[Check out the photo gallery of Boston Calling Day 1]
[Check out the photo gallery of Boston Calling Day 2]

Upon its announcement, view treat the inaugural Boston Calling music festival was met by most with excitement, sales ask some with skepticism, and all with a sincere hope for its success. It had been a few years since City Hall Plaza had hosted a concert of any grand proportion, let alone a ticketed festival with multiple stages and alcohol sales, allowing for re-entry and successfully blockading the event itself from the outside public. It seemed like a permitting nightmare, and as the event drew near and the forecast looked ugly, the odds seemed against festival organizers in so many ways.

But Boston Called, its music fans answered, and to put this review into brief terms: It was an enormous success.

The kinks that one would expect a festival to experience in its infancy were almost non-existent, allowing the music to carry the event the way it should be. And the music, while not wholly riveting on paper to some, did not disappoint in the least. A sunny mid-day set by Dirty Projectors was a personal high point, but it did not stop there. Matt and Kim brought immense energy to a crowd that could have very well been tuckered out from the cold and rainy temperatures. Bad Rabbits amassed an enthusiastic and responsive slew of fans considering their early time-slot and unfavorable weather conditions. Neo-folk collective Of Monsters and Men played to the biggest audience of the weekend, and their spirited “heys!” and foot-stomps connected with both the younger radio-dwellers and the pickier music snobs. The National sealed the deal on Sunday night, delivering their newest material to loyal, mostly matured listeners. Shit, even fun. Lived up to their name in certain ways that I would not have expected.

Perhaps the greatest triumph of Boston Calling, however, was its ability to include the all-ages crowd. It’s not until you’re at one that you realize how few music events Boston allows its youngsters to enjoy. It wasn’t long ago that I too felt burdened by our city’s unwillingness to allow minors to regularly enjoy different kinds of live music. While improvements have been few since I turned 18, I admire Boston Calling’s ability to cajole all-ages fans through the gate with names like fun. and Matt and Kim on the bill, but at the same time, feed them doses of different genres, and different levels of songwriting. Moreover, being able to look around and see younger fans dancing, chanting, smiling, and screaming their lungs dry added a healthy bit of perspective, and a solid reminder that being a jaded concertgoer isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

There were a few things that could be ironed out for September’s Boston Calling follow-up. Most of them had to do with the City Hall Stage (a smaller stage tucked into a corner of the festival). The way that stage was situated made for particularly congested crowds with less favorable viewing and sound. This was a bit frustrating during Andrew Bird’s set—an artist that demands somewhat a feeling of intimacy to his performance. Also, the food trucks that were heavily advertised had a very minimal presence at the event, and weren’t even set up in the festival grounds. In all, these were extremely minor details that took away very little from the concert experience.

After much anticipation for Boston Calling, I see no reason for it to not be celebrated. Even Mayor Menino, who hasn’t historically made live music an easy thing to happen, lauded the festival and its attendees. While wishful thinking music snobs may long for more buzzy, up and coming bands at a festival, I think it’s important to hoist Boston Calling on our shoulders and run with it. Who knows what it could evolve to, or what other live music opportunities it could lead to in Boston? Going forward, I believe it’s very appropriate to consider Boston Calling our city’s premiere music event.