Way Out West Festival: Day Two (Göteborg, Sweden; Aug. 12, 2011)

Total. Sensory. Overload. That’s the best possible description of what it’s like to enter Göteborg, Sweden’s Way Out West festival.

Held at Slottsskogen, a huge park in the central part of the city, this festival’s features are simply too much to take in. There are three main stages. Flamingo and Azalea, the two largest, are situated at the center. Linné, the smallest, is at the rear of the festival area and is the only stage with a canopy to shield fans from the weather. There’s also a VIP area offering private DJ sets and additional creature comforts for artists, business owners, and members of the press. Throughout the park, giant LED monitors hang on metal structures so that patrons waiting at a different stage can still enjoy the current performance from a distance. Friendly and helpful staff members are positioned everywhere, and happily answer questions in either Swedish or English. As I enter the main area, I think to myself, “Don’t eat, don’t rest, don’t even breathe. This may be the greatest thing you ever do.”

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Linné Stage
Opening the day’s festivities are Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. The many members take up almost all available space on the event’s smallest platform. Before they begin, frontman Alex Ebert warns us that he’s very sick, and to close our mouths if he breathes on us. Judging from his attire, he might be less susceptible to illness if he washed his clothes more often. Disease vectors aside, the crowd of early birds adores this band. People are immediately singing and smiling on the first song, “40 Day Dream,” and they continue to do so throughout the band’s energetic performance. With so many musicians onstage and so much audience participation, it’s like we’re all in the band. They’re all a bit eccentric, in both dress and action. Ebert meanders around the stage waving a roll of black gaffers’ tape at us, and asks us how old we were when we learned we were gonna die. The unpredictability and hold-over hippie vibe is what makes them enjoyable. They conclude their set with “Home,” the joyful resonance of which carries throughout the park.

Christian Kjellvander, Azalea Stage
A last-minute addition to the festival, Christian Kjellvander and his accompanying band are situated at the center of the stage. Their music is initially subdued and sorrowful against the blaring midday sun, and Kjellvander hides his face under long stringy hair and a corduroy hat. After “the Long Distance Runner” and “Bad Hurtn,” the pace picks up significantly. Alt-country influences peek through, and the delivery remains pained and earnest as the band migrates from sad folk ballads to powerhouse jams. Lyrics play with the English language a bit, and he draws his pick across the guitar strings with an elegant flair. They’ve got a lovely, drawling song that simply captivates me. It’s called “Oregon Coast,” and it gives me a tiny taste of home in this unfamiliar city. Each song is more entrancing than the last, but this one feels like he’s singing directly to me, the lone Oregonian in this crowd of sleepy-eyed drifters. The instruments are subtle, hiding in the shadows of Kjellvander’s warm and rolling voice. He and his band conclude with a boisterous jam, breaking fully free of their earlier songs and infusing the bustling crowd with gladness.

The Avett Brothers, Flamingo Stage
They begin with a cover, the everybodyfields’ “Magazines.” It’s almost impossibly loud, and the band’s superhuman energy is infectious from the first note. Their cellist holds his instrument in the air as he plays, and the band members stomp vigorously at the stage beneath their feet. The band makes a point of projecting, and their high-speed singing paired with quick banjo plucking inspires a hoedown in the audience. This set is made of exclamation points. It’s flawless. Equal in talent and graciousness, the singer tells the crowd “thank you so much for having us in your beautiful country.” They tone it down slightly for “And it Spread,” yet one of the Brothers screams the final note so hard he stumbles into his bandmate. This band is almost indescribably good, and though I’m clamoring for more, I must cross the park for another performance. “Paranoia in B Major” is the last song I experience up close, but the ubiquitous video monitors allow me to continue enjoying them from afar. They conclude with the wildly popular “I and Love and You.” Avett Brothers, I’ll be back to see you again. I promise. 

Janelle Monaé, Azalea Stage
Dramatic instrumentation plays over a stage shrouded in mystery. A dapper-looking emcee clad in a top hat and tails bounds out to introduce Janelle Monaé. Everything is draped in black-and-white elegance, and a small orchestra is seated at the rear of the stage. Backup singers wearing matching striped, shoulder-padded jackets approach their respective microphones, and three ghoulish druid-like figures shuffle slowly across the floor. Classical music plays, conducted by the keyboardist, and the entire support team moves in a heavily-choreographed fashion. The druids sway in time with the music, and the one at the center reveals herself to be the divine Ms. Monaé. Her voice is clear and powerful, ringing out over the many crowd members swinging their hips uncontrollably to her music. The remaining druids stagger to and fro, wearing white masks with long pointed noses. During an instrumental outro, Ms. Monaé demonstrates a perfect moonwalk. This dance ushers in a downright fantastic cover of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back,” and the audience members go appropriately berserk. Monaé and her band are an electric force, performing their own songs and others’ with an expert’s grace. During “Tightrope,” a man creeps over to reapply Monaé’s cloak, and she twirls in it like a glamorous matador. More favorites from The ArchAndroid emanate from the stage before Ms. Monaé and her entourage bid us adieu. Their stamina has been incredible, and I wish it were contagious.

