Recap and photos: Rock the Garden heats up with Bon Iver, the Revolution, and more
by Cecilia Johnson, Evan Frost and Emmet Kowler
July 23, 2017
Rock the Garden returned to the Walker Art Center on Saturday, filling the museum's sculpture garden with bands and fans. Congregating at two stages, 11,000 people saw artists from Margaret Glaspy to Bon Iver, all while trying to stay cool in some serious Saturday heat. Here's a rundown of the whole festival's events, going by each hour's official temperature and humidity readings from the National Weather Service.
12:53 p.m. 86°F. 55% relative humidity.
Whichever gate you’re waiting at, you can hear Car Seat Headrest's soundcheck booming through the main stage speakers. The band still have some kinks to work through when the gates open at 1 p.m.; early arrivals get about 30 minutes of stop-and-go music from Will Toledo and co. There's also beer to drink, gelato to sample, and a partly shady Sculpture Garden to explore until music starts at 2:30.
1:53 p.m. 87°F. 51% relative humidity.
This hour, California singer/songwriter Margaret Glaspy kicks off Rock the Garden, sounding even more rock 'n' roll than I expect. I've heard her debut album Emotions and Math, but something about her live performance rips into me, and I love it. She plays nearly all of Emotions and Math, plus music from older projects.
2:53 p.m. 88°F. 54% relative humidity.
Glaspy carries on with her rough, gorgeous rock, and I duck inside the Walker for some air-conditioned relief. Water bottle refill? Check. Sunscreen reapplication? Check. I will survive this scorching day.
3:53 p.m. 89°F. 48% relative humidity.
I'm swimming in sweat watching Car Seat Headrest roar through their meaty setlist, so I can't imagine how hot frontman Will Toledo must be in his black short-sleeve turtleneck. It turns out Emily Schoonover of Bruise Violet is wondering the same thing. During her own set, she’ll recount a brief chat with Toledo: "I was like, 'Yo, weren't you hot in that sweater?' And he just kind of looked down."
4:53 p.m. 90°F. 41% relative humidity.
The first thing I notice about rapper Dwynell Roland during his Garden Stage set is his T-shirt. It's white, with a @BrianOake tweet printed on it, which makes Minnesota music Twitter light up for a few minutes. The next thing I notice is his lively stage presence. Alongside production by Travis Gorman and guest raps by Devon Reason and P.O.S, Roland and his wacky energy get the crowd on board.
L.A.'s Benjamin Booker is younger than I expected. Going off his raspy voice and Chuck Berry-style riffs, I've always taken him for a seasoned rock 'n' roller. He is that, of course. But he's also just 28. On the main stage, he performs several songs from his latest album, Witness, including the title Mavis Staples collaboration.
5:53 p.m. 89°F. 42% relative humidity.
Bruise Violet are a dream. Its members — guitarist Emily Schoonover, drummer Danielle Cusack, and bassist Bella Dawson — thunder through punk songs "Talk S*** Get Hit," "Wasted," and many more at the Garden Stage while the wind tosses over mist from the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture fountain. Behind them, pedestrians on the elevated bridge gawk with confusion, repulsion, and wonder.
6:53 p.m. 87°F. 43% relative humidity.
Judging from the Eaux Claires shirts, hats, and pins concentrated in front of the main stage, the people in front came to Rock the Garden for Bon Iver. But the area still goes wild for the Revolution, Prince's early-’80s backing band. Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Lisa Coleman (keys), Dr. Fink (keys), Bobby Z (drums), and Brownmark (bass) are unstoppable, opening with "Computer Blue" and storming through six other Purple Rain hits with vocal assists from Stokley Williams of Mint Condition. They welcome the crowd to "Erotic City" when Bon Iver's Justin Vernon walks out on stage to sing (and dance!) with them. "These songs belong to you. We're just the band," Melvoin says before the renowned opening chords of "Purple Rain."
The Revolution setlist
Computer Blue
America
Mountains
Take Me With U
Erotic City (feat. Justin Vernon)
Let's Work
Kiss
When Doves Cry
Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm a Star
Purple Rain
7:53 p.m. 85°F. 48% relative humidity.
It's a relatively quiet hour at Rock the Garden, with thousands squeezing together on the hill, anticipating Bon Iver. Dead Man Winter — a band by Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles — provide some respite at the Garden Stage, performing music not only from their 2017 album Destroyer, but also from recent surprise EPs Lake Superior and Careful I Think It's Loaded.
8:53 p.m. 83°F. 46% relative humidity.
The sun's finally starting to disappear. Vernon's back on stage with his band Bon Iver, wearing a Baltimore Orioles cap with "PEOPLE" stuck to the underside of the brim. The Sad Sax of S***, a group of five horn players standing behind the frontman, can't stop smiling between their cues.
"22 (OVER S∞∞N)," the first song, wraps up, and the first seconds of "10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄" thunder through my head. Having listened to 22, A Million in sequence so many times, I sink when I realize track two probably isn't coming next — except it does, followed by "715 - CRΣΣKS" and the next six tracks of the new album, complete but for "000000 Million." From there, the band go back in time to "Minnesota, WI," remixing it with insistent beats and bloops. Referencing the title, Vernon says, "Not many people know where those places are. I kind of like it that way."
9:53 p.m. 80°F. 51% relative humidity.
Bon Iver can leave audience members slack-jawed. It's a warm kind of immobility, a stock-still inertia. After surging during a shred-heavy "Creature Fear," the effect lets up during a sing-along of "Skinny Love." But once encore "Beth/Rest" starts chiming across the field, sounding not unlike the famous theme from Chariots of Fire, people are again entranced.
A few minutes after Bon Iver take their bows, the Aquatennial fireworks sound from over the Mississippi River, and crowds pile through the walkways. Food and drink vendors pack up, and teams clear abandoned food trays and beer cups on the hill. Security crew members thank each person for coming.
After eight hours of music, what started as a blazing afternoon dips into placid night.
Bon Iver setlist
22 (OVER S∞∞N)
10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄
715 - CRΣΣKS
33 "GOD"
29 #Strafford APTS
666 ↓
21 M♢♢N WATER
8 (circle)
____45_____
Minnesota, WI
Beach Baby
Holocene
Creature Fear
Skinny Love
Beth/Rest (encore)
