So, circumstances being what they were, I had a festival ticket and was holding out to see whether or not I could make it. A couple things came together basically about a month ago and I was able to make it happen.
Some highlights.
Phoenix. They opened up the inaugural (free) night. Never seen them before, so that was fun.
William Basinski. I love the Disintegration Loops. Seeing a small orchestra play the piece was super cool.
Amyl & The Sniffers. I just discovered them about six months ago. They totally killed.
Beth Gibbons. The new album is great and her voice still sounds fantastic. She played Mysteries, from her album with Rustin Man and she also played the Portishead classic, Roads. What a legend.
Pulp. Pretty great set. Once they hit F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E. (cool title but it sucks to type that out), the energy just seemed to rocket into the stratosphere.
Chelsea Wolfe. My fave set of the weekend. This woman brings the darkness. Super cool haunted folk goth doom metal.
Lana Del Rey. On paper, I should absolutely love this sad girl chanteuse shit, but I think all the hype turned me off early on. I've been appreciating her more lately, and this was a good chance to catch her live act.
The National. I've seen these guys like a million times (and at least 3-4 times at Primavera) and they always deliver. I also think that Bryan Devendorf is one of the best drummers. His fills and rhythms are really complex.
Lankum. Maybe the nicest surprise. I had no knowledge of them. Some of my crew knew and were going to the auditorium to see them, so I tagged along. So glad I went. I'll definitely be investigating further.
PJ Harvey. The rain started during her set, which is my other fave set of the weekend. She's a legend through and through, and the epitome of grace and class.
Mitski. I first saw her years ago at Primavera. Maybe 2016 or 2017. Fairly average indie rock chick with kinda confessional lyrics. Cool but maybe not exactly my thing, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to this set. I had some time, though, so I at least wanted to check it out. She's upped her stage presence game, incorporating some Kate Bush interpretive dance moves which was pretty cool. This was right after PJ's set and the rain not only continued, but had also brought a lightning storm along for the party. Fucking cool. Maybe it could have been a recipe for disaster (THOUSANDS UPLOAD THEIR FINAL TIKTOKS IN MITSKI LIGHTNING TRAGEDY), but it was surreal watching her while the lightning flashed. Epic.
Romy. Man, she brought the party. I went out of curiousity, and I'm very glad I did. Great, energetic set.
Charli XCX. First of all, I love Charli, but I don't know why they put her on that particular stage. She should have been one of the big ones, it was just waaaaaay too crowded. That said, she was fucking awesome.
A fitting end to the festival for me. Hopefully I can make it next year with a little less stress.