We braved the endless pits of mud. We survived the sixty-mile winds and flood warning and endured the scorching heat. We powered through the thirty-minute daily walk to and from the festival and the thirty-minute lines to fill up water bottles. We lost our voices and the feeling in our legs.
We conquered the four-day, 90,000-person, and 120-act music festival in Dover, Delaware. FIREFLY.
Firefly was my first music festival, and it ROCKED. While, try as I may, there was no way for me to see all 120 artists perform, here are six acts that I saw, that really, REALLY killed it (in order of performance).
[tps_title]TWIN PEAKS[/tps_title]
Twin Peaks added some much needed punk to the heavily indie pop lineup. Twin Peaks, who have been rising in popularity over the last few years, put on quite the show on Thursday night.
They played music from Wild Onion to a crowd of head-nodding and shoulder-shaking. Twin Peaks put on a genuine, garage/punk rock show full of guitar solos, shouting and moving around.
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My favorite part of Twin Peaks performance was the authenticity and spontaneity of it. None of it seemed staged or planned. They were just a bunch of friends playing tunes for a sold out music festival, and it rocked.
[tps_header]CAGE THE ELEPHANT[/tps_header]
Cage the Elephant, famous for their live performance, did not disappoint the packed crowd on Friday. Cage played a mix of tunes from Melophobia, Thank You Happy Birthday and Cage The Elephant, hitting almost all the fan favorites.
It didn’t take long for Matt Shultz to remove his shirt to an excited audience. Cage The Elephant played at a level of energy that I didn’t see matched the rest of the weekend. Shultz and the other band members danced, grooved, and never stopped moving.
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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNlJCSlPULw]
The audience matched this level. A new crowd surfer popped up every couple of minutes, and mosh pits broke out in the crowd, much to security’s dismay. Girls flashed themselves, boys removed their shirts, and people rolled around in the mud all for Cage The Elephant.
Shultz led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Sir Paul McCartney, who was performing later that night. McCartney turned 73 the day before.
Cage The Elephant commanded the stage, ran through the crowd, and captivated the dedicated audience in their hour or so set.
[tps_header]PAUL MCCARTNEY[/tps_header]
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Watching Sir Paul McCartney perform is everything you think it’s going to be and so much more. McCartney, the biggest act to perform at Firefly in its four year history, played for a crowd of 90,000 people on Friday night, accompanied by a light show, fireworks, and tree lights that changed with the rhythm of the song. His legendary status and magic radiated through the crowd all the way to the back where I was standing.
He opened up the show with a Happy Birthday wish to himself by singing “Birthday.” Going into the show, I wasn’t sure if I should expect Beatles songs or music by the Wings and McCartney only, but he played a mix of it all. He even called a fan up on stage to sign her tattoo.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGIde3h1Me8]
Hearing “Live and Let Die” and “Let It Be” live is going to be very hard to top for a very long time. When the fireworks went up at the end it was magical, just magical. It’s impossible to put into words what it is like to see Sir Paul McCartney in the flesh, but I’ll leave you with this.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FXADISAZ-g]
McCartney, at 73 years old, still looks good, sounds amazing, and boy, can he still rock. I highly recommend everyone take the chance to see him while he is still touring.
[tps_header]FOSTER THE PEOPLE[/tps_header]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKXGGwbi_14]
Foster the People kicked off Saturday nights show with a psychedelic, elongated intro that led into Pseudologia Fantastic. From there they played a pretty even amount of tracks from both of their albums. Some crowd favorites were “Waste,” “Coming of Age,” “Best Friend” and of course “Pumped Up Kicks.
Before playing their final few songs, Mark Foster, lead vocals, stopped the music to give a quick speech about honor. He explained the reason he was talking about honor was because Father’s Day was tomorrow and his father and stepfather were in the audience. Foster thanked them both for being honorable men and teaching him how to be honorable and respectful. Cheers, applause and “Awwws” filled the audience.
The band then broke into “Miss You,” followed by “The Truth.” They finished their Firefly set with “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Don’t Stop (Color on The Walls).”
[tps_header]STEVE AOKI[/tps_header]
When Firefly evacuated shortly after 9:30, people were devastated about Kid Cudi, Kings of Leon, and The Chainsmokers being canceled or cut short. But the name I heard mostly through the crowd of disappointed concert-goers as we walked home in the rain was Steve Aoki.
Our neighbors had come to Firefly solely to see Steve Aoki. His set being rained out devastated and angered a lot of people.
When we woke up Sunday morning with a notification from Firefly saying Steve Aoki would play at 2:30, people were pumped, and so was Aoki.
In the peak of the day’s heat, one of the largest crowds of the weekend packed in for Aoki, leaving no room for personal space. When he took the stage, people lost it. There was not a dry or still body in the audience.
Aoki doused the audience with champagne and streamers, and even famously caked fans in the front. He remixed Drake, Oasis, Green Day, Kid Cudi, and a childhood favorite, Lion King. The audience danced, moved, jumped and did whatever Aoki asked.
The show was a Firefly highlight for sure.
[tps_header]BASTILLE[/tps_header]
Bastille took the stage Sunday night. They played a series of fan favorites from “All This Bad Blood” and even graced Firefly attendees with some new songs. The crowd went crazy when the band performed their famous TLC cover of “No Scrubs.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6YqnpIXpgE]
Dan Smith, the lead singer, commented on the weather being just like a British music festival: hot and rainy.
During “Of The Night,” Smith confided in the audience that his dancing was terrible and embarrassing and he would need our help on the next song. He asked everyone to “get low,” but “not in a sexy way,” during the verses, and then jump during the chorus. The result was awesome.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO1kvD_qRT0]
Even in the upper 90 degree weather, Smith slipped on a hoodie in the middle of the set and made his way almost through to the back of the crowded audience. Then Bastille ended with an obvious choice, Pompeii, and the audience didn’t stop jumping.
The energy and the vocals of the performance blew me away.
[tps_footer]SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, FIREFLY![/tps_footer]
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