Day Two started out…awkward. I had chase down a few scalpers to get my girlfriend a ticket but ended up meeting up with someone from craigslist. Our deal got a little odd when the scalpers started harassing us buy saying that the guy selling my tickets shouldn’t be trusted. I politely told him to fuck off, and met up with my girl at the front of the bus line at AT&T Park.
We ended up getting there a bit late, making me miss the amazing Sleepy Sun. I’m sure they kicked if off well though, those guys are fantastic. We walked in on Tommy Guerrero and his band doing their blend of chill out instrumental skate rock. It was a nice start to a chilly day on Treasure Island.
Next was Thao with The Get Down Stay Down at the Main Stage. I didn’t know much about her music; however I loved watching her rock the fuck out. Her brand of indie-pop doesn’t pigeon-hole itself to just catchy tunes and whimsical lyrics, it’s a more brutal form that crosses back and forth from dark to light, much like her performance that day. Very entertaining to watch, I highly recommend catching her live. After a five-year absence, Pavement guitarist and Preston School Of Industry mainman Scott Kannberg returns with Spiral Stairs. While recognizably talented, the music was not anything to rave about. This is not exactly a great side project for those of you waiting for the Pavement reunion.
After a few songs I headed to check out Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Okay let’s get something straight, if you look at these guys, you’d think they are part of some sort of hippie commune that lives off the earth. You’d probably be right, however, the music and show they put on is joyful celebration of life and the pure happiness music can bring. In fact, the whole band was grinning like kids in a ball pit practically the whole show. Particularly back up vocalist Jade Castrinos, lead vocalist Alex Ebert’s girlfriend. Their chemistry shines on stage and makes for an entertaining show. Oh and the music is pretty good too.
The sleepy folk rock group Vetiver came next. I got very convinced to buy their record that day. Lead songwriter Andy Cabic’s sandy vocals was very fitting sound for the chilly San Francisco afternoon. Afterwards, I made it to the ferris wheel to get a nice view of the city with my girl…a bit cold but very cool to see the festival grounds from up high. After my little ride I watched one of my favorite performances of the day, Grizzly Bear. Still as disarming and brilliant as I remember them, the band played flawlessly to an awestruck crowd lucky enough to witness this very special band.
Next up was Hüsker Dü legend Bob Mould. The man may be showing his age but holy crap can this guy rock out. Despite the small crowd that was forming when he played, the guy still showed enough energy and charisma for me to dust off the old Zen Arcade album. The biggest surprise of the day was Beirut. I was well aware he was an amazing performer and I had heard enough people say “You gotta see Beirut before you die!” to get me enthused enough to check him out. This guy is the real deal. Not only him, but his band and the brass section that tails along. The mix of gypsy folk with Balken waltzes with a more modern feel made for an almost religious experience. Well, I was impressed…the religious experience came from the dozens of girls going apeshit over this guy. I don’t see it, but whatever…better than the Jonas Brothers I guess. After Beirut came chamber rock group, The Walkmen. These guys were a blast to see live. The band’s setlist was mostly off last year’s sonic perfection, You & Me. I’m sure I heard one song off Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, but don’t quote me on that. Over all, simply fantastic live and would be even better in a venue like The Great American Music Hall.
Next up, The Decemberists. If you were expecting any pre-Hazards of Love, you were extremely disappointed. Granted hearing Hazards of Love in full was a nice thing to observe, I can safely say that any fans of the band were about ready to retire that album and move onto something else. How about some Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series songs or shit, even a Crane Wife song would have been nice. I don’t know, I’m just not a huge fan of the new album and kind of wish they’d drop this theater-folk-prog rock they got going on. It’s time to bring back the Decemberists we know and love. Were they bad? Absolutely not. I just think it’s fair to ask for something more from a band with such an amazing catalog. After that, I walked over to Yo La Tengo, who I believe opened with Periodically Double Or Triple from this year’s Popular Songs. It was a decent performance from this critically acclaimed and dare I say, slightly overrated band. After a few songs though I had to rush over to the Main Stage to catch the main reason I was at Treasure Island.
Finally came the main event, The Flaming Lips. Uh yeah, they’re the best. With probably the most outrageous intro I have ever seen, the band members crawled out of a giant digital vagina as Wayne Coyne sat in his deflated balloon, which quickly turned into a giant hamster ball that he famously used to walk across the crowd. The whole set was lined with exploding canons shooting confetti, streamer guns, a megaphone shooting purple smoke, dancing abominable snowmen, and giant balloons that would explode spreading confetti everywhere (I feel bad for whoever had to do clean up). Whilst in the mix of all this chaos the band played plenty off The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, At War With The Mystics, and their new masterpiece Embryonic. I did notice one amazing thing…everyone in the crowd was simply overjoyed. It was not like a certain section of people, it seemed like everyone was connected and have a great time together. Especially during Do You Realize?? and Race For The Prize. The Flaming Lips solidified themselves as one of the most important, influential, and best live bands of all time. This simple fact makes Treasure Island Music Festival one of the best festivals I have ever attended. I patiently await next year’s line-up, which will have to try pretty damn hard to top one of the most impressive line-ups in festival history.
In my honest opinion, Treasure Island Music Festival is the best music festival I have ever attended. The line-up this year was filled with the best of who’s-who in the indie music world without it compromising reputation by booking a radio-friendly act in order to boost ticket sales. Besides, both dates were sold out and for good reason.
So let’s go over Day One first; first off, not the best day. Not a bad day by any means though. Bay Area’s own The Limousines kicked off the festival at a perfectly upbeat and energetic tone. Playing their now iTunes hit Very Busy People, I saw a band that I have been watching for years now become a tight electro-dance duo that will be emerging as one of the more prominent bands in 2010.
