Maybe I should have guessed a music festival sponsored by a salad joint would leave me underwhelmed.
Spectacular sets by Charli XCX – the British powerhouse behind “I Love It” and “Break the Rules” – and Marina and the Diamonds on Sunday were overshadowed by the lingering stench of Saturday’s forgettable performances and teenybopper crowd.
When my friends and I arrived Saturday afternoon, we felt something was up when we saw the “parent pick-up” signs at the entrance and our suspicion was confirmed every time we didn’t have to wait in line for beer.
The crowd at the Sweetlife Festival, particularly on Saturday, was largely young teenagers, some with braces on their teeth and all with their iPhones out, ready to post another photo taken in what my friend aptly dubbed the “Instagram forest,” where colorful hula-hoops hung from oaks near the Treehouse stage.
Sweetlife should have picked a demographic for a more niche experience. Billy Idol fans stuck out like sore thumbs and my friend said a group of girls at Tove Lo stared blankly when she mentioned being excited for Pixies, who were performing after the “Habits (Stay High)” singer.
It’s not just that I felt about 40 years old in concert years. The selfie sticks – which I heard were not allowed in, but apparently that’s what kids are sneaking into festivals these days – and the incessant conversation during performances was distracting.
In fact, it was a little alarming to see so many concert-goers scrolling on their cell phones instead of gazing up into the trees decorated with hula-hoops – or, you know, dancing.
I must have missed the bring-someone-to-make-out-with memo for The Weeknd, but he and Banks crooned their way into a tie for my favorite sets. Kendrick Lamar was incredible, but he could have done the same show two years ago as he neglected to play songs off his prolific new album “To Pimp a Butterfly.”
Still, the clean portable toilets, food trucks like Astro Doughnuts and PhoWheels and the $5 beer vendor made the weekend considerably better. The best part of the festival was the grub from Chaia Tacos, which will open its first brick-and-mortar store in Georgetown this summer. They served a $10 trio of vegetarian tacos that I bought both days: The braised chard and potato taco, doused in a chile sauce, was rich yet light and the garlic kale, goat cheese and pickled onion taco was crispy and surprisingly filling.
But Sweetlife was too laden with salad puns (how many times can beets kale one’s vibe?) and sponsors’ encouragement to use hashtags to achieve an authentic vibe.
