It was sensory overload Saturday during day one of the Mo Pop Festival at Detroit’s beautiful West Riverfront Park. The combination of music, scenery, food, drink, weather and people watching made for one of the most entertaining days of the summer, and with, in my opinion, an even better lineup tomorrow, day two should bring plenty more of the same.
I’m tired as I write this. Forgive the incoherence, and be sure to tune into 100.7 FM from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday to hear even more of my blabbering about this glorious day.
The music
I say Sunday will be even better, but Saturday was no slouch. After a nap, a bout of procrastination and a long walk, we arrived just in time for Alvvays. Singer Molly Rankin credited the “Detroit boat police” for rescuing a soccer ball from the river. The band — Ferndale Radio darlings, I’d say –played all the hits. I particularly enjoyed “Plimsoll Punks,” which came midway through the set. Unfortunately, it was difficult to concentrate, because some dude was being way too handsy with his girlfriend at the time and I was pondering what could make a man do this in broad daylight. But I persevered, and I was rewarded with a fantastic set.
After exploring a bit, we watched the beginning of Vince Staples’ set, and I, a concert veteran, saw something for the first time. As Staples ripped through “Get the Fuck Off My Dick,” the crowd batted one of those inflatable seat things around as if it were a beach ball. We weren’t quick enough to grab a photo, but trust me, it was a sight to see. Staples said the main rule at his shows is the crowd has to have a good time, and the crowd roared its approval.
Bon Iver closed down the evening. While we didn’t get to hear “Skinny Love”, we did get a crowd singalong during the “What might have been lost” portion of “The Wolves (Act I and II)”. That was preceded by a story from lead singer Justin Vernon. He said his father was born in Jackson before moving the family to Eau Claire, Wisc. His dad jokes that he’s lived within a mile of I-94 since he was a young child.
Vernon was clearly touched by the crowd’s enthusiasm, exclaiming “Jesus Christ” when the band came back for an encore.
Everything else
The music is what brings people out to Mo Pop, but it’s everything else that makes the festival so much fun. Immediately upon entering the grounds, I housed a shrimp roll from Ferndale’s own Voyager. To add a bit of international flair, the person who took my order said he periodically had to walk away from the counter because his Square app believed he was in Canada and therefore unable to complete an American transaction. Does that sentence even make sense? I swear, I’ll explain this clearly on my Sunday show.
We also sampled Island Noodles. The smell alone had me acting like a cartoon character who smells a pie cooling on a window sill. (Quick tangent: How did that become a thing? A quick Google image search shows Mickey Mouse, Yogi Bear, some pig I should probably know and some cat I should probably know all falling prey to this. I have yet to see a pie cooling on a window sill in real life. Someone send me a picture of a pie cooling on a window sill in real life, I dare you). These noodles live up to the hype and were a perfect late night snack.
They had these Monaco mixed drink things, and they were tasty. Those, combined with the mixed drinks and beers offered throughout the festival, helped people like me stay refreshed and slightly intoxicated all night long.
Let’s not forget the arcade! I didn’t have a repeat performance of 2017, where my friends and I got kicked out while playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( because the festival was ending, not because of poor behavior, I swear). But I did make my way over to the NBA Jam machine, where I picked up someone else’s abandoned four-player game and proceeded to lay down wicked dunks from James Worthy and Brad Daugherty.
Speaking of basketball, the people watching was fantastic, in large part due to fashion. I saw a Luke Kennard shirsey. I saw a Gary Payton Sonics jersey. Two different people were dressed as dinosaurs — one in a green fabric costume, the other in one of those inflatable-like T-Rex deals with the big head.
I think that’s about all I’ve got for day one. Tomorrow, we get to see St. Vincent, Portugal. The Man and The National. Does it get any better?
