Governors Ball 2012 – day 1 pics (Passion Pit, Santigold, Chromeo, Special Disco Version, Kid Cudi, Major Lazer & more)

Passion Pit / Kud Cudi at Governors Ball – 6/23/12

Governors Ball went down in Randall’s Island over the weekend (6/23-6/24) with 26 bands across two stages and no overlapping sets. Day 1 was “headlined” by Passion Pit (though Kid Cudi played after them) and also included Chromeo, Major Lazer, Atmosphere, Santigold, Duck Sauce (Armand Van Helden and A-Trak), James Murphy & Pat Mahoney (Special Disco Version DJ set), and more. Probably the most anticipated set of the day was Passion Pit’s, who were playing their first NYC area show in about a year and a half, and first since announcing their new album and releasing two singles from it (both of which they played). NY Times didn’t seem to approve much of their set though, writing:

Saturday played out as a party punctuated by angst; there were many, many calls for putting hands in the air. Party and angst mix in Passion Pit, who work in two main modes: the shimmering anthem and the pulsating dance-pop song, both with more cryptic lyrics than might be expected. Passion Pit stacked the anthems at the beginning of the set-among them a new song, “Take a Walk,” about an immigrant who finds himself financially ruined-before revving up the dance tunes. But the stage didn’t add much beyond subwoofers to Passion Pit’s songs; Michael Angelakos’s vocals, mostly falsetto, needs studio help.

They wrote similar criticism of Kid Cudi, mentioning that he also needs the safety net of the studio, but were very positive about Day 1’s selection of dance music, including Special Disco Version, Duck Sauce, and Major Lazer. What did you think? Or did you just go on the (much better day) Sunday?

Pictures from Sunday are on the way. More from Saturday below…

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Governor's Ball