Inside the Wall, Vol. 2 (7.1.12)

Here at the half-point for 2012, I'm ready to add Passion Pit's performance of "Sleepyhead" at the Governor's Ball to the short list of "best live performances of the year."  It doesn't hurt that their visually arresting but often lackluster performance up to that point in the show had drained much of the energy of their studio cuts.  It's hard to blame front man Michael Angelakos for cutting much of the falsetto intensity from his vocals; that kind of mania has to be impossible to maintain over an entire show.  Still, it's the most striking feature on Passion Pit's otherwise standard-fair synth pop style that put them above tepidly enjoyable bands like Chromeo, who took the stage shortly before Passion Pit but generated barely half of their audience enthusiasm.