Indie rockers Foals played Governors Ball.

“Don’t go to Governors Ball! Turn around! It fucking sucks!”

This is a bad omen. I’m walking on the Triboro bridge en route to the mammoth three-day music festival Governors Ball, getting mentally prepared for the best weekend of my life, yet dozens of teenagers are staggering the opposite direction, splattered with mud and screaming obscenities. Rain is coming down hard, and from what we can see from the bridge, there’s a lot more murky brown than green on the Randall’s Island lawns. It appears we’re heading directly towards Altamont 2013.

Thankfully, the Hells Angels never materialized during the 21 hours I was there, nor did the bad vibes with which those teenagers left on Friday afternoon. Weather notwithstanding, Governors Ball was a crisply executed, well-attended, and superbly performed commuters festival. It will likely be remembered as the day that launched a new chapter of Kanye West’s storied career, but other artists inspired throughout the weekend.

Friday

The fate of the festival is still unknown when my friend Jeremy and I cross the bridge to Randall’s Island for the first time. Although we try to step gingerly through the swampy mess, our shoes are soaked through by the time we get to the sweaty, humid tent where electronic duo Crystal Castles are playing. Attempting to dance only results in splashing and me promptly getting called an asshole. I meekly nod my head along for the rest of the time, even though vocalist Alice Glass jumps up and down ferociously, and the vicious, seizing beats reverberate through my chest.

Things get glummer when Jeremy and I wait for an hour for who we think is soul queen Erykah Badu, but actually turns out to be Beach House. We had an argument beforehand over who to see—I’ve always been bored with Beach House’s guitar drones and was itching for Badu’s neo-soul theatrics. We end up with the former on pure accident, and despite my best efforts be close-minded, poncho-clad singer Victoria Legrand sounds majestic, and the whirling keyboards fit the epic, delirious mood of the night. The few songs that we catch are enough to take us home riding a chilling high of admiration.

Beach House stayed on for less than twenty minutes before succumbing to the dangerously high winds and whipping rain. The rest of the night was officially suspended: headliners Kings of Leon were postponed, and DJ Pretty Lights was cancelled altogether.