Jiro Schneider; Danny ClinchIt took only one note to ring out at the main stage of Governors Ball for the first inflatable beach ball to launch into the air, officially marking the start of the 2015 festival. That note came from "MTV Artist to Watch" Priory, who opened the GovBallNYC stage on a drizzling Friday morning.
"We started the main stage, and [the fans are] hardcore," guitarist and vocalist Kyle Sears told ABC Radio after Priory's set. "In the rain, beach ball, just keeping it alive."
"They're definitely not scared," added fellow guitarist and vocalist Brandon Rush.
Priory's energetic set was filled with songs from their new album Need to Know, including "Put 'Em Up," Big Love," and the single "Weekend." In fact, Rush says that "the energy" is his favorite thing about playing festivals.
"Kids come ready to have fun and ready to engage," he says. "The best thing of being an artist is having an audience that's responsive, and so that's kind of built in to the festival environment."
Priory's summer continues with a stop at Bonnaroo, and they have big plans for future festival sets.
"We have a lot of plans on the horizon for production stuff, just because Kyle and I are nerdy, so we're looking forward to dabbling into that," says Rush. "So festivals later in the years and festivals this next year specifically are going to be out of control."
Two days later, The Black Keys closed out Governors Ball 2015 with their headlining set on the GovBallNYC stage Sunday night. The show was one of the band's first since drummer Patrick Carney suffered a shoulder injury, which turned out to be one of several "return from injury" performances over the weekend. Carney has appeared to have made a full recovery, as he tenaciously pounded the drums across from frontman Dan Aurbach's bluesy guitar and vocals. Their set list focused mostly on their last three albums with performances of "Tighten Up," "Gold On the Ceiling" and the Turn Blue single, "Fever."
For most of their set, Aurbach and Carney were accompanied by two background musicians who provided extra bass, guitar and keys. The band performed only one song, "I Got Mine," as a true duo, which turned out to be their most ferocious song of the night.
The Black Keys closed their set with two El Camino cuts: "Lonely Boy" and "Little Black Submarines." Auerbach picked up an acoustic guitar for the last number, building up "Little Black Submarines" before exploding it with his electric guitar. The lights went out, and Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On" blared from the speakers. And the crowd rambled on.
More highlights from Governors Ball 2015:
-- For frontwoman Florence Welch, Florence + the Machine's Governors Ball set was her first "standing up" show since she broke her foot at Coachella. Given that she was performing on the main stage right before Drake -- the same circumstances as her Coachella set -- a superstitious person might think Welch would approach things with caution. That notion was thrown out the window the first second Welch appeared on stage, barefoot, gliding with a mystic flair reminiscent of Stevie Nicks. Between big leaps and dramatic gestures, Welch belted out "What Kind of Man" and "Ship to Wreck" -- both from Florence + the Machine's new album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful -- plus the hits "Shake It Out" and set closer "Dog Days Are Over." She even used her magical powers to get a fan holding a sign that read "hug?" to crowd surf all the way to the front, where Welch met her after coming down from the stage, answering her question with a resounding "yes."
-- Royal Blood drummer Ben Thatcher walked on stage wearing a Brooklyn Nets jersey, which is appropriate since he's an incredibly athletic drummer. Thatcher pounded on the kit with the ferocity of a young Dave Grohl -- fitting, given they're opening for Foo Fighters this summer. The other half of the British duo, bassist and singer Mike Kerr, more than held his own next to his thunderous drummer with his own monstrous riffs. Royal Blood's set spanned their self-titled debut, from singles "Little Monster" and "Figure It Out" to the the machine gun-like beats of "Out of the Black." At the end of their set, Thatcher threw his drum stool across the stage, signifying that the show was over, and rock had been served.
-- Vance Joy took a break from opening for Taylor Swift to play Gov Ball on Friday. Luckily, touring with one of the biggest pop stars on the planet hasn't inflated the Australian singer-songwriter's ego. Throughout his set, Joy sang songs from his debut album, Dream Your Life Away, through a giant grin. Armed with an acoustic guitar and by a three-piece band, Joy played "Red Eye," "Georgia," "Mess Is Mine" and even a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." To close his set, Joy brought out his ukulele, which could only mean one thing: "Riptide." He led the crowd through a sing-along of his breakthrough single before leaving the stage with one last enthusiastic, "Thank you."
-- Death From Above 1979, the other bass-and-drums duo at the Gov Ball, came with songs from The Physical World, their second album and their first in 10 years. The new material seemed to energize the Toronto duo, as their set list stuck mostly to it. While drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger anchored things behind the kit and the microphone, bassist Jesse Keeler was free to bust out the band's signature distorted riffs. He did look up when he briefly shifted from bass to keyboards, which somehow produced riffs that were just as heavy. DFA 1979's dance-rock influence meant their set was drive more by finesse than the pure power of Royal Blood, but they certainly weren't short on the heavy. And just like with Royal Blood, Grainger left his drum kit in shambles.
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