Megan from Work
Photo by Boston Calling Alive Coverage
You're going to see a lot of headlines saying things like "Rain and cold temperatures couldn't dampen festival goer's day," but that's actually the truth. Despite temperatures way below the average for Memorial Day weekend in Boston, and despite a cold rain starting late afternoon, the crowd had a great time, and the weather was mostly shrugged off in a "can you believe this?" kind of way. Of course, great music always helps. Here are the best artists I saw Friday, in the order that they played.
Bebe Stockwell
Bebe Stockwell is an artist with Boston roots who I was unfamiliar with until she took the stage to open the festival at 1:30. I'm now one of her diehard fans. She played a fantastic set of folk-pop with a charm that was completely irresistible. Anyone who chose to get there early was treated to one of the best sets of the day that included a cover of "Home" by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes. Stockwell was a great choice to ease everyone into the festival and set a high bar for the rest of the day.
Battlemode
Boston chiptune artists Battlemode opened up the Orange Stage, and did so quite admirably. Their set was decorated with homemade cardboard standups in an 8-bit style, and included a pair of rats because we're still in Allston, after all. An electronic band, particularly one that makes their music using a Gameboy, had their work cut out for them on the heavily country themed Friday, but Battlemode owned that stage for their set and truly got the party started. They're one of those bands that is a completely different live experience from their recorded music. Boston Calling was my third time seeing them, and I'm looking forward to the fourth.
Future Teens
Future Teens call themselves a "bummer pop band from boston." Their Orange Stage set was an unexpected highlight of the day for me, with music that went from the poppier side of pop punk/indie rock to some of the most intense emotional screamed vocals I've ever heard live. Their set was a quick pop in for me, but I wish I could have stayed to see more. It says a lot about a band that seeing four songs was a highlight for me, so needless to say they've jumped to the top of my must see a full set list.
Thee Sacred Souls
I had been having trouble deciding between the nostalgia of seeing TLC live versus seeing one of my favorite current neo-soul artists, but with TLC dropping off last minute, my choice was made for me. It ended up working out for me since Thee Sacred Souls were great. Their smooth, vintage soul sound was the perfect thing for a middle of the day set, and their performance was endlessly engaging. They had some die hard fans in the audience which helped keep the energy up. Opening up with "Will I See You Again?," which is my personal favorite song of theirs, helped suck new fans in instantly. Here's yet another artist that I can't wait to see again.
Megan from Work
I had high expectations for Megan from Work's live set, probably too high. I loved last year's Girl Suit, and Megan Simon was always my favorite part of Hell Beach's live shows. Megan from Work blew all of my expectations away with one of the most energetic and fun sets I've seen in ages. Simon just has that star quality you can't help but be charmed by. You know how Kim Deal exudes so much joy in everything she does that you love it all? That's how Megan Simon is in everything she does. Playing just as the rain truly started coming down, her pure charm kept the crowd's spirits and energy up. Considering that Megan from Work plays music on the most poppy side of punk, I wasn't expecting a cover of Tom Petty's iconic "American Girl," but they pulled it off perfectly. Get yourself to a Megan from Work show immediately. You will have the best time there.
Sheryl Crow
It shouldn't come as any surprise that Sheryl Crow was a highlight of Friday night, but somehow it was. It's possibly because my 90's indie snobbery prevented me from enjoying her music in my 20's, but that's on me. After Megan from Work, I wanted to dry off a bit and relax. I could hear Crow playing in the distance, and halfway through "If It Makes You Happy" I ventured back out into the rain to see the rest. After that it was virtually a greatest hits set with iconic and universally beloved songs like "My Favorite Mistake," "All I Wanna Do," and "Every Day is a Winding Road." It's easy to forget just how many hits Crow has, but there's a reason she's been such a music industry mainstay for thirty years.
Latrell James
As great as Latrell James was two weeks ago at WBUR CitySpace, his Orange Stage closing set was much more intense. He was able to feed off the energy of the crowd at Boston Calling, and rattled off a series of songs that seemed like monster hits. Playing with a full backing band that moved between jazz to hard rock, James quickly won over the crowd with a lively set of live hip hop. I was standing by a group of young men that planned to watch a song or two and then move to the Blue Stage for T-Pain, but they ended up getting locked in and stayed for James' entire set. He played his biggest hit, "Tracphone," roughly halfway through his set and closed with two brand new songs that could end up being the biggest songs of his career. It was also a family affair for James, with his mother front and center in the crowd, and he was joined by his sister ToriTori for another unreleased song. Let's hope his new music comes out sooner than later.
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