Boston Calling is all Grown Up!
If you would have told me in 2013 that the small festival I just attended in Boston would become a major East Coast player on the circuit in less the five years, to be honest I wouldn’t have believed you. Boston Calling has always pulled together a lineup of great performers; it just did not have the feel of a big-time festival back then; it was in the middle of Boston Commons, an all-concrete plaza that was simply too small to create something that felt like a major festival. This year, however, the festival relocated to the beautiful grounds of Harvard Athletic Complex, a location that was far enough out of the center of the city to provide the space needed for a major event but still close enough to have a city festival feel.
Some growing pains were definitely felt on the first day of the festival, with longer then anticipated security lines due to everyone coming in at the same time. However, the festival did a great job of opening additional entrances to alleviate the length of the lines and get everyone inside in a timely matter. Once I got in, I headed right over to Shuck Food Truck for some good old New England seafood. Shuck was just one of many amazing food vendors on site this year; they were serving up super-fresh raw oysters, lobster rolls and lobster sliders. After chatting with owner Julia for a bit, I learned that the truck was only just celebrating their one-year anniversary in business this month. To be honest, I could have eaten a thousand of their oysters, and you should definitely stop by for some eats the next time you’re in the North East; the truck has a rotating schedule around Boston, sometimes making impromptu stops elsewhere; they also will be hitting up some other festivals this summer, so make sure you’re following their socials to find them! After fueling up, I headed over to Sylvan Esso to get the party started. Their energy was contagious as they played through tracks from their new album What Now, causing the crowd to jump and dance about despite the damp weather. They finished their set strong with the fan favorite “Radio.”
Next up on my schedule was Mac Demarco, a guy you can always count on to get the crowd going. He didn’t disappoint, either; he kicked the set off with the oldie but goodie “Salad Days,” which got the crowd moving right away. Throughout the set, Mac was drinking from a bottle of Jameson, and at one point, when he needed a little break to light a cigarette (which one often needs after drinking from a bottle of Jameson) and fix a string on his guitar, the band filled the space with a hysterical rendition of “A Thousand Miles” in which every lyric was And I would walk a thousand miles, which gave the crowd quite a few laughs. A bit later in the set, Mac invited someone from the audience up on stage who was holding a sign saying he missed his prom to be there. After a bit of confusion from the security team, Noel made it up on stage and was instructed to ‘prom dance’ with the bassist, which of course made the crowd go wild. Noel spent the rest of his time on stage killing all the lyrics to “Cooking Up Something Good” and videoing the undoubtably most-liked Instagram video of his life. The rest of the set had the same fun vibe, with the audience singing along and interacting with Mac throughout and ended with “Cambers of Reflection” and Mac crowd-surfing.
Bon Iver was one of the acts I was most excited for, being that I haven’t seen him since the release of his newest release 22, A Million and that has such a different sound than what I’m used to hearing from him. Once the set started, you could immediately tell that this wouldn’t be like any Bon Iver show played pre 22, A Million. There was a massive screen behind the band projecting amazing visuals to go along with the digital-heavy tracks from the new album, which was played nearly in its entirety during the first half of the set. The set then took a turn to older tracks, which the crowd went wild for, including the hit “Skinny Love,” which had everyone belting out at the top of their lungs, it was an especially chilling moment as the sky opened up and rain began pouring down. Closing out the night was Chance the Rapper, who brought his Be Encouraged Tour to the stage. The setup was simple yet captivating; just him (with a few guest appearances, of course) on stage with a huge screen behind him and some killer pyrotechnics. Playing through an impressive 20 songs, Chance hit all the favorites with highlights being “No Problems” and an intimate version of “Same Drugs” from the audience before he closed out his set with “Blessings.” After the lights came up on stage and people began to exit, as I looked around it was clear that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the festival despite longer than anticipated lines and a bit of rain.
