FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017

LCD Soundsystem
This is a band I’ve aspired to see throughout their five-year hiatus, and on Friday night, dreams came true. Booming synths and vibey beats shook the crowd with a combination of new and old hits. LCD has this admirable quality of combining a stoic “we’re here to perform and perform well” mentality but also a human rawness you know is real from their lyrical depths and personal histories.  Murphy’s vocals were on point and he wrapped up the show with a quick promotion of general festival kindness. 
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Prophets of Rage
BANGERS ON BANGERS ON BANGERS. This was nostalgia 2.0 for me and I loved every moment. If you aren’t familiar with Prophets of Rage, it’s a collaborative group of members from Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill. Surprisingly, this had me dancing even more than LCD.  Only two out of the thirteen songs performed were Prophets of Rage originals; the rest were covers from the foundation bands. Highlights for me included “Insane in the Membrane”, “Jump Around”, and “Like a Stone”.  The performance was incredibly engaging, inviting, and inspiring. Before “Jump Around”, Prophets managed to get the entire crowd to crouch down. “Like a Stone” came with a heart-felt tribute to the late Chris Cornell. And would the band even have a right to have Rage in their title without closing out with “Killing in the Name”.
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Kendrick Lamar
The man himself, rapper and performer, Kendrick, opened and closed his show with a video production of his alter ego, “Kung Fu Kenny”.  The set list primarily contained hits from DAMN. and good kid, m.A.A.d city along with two covers: Future’s “Mask Off” and Schoolboy Q’s “Collard Greens”. He kept the crowd engaged and alive throughout and often pointed towards attendees to fill in his blanks. This has its obvious pros and cons, but for the most part worked. I was pleasantly surprised by his performance and only plea I would like to make is… can we get a live band?!
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– Elemental