New York City’s Governor’s Ball 2014: Amazing Lineup, Perfect Weekend

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Day One: Orientation and Crowd Surfing Lead Singers

Upon arriving at any music festival (including The Governor’s Ball), the first thing you have to do is orient yourself. With four stages and the first band I wanted to see already playing, I made a quick stop to one of the huge festival maps and ran to the Big Apple Stage. On the first day of the festival, I was lucky enough to see Drowners (and met the lead singer, Matt Hitt), The 1975, Bastille, Julian Casablancas and The Voids, Phoenix, Grimes and Outkast. Not a bad set of artists for my first day.

 

Highlight of the day: Phoenix, an amazing performance topped off with a crowd surfing lead singer.

Low of the day: Tie between my blistering sunburn and missing out on buying a limited festival blanket.

 

 

 

Day Two: The Day of Must-See Bands

On the second day, I had to have more of a plan because there were more “must-see” bands on my list. After being bummed about not getting a blanket, I got a tank top then headed around the festival to different stages to see some amazing acts. Luckily, I thought to grab a veggie burger before heading to the main stage to begin camping out for The Strokes – probably the most anticipated act for me.  So for the second day I got to check out: The Internet, Papa, Lucius, Broken Bells, The Strokes (!!!!), Jack White and I checked out Skrillex for a few songs too. Being hot, sweaty, thirsty, and in the 5^th row of the mosh pit for a concert usually would have dampened the concert experience – for The Strokes all of this was negligible.

Highlight of the day: THE. STROKES.

Low of the day: I got heat stroke and ended up throwing up shortly after The Strokes finished.

 

 

Day Three: Ezra Koenig Makes it Rain $2 Bills

My favourite band was headlining this day of the festival, so I got there as early as I could. I waited half an hour to get into the festival then sprinted to the front of the main stage. I filled my water bottle, and settled in for the long haul. Since I stayed in one place all day, I got to see all of the main stage events from up close and I made friends with the other crazed fans around me. So for the third day, I got to see: Meg Myers, Bleachers, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, The Head and The Heart, Foster the People and Vampire Weekend. The day was so amazing, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend even made it rain 2$ bills at the end of their set.

Highlight of the day: I ended up with a drumstick, set list, and pick from Vampire Weekend.

Low of the day: I didn’t eat all day, which really sucked.