The fourth Boston Calling is in the books. Though weather tried to cast a pall on Saturday’s proceedings, viagra sale the festival was met with almost positive reception. Read Allston Pudding writers’ full thoughts on every single band that played.

FRIDAY – By George Greenstreet and Jeremy Stanley

Future Islands started the night with an some slick and moody synthpop. Playing a host of their popular tunes, including “Seasons,” “Tin Man” and “Balance,” the New York four-piece got early arrivals into a good groove. Beyond the croons and growls of his shockingly versatile voice, the strength of frontman Samuel Herring’s performance is of great note. Bringing a unique approach to each number, Herring brought an entrancing and slightly unsettling physicality to the show, moving with such vitriol that he eventually tore his jeans down the seam (which, he noted, was coincidentally the second time this had happened in Boston). The rest of the group also sounded great, laying down excellent synth work and rhythm. This was by all means a good set, but frankly felt a bit at odds with the acts that followed.

After a blackout of the on-site screens and a strict no-photography mandate, the previously elusive Neutral Milk Hotel took the stage to manic applause. This was NMH’s third Boston show of the year, but the first since the instant-sell-out January shows at the Orpheum, meaning that for many it was their first time to see Jeff Mangum’s legendary indie group. They didn’t let down- the set may not have been everything that fans could have asked for, but provided a feeling and performance that stayed true to the heart of the group.

Mangum started the set off with a solo performance of “I Will Bury You in Time” before the rest of the group joined him and exploded in their most (and possibly only) danceable song “Holland, 1945.” After playing all three parts of “King of Carrot Flowers,” the group dove into material from their earlier, and frankly less popular, album On Avery Island. Hitting great tracks such as “Naomi” and “The Fool,” the band laid down great performances of earlier tracks before playing a crowd-pleasing rendition of their most popular album’s title track “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” The whole group sounded like a well oiled machine. While earlier shows had the sense of a group finding its groove after over a decade away from the stage, their impressive tour schedule this year has clearly tightened things up, harnessing a tremendous and evolved energy centered around Mangum’s changed but still no less moving voice. Beyond the quality of the performance, seeing Mangum so comfortable on a stage was a joy in itself.

As the set went on the group went even deeper into their less explored material. Drawing almost exclusively from the deep cuts of Avery and their two EPs, the group played a set of songs that sounded great but dragged slightly due to their relative obscurity. This is not to say that “Song Against Sex” wasn’t met with an incredibly warm reception, but NMH’s fame is built predominantly on the masterwork that was Aeroplane. Missing out on classics like “Oh Comely” and “Communist Daughter” for b-sides like “Snow Song” and “Ruby Bulbs” felt a wash at the time, though frankly complaining about any decisions Mangum and Co make in a live setting feels ridiculous. Bringing a crowd-pleasing end to the set, the group launched into a rousing performance of Aeroplane highlight “Untitled,” before the rest of the band left to let Mangum finish on a solo performance of “Two-Headed Boy Part 2.”

Perhaps the only criticism of the set is its length. Given the lore of both the group and their expectation-defying turn this year, its unfortunate that they were only given an hour onstage. That said, the group assembled a setlist that covered most of the big hits while also exploring some of their lesser known tracks. This paid off greatly- the band’s happiness onstage was wonderfully palpable and contributed to a standout set.

The National closed out the evening, making their return to the Boston Calling stage they headlined in May of 2013. Now that the Ohio-based rockers have had time to tour behind Trouble Will Find Me, more of those songs found their way into the setlist and were free of any kinks. The band walked out to “Riders of the Storm,” a creepy and somewhat perfect entrance music. Though one thing didn’t change: “Don’t Swallow The Cap,” the blistering single from that album, opened the proceedings.

Frontman Matt Berninger’s stage presence is something of an enigma — something he shares with Herring, but for completely different reasons. Whereas Herring is an energetic dancer, Berninger comes off as a nervous dude pacing around the hallway outside the living room at a dinner party. As songs wound down, he’d grab a plastic cup filled with alcoholic beverage and take a sip.

But during classics “Mr. November” and “Terrible Love” it’s like he was done pacing around and was ready to join everyone in the metaphorical living room. So he did. He did a lap, just as he did last May, and let others join in the choruses and letting everyone hug him.

For the finale, the band joined in a stripped-down, near unplugged version of “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” and a chorus of thousands on the concrete expanse of the plaza sang “all the very best of us string ourselves up for love.” It was stirring and wonderful. No encore necessary, and that was just the start of the weekend.

SATURDAY — By Sharon Weissburg

Walking into City Hall Plaza around one p.m. on Saturday felt like a suicide mission — amid rumors of thunderstorms and temperatures rising past ninety degrees, the concrete and brick expanse was a shadeless, blazing hellscape. When the thunderstorm came and the plaza was evacuated between The Hold Steady and Volcano Choir, it didn’t look good for Boston Calling, but I left Government Center triumphant – sweaty and exhausted, yes, but at least I got to see Lorde command 10,000 subjects in a cape and crown.

