Concert Revue and Photography by: Alan Duckworth
The Sweetlife Fest 2014 was a smorgasbord of beer, food and entertainment. It was hosted by sweetgreen, a farmers market ingredients style eatery that opened its first restaurant in Georgetown in 2007 and has been serving up organic salads, wraps and frozen yogurts ever since. The music line-up included Foster the People, Chromeo, Lana Del Rey, 2 Chainz, Fitz & the Tantrums, and Capital Cities among others.
This festival was titled a ” Music + Food Festival,” but it should of been titled a Music + Food + Beer Festival. We’ll, I guess if your going to be drinking beer you might as well eat healthy. The food was chips, wraps and pizza; at least that’s what I saw the most of, good I guess with the right ingredients. I didn’t really go too in-depth with the food, I was there for the music.
There was a lot of beer; breweries such as Flying Dog, DC Brau and Natty Boh. For most of the day the beer tents by the Treehouse Stage were the place to be. It’s pretty much a tree filled hill overlooking a large stage. The placement of the stage really brings out the sound; it’s up against a hill. That really traps the sound and gives it depth and volume. Definitely a fun atmosphere taking in some brews, listening to “Safe and Sound” by Capital Cities. They had a good electronic bass rhythm and sound.
For the Fitz and the Tantrums set, the Main Stage was buzzing. The lawn area was decked out with blankets and people laid out drinking and catching sun. Fitz sounded great! I first heard of them on a really awesome skate video called “Pretty Sweet”. Comedian/musician Jack Black does some camera work and directing in the movie, it’s really funny. The single “Money Grabber” was skater Mikemo Capaldi’s theme music. I like Fitz’s retro sound, it’s very progressive, good old fashioned rock n’ roll.
Towards the end of the Fitz and the Tantrums set, the Treehouse Stage started rattling again and it was time for 2 Chainz. Big booming bass lines attracted a herd of screaming fans. 2 Chainz played a mix of club hits like “I Luv Dem Strippers” and “Dope Peddler.” It was pretty wild, people were getting down.
The sun started setting and the stage started lighting up with chrome. It was time for Chromeo. The Funk Lordz took control with their signature Helmun Newton style glowing legs in heels mixer stands. The stage was full of all sorts of electronic drum pads and keyboards. Chromeo sounded fantastic! There whole set was upbeat; a lot of live electronic instrumentation and rock n roll. They talked about the release of their new album, “White Women”. Their song “Sexy Socialite” had everybody bouncing. I like the dynamics towards the end of the song where they drop the tone for a slight measure.
After Chromeo, the Treehouse stage wrapped up and Foster the People had already started their set. The lawn and the main stage were packed, then came the down pour. A monsoon erupted and dumped buckets of water on the crowd. It felt like a wave as people scrambled for shelter. The hardcore Foster the People fans stuck it through as it was just rain, no lightning. I listened to their set from under a beer tent, that just happened to be the closest thing by, really. They closed with “Pumped Up Kicks” and that’s what everybody did, they pumped up their kicks and went home.
The Sweetlife fest was a real good time. It had a real natural atmosphere, really earthy. Great for a party!
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