It would be ridiculous for me to present this article before addressing what everyone is really thinking about: Alex Turner’s hair (R.I.P. 2006-2018). The infamous decision shocked the masses and brought me back to circa-2007 Britney Spears. His luscious locks bid farewell and the British hunkas we once knew him was gone forever…well, not quite. In fact, you’d be excited to learn that Turner’s hair seems to be growing back fast, as he sported a short buzz cut this past Friday that didn’t look half bad. Fear not ladies, Turner will be back sporting his greasy ‘do in no time.

Andrew Goldberg / Ingrid Angulo for WRBB.

May 11th, 2018 can be marked as either a tragic or joyous holiday. After a five-year hiatus, the release of Arctic Monkeys’ highly anticipated album 

polarized fans, as they either drowned in sorrows or rejoiced the band’s ultimate resurgence. But last Friday, all fans put their judgments aside to pack TD Garden for a healthy dose of anything and everything AM. Despite a fiercely debated album, the devotion to the borderline cult-classic status band proved that Arctic Monkeys will stand the test of time and continue to pack venues (and even invoke a few fangirl tears) no matter what new direction they follow.

Surrounding me was a wide scope of fans, ranging from 16 to 60 years old, all congregating to enjoy some rock & roll and let loose for a night. Quite a few seats remained unclaimed despite a passionate and diverse batch of fans, but what the crowd lacked in numbers was made up for in decibels. The moment the band walked out to greet the fans with everyone’s current 

favorite ‘Four Out of Five’ was the moment the crowd went absolutely 

. No one in the arena could keep still as America’s favorite British quartet took the stage with their equally charming touring musicians.

, the band traveled back in time to deliver their pre-2011 relics, including ‘Brianstorm,’ ‘Teddy Picker,’ and ‘505’ from 2007’s 

; ‘Crying Lighting’ from 2009’s crowd-favorite 

; and ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ from 2011’s 

. After the much-needed throwback, they sporadically yet artfully intermixed songs from their newest release, including title track ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino,’ with a slew of 

jams. Through it all, the crowd maintained a high energy, taking any and all songs with the same level of gratitude and excitement as the next. Though the material covered over ten years of AM’s discography, they were able to seamlessly transition from one song into the next in true 2018 

Closing out the first half of their set with ‘The Ultracheese,’ Arctic Monkeys inevitably graced the crowd with 2013’s 

masterpieces (including the obligatory ‘Do I Wanna Know?’) before keeping with the tradition of playing ‘I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor’ for the “

” from their debut full-length that was released 12 (!!!) years ago.

With the final notes of ‘Arabella’ ringing, it was quite obvious they would return for an encore, but not before a mysteriously large, mirrored cube appeared downstage. Its presence seemed to spur interest and excited speculation before AM strutted back to the stage, only to reveal that the cube spun around 360° to reflect stars across the arena as Turner crooned through ‘Star Treatment.’ A bit cliché for my tastes, but I still appreciated the thought that went into it. The (theoretical) curtain closed after ‘R U Mine?,’ and fans, though rabid for the band, dipped out early enough to catch a less crowded train.

The show was exactly what you would expect from Arctic Monkeys, from elaborate drum fills to Turner’s obnoxiously flamboyant movements. If you’re interested to know what I’m talking about, please refer to the informational videos that I’ve linked below.

Photos by: Andrew Goldberg | Edited by: Ingrid Angulo

Arctic Monkeys @ TD Garden

Boston Calling has officially closed its doors on day two in preparation of their grand Sunday finale. Luckily, Saturday was much better than Friday. Not only did the sun decide to show up (for a hot second), all the artists seemed to have an energy to them that excited the crowd and made it a festival to start talking about. Not only did we get to enjoy Hannibal Buress’ A+ comedy set, but we were able to catch some great acts like Boston native Cousin Stizz, indie rap-god 

, and supergroup The xx. The 1975 also delivered a lively set, but they ended about 15 minutes early and rushed into a sprinter van before they could even be summoned for an encore.

3 Reasons Why Danny Brown’s Set was 3 Times Better than Migos (Even though there were 3x less rappers)

Waiting for his set to start his DJ didn’t assault the audience every 3 seconds saying “ARE YOU READY FOR [insert artist]”. It was unnecessary, the crowd WAS ready for [insert artist]. He dove right into his set without any fluff or any DJ posturing. He started exactly as scheduled and didn’t need any other rapper’s hits to hype the crowd up. As soon as he screeched out his signature “CHEEECKKK” that was it. He had everyone ecstatic.