The lineup for the day was dominated by artists with a certain thing going – a slightly anthemic, vocalist-centered, mid-tempo dramatic hi-fi thing made more impressive by the tender ages of some of the performers. Lorde, with her multi-platinum career, is just 17; the kids in St. Nothing are 21; Sky Ferreira just turned 22. A freshness of perspective was all over Saturday’s lineup in the day’s veteran musicians, too, like Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff and The Hold Steady.

The day started with Boston’s own St. Nothing on the Red Stage, composed of Marco Lawrence on vocals and synth, Meredith Nero on violin, and Sophia Carreras on guitar — all college students in the area. AP has covered St. Nothing since they were Hall of Mirrors, playing at the Great Scott, so seeing them live on a stage of this size and quality was a total trip — Lawrence has grown into himself as a performer, exuding style and confidence in a dramatic performance of their entire musical catalogue, including their new single “Deals” and the warm, sweet old favorite, “Keep.”

Boston outfit Clifflight followed with a very fun set defined by cheeky, collegiate lyrics and peppered with synth, guitar, and tambourine (curiously all played by one extremely energetic bearded fellow in leopard print shorts). Next, Bon Iver drummer S. Carey’s set on the red stage was somber and pretty, grounded with two enormous drums — a lovely performance, but a bit too languid to enjoy in such oppressive heat.

Sky Ferreira looked somehow breezy and cool under the abusive sun in a loose floral dress and massive sunglasses. Her soulful voice is as impressive as it was when she got her precocious start at 17 in 2009, but she’s grown miles as a musician, and assembled a pretty kick ass backing band of cute guys, too.  “Ain’t Your Right” and “Boys” were noted crowd pleasers.  Ferreira stopped the set twice in the middle of songs to ask the sound board to adjust her mic — something I found disruptive at first, but I respect an artist who holds to their standards.

The big surprise of the day was Bleachers, though, who drew a huge crowd and delivered a charismatic, booming show. I’ve never seen a show so well suited to a large audience like this — Jack Antonoff is a powerful and joyous performer, sending waves of bass through the plaza and climbing into the crowd. I’ve always preferred Antonoff’s solo project Steel Train to his more pop-centric acts like Fun. and Bleachers, which sounds a bit too stadium-pop for me on the radio — but in this setting, I was completely on board. To top it off, Antonoff whipped out a tender cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams” that had everyone singing along.

After a solid, slightly dad-ly set from the Hold Steady, though, the day’s emcee broke the news: a weather front was coming in, and we were being evacuated. It was surreal, being herded by the thousands out of the plaza into downtown Boston as lupine winds began to howl. I popped a squat under Center Plaza’s concrete roof and watched the winds blow, painting my nails with a purple polish I bought from the still-open CVS as I waited and checked Twitter.

It really wasn’t that bad.

When the news broke that they were reopening the plaza (sadly, Volcano Choir and Girl Talk – two of the most interesting groups on the lineup – were cancelled), I was herded along with thousands of other sweating bodies along the concrete walls of City Hall. At a certain point, the overloaded booths caved, and festival staffers began simply gesturing people past in droves. Though this probably resulted in a significant financial loss and could have been disastrous for the festival, everyone was civil, and I think it was a smart move to be relaxed about re-entry in that situation. Plus, Lorde and Childish Gambino were totally worth it.

Alone on her massive stage, Lorde commanded the attention of everyone in the crowd effortlessly. Clad in all black, whipping her massive black mane around, Lorde maintained flawless composure and sang every song on her now-familiar album beautifully. In between sets, she spoke eloquently about her own extreme youth — on the subject of adulthood, she said that she frequently asks herself, “Is this it? Did it happen?” and admitted that she’s not sure. After changing into an all-red ensemble complete with cape and crown for “Royals,” she thanked the audience profusely. “Boston, you have made magic tonight. You are totally my favorite crowd right now.” Lorde clearly has the chops to back up her considerable hype, and begs the question of what else she is capable of doing.

I’ll readily admit that by the time Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) took the blue stage, I was pretty exhausted, so some of the impact of his enthusiastic and dramatic set was lost on me. I will say that Glover certainly knows how to throw a party, and that his visuals were impactful and beautiful. But I found myself zombie-walking to the T a few songs early and several hundred brain cells short.

