Boston Calling Loses Momentum at Sundown on Sunday
As the sun set on City Hall Plaza Sunday night, it took with it all of the momentum that Boston Calling had gained throughout the day — scratch that, the weekend.
Acts like The 1975, Twenty-One Pilots, and Lake Street Dive pumped up the crowd on Sunday, the third and final day of the festival. As Spoon played the dusk set between 7 and 8 p.m., all things were pointing to an epic finish to a chaotic weekend.
Let it be said, The Replacements playing Boston Calling was a big deal, especially for local fans of the band who had been waiting more than two decades to see the group play a reunion show. But for the college kids, who made up the majority of the audience, beach balls and Jenga proved more interesting than the final act performing on the red stage.
Halfway through their 8:15 set, The Mats threw it back to another genre and generation of music, pre-dating their success. Their cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back’’ had people both on the ground level and up in the VIP section stepping in tune.
After that, it was back to more of the punk rock that made The Replacements “one of the most important bands of the American underground scene in the ’80s,’’ according to ultimateclassicrock.com.
If only everyone could have had as much fun jamming to Paul Westerberg and his bandmates as this one lady, who was clad in white Bermuda shorts and a tank top. She spun and kicked and danced throughout the set — apparently that’s where the energy of the rest of the crowd went.
At 9:30, after The Replacements played an encore song (a rare occurrence at Boston Calling) while Nas x The Roots finished prepping, the day’s second headliner took the blue stage.
Well, half of the final headliner.
Before Nas took the stage at 9:30 p.m., rumors floated through the VIP section that he would be performing “Illmatic’’ in its entirety during his set.
The album, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and spurred Nas to tour in its honor, runs just under 40 minutes which would have left plenty of room for jam sessions by The Roots.
If only the rumor had been true. Nas basically opened for The Roots.
Nas x The Roots read to most as an on-stage collaboration between the “Illmatic’’ emcee and Grammy-winning group, but the musicians only shared the stage for a transition song.
The Grammy-nominated rapper dished out a 30-minute set which included his radio hits like “If I Ruled the World’’ and “One Mic,’’ but the tracks felt flat and left the crowd virtually motionless save for a few waving hands.
After Nas finished opening for The Roots, the group did what it could to salvage its time on stage, but not even a few bars of Kool and the Gang’s “Jungle Boogie’’ could keep the crowd from drifting toward the exits in the festival’s final hour.
If the acts had to split time, it has to be asked: Why didn’t The Roots play first, invigorate the crowd with live music, and then introduce Nas, who walked onto the stage without so much as a name drop from his hype man, er — DJ.
Boston Calling, your Sam Adams Octoberfest collaboration, lawn games, food vendors, and dedication during thunderstorms impressed me this weekend. Wish I could say the same for your last few acts.
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