GGOOLLDD was one of the small number of nonlocal acts, hailing from Milwaukee. When they started, I was managing a stage across the river, so I could only sorta hear what was going on, but it sounded hype. After I got 6’10 (solo project of the singer of Flatfoot 56) going, I meandered over to see what was going on.

I was immediately confused because I had thought I heard a female singer among the synth-soaked pop I had heard. But I only saw four indie-rock lookin’ dudes on stage. I watched for a while to see which one of them had such a high voice.

Then, slowly, a leg rose into the air from behind the center monitors, ending with a gold platform shoe. The woman it was attached to followed, adorned in a gold bodysuit. And she began singing. And my brother, did she begin singing.

The last thing you’d expect to hear at a local music festival is chart-ready synthpop, but that’s what they delivered. None of these songs would sound out of place on a Top 40 station, the way that Chvrches could find a home in the top ten, and the way that Lorde did. And for a second, I had a moment of disbelief that this was happening in my city, in the parking lot of a restaurant on the river. This would have been of of the hypest sets at Lollapalooza, and it’s happening here.

I searched for a merch tent, but could find nothing. After a while, my friend Max friend came over with an LP and a t-shirt. “Look what GGOOLLD gave me for helping them load their gear.” He handed me the disc and I looked it over. “You want it? I don’t have a turntable.”

​And so here we are now. It’s Monday morning and I’m jamming some seriously hype tunes, courtesy of GGOOLLDD and my friend Max.