Frankie's #GOVBALL2015 Diary
Well, first and foremost let's all raise our Gatorade glasses and give all those, including myself, a nice pat on the back for making it out on the other side of this Governor's Ball 2015 three day extravaganza alive! For all of you who weren't able to wake up with the same caliber of overdraft fees and hangover bliss from experiencing the full 2015 GovBall challenge, let me break down the highlights for you.
FRIDAY
As I walked over the bridge and onto Randall's Island, I was expecting to be pushed into a sea of unorganized, half naked, flower crown infested chaos but was pleasantly surprised to experience quite the opposite. The check in to get wrist bands went smoothly and as I walked onto the grounds it wasn't long before I realized it was the "restroom" line that I should have been fearing all along. Seriously, the flash backs of enduring that kind of trauma will take some serious group therapy to get over.
4:45:
Crowds were starting to fill in as Vance Joy carried everyone away to a happy place, as to be expected. As we entered into the night, "Rip Tide", set the mood to light and dance-y as most people were happy to find a spot on the grass and enjoy the sunshine we had been in days before deprived of, passing the dutchie to the left hand side. It wasn't long before people snapped out of that trance and were ready to jump up jump up and get down as soon as Odesza hit the stage. People came to party and that's exactly what they were given. Even people who weren't there to party found their fist in the air at one point.
7:00:
Time to grab your breath, grab a drink, grab all your shit and head to Florence. There's not much I can say here that you already don't know. She absolutely killed it. For just recovering from a foot injury, this bitch was runnin' all up and down the stage, crowd please the shit out of everyone who came to catch a glimpse of the musical goddess. As sad as I was to have her set end, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the realization that the moment I had really been waiting for, the face I wake up every morning for, my real life sugga boo Drake would be standing before me, finally proclaiming to the world his love and casting me as his forever musical muse for all to see.
9:30:
There he stood like Michelangelo's David. I wasn't warned that he'd be bringing those TRICEPS with him!!! Those things deserve their own instagram account, like for real. He was everything I expected and more. New songs, old songs, good songs, better songs. Perfection. Drake owned the night and I left feeling like my life was complete.
SATURDAY
3:45:
My day starts here because as far as I'm concerned, nothing happened that day until KIESZA hit the stage. Holy Shit! Werk, werk, werk, werk, werk, werk, mama! Vocals aside, this girl put everything out on that stage and gave a performance of a lifetime! Her and Florence are repping super hard for the gingers let me tell you. This bitch slayed the stage. Dancing, vocals, hype, energy, check, check, check, check. I honestly wasn't expecting to be so impressed so hats off to you, girl!
7:00:
Not so shockingly, a follow up by legendary Bjork proved once again that girls are running this world. It was very much to be expected of the Icelandic queen. Strange seduction in it's highest form. New and old fans alike came together to do nothing but take in as much of the Bjork experience as possible.
Crowds were then split up between Flume and SBTRKT, who were scheduled at the same time on rivaling stages. As I moved to enjoy the second half of SBTRKT's set I was a little thrown off by some apparent sound issues. We all tried our best to ignore it without giving away a full awkward emoji face, but in hindsight it seems it was only practice for the full blown awkward moment to come.
9:30:
Crowds and anticipation were high as Deadmau5 hit the stage. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a bumpy road to party town. There were some apparent sound issues. Each time the music cut out and was forced to re-start over again, more and more people seemed to look around in awkward confusion as if to say, "should we talk about it? or.....?" . Thank God someone was able to eventually lock it up, and carried along to their party town destination without any further interruptions.
SUNDAY
The third day of any festival can be a bit of a struggle to muster up the same kind of enthusiasm to pump yourself with more toxins and dance around with the knowledge of how you're surely going to feel the next day. This is where I give thanks to The War on Drugs set for being absolute Sunday vibes perfection. I had been looking forward to the Philly based indie rock band but didn't realize just how much they'd influence my festival experience. By the time "Red Eyes" hit, I knew in that moment I was going to make it. I was able to refocus myself for the final prize that is Lana.
9:30:
LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA LANA!!!!!! The hours of waiting before couldn't have come soon enough. I'm finding it hard to describe what went down in this hour and a half of pure emotional bliss. She was everything I could've wanted and more. Repping a custom Yankee's dress in true down ass New York bitch fashion, she sang right into my soul. Song after song. She took selfies with those lucky enough to have made their way to the front. Not one note was off key. She fucking killed it so hard, all I could do was well up and cry pure tears of joy. There's nothing much more I can say here. She made every ounce of hangover and non existent dollar in my account worth it. Lana Del Rey is my hero. Hail to her mic drop.