 
leotards 
and 
her 

signature wig. The two Jumbotrons 
that consistently broadcasted live 
onstage action actually displayed 
pre-recorded 
footage 
for 
Sia’s 

performance 
— 
tricking 
the 

audience into believing that what 
they saw on screen mirrored the 
real-life movements before them. 
So, the concert in a word: meta. 
Celebrities 
that 
danced 
across 

the screen such as Kristen Wiig 
(“SNL”) and Paul Dano (“Little Miss 
Sunshine”) weren’t actually present 
onstage — and who knows? Perhaps 
Sia wasn’t even there singing 
herself.

Børns
The highly-anticipated Børns, 

donned in hippie vibes and a 
tucked floral shirt, fell a little short 
of expectations. Garrett Borns, 
originally 
from 
Grand 
Haven, 

Mich., swayed in his stationary 
spot on stage, and though his music 
asks for a laxer rock atmosphere, 
even 
performances 
for 
upbeat 

tracks 
like 
“American 
Money” 

didn’t exude the soul the song begs 
for. With an unchanging backdrop 
and minimalistic lights, the singer 
could have put on a more riveting 
performance to compensate for his 
low-budget technical props – like 
many artists in the middle of the 
star-power scale did.

City and Colour
Amid the hazy New England heat, 

Saturday was mellow. The Vaccines 
were chill, Børns was soft, Canadian 
singer City and Colour was both of 
those things while oozing the soul 
the former two artists lacked. If 
sound could cry, if songs could be 
laced with tears, if music could 

hang longing in the air — that was 
exactly what City and Colour did. 
Starting with more popular tracks 
like “The Girl” and “Lover Come 
Back,” the set list cooled down in 
coordination with the setting sun. 
City and Colour elongated many of 
his songs, and his acoustic melodies 
and chilling falsettos carried the 
crowd into the night.

Courtney Barnett
Courtney 
Barnett 
is 
not 

everyone’s cup of tea, and in fact, 
she may purposely be tea that’s hard 
to swallow. The Australian singer-
songwriter’s music isn’t exactly 
mainstream, yet she received a 
Grammy nomination last year for 
Best New Artist; she’s surely a 
hardcore rocker, yet her stream-of-
consciousness lyrical style strays 
her into the indie category. Barnett’s 
concerts are always about the music 
— no shock elements, no extravagant 
wardrobe, no makeup— just her and 
her fiery, ferociously feminist hits. 
While she didn’t travel much during 
her set, her stationary position 
didn’t hold her hostage like it did for 
others. Barnett leapt up into the air; 
she slammed her body down on the 
stage, she rang out her guitar so hard 
that the strings seemed at peril to 
snap. She didn’t disappoint with the 
crowd favorite, “Pedestrian at Best,” 
in which, ironically, she screams: 
“Put me on a pedestal and I’ll only 
disappoint you.” Her passion was 
undeniable, but with downcast eyes 
and hair covering her countenance, 
her performance offered more of an 
aloof rather than direct chemistry 
for the audience. At least it’s safe to 
say Barnett had as much fun as her 
fans.

Miike Snow
As 
Boston 
Calling 
proved, 

stationary 
movement 
doesn’t 

always 
equate 
to 
a 
static 

performance. ODESZA, Disclosure, 
Courtney Barnett and others stand 
mostly in one spot on stage, yet the 
passion their facial expressions and 
vocal chops move audiences for 
them. While Andrew Wyatt, the 
lead singer of Miike Snow, used the 
stage to his advantage, his traveling 
didn’t make for as dynamic a 
performance because he seemed to 
approach his music more passively. 
Frequently returning to his cup of 
hot tea, Wyatt seemed to be more 
immersed in a rehearsal session 
than his screaming fans. This may 
be attributed to the fact that Wyatt 
and his band “don’t think (they’re) 
stars.” In an exclusive interview 

with The Michigan Daily, Wyatt 
said of iii, their third and most 
recent album, “This record is more 
like American to me … It feels like 
it’s drawing from Black American 
music traditions.” Wyatt explained 
he grew up highly influenced by 
Black icons like Stevie Wonder and 
Earth, Wind and Fire, and now, he 
defines: “extremely nerdy European 
and extreme disadvantaged African 
Americans: between those two 
crews, that’s where music moves 
forward, 
generally 
speaking.” 

