Major Lazer Wins Day One Of The Governors Ball 2012
No Switch? No Skerrit Bwoy? No daggering? No f***ing problem — that’s how Diplo seemed to approach the situation at The Governors Ball on Randall’s Island in NYC Saturday (Jun. 23), as Major Lazer proved they are still the hottest dance party around.
Diplo and new partner Jillionaire rocked the party from a tower of amps and woofers, with two booty dancers and new hype man Walshy Fire rounding out the scorching set. Diplo started off dapper as usual, with a nice suit vest, but pretty soon he was shirtless (as was a girl in a cape onstage…but we’ll get to that).
It’s almost pointless to mention songs (or try to take notes) at a Major Lazer show, as they don’t play songs so much as they play bursts of coordinated beats that work the crowd into an animalistic, gyrating frenzy. That said, they definitely played new cut “Get Free”, plus “Hold The Line” and “Original Don”. Beers, water and beach balls seemed to soar in a constant barrage over a sea of outstretched arms, and at one point Walshy Fire trotted out in a human hamster ball and…well, crowd-walked. It was just as awesome as it sounds.
At one point we were treated to a short remix of Azealia Banks‘ “212”, which is fitting since many surmised that Diplo had a hand in that hit upon first listen. Then, like Santigold before them, the crew brought out a few ladies from the crowd to dance to new song “Bubble Butt”. And that’s when Diplo wasn’t the only shirtless person on stage: One girl must’ve been gunning for one of those coveted booty dancer spots, as she went front and center bare-breasted while wearing a cape. That was also just as awesome as it sounds.
“Pon de Floor” came near the end of the set and the crowd obviously went berserk. To finish up, the guys plucked a scrawny, pasty guy to come on stage, where they commanded him to “lay down and don’t move”. They stripped him of his shorts — thankfully he wasn’t going commando — and he was then doused with water (“He’s getting waterboarded!” Ah, torture humor!) and the dancers proceeded to give him a full-body lap-dance. God, what we’d give to see them in a dance-off with Santi’s ladies.
If it weren’t clear yet, Major Lazer turned out a relentless, rambunctious performance. There’s something primal and visceral about their particular version of dance music that takes it from the usual EDM fun into this weird zone of musical euphoria. And that’s why it was the best set of Day One.
