Reviews from UML students who attended Boston Calling Sept. 5-7, 2014.
Photos courtesy of Nick Canovas.
After arriving late and having time to only catch the end of The Hold Steady, get a drink, take an Oktoberfest picture with the Sam Adams crew and find some fun freebies, the clouds rolled in and concert organizers announced that everyone had to vacate City Hall Plaza and find shelter. Masses of people made their way to the exits around and fled towards restaurants and bars, running inside just before the rain started pouring.
For almost three hours, everyone sat around anxiously checking Twitter and waiting for the word that we could re-enter. Finally, around 8:30 p.m., we were allowed to file back to the concert grounds. To the dismay of many, Volcano Choir and Girl Talk would not be performing and the show would pick back up with Lorde, followed by Childish Gambino. Both artists were grateful that everyone stuck around and it showed through their performances.
Lorde put on a flawless show, captivating the crowd with her strangeness and charm. Childish Gambino, otherwise known as Donald Glover or Troy from the hit television show “Community,” was nothing short of excellent as well. His energy was unbeatable and his catchy, clever songs brought the night back to life and had everybody singing along. We managed to meet his bass player at the end of the night, so that was a nice way to end it all. – Allison Turcotte
As someone who had never been to a music festival before, Boston Calling was the perfect start. Despite the hot/stormy weather, all of the acts brought their best; my personal favorites were Spoon, The National, The War on Drugs and Nas and The Roots. My favorite moment was when, at the end of their set, The National played an acoustic number as the crowd belted the words out. You can bet I’ll be there next year! – Nick Canovas
This was definitely one of the best festivals I’ve seen in a while. Getting to see the Replacements, one of my all-time favorite bands, was a dream come true for me. If next May’s lineup is as half of good as this one’s, I’ll be the first to get tickets. – Adam O’Donnell
“I honestly didn’t know what to expect at Boston Calling since I mainly went just for Neutral Milk Hotel. The first band to go on was Future Islands and they blew me away. The lead singer’s performance on stage was very intense (he slapped himself across the face a lot), but I ended up really liking them. The next band to go on was Neutral Milk Hotel and, long story short, I cried at the end of their set. The last band to go on was The National. I didn’t really stick around for them, but, from what I heard, they were great too. I really recommend that people check out Boston Calling whenever it’s around, even if you only know one band – you might find some new bands you’ll end up liking.” – Molly Sheehan
