Words by Brady Virtue // Images by Jack Foley
Ohio, as a state, is inherently funny. It’s the 7th largest state in terms of population, and yet, unless you are from Ohio, you would probably struggle to name one notable thing that resides here. For my hometown friends who go to college in D.C. and California, their status as Ohioans has become an overarching joke within their friend groups. Therefore, it was a bit surprising to see that Columbus was one of twelve cities chosen to host the Re:Set Concert Series, which includes some of the largest names in music. Boygenius, Steve Lacy, LCD Soundsystem, and more would be performing in a parking lot in Ohio. However, there’s another thing about Ohio. As previously mentioned, we don’t get many nice things here, so when we do, we know exactly how to appreciate and savor it. In other words, we go bonkers.
if I had to summarize my three days at the Re:Set series in one word, that is exactly the word I would use. Bonkers. Fan projects, mosh pits, packed crowds, and nearly every artist expressing their wish to come back to Ohio. So without further ado, I’ll take you through my experience day by day, act by act.
Friday, June 23
Bartees Strange
I’m not sure if anyone was completely ready for the first two strums of Bartees Strange’s guitar. I felt my rib cage rattle beneath my slightly sweaty skin and new seventy-dollar Clairo hoodie, and I was immediately prepared for all the emotional highs and lows of the next three days. Bartees Strange occupies a space between indie rock and indie pop. Strange’s set was laden with incredibly strong and passionate vocals on tracks like “Mustang” and his cover of The National’s “About Today”. However, Strange also would occasionally break into an impressive and catchy flow on songs like “Boomer”, his closing song. With an enjoyable and fun set, Strange perfectly set the tone for the rest of the day.
Dijon
Dijon’s music can be described as a mix of neo-soul and bedroom pop, and as such, his set was intimate in multiple ways. Firstly, it had the personal and genuine feeling of bedroom pop. The homemade vibe of songs like ”coogie” paired well with an overhead camera angle showing every knob twist and button press of each of the band members. This backdrop created a sort of transparency between the performers and the audience. Dijon’s set also had the sensual and groovy feeling of neo-soul with songs like “Big Mike’s”. The emotional peak of Dijon’s set was closer, “Rodeo Clown”; The frustration and rawness of the lyrics combined with the climatic nature of the instrumental’s build resulted in a stunning finish for the second act of the day.
Clairo
I had one goal going into the Clairo set: start a mosh pit. This is a slightly humorous proposition, as if you’re unfamiliar with Clairo, her music is generally either emotional singer-songwriter fare or the slightly more mosh-able catchy pop songs. After a laid-back opening string of songs including “Bambi”, Clairo performed the fun and catchy “4EVER”, letting the audience fill in some of the blanks. Subsequently came a brutal sequence of sad songs, which induced my first cry of the day, specifically to “Partridge”. Then came the song I had zeroed in on as the song where I would strike. “Amoeba”. While the song’s lyrical content reflects on isolation and prioritizing the wrong things, the instrumental is extremely danceable. Did my attempt to start a mosh pit work? …kinda. With my mission accomplished, I was able to enjoy the incredibly endearing “Bags”, Clairo’s final song of the evening.
boygenius
The trio of Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, and Julien Baker, collectively known as boygenius, have garnered a cult-like following over the years, and this came out in the sweetest way in Columbus. From the jump, fans were wrapped around the block more than 7 hours before boygenius began their set. Then came the various fan efforts during the set. During “Revolution 0”, fans held up signs with the text “I love boygenius because…” and a hand-written response below. This caused the band to stop playing altogether and reflect on some of the signs.
Then there was Lucy Dacus. Lucy Dacus, sporting a pair of darkly tinted sunglasses. Lucy Dacus, who informed the crowd at the beginning of the show that she had a concussion and would be sitting down whenever she wished to. Lucy Dacus, who in response to all of these signs quipped “It’s like the gayest kindergarten assignment ever”. I love Lucy Dacus. Dacus’ performance was especially impressive, including her vocals on “We’re in Love”, during which another fan project took place. Fans held up pink flowers and put pink paper in front of their phone’s flashlights, a reference to the lyric “I’ll be the boy with the pink carnation pinned to my lapel”. Other highlights of the set include the palpable energy felt during “$20”, Bridgers and Baker sitting on Dacus’s lap for the beginning of “Graceland Too”, the absence of phones during the performance of “Letter to an Old Poet”, and Dacus and Bridgers running through the audience giving out high-fives during “Salt in the Wound”, part of the band’s encore. The set was a truly unique, heart-warming, and emotional finale to the first day.