Saturday greeted us with some much-needed sunshine, shorter entry lines and smiles all around. The beautiful weather was very welcome; fans were lounging on the field, playing lawn games and visiting all the cool sponsor tents in between seeing music. Wanting to take advantage of the much shorter lines, I headed over to Firefly’s BBQ, where I met the owner’s daughter, Rachel. While serving me a plate large enough to feed all six of my friends filled with everything from ribs to corn bread, we chatted about her dad’s award-winning BBQ sauces and how much the business has grown into a Marlboro MA staple, which I highly suggest you go to if you’re ever in the neighborhood (get the pulled pork with a side of slaw; you will not be disappointed). With a full and happy belly, I made my way over to Brandi Carlile, who is always a force of energy on stage. This set was no different; she played through powerful songs from her album The Story’, which turns ten this year, along with newer fan favorites like “The Things I Regret” and “Wherever is Your Heart.” The most heartfelt moment of the set came when Brandi was speaking about becoming a mother with her wife and how much her daughter has changed her life in so many amazing and unexpected ways. She used this dialogue as a prelude to her new song that highlights the honest ups and downs of motherhood.
My next stop was Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, who have been riding the festival circuit pretty heavily since their instant hit “S.O.B.” in 2015. That song may be why some people stop by the set, but there is so much more that makes people stay. Along with their dance-inducing hit, they played through tracks from their self-titled 2015 release as well as their 2016 album A Little Something More From, the band also did a great rendition of “The Shape I’m In” by The Band. During one of the most talked-about conflicts of the weekend, I chose to check out The XX over The 1975. While I’ve never gotten too into The XX, they definitely impressed me. Their stage presence and light show are insane, causing you to pay close attention even if you’re not an avid fan.
Mumford & Sons were up next, closing out the night. I can’t lie; this was the set I was most excited for out of the entire weekend, ever since I saw them for the first time in 2011. Mumford has been a band that consistently never lets me down. This set was no exception, and it felt extremely special. They took it back to my favorite album Sigh No More for beautiful renditions of songs that I’ve been singing along to for eight years now, touching on not-too-often played tunes such as “Lover of the Light” and “Dust Bowl Dance.” They of course played their mega-hits from earlier albums as well as tracks from their 2015 release Wilder Mind with such passion and energy you couldn’t look around and find one person standing still. At end the show, Mumford bought Nathaniel Rateliff, Brandi Carlile, Kevin Garrett and Aaron Dessner on stage for a breathtaking performance of “With a Little Help From My Friends,” which of course caused the entire audience to burst out singing along. And just like that day two was in the books.
Sunday was a bit gloomier than expected, but nonetheless a massive crowd still showed up, many of them sporting Tool shirts. I started my day off by heading to Wolfe Parade, whom I haven’t gotten the chance to see since they reunited last year. While the crowd was a bit smaller due to the Run the Jewels conflict, the band poured all of their heart into the set. Along with fan favorites that had the crowd singing in unison, Wolfe Parade debuted two new songs that fit perfectly. Next up was Cage the Elephant who always put on a memorable show. Lead singer Matt Shultz put on his typical energetic performance, jumping into the crowd and all around the stage while running through some of the band’s best tracks such as “In One Ear,” “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” and “Cigarette Daydream” before ending the set with “Come a Little Closer” and “Teeth.”
Going with my weekend theme of skipping the crowd-preferred set during a conflict, I headed to Weezer and opted out of the raging dance party that was Major Lazer. I’ve always had a soft spot for Weezer; they hold a certain nostalgia of my high school days that’s irreplaceable. High school me was definitely in all her glory during this set too. They began the set with “Hash Pipe” and rolled through all the hits from “My Name Is Jonas” and “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” to “Undone – The Sweater Song” and even threw in a cover of “Hey Ya” before ending the set with an explosion of confetti while playing “Buddy Holly.”
The final stop of the festival was highly anticipated Tool, who hadn’t been to Boston in many years prior to this performance. All day I saw shirts on people who were clearly there for this band, which definitely opened my eyes to the diversity of Tool fans. The band’s stage set-up was insane; they had incredible CGI animations and lights going on behind the band. And while I walked into the set not really knowing what to expect, I definitely walked away appreciating them. The crowd went wild as they delivered fan favorites like “Schism,” “Ænema” and “Parabola.”
Overall the weekend was amazing. I think Boston Calling definitely made the right decision to relocate to a bigger and better location which truly made the event feel like a ‘real’ festival. Were there some kinks and growing pains? Definitely, but the festival’s swiftness of addressing fan and vendor issues throughout the weekend speaks very well to their ability to adapt, and who knows? It may become the Lollapalooza of the North East. Either way, I can’t wait to see what the future brings for Boston Calling.