Founders Entertainment are proud to present the inaugural Governors Ball Music Festival (www.govball.com), a one day event to be held June 18 on New York City’s Governors Island. Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, and Empire of the Sun are joined by Big Boi (of Outkast), Neon Indian, People Under The Stars, Mac Miller, Miami Horror, Passion Pit (DJ Set), Reptar, Outasight and other artists to be announced over the coming weeks. Closing out the festival will be Pretty Lights, whose rising popularity will be complimented by his brand new state of the art production.
The Governors Ball promises to be a massive mid-summer dance party of epic proportions. Performances will take place on two stages without overlapping sets, and feature stunning views. The artists appearing at the inaugural Governors Ball are diverse in scope and sound, spanning indie rock, dance, electronica, and hip hop, but the common theme and guiding force behind the festival is music that gets people of all walks of life moving, dancing and having a good time.
One of the final frontiers of the New York area concert scene, Governors Island has recently played host to a variety of successful music events including concerts by Erykah Badu, Panda Bear, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, MIA, Sleigh Bells, Passion Pit and many others. The Governors Ball will mark the first time in which a full-fledged music festival will take place upon the island. Access to and from the festival grounds will be via ferry boats, which will leave from Pier 11, at the corner of South Street & Wall Street in downtown Manhattan.
Tickets on sale at 10 am EST February 24th, 2011.
For more information visit www.govball.com
The sound is very bass heavy, but I think you’ll still enjoy “Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun live from Terminal 5 in New York. This video will give you a taste of their live show – costumes, lights and the best parts of an LSD fantasy.
Is it real now when two people become one? (Ironic lyric since the duo is only one guy now).
On August 9, 2010, Australian band Empire of the Sun played their second ever show in New York at Terminal 5. Almost everything about the evening was just a bit off. The night started off for me with a strange encounter with lead singer and sole original member Luke Steele. Once the show began, we were “treated” to an hour long DJ set where the bass was so heavy, it was nearly impossible to hear the music. Also, when a DJ opens for a band in a standing room only venue for a sold out show, it’s nearly impossible to dance and watching a DJ mix records is hardly exciting. The audience seemed confused by a scantily clad woman, wearing a white wig and a mask who sat on a chair on stage reading a pamphlet for the enitre hour and didn’t move. Empire of the Sun came out finally at 10:15 (zoinks!) and as usual at shows, the photographer pit in front of the first row is occupied for the first 3 songs. Many of the photographers were standing on a riser thus blocking the view of the people in the front row and a shoving match ensued. It nearly ended in a fist fight with people being ejected from the venue but it was narrowly avoided. The spectacle made the first part of the show a very uncomfortable experience. Coupled with the fact that Terminal 5′s notoriously horrible sound system was in full effect tonight, at times, it was impossible to tell what song was being played.
On the up side, Empire of the Sun was great. They had awesome visuals, great costumes, cool lighting and dancers that were straight out of an LSD trip. They played their entire debut album “Walking on the Sun,” (except for “Country”) as well as a few new songs. Luke Steele played guitar and keyboards, danced around the stage a little bit, and had some over the top costumes. The show was a very lean hour long, which is pretty disappointing considering most shows in the Great Depression of 2010 consist of 3 acts so you really get the most bang for your buck even if you don’t end up enjoying all of them. The general consensus in the front row was “it was a great show BUT….” With that kind of word of mouth, it’s uncertain if we’ll ever get to see Empire of the Sun perform in the United States again, since their debut performances in the States are based off their 2 year old album. The future is uncertain for this band, but as I said previously, I left the show with a smile on my face. If you don’t know Empire of the Sun’s music, I definitely recommend their album “Walking on a Dream,” as it sounds like familiar songs from the New Wave era of the 80s, yet they are all originals.
See more pictures (including the Swordfish Hotkiss Nights dancers) as well as the set list after the jump.
It’s really hard to write this without sounding ungrateful, so I’ll just try and tell you the facts and you can draw your own conclusions. After the jump, of course….
Be the First to Comment 