While not necessarily a bad thing in every case, often a criticism of hip-hop live shows is that the artists often don’t give fully autonomous performances. They simply play their songs and in the worst cases (i.e. Riff Raff) kind of vibe out to their own music on stage and just hop in every once in awhile to say the last few words of a line then just go back to dancing around. It feels a bit dis-ingenuine, and when done poorly can rob a set of its’ authenticity. In Migos’ performance, a combination of poor microphone technique coupled with a bad case of the Riff-Raff’s led to the very antithesis of the Danny Brown show. Danny Brown was passionate, rapping fluidly without any vocals behind him, sounding crisp and clean. The only time Brown used any backing vocals was for a chorus here or there. The thing was though you could barely tell because his preceding lines blended seamlessly with the recorded vocals. He wasn’t simply an entertainer on that stage, he was an artist.

While the Migos’ DJ did a fair job of hyping the crowd up and would interject with silly things like “MIIIGOOOSS” every once in a while, Danny Brown’s SKYWLKR, Bruiser Brigade’s resident in-house producer, did a better job at getting the crowd going while remaining totally mute. Rather than speak into a mic, he spoke by using his laptop, keeping things interesting by changing up the beats on songs, seamlessly transitioning from the instrumentals that we know and love, to playing a modified or totally unheard instrumental for a couple lines before going back to the original backing track. At times his presence was equally as felt as the artist he was supporting, and his productional touch on every song he was involved with was exceedingly clear.

We’re looking forward to Sunday with performances like Mitski, Cage the Elephant, and Weezer on the lineup.

Check out our Snapchat @wrbb1049 for some #sick updates on Day 3.

Boston Calling Day Two Recap/Migos’ bashing

As Boston Calling Day One wraps up, here’s some of our favorite acts and some stuff that we wish would’ve been a liiittllee bit different. CH-CH-CHECK IT OUT!!!

Perhaps one of the biggest letdowns of the entire festival (calling it now) was that 

bowed out at the last minute of the festival lineup and was replaced with rap sensation 

. While we didn’t catch the whole set, the opening was typical of hip-hop acts of their caliber, in that the first 30 minutes was a DJ set of top 40 hip-hop hits with the actual act coming on much later. While this isn’t unusual, it still was quite disappointing nonetheless, especially in replacement of an artist that was so highly anticipated. Solange was one of the reasons why we were so excited to cover the festival, and to see her go so unexpectedly was quite a shock. Hopefully there will be a chance to catch her again sometime this summer, but with her sporadic touring schedule, it’s doubtful. Shouts out to Migos.

Two acts that didn’t let us down in the slightest were 

. In typical Whitney fashion, they delivered a great set full of crowd interaction and an eclectic set list, including the Golden Girls theme song. Also included was a very mellow, new, and unreleased track from their upcoming release TBD. They didn’t neglect any of the old favorites, however, playing all of the crowd-favorites off their debut record Light Upon the Lake. Mac DeMarco delivered an incredible set as well, filled with energy while still maintaining technical proficiency, and was a perfect prelude to the main headliners. He absolutely filled the Blue Stage, which was isolated from the other two on one of Harvard’s athletic fields lending to the amicable environment. It felt like everyone in the crowd was in on the same inside joke in the best way possible. Also, shockingly, it seemed Mac DeMarco’s voice actually improved over the last few years from when we last saw him perform live. His soothing, deep voice flowed like honey over the audience filling our ears with gooey goodness. I guess there’s something to be said for smoking upwards of two packs a day. Advice for any aspiring indie/singer-songwriter.

Boston Calling is still trying to find its way into festival relevancy, and they’ve made some pretty key mistakes since they started up in 2013. Perhaps their biggest accomplishment aside from snagging a solid lineup was the venue change. Going from the Boston Government Center to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston, the festival grounds were noticeably more welcoming and spacious. There was even a ferris wheel to add to the setting. Unfortunately, every single food vendor had about an hour to two hour wait time during key times, as did the bathrooms. You would think that with all of the people waiting to eat, the crowds at the stages wouldn’t be too bad, but as the festival grows it seems that one lesson to be learned by Boston Calling staff is crowd control. At times, due to stage placement and the location of the amenities, it sometimes was a hectic environment to be in. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, since Hannibal Buress will be making a special appearance with a 45 minute comedy set. Bringing comedians out to festivals like this is genius, and more concert promoters should consider conquering the comedy scene.

