From Boston Calling 2018: Friday Sound Bites

On the first day of Boston Calling, Chicago rapper Noname made it halfway through a song into her Friday afternoon set on the Green Stage before she stopped the band, turned to the audience, and said “I’m going to be completely transparent, I am a little bit drunk.” She added, “This may not go how y’all thought it would,” before jumping into the infectious “Diddy Bop” from her 2016 mixtape “Telefone.” She played off the crowd, asking for ad libs and orchestrating sing-alongs. A few-missed lines aside, Noname performed songs like “Reality Check” and “Casket Pretty” with so much joy, talent, and ease it was hard to tell she was tipsy. “Pretend like you love me, pretend like you love yourself,” she said, giggling and asking the audience to dance with her. “I’m gonna try and maneuver two more songs then take a motherfuckin’ nap in the back,” she said towards the end or her set—but not before an impressive performance of the song “Shadow Man.” When all was said and done, Noname ended her set over ten minutes early, but you’d be hard pressed to find an audience member who didn’t love every moment of it.

Later, decked out in a royal blue jumpsuit-cape combo complete with eyes, suns, and flowers, singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers took to the Red Stage to share songs from her 2017 EP “Now That the Light is Fading,” as well as an array of newer songs. The crowd gelled instantly with her soulful voice which, especially when hitting high notes, begs comparison to that of Florence Welch. Despite trying to keep the cool her smooth, subtle songs demand, she couldn’t help but keep breaking into small smiles. “Is anyone out there in love? Does anyone out there think they’re falling in love?” she asked before diving into a song about how in love she is today. Rogers radiated joy, sprinting through the center divide to touch hands and sing with the crowd, lamenting on how she’s only been performing for a year now. It’s hard, once you’ve heard her sing, to imagine she hasn’t been popular longer. By the time she dove into “Alaska,” her breakout hit, the audience was already enchanted.

Just minutes after Rogers wrapped up, Portugal. The Man took to the nearby Green Stage–or I should say played a video introduction at the Green Stage in which cartoon characters Beavis and Butt-Head poked fun at the band before ultimately deciding they are “gods,” better than The Beatles, better than The Rolling Stones, and almost as good as Pantera. Afterward, the band covered part of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” as an introduction to their own song “Purple Yellow Red & Blue.” The backdrop for the entire performance was a series of trippy, multicolored animations—a perfect fit for the lyrics “Live in ecstasy, I know what’s best for me.” Additionally, the band got laughs from a series of slogans they claimed were “written by our management” projected over the animations: “Fuck rock critics, you can kiss my whole asshole,” “We are Portugal. The Man! Just making sure you’re at the right concert,” and a questionably placed Malcolm X quote that read, “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” The set ended on a high note, complete with the slogan-recommendation “Let’s get weird,” as the entire audience jammed out to the band’s Grammy award-winning song “Feel it Still.”

Paramore wrapped up the opening day of Boston Calling at the Delta Blue Arena, one of the last shows before the headliner The Killers. The packed performance was well-attended and full of energy and nostalgia. In all-white clothing and electric blue and orange eye makeup, lead singer Hayley Williams said “This song goes out to Paramore” before practically catapulting into “Still Into You,” the entire crowd screaming along with her. Williams had an easy back and forth with her fans, even giving a shout out to newcomers. “If it’s your first time seeing a Paramore show, thank you,” she said. It didn’t matter if each person in the crowd was the biggest Paramore fan on earth or if they only knew one song, Paramore made the show something everyone could enjoy. The band balanced upbeat numbers with slower tracks like “Hate To See Your Heart Break,” during which the monitors projecting the band’s image went black and white to match the mood of the song. Williams spoke to the audience toward the end of her set about life, music, and fate. “Try to be present, it’s hard to be present,” she said. In that moment, all eyes in the crowd were on her.

—Staff Writer Allison J. Scharmann can be reached at allison.scharmann@thecrimson.com.