Miike 
Snow 
surely 
has 
the 

European aspect, as Wyatt, the only 
American in a trio of Swedes, writes 
all the songs with his bandmates. 
Wyatt explained that most of their 
work is held together by hooks, so 
they understand how to produce a 
catchy song, but Miike Snow could 
have worked harder to build their 
own hype at their Boston Calling 
performance. Though they only 
recently 
started 
using 
laptops 

during their sets, they manipulate 
all their sounds live. The band is 
known for playing songs for as long 
(or as short) as they feel. “Animal” 
beat on for nearly eight minutes 
that night — but not quite at the 
rave vibe they were going for. Miike 
Snow’s three big closers, “Burial,” 
“Genghis Khan” and “Animal” felt 
a bit anticlimactic for a group like 
Miike Snow.

ODESZA
If the haze wore the crowd 

down, 
ODESZA 
reinvigorated 

heat-exhausted festival-goers to 
party on. ODESZA concerts always 
reverberate with such energy, it’s 
hard for them to get old, even after 
seeing them one, two, four or more 
times. Though the back of the crowd 
was slow to warm up, by the end of 
their set, their electronic-meets-
ethereal sound fired everyone up. 
ODESZA 
successfully 
launched 

Boston into the summer with tracks 
like (ironically) “Summer’s Gone” 
and “How Did I Get Here.” It’s 
an unfair comparison to smaller, 
lower-budget indie bands, but stage 
lights and production design really 
enhance the quality of a concert 
experience. As phenomenal as 
Robyn’s show was, the majority of 
the tired plaza filtered out following 
ODESZA. It looks like ODESZA was 
the real headliner Saturday night.

Robyn
Robyn was one big late-night 

dance party — pure thrill, pure 
fun. As one of the most dynamic 
performers 
the 
festival 
saw, 

Robyn’s merits were unfortunately 
overshadowed by the tepid turnout 
following ODESZA’S smashing set. 
Boston Calling was the first stop 
of her American festival tour, so 
she came fully equipped with her 
one-legged fringe pantsuit and 
her ponytail microphone stand. 
Interestingly, Robyn made the 
creative decision to remix some of 
her most popular songs by inviting 
some of her favorite artists onstage 
with her. Some highlights included 
The 
Black 
Madonna 
during 

“Indestructible,” and popular hits 
such as “Dancing On My Own” with 
French duo Cassius and “Stars 4 
Ever” with Zhala & Heal the World. 
Silhouetted by red and blue lights, 
Robyn showcased her impressive 
stamina by bouncing with nonstop 
energy. Her spirit almost sparkled 
on stage, as though her music sweat 
out through her pores instead of 
escaping from the microphone.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Frontman 
Ruban 
Nielson 

sauntered on stage — no need 
for an introduction — and just 
began playing. The band clearly 
felt comfortable on the stage, as 
if they were jamming among an 
audience of friends. Nielsen, a 
multi-instrumentalist, built up into 
a drumroll, introducing rougher 
rhythms that allowed him to shred 
his guitar and groove to undertones 
of synth. He immersed himself so 
deeply in the music that the lacking 
lights and backdrop seemed to fade 
away amid echoes from their Multi-
Love album.

Elle King
Who would’ve known this beauty 

was the spawn of crude comedian 
Rob 
Schneider? 
After 
hearing 

King’s set, though, it may make 
sense, as she unabashedly bellowed 
provocative lyrics about “being 
slutty” and openly admitted to 
having one too many drinks before 
her performance. Nevertheless, the 
crass and sass she brought to the 
stage was still outlined by a feminist 
fire that refused to apologize for 
being 
an 
independent 
“chain-

smoking, hard-drinking woman.” 
With a raspy voice and edgy 
country-meets-rocker 
aesthetic, 

the “hillbilly from Ohio” strummed 
her banjo named Claire and sang 
about her heartbreaking days. The 
crowd fell immediately in love with 
her candor and bowed down to 
their new Queen.

 For more coverage of Boston 

Calling, visit michigandaily.com/