All in all, 2.5/5, but I’m expecting some improvements in the next couple of days.

. We’ll be updating all day from Boston Calling Day Two!

Boston Calling Day One Recap

Boston Calling is just around the corner, and everyone in the greater Boston area is warming up for a hot and sweaty festival weekend. Luckily, here at WRBB we had the privilege of covering the fest last year back when it was in the concrete playground that is the Government Center. This year, however, the festival is a totally different beast. Now being held in the underground-rock haven neighborhood of Allston at the Harvard Athletic Complex, it brings an incredibly impressive lineup of 45 knock-out acts (compared to last year’s paltry 23). The lineup early evening is filled with acts such as Solange, Mac Demarco and The XX that could’ve easily headlined the fest themselves in the past years, not to mention a comedy set from the stand-up legend and Adult Swim resident Hannibal Buress. The impressive lineup and other structural improvements to the fest are perhaps due in part to the change from a bi-annual event to a once-a-year affair. Bringing acts like 

, Mumford & Sons, and (of course) Chance the Rapper, Boston Calling is making a big comeback by putting themselves on the map for avid, loyal festival-goers. The doubling down on focus and budget are quite evident from the lineup and WRBB has incredibly high expectations, and we’re looking forward to a great festival.

Keep reading to find out who we’re most excited to see at Boston Calling.

 on May 5th, DeMarco brings a whole new level of maturity to his music, and I’m excited to see it on stage. DeMarco has also secured his spot on many festival lineups across the pond, including Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Oya Festival in Norway, and Rock En Seine in Paris. This is a year full of DeMarco, and 

Be sure to check out Mac DeMarco on Friday, May 26th on the Delta Blue Stage at 6:45pm.

Mondo Cozmo is brand new to the game, but he’s kicking some serious ass. With just five songs under his belt, he has already secured festival spots at Sasquatch, Firefly, Lollapalooza, Governor’s Ball, 

Bonnaroo. He has set himself up for some serious success in the coming months. Here’s to hoping he announces his debut album soon.

Listen to Mondo Cozmo’s new song “Automatic” here:

After a series of sputtering non-memorable releases in the past couple years, Solange Knowles, sister of Beyonce Knowles had a considerable amount to prove. This past year however she completely blew her past discography (and most other discographies of other artists in her lane) completely out of the water. Passionate, innovative and honest, aptly named 

quickly gained wide-spread commercial and critical success even winning Pitchfork’s album of the year. Having conquered the studio, this summer Solange sets her sight on the festival circuit. I am not entirely sure what to expect and how the more laid-back studio sound will translate into a live festival performance but I can’t wait.

From someone who has seen Danny Brown live more than a few times already, let me tell you he is not someone you want to miss out on. He is one artist whose trademark high-energy and passion on his albums clearly translates to his live performances without going off the rails. He has a unique ability to retain his composure and technical competence on stage while still maintaining an electric connection to the audience, amounting to one of the most fun live music experience around. He has the stage presence of an A-list stadium-filling sensation while still retaining a striking honesty and authenticity unparalleled to other hip-hop artists of his caliber. Even though I’ve seen him before I’ve never seen him in Boston and I’ll take any excuse I can to go wild at a hip-hop show.

Read about his hit single “Really Doe” 

 and check him out next Saturday at the festival!

. Or if you want to save a few hundred dollars, stay tuned to wrbbradio.org for content updates each day including set reviews and other festival coverage as well as following us on twitter at 

for LIVE in the moment coverage and updates. Boston Calling here we come!

The East Coast heats up in preparation for Boston Calling

Y’all be desperate for summer tunez?! WRBB’s got you covered. Check out our new summer playlist hitting you in the face this 

From Kanye to Bright Eyes to more Kanye, you’ll definitely find something to jiggle to. This playlist is so lit, it requires SPF 104.9 (get it? LOL!!!!)

Check out our Top 10 from the playlist below.

Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2 by Kanye West

Brooke Baumgartner