Photos: Mamby On The Beach Is The Best Music Fest You're Sleeping On
By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 26, 2017 2:20PM
If Ja Rule has taught us nothing else this year, he proved that beachfront Instagrammability alone won't get your music festival very far. Mamby on the Beach, which landed this past weekend on Oakwood Beach, might be the single most picturesque music festival in Chicago—the downtown skyline gleaming beyond the directly-lakeside main stage; sailboats and speedboats motoring along on the horizon; neon graffiti art made in real time; and, oh what the hell, some beach volleyball and fire dancers. But it’s the bill that makes it work. Not every act is a keeper, no doubt, but there were plenty of outstanding performances to go along with Mamby’s refreshingly light-stakes vibe. (Unlike some festival colossi, this relative newcomer is literally a weekend at the beach.) It all adds up to one of the most enjoyable music-fest experiences that might not be on your radar. Check out the proof above; and peek below for some highlights.
Best Artist in an Unforgiving Timeslot: OddCouple
You could probably fit the entire audience for Chicago-based producer OddCouple’s fest-opening set in a single CTA train, but—as proven by a great, two-song Joey Purp cameo—that’s to be blamed on timing, not talent.
Best Defense of Keeping It Local: OddCouple, Ravyn Lenae, Saba, BJ the Chicago Kid
Spending much of Saturday hopscotching between Chicago-bred talent delivered the goods: an inspired Smino walk-on during Lenae; Saba’s touching dedication of “Church/Liquor Store” to the late John Walt and a set-closing Pivot Gang blowout.
Best Use of Live Saxophone: Sam Feldt
The fact that two concurrent acts both featured live sax should give a tip off to Mamby’s general aesthetic. We’ll give the nod to tropical-house figurehead Feldt (you better believe there’s some tropical house at a beachfront fest), who drew a massive crowd.
Best Defense for A Yacht-Funk Jazz-Fusion Movement: Thundercat
There’s a lot of melancholy running between the lines of bass virtuoso/Kendrick collaborator Thundercat’s techy-smooth funk on record; but live the emphasis on long, jammy freakouts was pure adventure. All festivals: book yourself a visionary and let ‘em stretch out.
Best Defense Of Tightening Up: Todd Terje and the Olsens
On the other hand, Norwegian space-disco pioneer Todd Terje was a brilliant, well-oiled machine, with arpeggiated lines running lock-step with tight, organic percussion (even on those bizarro exotica covers). Made missing Cut Copy fine.
Favorite Headliner: Flying Lotus
Apologies to still-wayward MGMT and pep-squad poppers Walk the Moon, but we’ll still take the Brainfeeder honcho’s wiggy, IDM/hip-hop whatsit. Those manic rhythms at this point sound as comfortingly of-a-moment as they once did shockingly future-forward, but—especially coupled with a two-screen projection, which made us feel like someone dropped a tab in our Pacifico—it was a dazzling capstone.
Best Reason To Still Be Slightly Late To FlyLo: Green Velvet
The hometown “Percolator” legend’s set celebrated the 25th anniversary of Relief Records, and the crowd knew it was getting something special. Gotta catch at least some of that.