Crystal Castles: A large crowd response met Toronto’s Crystal Castles underneath the Queen of the Valley tent. It may have been the biggest pull that stage has seen at the festival so far.
The electro-duo pulsated through their hits, playing “Crimewave,” their collaborative track with Health, “Air War,” and “Untrust Us,” as Alice Glass threw herself about the stage. During the latter, Glass climbed down into the photography pit, meeting with the crowd much to the festival security’s dismay.
The set was full of energy thanks to Glass’ acrobatic display, as she climbed upon speaker and drum set alike, mirroring the excitement resonating through the crowd.
Neko Case: Neko Case of The New Pornographers performed her alt-country side project at the middle stage last night. She sang out to a crowd happy to frolic through the day before’s mud while grooving to the singer-songwriter’s moody tunes.
She played with a full band, featuring upright bass, reverberating guitar, and lap steel, which served well to compliment her strong, seasoned voice.
An image of a twirling tornado played on screen, a reference to her latest LP Middle Cyclone from which she played the tracks “Vengeance is Sleeping,” “This Tornado Loves You,” and “Don’t Forget Me.” Case closed with an older, upbeat track, “Train From Kansas,” much to the audience’s delight.
The Ting Tings: I saw a bunch of people hula-hooping as I approached The Ting Tings performance, perhaps a bubbly sign of things to come.
Frontwoman Katie White was clad in sequins and a sideways cap, dressing herself like the diva she seems to be becoming. She would periodically hop around the stage idly strumming her electric guitar while the duo played songs like “Be the One,” “We Started Nothing” (truth), and “That’s Not My Name” were played.
Most of the songs relied on repeating simple lyrical lines and following simplistic drumming over pre-recorded loops, which was fairly unexciting, but the teenaged crowd didn’t really seem to care. They enjoyed the shenanigans.
All Points West...
Day 1
Flying Lotus, Q-Tip, and MSTRKRFT
Day 2
Day 3
MGMT, Lykki Li, The Black Keys, and Etienne de Crécy
Other Festivals...