SUNDAY — By Jeremy Stanley

Sunday’s weather happened to be nearly perfect — Friday’s dreary humidity and Saturday’s pesky thunder shower gave way to sunny skies (with the exception of the occasional skywriting). Kicking off the day’s music was Gentlemen Hall. The local act played autotune-laden synthesizer pop that — as charismatic and interestingly-dressed frontman Gavin Merlot himself noted — seemed tailor-made for a festival setting. To some, a cover of Boston Calling alum Kendrick’s “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” is ill-advised. To others, it was worth throwing their hands in the air

Brooklyn’s San Fermin kicked off the proceedings on the JetBlue #ScoreEvenMore #Hashtag Stage. San Fermin’s first ever tour started in Allston last June when the band opened for Villagers at Brighton Music Hall. That first show was restrained — you got the feeling the band didn’t know what it wanted to be yet. Now, they seem like seasoned professionals: songs from the band’s self-titled debut pop with an exuberance. Band members don’t just hit notes — they improvise with brass solos, they work the festival crowd. And new song “Parasites” is an invitingly creepy call-and-response game between vocalists Charlene Kaye and Alan Tate. If you missed them, you’ll have another chance to see them this year: They’re back at the Sinclair on November 14.

Fresh off a Saturday night Boston Calling after party, White Denim played a set that indicated that, despite a small 14-hour break between performances, the band does not turn down for what. The Austin-based psychedelic rockers probably won a few new fans, with songs that really felt open and loose — they felt like straight up jams.

The War On Drugs followed, with a set of indie rock that seemed to be lost on the crowd who was waiting for a very specific act — they all happened to be wearing Twenty One Pilots shirts. An off comment by frontman Adam Granduciel about defunct local radio station WBCN went over fans’ heads like a drummer on a floating platform (ugh).

Lake Street Dive, former JP dwellers, appeared on the red stage all clad in blue. The jazz/pop band was touring in support of its impressive new record Bad Self Portraits. Arguably the only band from a genre other than pop, rock and rap, it couldn’t help but feel out of place in the lineup. Still, it’s likely the former locals found few new fans.

It is impossible to explain the appeal of Twenty One Pilots, who performed next on the blue stage. Everything I heard Twenty One Pilots play was not fun to listen to. There was a cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and it was not good! The drummer was on a platform and was brought out into the audience, which was a thing that happened! Anyway, it was a good set to grab a brew, charge a phone, play giant Jenga, catch week one NFL matchups, buy earplugs or eat something — or do most of those things. There were people — helpfully wearing Twenty One Pilots shirts — that enjoyed the set. It was later described as “sick” by someone waiting for Nas to take the stage.

During Lake Street Dive’s set on the Capital One 360 Banks That Masquerade As Cafés Red Stage, a gaggle of teens congregated to the side of the stage. This was to sneak a glimpse of a The 1975 band member. A pair of friends spotted him, one waved and the other leaned on a barrier and fidgeted with her phone. The band member nodded, the friend who waved gasped and literally died. The other had missed it. This moment was tweeted and snapchatted and WhatsApp’d. The 1975 is a band from Manchester, England. They played guitar pop. Their fans couldn’t even as a result.

Perhaps the pair of not-my-cup-of-tea bands made Spoon’s hour on stage feel criminally short. The Austin band played career-spanning set that focused heavily on newer material from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga through this year’s They Want My Soul. “Got Nuffin” and “Who Makes Your Money” from the wrongly overlooked and panned Transference had a revitalized energy. Frontman Britt Daniel donned a Red Sox cap for “The Underdog,” which felt like an empty gesture, and it cap was promptly thrown into the crowd after the song.

There’s a chance that you, dear reader, were not alive for the last time The Replacements played a Boston show. After all, that was 1991. I was 2. They were welcomed back to the city by fans new and old, and the punk rockers surprised with covers of the Jackson 5 and Chuck Berry covers. And believe it or not, they are the only band that earned a bonafide, actual encore the entire weekend. They left the stage! And returned! With “Alex Chilton”! None of the headliners had a chance to do that (perhaps due to curfew concerns, the headliners wanted to play as much as they could.)

After that encore, it was time for Nas to come out and play almost as a mini-opener for The Roots. The rapper is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the landmark album Illmatic. The arguable best moments were when The Roots backed Nas. Fun fact: Nas raps with the aid of a TelePrompTer and I think that is truly awesome. Finally, the Roots played a raucous and fun set of their own material and properly closed out the festival.

Wrap-up — by Jeremy Stanley

Overall, the weekend of music brought fans of all walks of life to Boston — with a few weather-related hiccups. Boston Calling is quickly solidifying itself as an institution that draws big ticket players to the area. Festival organizers have clearly heard the critiques of a non-diverse lineup and were addressed this weekend (though one still hopes that someday soon a woman will get the honor of having a headline set). Beyond that, there is the potential chilling effect this event is having on other New England cities due to radius clauses, as music critic Eric Danton notes.

City Hall Plaza is still a difficult — very concrete — venue to work with, but one wonders where else it could move. One can easily imagine the destruction to the Boston Common over a three-day weekend, even though it would be a friendlier, more natural festival location (plus, the idea of concurrent sets — and thus, more music — seems more feasible there).

All those issues can be conveniently ignored if they build lineups for 2015 that are just as good as the acts that came through this year.

Read more on Boston Calling: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.