Fans at day three of Governors Ball on June 8, 2014. Photos by Joe McCabe, heyreverb.com.
It’s the paradox of the festival goer. You’re surrounded by great music for three days, but it’s (nearly) impossible to see it all. You have to make decisions — tough decisions. And while the Governors Ball 2015 schedule does a good job of dividing conflicts along genre lines, there are still difficult choices to be made.
Below we run down the five toughest Governors Ball 2015 schedule conflicts. There’s never an easy answer, but here we give our justification for choosing Drake over My Morning Jacket or Hot Chip over Flying Lotus.
1) Drake vs. My Morning Jacket — 9:15 Friday
On paper, this looks like a pretty clear decision. How many Drake and My Morning Jacket fans could be out there? But there’s more crossover than you would think among these two acts: Both critically acclaimed, both supporting new albums, both stars of their respective genres. So what to do if you, like myself, is struggling with both.
The answer: It’s tough to say no to MMJ, but Drake is the smart choice here. Having just released another excellent record in the span of two years and with another one on the way, Drake is at the peak of his game right now. While My Morning Jacket will be touring throughout the summer, Drake has no shows listed besides festival stops for the rest of the year.
2) Odesza vs. Death From Above 1979 — 5:45 Friday
You’ll be moving at each of these shows, but for different reasons. Odesza will have you in a relaxed groove and DFA in anything but that.
The answer: We’ll have to go with DFA on this one. After releasing its first album in 10 years, it’s hard to tell what’s in store for the band. The duo hasn’t exactly been consistent throughout its career and for all we know these could be the last few DFA shows for the foreseeable future. Odesza on the other hand is starting to blow up and is touring heavily to keep the buzz going. If you don’t catch the EDM duo on Friday you’ll have plenty of chances to do so in the future.
3) Flume vs. SBTRK — 8 p.m. Saturday
This is probably the most difficult conflict on the lineup for fans of thoughtful electronic producers. Flume is most often compared to SBTRK for his vocal heavy, R&B-influenced beats. So what to do…
The answer: It’s not easy, but the best choice is Flume here. While both are formidable live performers, Flume balances the cerebral and the fun in a way that’s best suited for a festival setting. Having seen him nearly steal the show at a Red Rocks bill that included Chromeo and Cut Copy, the producer can hang with the big leagues when it comes to commanding large crowds.
4) The War on Drugs vs. Weird Al Yankovic — 5:45 p.m. Sunday
Everybody at least once needs to see “Weird Al” Yankovic, but at the same time, The War on Drugs released one of the best albums of 2014 and have been on fire touring in support of “Lost in the Dream.”
The answer: If you haven’t seen Weird Al Yl Yankovic, that’s something you need to do in your lifetime. But if you’re on the fence on this one the answer is The War on Drugs. At a festival, in a club, The War on Drugs has been an insanely reliable live act — especially with the excellent material from the latest album.
5) Hot Chip vs. Flying Lotus — 8 p.m. Sunday
Here’s another one where fans of dance music might be having some trouble deciding where to be on Sunday. Come Sunday after two days of a music festival will you be in the mood for bubbly electro-pop or some experimental electronic music?
The answer: While it’s a decision that will likely have to wait until Sunday — dance or think — at this point dancing is what you’ll want to be doing at a festival. Flying Lotus’ set is visually spectacular with the translucent cube and his glowing gas mask, but Hot Chip knows how to keep a party going, and, tired or not, that’s the set we need as the sun starts to set on Governors Ball.
