Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
How do competing fests stack up?
Two of the year’s biggest festivals land on the same weekend and schedule their most appealing lineups, and biggest headliners, on Friday. What’s a music lover to do?
Well, if you have the means, go to both.
It was possible to see quite a bit of downtown’s Life Is Beautiful and the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the T-Mobile Arena, thanks to proper planning and $26.54 worth of Uber trips.
So how do the festivals stack up?
HEADLINERS LIB: Mumford & Sons iHeart: U2 A backup on Interstate 15 on the way back from iHeart kept me from hearing all but the closing songs of Mumford & Sons’ set. But as brilliant as they are live, and even though they played at least twice as long as U2, there’s just no topping the boys from Dublin. The Edge (get it?): iHeart
THE VIBE
LIB: Coachella meets First Friday. Festivalgoers held signs with messages like “Free Hugz” and “Do Good Things.” Early in his set, Atlanta rapper Raury implored everyone to grab a stranger and give them a hug and a kiss. It’s a beautiful thought, but in some circles, that’s considered assault.
iHeart: A TV show, which it is. While that means you’re treated to presenters ranging from Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez to a mumbling Sean Penn, it makes the evening feel a little too slick.
The Edge: LIB
THE MESSAGE
LIB: According to its manifesto, “We create space to appreciate the beauty in ourselves and our surroundings. … We create noise that drowns out the naysayers.” iHeart: Listen to our app. The Edge: LIB
ACTIVISM
LIB: Saving the planet is a huge focus, with dozens of bins to recycle your boxes of water — assuming you weren’t being even more environmentally conscious by refilling them at the numerous water stations.
iHeart: Jamie Foxx and Don Cheadle urged concertgoers to vote. Drake pleaded with the crowd and its many races from many places to continue to get along well after the show. And U2 went from mocking Donald Trump to Rocking the Vote to asking fans to sing for Charlotte and Tulsa, the latest cities in turmoil following police shootings of black men. The Edge: iHeart, in an upset
CONVENIENCE
LIB: The headlining Downtown Stage is thoughtfully located near the Huntridge Stage, while the eclectic Ambassador Stage isn’t too far from the dance-friendly Troubadour Stage. But the festival grounds are so far flung, getting between those two areas could necessitate the use of a Sherpa.
iHeart: You sit in your assigned seat — or sneak down into a better one — and a rotating stage delivers the acts right to you.
The Edge: iHeart
SHOWMANSHIP
LIB: While the acts were undeniably talented, the ones I saw just focused on the music.
iHeart: OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder ventured way up into the stands. Twenty one pilots singer Tyler Joseph climbed the scaffolding. Drake filled the air with fireballs. Sia brought her interpretive dance troupe, which appeared to include a panda fighting a rabbit. And U2 had fake money rain from the sky as they ridiculed Trump. When even pop-country act Sam Hunt gets fireworks, you know it’s a party. The Edge: iHeart
FOOD
LIB: Pretty much anything you could ask for. One booth alone offered everything from pulled jackfruit tacos to fresh young Thai coconuts, the latter of which could have doubled as the name of an act on the Ambassador Stage.
iHeart: Just your standard burgers, hot dogs and nachos.
The Edge: LIB
FASHION
LIB: In addition to costumes ranging from superheroes to a chicken to a whole family of Waldos, there was an awful lot of bodypaint and booty shorts — and not just on the ladies. iHeart: Too much boring clubwear. The Edge: LIB
DISTRACTIONS
LIB: Between acts, you could ride the Ferris wheel or the water slide, watch Cirque du Soleil performers and art battles, play games and take virtual reality tours of the Jack Daniel’s distillery.
iHeart: Between acts, you could watch commercials for “Supergirl,” Twix and, of course, that app.
The Edge: LIB
BEST ACCIDENTAL SOUVENIR
LIB: A woman named Anna threw her leopard-print underwear to indie-pop twins Tegan and Sara. iHeart: Tedder broke a piano key, for the first time in 10 years, and tossed it to a fan. The Edge: iHeart, by a wide margin