Saturday, June 24
L’Rain
L’Rain’s music may be best described as abrasive neo-psychedelia, although it’s tough to throw her music into any kind of genre. This was perhaps best exemplified by her opening track, an unreleased song that begins with dogs howling (L’Rain also began howling), then transitioning into a spacey instrumental, all while L’Rain sings the chorus: “I killed your dog”. It’s great. After this, there was a calming moment, only to be thrown back into abrasion again with the second half of “Find It”. As the set came to a close, L’Rain shrieked into the microphone, keeping the audience on their toes for the rest of the show.
IDLES
IDLES provided perhaps the highest energy set yet. The post-punk band incited a mosh pit almost immediately with “Colossus”, and not long after, one of the band members joined said mosh pit. Throughout the set, the audience remained excited, with multiple fans crowd surfing as well as another member of the band. It was an undeniably fun set for all parties involved. IDLES’s chemistry was apparent throughout, especially during songs like “Mother”, an appreciative song for mothers, and “Danny Nedelko”, a pro-immigration anthem. IDLES performs triumphantly as many of their songs are expressions of celebration. It’s the presence of this celebration that made their music such a spark plug on Saturday.
Jamie xx
It was clear what Jamie xx set out to do at Re:Set: He wanted you to dance. There was even a hired dancer who swung about in the crowd with a shirt that read “It’s time to dance”. Jamie xx’s DJ set succeeded in this goal, as even in the intense heat on the baked asphalt, people were grooving to his originals like “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” and a slew of covers like Glowal’s “Figures” and Rodrics’s “The Golden Vice”. The aforementioned dancer ascended to the stage for Jamie xx’s final song “Gosh”, and both were sent off with loud cheers and applause.
LCD Soundsystem
At this point in the concert, I have to admit I wasn’t doing super well. Over the course of the previous day, I had lost five pounds, and after Saturday I lost two more. This was my own fault, as I wasn’t eating or drinking enough given the circumstances. PromoWest’s security staff did an excellent job of handing out water throughout the concert series, and if not for them it may have been much worse for me. With all that said, when LCD Soundsystem’s set began I felt completely rejuvenated. After “Get Innocuous!” I was back in it, and when “I Can Change” came on I was back to dancing. The band’s first album came out in 2005, but they still have a way of sounding youthful and exciting 18 years later. James Murphy showed impressive control of vocals throughout, especially during “New York I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down”. Murphy likened the tour and the night to a summer romance, bound to end, but lovely while it lasts. With “Dance Yrself Clean” and “All My Friends” the set closed out on a great, fun, danceable note. When I went home I drank a lot of water, ate a lot of food, and listened to a lot of LCD Soundsystem.
Sunday, June 25
Fousheé
On Sunday, every set was cut short due to weather conditions. While in a normal performance, a Fousheé set would include a mix of love songs and angry songs, Fousheé went straight for rage on the final day. Therefore, she requested a mosh pit. A pit opened up during “my slime”, but everyone seemed a bit hesitant to jump in. From across the pit, I spotted an old friend from high school. Fousheé began to count down from 3 and after a few seconds of no one joining after the end of the countdown, I knew what I had to do. I screamed “THAT MEANS GO!” and bull rushed my old high school friend. The result was a successful mosh pit. Other pits opened during “stupid bitch” and “die”, but frustratingly these times I could not get people to jump in. Regardless, Fousheé delivered a great, high-energy set to start the day.
Toro y Moi
With a vibey, spacey, funky, and groovy set, Toro y Moi kept the momentum going. Toro y Moi brings Synth Funk to the table with vocals that are pleasing to the ear. Highlights included “Ordinary Pleasure”, “Rose Quartz”, and “Laws of the Universe”.
James Blake
James Blake’s voice is immediately recognizable once you’ve heard it. The high pitch and elegance it has about it make it unmistakably him. Even while live and in-person, it sounded the exact same as it always has. The audience sang with Blake at his request during “Say What You Will”, but Blake didn’t have to ask for the full parking lot to join in on his cover of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”. Blake also performed his recent collaboration with Metro Boomin “Hummingbird”. Blake finished his set with the intimate “Retrograde”, leaving only one more performer for the weekend.
Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy delivered all of his biggest hits for the final set of Re:Set. “Dark Red”, “Some”, “C U Girl”, “Infrunami” with help from the crowd, and so many more. During “Sunshine”, Fousheé came back out on stage to perform her and Lacy’s duet. Throughout the set, Lacy also exhibited an abundance of charisma, chatting with the crowd, playfully changing outfits and sunglasses, and pointing out a look-alike in the crowd. Lacy went as far as even having the look-alike come on stage and perform one of his biggest hits, “Bad Habit”. Lacy provided a larger-than-life conclusion to an amazing weekend.
Special thanks to Re:Set, PromoWest, and especially Marketing Director Rohan for the opportunity! Long live AROUSE and long live Ohio!
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