As natural disasters in Los Angeles go, a rain delay temporarily washing out a music festival is pretty low stakes. But fans had to scramble last week after a sudden thunderstorm made Tyler, the Creator\u2019s flagship festival at Dodger Stadium soggy and unnavigable.<\/p>\n
Now kicked forward a week, a few acts (Sombr, Tems, Clairo) dropped off the bill, a few (Kali Uchis) joined in their stead, and travelers with nonrefundable plane tickets had to find other ways to amuse themselves in L.A. for a week. But once the Dodger Stadium gates finally opened, everything was more or less smooth sailing. Here are the highlights of the weekend\u2019s performances.<\/p>\n
Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s \u2018Marty Supreme\u2019 blimp makes an appearance<\/p>\n
Last week, actor Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet released a parody of a marketing meeting, for his upcoming film \u201cMarty Supreme.\u201d The 18-minute clip consisted of the Oscar nominee pitching the team outlandish advertising ideas like painting the Statue of Liberty orange. In the Zoom meeting, he says, \u201cWe should have the blimp go above Flog Gnaw and rain ping-pong balls, Marty Supreme-branded, rain ping-pong balls on everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Low and behold, right before Tyler, the Creator\u2019s set, a bright orange blimp reading \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d began circling Dodger Stadium \u2014 just as Chalamet prophesied. People all around the festival could be seen stopping and pointing out the flying spectacle.<\/p>\n
But thankfully, no raining ping-pong balls made an appearance. (Cerys Davies)<\/p>\n
Geese fly high <\/p>\n
If every generation deserves its own cool\/sexy\/mystifying rock band, then Gen Z\u2019s (or maybe Gen Alpha\u2019s) seems to be Geese. Led by the deep-voiced Cameron Winter, the group from New York appeared at Flog Gnaw less than 24 hours after a hometown gig at the Brooklyn Paramount on Friday night. \u201cWe finished a tour but we couldn\u2019t stay away from the limelight, so we got on a plane just this morning,\u201d Winter told the crowd. Geese plays skronky yet weirdly beautiful guitar music that inspires both swaying and moshing; it\u2019s in a clear lineage of NYC acts that stretches back through the Strokes and Television to the Velvet Underground. But here at least you could detect a distinct L.A. presence in Emily Green\u2019s John Frusciante-coded strums and in the doomed-heartthrob proclamations that made Winter sound a little like Jim Morrison. (Mikael Wood)<\/p>\n
Happy 10th anniversary to Mac Miller\u2019s \u201cGO:OD AM\u201d <\/p>\n
In the sea of vendor pop-ups, Mac Miller\u2019s yawning face, the cover of his 2015 release \u201cGO:OD AM,\u201d stood tall. In celebration of the album\u2019s 10th anniversary, photographer Brick Stowell put on a small exhibition to honor the late Pittsburgh rapper. While standing in line, fans were chatting, sharing anecdotes of listening to Miller\u2019s music or memories of when they saw him perform at Camp Flog Gnaw many years ago. Inside, the exhibition is simple, consisting of a few large-scale prints of photos Stowell selected. Some of the images focus on a smiling Miller or depict him playing the guitar or with friends. The record played softly in the space and a few people sat on the couches, with their eyes closed. In the midst of the music festival\u2019s craziness, the tent was filled with a weighted, reverent energy. (C.D.)<\/p>\n
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Kali Uchis performs during Camp Flog Gnaw on Saturday.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Kali Uchis mixed red-hot seduction with ICE-cold activism<\/p>\n
As a last-minute addition to the festival\u2019s lineup, Kali Uchis might\u2019ve been expected to put in a no-frills performance. Instead, the eternally vibey psychedelic-soul star sang the lovey-dovey \u201cAll I Can Say\u201d from inside a giant teacup \u2014 \u201cIf you came with someone you like, you could kiss them,\u201d she suggested \u2014 and did \u201cHeaven Is a Home\u201d on the back of a motorcycle driven by a woman in a lace bodysuit and shades. (There was also a giant bed with satiny pink sheets.) Uchis is among pop\u2019s foremost fantasists; her music invites the listener to get lost in an expertly appointed dreamland. But here she also had the real world on her mind: She played a video in which she said that everyone in her Colombian American household worked three jobs when she was growing up and that \u201cimmigrants built this country and make it what it is today.\u201d As she left the stage, Uchis said, \u201cICE is terrorizing our community\u201d and called out \u201ctheir violations against human rights.\u201d (M.W.)<\/p>\n
Tyler, the Creator\u2019s heartfelt thank you<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t let that rain stop us \u2014 no, no, no,\u201d Tyler, the Creator said not long into his hour-long set, and indeed Flog Gnaw\u2019s mastermind seemed just a bit more amped than usual as he presided over the festival that almost wasn\u2019t. Dressed in a red leather suit \u00e0 la Eddie Murphy in \u201cDelirious,\u201d Tyler came out punching with \u201cBig Poe\u201d and \u201cSugar on My Tongue,\u201d which also open \u201cDon\u2019t Tap the Glass,\u201d the high-energy hip-house album he dropped this past summer with very little warning. But he also performed stuff from last year\u2019s \u201cChromakopia,\u201d which just snagged a nomination for album of the year at February\u2019s Grammy Awards. (\u201cDon\u2019t Tap the Glass,\u201d amusingly, is up against LPs by the Cure and Wet Leg in the alternative music album category.) <\/p>\n
Tyler\u2019s stage was designed to resemble a New York City subway station complete with a train car that he climbed atop and herky-jerked his way across. For \u201cDon\u2019t You Worry Baby\u201d he was joined by a female dancer on roller skates; for \u201cNoid,\u201d a couple of guys with cameras helped him act out his unhappy thoughts on paparazzi. As the set went on, Tyler started shortening each song, limiting himself to only a verse or a chorus to pack in more hits: \u201cEarfquake,\u201d \u201cWusyaname,\u201d \u201cSee You Again.\u201d He thanked the crowd for hanging with the festival\u2019s postponement \u2014 \u201cI know it wasn\u2019t ideal,\u201d he said \u2014 and for \u201crocking with us for 11 years\u201d of Flog Gnaw. The connection he\u2019s forged is real. (M.W.)<\/p>\n
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso\u2019s roller coaster of a set<\/p>\n
Fresh off 5 wins at the Latin Grammys earlier this month, Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso left the CFA crowd delightfully perplexed. The audience started off on the smaller side, as Tyler, the Creator was wrapping up his set. But as the Argentine rappers, decked out in Versace, plowed through their catchiest hits like \u201cDumbai\u201d and \u201cSheesh,\u201d a dancing stampede made its way over.<\/p>\n
Less than a year after their viral NPR Tiny Desk, the notoriously kooky duo flexed their ability to slip between genres. One moment, a pulsating EDM beat, beaming lasers and intense fog machines took over the stage \u2014 emulating a rave. The next moment, Ca7riel is angrily screaming \u201cF\u2014 you!\u201d at the top of his lungs over an aggressive punky guitar solo. Finally, they act like their microphones have become dumbbells, and start to sing about their \u201c#Tetas,\u201d on their satirical, body positivity anthem. Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso will never let you know their next move. (C.D.)<\/p>\n
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Fans raise their phones as Kali Uchis performs during Camp Flog Gnaw.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Clipse turn in a triumphant set<\/p>\n
The Clipse have had a hell of a year. After releasing their first album together in 16 years, \u201cLet God Sort Em Out,\u201d the formidable Virginia rap duo of Pusha T and Malice embarked on a victory lap, which included a successful reunion tour and a flurry of hilariously entertaining interviews. In the midst of that, they also stopped by NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk \u2014 a performance that had more than 3.5 million views as of November\u2014 and racked up four Grammy nominations including best rap album and album of the year. So it was only right that they were invited to perform at Camp Flog Gnaw once again. (They also performed at the festival in 2023.)<\/p>\n
Fittingly, the Clipse opened their set with the menacing \u201cChains and Whips,\u201d which is jam packed with lethal, high-level bars about why contemporary rappers simply can\u2019t sit with them. Not wasting any time during their set, the veteran emcees went bar for bar, diving into more tracks from their latest album including \u201cBirds Don\u2019t Sing\u201d (a dedication to their late parents) and \u201cP.O.V.,\u201d which Tyler, the Creator joined them for just in time following his own high-energy set. <\/p>\n
Satisfying their day one fans, the Clipse also performed a handful of their classic records like \u201cMr. Me Too\u201d and \u201cWhat Happened to That Boy.\u201d As they rapped the lyrics to one of their most recognizable tracks, \u201cGrindin,\u201d a montage of Black people doing step routines, dancing and recreating the Neptunes beat on lunch tables played on the massive stage screens.<\/p>\n
Much like \u201cLet God Sort Em Out,\u201d the Clipse\u2019s performance further solidified why they\u2019ve been in the game for more than 20 years and why they aren\u2019t going anywhere anytime soon. \u2014 (Kailyn Brown)<\/p>\n
Childish Gambino\u2019s fast-paced, fan-voted retrospective<\/p>\n
Childish Gambino\u2019s set was a race against time. Prior to his set, the 42-year-old singer\/rapper\/actor (also known as Donald Glover) allowed fans to vote for his setlist. Playing anything from his biggest hits like \u201cRedbone\u201d and a very short snippet of \u201cThis is America\u201d to his cover of Outkast\u2019s \u201cPrototype\u201d and the 2011 release \u201cLes,\u201d Gambino made it clear he only had an hour and wanted to get to as many songs as possible. He often played the first verse of a track, allowing it to peak in the chorus and quickly brush past it \u2014 making the set feel like an invigorating sprint.<\/p>\n
Halfway through the performance, Gambino, sparkling his glittery wifebeater, took a moment to get vulnerable with the crowd. This was his first performance since he had to abruptly cancel his world tour last year. He explained that he had a stroke unknowingly, on stage in Louisiana, and later found out that he had a hole in his heart and needed surgery. As he narrated his story, the sky lit up with a drone light show, depicting images of a heart and other dynamic patterns.<\/p>\n
He said, during all of these health problems, the only things he could think of were \u201chow many people I\u2019m letting down\u201d and \u201chere I am still copying Jamie Foxx,\u201d which got a laugh out of the crowd. Throughout the remainder of the show, he continued to exude a grateful energy, saying repeatedly, \u201cI didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be able to [be here].\u201d As he played the chosen songs, it was as if his only goal was to make the crowd as happy as possible.<\/p>\n
The rapper left with a final message, \u201cYou have one life, so live your life as you want.\u201d (C.D.)<\/p>\n
Blood Orange puts CFG in a trance<\/p>\n
Following Geezer\u2019s (Kevin Abstract and Dominic Fike) endearing display of friendship, Blood Orange kept the cameraderie going on the fest\u2019s main stage. Though the multi-piece band behind Dev Hynes\u2019 musical moniker may sound melancholic, their energy was jolting. During tracks about grief and loneliness, like the cathartic \u201cCharcoal Baby,\u201d only Hynes could get the entire crowd to head bang.<\/p>\n
After releasing his most recent album, \u201cEssex Honey,\u201d Blood Orange made his impromptu return to the fest \u2014 calling last year\u2019s set \u201cone of his favorite shows.\u201d The British singer and his band trade instruments with a sense of ease \u2014 splitting their time among a cello, keyboards, synthesizers, a drum machine, electric and acoustic guitars. In this intricate display of instrumentalism, dark electronica and high-pitched vocals blend into feelgood jazz and \u201980s synth pop without notice. With dense fog and transculent pink lights, the whole set started to fuse into a unifying dreamy moment. (C.D.)<\/p>\n
Helicopters, a megaphone and pink hair curlers: ASAP Rocky keeps Flog Gnaw classic <\/p>\n
Right before ASAP Rocky was meant to close out the festival, a helicopter started to circle the area, shining its light down on the crowd. A mock news livestream took over the stage\u2019s screens in search of the Sunday headliner, accusing him of \u201cnever dropping the album.\u201d On stage, the Harlem rapper descended on a floating helicopter of his own, megaphone in hand and pink curlers in his hair.<\/p>\n
He made it clear he was there \u201cto start a riot\u201d (and he did consistently check in on the densely packed crowd too). The 37-year-old rapper was soon joined by a few dozen hooded figures, carrying upside-down American flags, who began to mosh while he continued to spit his ever-steady flow. Switching between his older stuff, like \u201cL$D\u201d and \u201cPotato Salad\u201d (which he was joined for by Tyler, the Creator) and more recent beloved singles like \u201cPraise the Lord (Da Shine)\u201d and \u201cSundress,\u201d Rocky stuck to what he knows best \u2014 looking pretty and skillful rhymes. (C.D.)<\/p>\n
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A swing carousel at Camp Flog Gnaw.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
T-Pain knows your knees hurt<\/p>\n
\u201cI am old as f\u2014,\u201d T-Pain said as the R&B-rap crooner took a pause from his hit-studded set on Sunday night. \u201cI was running out of time to do this. I saw the dimensions of the stage and my knees gave out.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 41, he is decently seasoned by Flog Gnaw standards (though still a surprisingly deft dancer). But his set was arguably one of the best-attended of the weekend, for good reasons.<\/p>\n
Recent reappraisals from a mega-viral Tiny Desk concert and a boisterous Coachella set proved what close listeners have known all alon: Pain is an absolute savant of melody and ear-tickling chord changes, with a gorgeous R&B voice whose famous digital treatments were artistically prescient rather than any sort of fix.<\/p>\n
Yet to Flog Gnaw\u2019s young crowds, blissfully free from the AutoTune wars of the 2000s, Pain now represents an idyll and purity of party music in hip-hop, rising from the mire of the Great Recession and the aspirations of President Obama with witty, self-aware hit after hit that showed a musician in total command of his craft, writing songs that transcend today\u2019s cynical bleakness.<\/p>\n
This redemption arc is well earned \u2014 how can you not listen to \u201cBartender\u201d and long for the easy, sweet camaraderie of sidling up to your favorite server (though today that cocktail will more likely be N\/A)? Dispatches from a saner time of millennial life like \u201cUp Down\u201d and \u201cCan\u2019t Believe It\u201d landed like an envelope of Instax photos from a half-remembered house party. For Gen Z, it was Unc Culture embodied in the best ways. <\/p>\n
Other than a brief villain segment (where Pain sung his verses from collabs with Chris Brown, Kanye West and R. Kelly; more an indictment of the men of R&B, really), his set delivered hit after hit and re-framed them within R&B history. He did what the genre is best at \u2014 stirring up the old glow of past happiness, even if that was spilling tequila down your pinstriped business-casual wear at a Hollywood bottle club in 2008. (A.B.)<\/p>\n
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Tyler, the Creator performs during Camp Flog Gnaw.<\/p>\n
(Ronaldo Bolanos \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Doechii, the classroom disciplinarian of your dreams <\/p>\n
Doechii framed her raucous Sunday night set as a stern classroom lecture on the craft of rapping. But in that case, she\u2019s the kind of teacher that you bump into at the grocery store with a cart full of booze and a you-didn\u2019t-see-this wink.<\/p>\n
The Grammy favorite and new TDE superstar is so mercilessly good at rapping, so fully possessed of her gifts onstage, that her set made me wonder how all the backing-track reliant MC\u2019s still get away with it. From the vicious opening lines of \u201cStanka Pooh\u201d \u2014 \u201cLet\u2019s start the story backwards \/ I\u2019m dead, she\u2019s dead, just another Black Lives Matter\u201d \u2014 to the joint-snapping house-music workout of \u201cAlter Ego\u201d and the horror-comedy sex romp of \u201cSpooky Coochie,\u201d she never settled for less than the full scope of her talents, deeply honed.<\/p>\n
A gleefully bawdy and physically gifted dancer, with of sneaky comic timing and a low-key powerhouse singing voice, by the time she got to the deep cut \u201cBoom Bap\u201d and fan favorite \u201cCatfish,\u201d Doechii made an impeccable claim to being one of the best rappers working today.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t play the Grammy contender \u201cAnxiety\u201d \u2014 one sees how that song wouldn\u2019t make sense in this relentlessly hard hitting context. But whatever worries keep on trying her, after Sunday night, she can definitively leave them behind. (A.B.) <\/p>\n
Zack Fox brings us to the (f)unction with globetrotting set<\/p>\n
Just 15 minutes into Zack Fox\u2019s hour and a half DJ set on Sunday afternoon, which was dubbed Zack\u2019s Big Nasty & Booty Shake, many audience members were already sweating and shedding the layers they wore in preparation for the evening cold.<\/p>\n
Garbed in leather uncle sandals with white socks, an Atlanta Falcons apron and a grill for a DJ stand (because he was cooking, duh), the rapper, comedian and actor brought the crowd to the (f)unction. Fox, who\u2019s become known for his high-energy performances<\/a>, delivered a globetrotting set filled with genres including Brazil\u2019s Baile funk, Chicago house, Baltimore club, Nola bounce, soul, gospel Detroit techno and of course Atlanta rap, which is where he\u2019s from. \u201cDance music is Black music,\u201d Fox told the crowd in between his gyrating and turning up. \u201cY\u2019all gonna learn something today.\u201d (He also had the crowd repeat back \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and \u201cF\u2014 ICE.\u201d)<\/p>\n