Lindsay Rittenhouse, co-founder of Track Marks

Well, it was Friday, June 1, and Governor’s Ball was raging. There I was stuck inside One World Plaza, working, staring at the clock. Almost time to leave and meet the fiancé, the other half of TrackMarks, and our good friends Rob and V. Oh yeah, and see the friggen Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs—my first real act of Friday.

I walked on the Gov Ball scene to Tash Sultana who was obviously amazing. That girl can play the damn guitar, and drums and trumpet and mandolin and saxophone and keyboard and … you get the point. Then Tash sadly ended. I didn’t get my fill but it was OK because then I was headed to watch Karen O kill it.

And kill it, she did. We were still walking to the stage when we starting hearing “Oh so all my loving’ go’s” and Y Control was in full swing. Oh yeah, we were running, then dancing to Black Tongue, Down Boy, Runaway! Aw yeah, Karen was her energetic, wacky, crazed self. And why shouldn’t she be? She was home in New York City! She did disappear from the stage for a hot second and we figured she was doing a quick bump (no judgment). And then she was back and we were rocking out again. She played Sacrilege, Maps and Heads Will Roll and, yeah, heads did roll in the audience. And then she was gone, but not without leaving me feeling like I did a line myself. What a show!

Now, onto the next band. Well beer first. And a vodka drink. And another beer. And then we bounced back and forth between Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley and The Glitch Mob. Marley was dope. The Glitch Mob was trippy.

Now it was time for the worst conflict of Gov Ball. Jack White vs. James Blake. I mean, come on! Do I want to trance out to “Life Round Here” or rock out to “Over and Over and Over?” (those were the openers, by the way). I chose “Life Round Here” first and stayed until “Lindisfame I.” I couldn’t stay for “Lindisfame II.”

I had to go rock out! And oh boy did I rock out! Not enough kiddos at Governor’s Ball appreciated Jack White enough. I mean, hello, it was the only rock n’ roll headliner of the weekend. Kids would rather watch Travis Scott. Such a shame. That’s not to say I wasn’t disappointed to miss “Limit to Your Love” and “Retrograde.”

But, anyway, I had a blast at Jack White! I got to the main stage just as White was soothingly telling the audience, “I won’t let love disrupt, corrupt or interrupt me.” Oh and then we jumped and writhed to two, count ‘em TWO, White Stripes songs—Cannon and Black Math. In fact, White’s show was heavy on the White Stripes. He played The Same Boy You’ve Always Known, We’re Going to Be Friends, Hello Operator and more! And closed with Seven Nation Army into Icky Thumb! White really captivated the festival and set the tone for how a headliner should put on a fucking show. He’s a true rockstar and make no mistake, when you hear those guitar riffs, there’s no one helping him out. That’s all Jack; he’s the only guitarist on stage. I doubt Eminem or Travis Scott did as well (although I can’t say I stuck around to find out).

Eric and I did attend Saturday; for a bit. We had to fight our way through a crowd of rowdy Gen Zs just to get through the gate, but hey, we survived. We had prior commitments so we didn’t stay the whole day. Plus, there’s only so much bar space to hide from the 19-year-olds. Amid the chaos of drunk kids, we did miss Moses Sumney (thankfully we got our redemption at Bonnaroo).

But we eventually cut our way through the sloppy messes and ended up at Cut Copy and what a part-ay with a capital A that was! Those guys can put on a funky show—too funky for some to handle. We did witness one old hippie trying too hard to grind on young girls. Gov Ball security was not having it, thank god! He calmed down, though, and they let him stay. Hopefully he had some water and a reality check after the set was over. Still, the main highlight of the day was definitely Manchester Orchestra. By that point, I was drunk, I had won a Miller Light hat, it was backwards and I was rocking out again! Wow when they opened up with Pride—“After all it’s me, the king and the beast,” oh yeah. My fist had a life of its own when they played “Shake It Out,” “Pale Black Eye,” “Simple Math” AND “I Can Barely Breathe.” What a treat. Then we left. Governor’s Ball certainly had its ups and downs and many gems but I just hope it never strays from its roots—it should always be the festival that gets the underground weirdos like Karen O that sprung up from the grungy New York basements. The Big Apple will eat pop bullshit alive, and Governor’s Ball, you too, if you aren’t careful.