Fleet Foxes, Azalea Stage
There’s a twangy acoustic intro as Fleet Foxes begin. “Grown Ocean” opens a tight and polished set, the quality of which is bolstered by the festival’s impeccable sound engineering. The band’s harmonies are enchanting, and usher in the coming evening beautifully. Though the members stay mostly still throughout their performance, they are excellent performers and certainly easy on the eyes. It’s possible that they are conserving their energy in order to turn out a stellar set. With such competition today, who could blame them? The tempo on “Your Protector” is slightly slowed and tailored to an outdoor concert setting, but “White Winter Hymnal” is rich and engaging. As their performance draws to a close, two members of Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes sit next to me. This is a communal atmosphere, and the bands are dedicated to supporting one another. Fleet Foxes play for quite a long time, and maintain a captivating hold on the patrons who’ve nestled into the trampled grass to watch them. As is common with the visiting bands, they thank the audience profusely before departing.

Robyn, Flamingo Stage
It’s no surprise that Robyn has drawn the largest crowd so far at this event. While she may sell out a 1,000-person venue in the U.S., in her native Sweden, she is a national treasure who sells out huge sports arenas. Two giant Lucite pinwheels flank the drum set, and a booming robotic voice comes over the sound system to announce our arrival at Konichiwa Headquarters. The backing band members are dressed all in white, and the thumping bass is strong enough to incite cardiac arrest. Pinwheels begin to spin as she appears, bounding onto the stage in platform Timberland boots. She begins with “Fembot,” which quickly becomes a several-thousand-person sing-along. Robyn dances wildly, balancing on the toes of her skyscraping shoes and running laps around the stage. The next song, “Dancing On My Own,” is even more popular than its predecessor. She sings it with a wry grin, and hugs herself when it’s over. In the middle of her performance, Robyn begins her trademark eating of a banana, and throws the empty peel at the eager audience. A piece of the flying fruit lands on my face, and I’m momentarily grossed out. However, friends of mine would kill for this honor, so I smile and continue singing along. After the banana incident, she lies on her back in front of her two drum sets to sing “Indestructible” in a horizontal position. Robyn closes out her phenomenally energetic set and disappears. She returns shortly afterwards for the only encore of the festival, and sings the beloved anthem, “Hang With Me.” “With Every Heartbeat” marks the official end of her appearance.

iamamiwhoami, Linné Stage
After months of secrecy and speculation about her mysterious identity, iamamiwhoami was revealed to be Swedish singer Jonna Lee. Before this revelation, she was assumed to be Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, or any number of other blonde-haired divas. Way Out West is her first public appearance as iamamiwhoami, so there’s quite a bit of hype surrounding this performance. Lee has requested no cameras, yet professional cameras snap constantly from the crowd. She’s tiny and lithe, and difficult to see from a distance. Lee rolls around on a bed built from toilet paper rolls, and only one of the three video monitors shows her image. The other two capture audience members’ puzzled facial expressions. Much of the performance involves a backing track from a DJ paired with unintelligible lyrics, and frankly none if it is terribly interesting. The conceptual art of it all is a bit excessive and gimmicky, and I’m disinclined to stay for the duration.

Prince, Flamingo Stage
There are few musicians who linger at the top of most people’s “artists to see before I die” lists quite like Prince. I’m about to add a big, sparkling, purple check mark to mine. The anticipation is palpable, and no lights or music are present to pass the time as we await The Artist’s appearance. At last, the telltale violet stage lights shine. A woman dressed head-to-toe in gold walks onto the stage, and the iconic Prince symbol flashes on the Jumbotron. Finally, there he is! He looks damn good, and is wearing what looks like a combination poncho and kimono complete with elaborate embroidery. Prince nods from the shadows, and begins with “1999,” which he notoriously refused to play live for nearly a decade. Strangely, the volume is much lower than any of the previous performances of the day. It’s hard to be immersed in the music when straining to hear it. Still, I’m seeing a legend; I’ll take what I can get.

Prince plays a few more classics, including “Little Red Corvette,” but seems to be phoning it in. He’s subdued and reserved, which is a bit of a let-down after this mind-blowing day. He grins and nods with a satisfied expression, and makes saucy comments to the crowd. Soon, the opening notes of “Let’s Go Crazy” begin, and I can’t help but follow his instructions. Near as I can tell, I’m the only one yelling “OH NO/ LET’S GO!” along with him. Know what? Don’t care. The song turns out to be a medley, and the crowd’s energy picks up considerably once they realize it’s a new combination. A several minute instrumental intro leads into “Purple Rain.” Prince struts out onto the catwalk and commands us to sing. As we do, confetti cannons shoot tissue paper purple rain into the air. During an interlude, Prince begins to tell us of the importance of everybody singing together and working together. “Every earthly voice must be raised high,” he says, and audience members gleefully agree. When he begins to lecture about praying together, he’s met with less enthusiasm and shifts focus back to performing for another hour or more.

Though exhausted, overheated, and dancing on a severely swollen ankle, I’ll take a cue from Prince and punch a higher floor. There’s another day of this tomorrow.

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Way Out West Festival review to your liking? You'll sweat:

Robyn - Bigfoot Stage (Sasquatch! 2011; May 28)

The Avett Brothers + Langhorne Slim - Crystal Ballroom (Portland-town, OR; Aug. 30, 2010)

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Bigfoot Stage (Sasquatch! 2010; May 29)

Fleet Foxes + The Cave Singers - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; May 1, 2011)

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