Winner: Washed Out
Yeah, yeah, I get it – it’s stereotypical to associate Washed Out with weed. But stereotypes always originate out of some truth, so shut up. If you’ve never listened to Washed Out aside from your time spent rewatching Portlandia, it’s about time you picked up a copy of Within and Without. Washed Out is the pseudonym for Ernest Green whom, up until this Gov Ball appearance, I assumed performed alone (my mistake). Friday afternoon he took the stage with a backing band and was my perfect introduction into this year’s festival. With inflatable zebra totems, joints passed left and right, and Green’s melodies floating through the air – we were chilling mad hard.
This is a set that could equally enjoyed from the barricade or a grassy knoll in the sunshine. For me, Washed Out is a mood and an experience rather than a “show.” Green is able to translate his tracks perfectly from recordings to a live setting and that can only be credited to great attention to detail and a lot of practice. I spent a decent portion of this set with my eyes closed and I ain’t mad about it.
The Lady Gaga Award for “Best Entrance”
Winner: Janelle Monae
I’m not one to ever compliment Lady Gaga but girl knows how to make a statement. Janelle Monae made an entrance that the queen herself would have approved of. Backed by a giant 60s mod style black and white swirl, Monae was wheeled out to the center of the stage in a white bodysuit that upon closer inspection revealed itself to be a straightjacket on top. I honestly don’t remember what audio was backing this entrance because I was so distracted but I imagine it was some grand drumroll or horn mashup fitting for a royal (yet creepy) entrance.Seemingly waking up from a coma-like state as her set began on the main stage, Monae shook out of her restraints with vigor and bug eyes. Monae doesn’t need any help, she is her own hype-man.
*Monae earned this award twice on Friday as she made a sneak appearance and stole the spotlight in the middle of “Hey Ya” during Outkast’s closing set that night. It was either a Mexican jumping bean or Monae….we’re pretty sure it was Monae.
The Wayne Coyne Award for “Best Crowd Walk”
Winner: Phoenix
No hamster ball, but that didn’t stop Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars from hoisting himself on top of the massive crowd on Friday afternoon. Three cheers for the crowd on that one, for enabling the singer to walk a solidly on hands and elbows, supporting his mic wire, and taking their turns shaking his hand. Phoenix played a high energy set and set the bar high for the remainder of the weekend. The set list included older and introspective cuts like “If I Ever Feel Better” to sing-a-long dance tracks “Liztomania” and “Lasso.” For a band that I’ve written off as background noise this many years into their career, Mars and his band proved that I should be paying more attention (s/o to whoever puts together their colorful background graphics as well). Phoenix knows how to put on a perfect summertime show.
PS – Did you all see Sofia Coppola with her daughter in the photo pit? Between being star-struck and having my heart melt seeing Mars’ daughter see her dad playing for a crowd of thousands – I experienced a much wider range of emotions during Phoenix than I ever anticipated.
— Jeeyoon Kim
