Day one of Governors Ball 2016 is in the books. The weather hung on a thread for most of the afternoon with some slight rain falling between three and four, but otherwise kept attendees dry. Friday had a very strong lineup with a leaning towards the dance side of things, including performances by the likes of Bob Moses, Beck, The Strokes, Jamie xx and more. Here is what went down on Randall's Island earlier.
1:35 - Seeing various people on the walk over to the festival in rain boots and rain jackets makes me regret not bringing my own gear. Trust the forecast. Trust the forecast....
2:10 - Elle King wraps things up with "Ex's & Oh's" to a surprisingly large crowd for 2 p.m. on a Friday. Has the big apple lost its appetite for work?
2:27 - Boogie provides important social commentary. Posing a few questions to the audience, the rapper asks "don't you hate people on Twitter who always tweet but never get that money or the "models" who only post naked selfies on Instagram?" Preach.
3:07 - Ollie from Years & Years has some of the best dance moves at this festival. The crowd sings just about every single word to "King."
4:13 - Thanks Gov Ball app for telling me I look great. I know. Older dude jamming out to Bob Moses, who are crushing it, I hope I can be as cool as you one day.
5:30 - A wild Shaun White makes an appearance in the crowd at Big Grams where almost nobody recognizes him except for two groups of guys. Their set just felt a little off like a snowboarding trick where the back end kicks out a bit on the landing.
6:15 - Unless you were close to Father John Misty, it was difficult to hear him over everybody else walking. Was it the sound or disinterest? Hard to tell.
6:30 - The different between the sleepy vibe at Father John and Duke Dumont is startling as he has a club going in the overflowing tent. This thing is never big enough. NEVER.
7:20 - Beck crushing a guitar solo is why we come to these things.
7:30 - He covers "Raspberry Beret" and tells the story of meeting and hugging Prince at the Grammys.
9:05 - Jamie xx has scarcely dipped into In Colour and is instead hitting the crowd with some classics like Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby." At this point with the sun down and some dark, repetitive house music, the tent has become a proper rave.
9:38 - The Strokes are rock stars. Rock stars never perform on time. The Strokes are late and mosquitoes have taken advantage of my stationary self in the photo pit.
10:55 - As they encore with "You Only Live Once," The Strokes redeem themselves with a barrage of hits, eliciting reactions from fans like "this is f*cking awesome" and "they played every single song I wanted to hear." The New Yorkers do it big for their home city.
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