The Naked and Famous were appreciated by receptive, diehard fans. Magic Liwanag
THE ANNUAL Wanderland Music and Arts Festival has always been well-attended since its debut in 2013, but never has it amassed a crowd as packed as it had this month, when it assembled what was perhaps its strongest roster of artists yet, led by the indie folk band Bon Iver and the alternative rock group Death Cab for Cutie.
In the event’s past editions, the grassy expanse around the stage usually had ample room to easily move around, and the throng of revelers hardly ever extended near the technical booth farther back.
This time, going from point A to B likely required one to scan the vicinity and map out the best path available—one that preferably does not involve a lot of squeezing through sweaty bodies and skipping over wayward limbs on the ground.
But the volume of people was most apparent when lining up for food and drinks. The queues, especially after the sun had set, were discouragingly long, and a concertgoer could end up spending an hour, at times even more, for a slice of unevenly heated pizza. And arguably, the biggest quandary for the famished bunch was the prospect of being stuck in line, just as their favorite act was about to take the stage.
That was exactly what happened when at last Justin Vernon, frontman of the 10-piece band Bon Iver, emerged onstage. Some were torn: To leave or not to leave? That was the question.
But for many others, who made a frantic dash for the stage, the answer was clear: A grumbling stomach was simply no match for an aching heart, in dire need of cathartic music.
There would be “feels,” a fan beside us shrieked. And with his earnest baritone, Vernon unleashed the first wave with “Perth.” There was no letting up. “I want y’all to yell as much as you can,” bellowed the American singer-songwriter, who enraptured the audience at Globe Circuit Events Grounds in Makati City, with intricately layered sounds that melded folk and modern influences.
Many of the songs started pensively, before swelling into galloping beats, languorous synths and wailing guitar riffs. And often, they were interspersed with drawn-out instrumental interludes made haunting, mystical even, by the swathe of otherworldly harmonies that came out of the mouths of The Staves, a trio of female singers from the United Kingdom.
BON IVER vocalist Justin Vernon
In “Blindsided” and “Michicant,” Vernon was soothing with his velvety cooing; in “Woods,” rousing and discordant. Vernon was at his most potent, however, when he stripped all frippery off his music, as in his performance of “Skinny Love,” which he delivered like a battering blow of sledgehammer straight into the chest.
Sitting on a stool and armed with only an acoustic guitar, Vernon was raw and fervent, slamming his fingers against the strings, his earthy growls growing in intensity by the second: “And in the morning, I’ll be with you / But it will be a different kind.”
Another big draw at the space-themed fourth edition of the festival—mounted by Karpos Multimedia—was the indie-electronic band from New Zealand, The Naked and Famous, which dispensed a lengthy set of mostly fun, midtempo ditties that were at times chill and atmospheric, and other times curiously punk rock-inflected, like “All of This.”
Lead vocalist Alisa Xayalith, who traded singing duties with the guitarist, Thom Powers, was charming. She radiated a joyful energy, and at one point even played the tambourine, as she sang and danced about. “I don’t think that’s possible,” she retorted to a fan holding a banner that read, “Would you sign my liver?”
She also led raucous sing-along moments, the loudest of which came during the band’s performance of its hit song, “Young Blood,” which had a good chunk of the crowd waving their colorful glow sticks aloft, amid thick curlicues of cigarette smoke that billowed lazily and dissipated in the air. “Thank you for bringing us here!” she said.
Earlier that day, foreign and local acts alike showed off their wares: Oh Flamingo, Jensen and the Flips, San Cisco, Panama, Cheats, Curtismith, Commandeur, Chad Valley, Blackbird Blackbird, as well as CRWN x Jess Connelly.
The night’s headliner was the American group Death Cab for Cutie, which previously played in Manila in 2012.
Technical hiccups aside—frontman Ben Gibbard remarked that the stage seemed to be made of trampoline; a few times, he had to switch guitars—the band powered through a propulsive, 19-song set that opened with “No Room in Frame.”
Death Cab likewise provided romantic, tear-jerking fare. But unlike Vernon, the group swaddled the melancholia in bouncy arena-rock instrumentation, with the occasional country flair and touch of whimsy.
“Black Sun” has a sexy retro vibe; “El Dorado,” the show’s most spirited. “No Sunlight” was infectiously jaunty, while “What Sarah Said”—one of the more popular songs in the repertoire—was a wistful ballad that bared a gentler side to Gibbard.
To a burst of confetti, Death Cab ended the night with “Transatlanticism,” a slow-burning lamentation about long-distance love, which built up and peaked with a steady pounding of percussion and pining cries. “The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flatlands to your door/ Have been silenced forever more,” Gibbard sang. Then, the crowd, thicker than ever, begged for more.
E-mail apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph