With a living legend (Stevie Wonder) and hometown heroes (Imagine Dragons) headlining the first two days of the Life Is Beautiful festival, Compton’s Kendrick Lamar was perhaps unenviably tasked with bringing up the rear and putting the final punctuation mark on a festival that transformed downtown Las Vegas into a sprawling region where art, food and music co-mingled. Although one would think that festival-goers had perhaps reached peak levels of exhaustion courtesy of Sin City’s unusually hot September weekend, there was absolutely no give in the thousands that flooded the 18 blocks of the festival grounds.
It was certainly a unique atmosphere for the festival’s closing night, which saw both a sweltering high of 102 degrees during the day and a blood moon emerge in the desert sky at night.
Prior to Kendrick Lamar’s set, there were choices to be made by those in attendance. And they weren’t easy.
Walk The Moon and the dreamy lo-fi vibes of Best Coast were able to hold court without worrying much about losing the crowd to another performer’s set. However, once the clock reached 7:30pm, you could hear people debating where to go.
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Over at the main stage, The Killers charismatic frontman Brandon Flowers (a Las Vegas native) was rolling through a set that started with solo material ranging from “Still Want You” and “Crossfire” and seamlessly transitioned into a full blown Killers show that lifted off with “Mr. Brightside” and ended powerfully with “When You Were Young.” Meanwhile, off at the Ambassador stage, Killer Mike and El-P had worked fans up into a frenzy with a rambunctiously delightful session, where the two 40-year-old emcees performed choice selections from their Run The Jewels albums.
“We’re going to burn this stage to the motherf—ing ground,” Killer Mike growled. And with fans sauntering over from the sheer energy that pulsed out of the speakers, RTJ practically did just that. The dynamic duo rhymed at a blistering pace as DJ Trackstar gave the emcees breathers between songs with turntable wizardry. Although there would be no songs from the recently released cat-sampling remix album Meow The Jewels, hip-hop heads were left more than satisfied with the group grinding out bombastic singles “Lie, Cheat, Steal” and the Zack de la Rocha assisted “Close Your Eyes (And Count to F*ck).” The group even brought out Memphis’ Gangsta Boo to help with the deliciously lewd “Love Again (Akinyele Back).”
Fortunately, Weezer was able to hold down the Downtown Stage without having to be concerned with another act stealing their shine. The Rivers Cuomo-led outfit took to the stage at 9:25pm and made every thirty-something rock fan relive their teenage years. It was only right that the bulk of their performance focused on their early work from Weezer (The Blue Album) and the moody Pinkerton, including “Buddy Holly” and “El Scorcho.” It’s amazing how their early material has held up over time, receiving more love now than when it was first released nearly two decades ago.
Fans crowdsurfed through “Say It Ain’t So” and the poignant “Undone – The Sweater Song,” which Cuomo has stated is the song that unknowingly encapsulates Weezer’s 20-year tenure. The rumbling guitars of “Half Pipe” blared through the speakers and resonated heavily with fans who remembered how big the 2001 single was for the group, who had then returned from a hiatus. They did the just service of delivering exactly what the fans wanted from their 70-minute set.
Decisions again had to be made at 10:35pm. Ghostface Killah soulfully plowed through a magnificent set backed by Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD, who stirred up soulful renditions of Ghostface classics, paid homage to the late Ol Dirty Bastard and even had a surprise appearance by The Lox’s Sheek Louch. Meanwhile, Death Cab For Cutie was housing the Ambassador stage with an hour-long set that drifted through the alt-rock band’s eight albums, including the recently released Kintsugi. Whether it was the moody “Transatlanticism” or the somber “I Will Follow You Into The Dark,” anybody who left without being emotionally touched likely didn’t have a soul.
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All of this set the stage for festival closer Kendrick Lamar, who emerged with a live band just before midnight as the full moon had fans worked up. The 28-year-old launched right into good kid, m.A.A.d city’s “Money Trees” and featured a surprise appearance from fellow Top Dawg Entertainment emcee Jay Rock. From there it was a wild romp through his earlier catalog including the soulful “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” and “Backseat Freestyle.” The festival grass to dust as thousands jumped around as the artist formally known as K Dot delivered his animated lyricism. Things wouldn’t slow down much as the rapper’s show-stealing verse on “F-cking Problems” had the crowd shouting back “Halle Berry, Hallelujah” to deafening degrees. That was followed by the downright belligerent “m.A.A.d city” as giant red and blue balls showered the crowd, which had the rapper cracking a few inappropriate jokes about the balls with the blue hue.
But it wasn’t all high energy as Kendrick Lamar delved into deeper album cuts including “The Art of Peer Pressure” and the first half of “Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst” that drew praise from fans. However, there may have been those who were expecting more from Kendrick’s critically acclaimed sophomore album To Pimp A Butterfly. Even though he did performed the vibrantly funky “King Kunta” and the feel good “i,” this performance was centered around older material and songs that might be considered more festival-ready than selections off his politically charged TPAB.
Nevertheless, Lamar has once again proven why he is on the top of his game as he left the crowd in high spirits courtesy of his single “Alright” before promising Las Vegas that this would certainly not be the last time he rocks the 702 area code.
“I love ya’ll and I will be back!” Lamar said as the band played on.
And with that, another Life Is Beautiful festival was in the books. It’s going to be interesting to see what’s in store for next year.