I stayed for about 3 songs for Crown City Rockers, who sounded like a next generation Roots with a mix a Franti optimism, which was kind of a turn off. Murs tore it up with his brand of storytelling hip hop. The guy works the crowd like a pro and I was quite impressed with his set. I only caught a song of Federico Aubele, I have no valid opinion of him just yet. Around this time I went to take pictures of the carnies at the backend of the festival grounds, which involved a guy laying on a bed of nails while his female assistant chopped apples and carrots on his chest. The food was okay, obviously at festival prices but the portions were perfect. One of the bands I was looking forward to was Passion Pit, who did a decent job at translating their unique dance-pop sound live. While the songs seemed to be missing a few of the layers that are featured on their latest record, Passion Pit certainly earned their time at Treasure Island.
Next I met up with lead vocalist of The Limousines, Eric Victorino to talk about the new record and other stuff, which I will post here in a few days time. We headed over to see Dan Deacon do this thing. I had already seen Dan at the Great American Music Hall this year and his performance here wasn’t any different. The only difference was the crowd, I’m not sure everyone knew what they were getting into. Dan Deacon is very demanding of his audience, he will tell you to do a dance competition, run around in circles, stretch in bizarre poses, and probably make you do things you wouldn’t expect at a rock concert. But that’s the fun of Dan Deacon show. He did pretty well despite getting frustrated a few times at certain audience members, “HEY! You with the fucking hat! Take two steps back!”
Next up was my first time seeing The Streets. Michael Skinner is much uglier up close…that I can assure you. I never fully understood the appeal of The Streets, his live show didn’t convince me, but I admit I was enjoying myself. After that was the legendary DJ Krush as he destroyed the crowd with his samurai-like DJ skills. He displayed a sense of extreme concentration that was admired by anyone willing to witness it. After Krush, I headed over to Brazilian Girls. Don’t let the name fool you, no Brazilians in this outfit, and only one girl, Sabina Sciubba. She cam out in a lingerie-like outfit with a giant heart on her torso. I was a little bored despite the obvious eye-candy of her costume. After about 3 songs I looked to see how the ferris-wheel line was…really long, so I declined in order to catch LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad. I should have caught the ferris wheel instead. Another performance that bored me to tears. I recognize they’re talented, but it’s just not my scene. I decided to stay for two songs and go find a good spot in the photo pit for MSTRKRFT.
For anyone that was a fan of MSTRKRFT that night, the duo did not disappoint. But while fans of pulse pounding electro beats were rocking out, everyone else was trying to find a good spot for Girl Talk. Greg Gillis came out with a mic and started to hype up the crowd, who was already amped up to party their asses off. This is around the time my camera’s battery ran out [note: bring extra batteries]. While mixing current radio hits with songs from last year’s Feed the Animals, Girl Talk did what he usually does, jams on his laptop while everything around him explodes, literally. There were giant tubes with balls in them, a girl with a leaf blower and a toilet-paper dispenser in the end shoot TP at the crowd, hipster dancers on stage, and at the end, a firework spectacle that pretty much said to MGMT, “Well, beat that fuckers!”
Unfortunately, MGMT couldn’t match the energy and wackiness of Girl Talk’s set. Even announcing that this was their last time playing for a long time and playing the whole record in full from start to finish didn’t hype up the crowd enough. Playing the whole record in track order didn’t help much either, after they played Kids, about half the crowd dispersed and headed for the buses back to San Francisco. I was one of them. Being that I was damn near passing out from exhaustion I had to call it a night early. Plus, my thoughts on MGMT didn’t change from watching them perform five songs into their set. They have 5 or so solid pop tunes and after that it gets kind of dull.
Let’s be clear, I had a blast, especially during Girl Talk, Passion Pit, The Limousines, and Dan Deacon. I was already impressed and was more than ready for what Day Two had in store.
Passion Pit– I’ve Got Your Numberfrom Chunk of Change (2008)
Click this picture for Treasure Island Music Festival Day One pictures from Kata Rokkar, taken by Shawn Robbins
Lake Tahoe is in the Bay Area right? Sure it is…I don’t know I’ve only lived here for a year. It’s relivent enough to mention though. Wanderlust Festival is this weekend (July 24-26th) up in Lake Tahoe. The line-up includes Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, Spoon, Rogue Wave, Mates of State, Girl Talk, Kaki King, Gillian Welch, Jenny Lewis, Michael Franti & Spearhead (eww), Amanda Palmer, Spearhead, Jai Uttal, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Mutaytor, The Honey Brothers, and The London Souls. The pictures of people doing Yoga are kind of freaking me out, but it looks fun nonetheless. Anywho, here’s this week’s schedule…
Today has veteran shoegaze act Trespassers William and Robert Gomez with The Theatre Fire at the Hemlock Tavern, sfSoundSeries presents avant-garde masters Milton Babbitt, Alvin Lucier, Olga Neuwirth, Matt Ingalls, and Hans Thomalla at the ODC Theater, and the mighty Judgement Day, TRICLOPS! and The Definite Articles rock out at the Bottom of the Hill.
Monday features Blue Öyster Cult at Slim’s and hip hop acts Awol One, Factor, and Ceschi at the Element Lounge.
Tuesday will be pretty packed with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girls, and The Champagne Socialists performing the Rickshaw Stop, electro-act Casiotone for the Painfully Alone will be at the Bottom of the Hill, and the ever-so amazing hip hop group Doomtree featuring Sims, Cecil Otter, Paper Tiger, Dessa, Mike Mictlan & Lazerbeak, Mike Mictlan and Lazerbeak will be playing the Elbo Room.
Wednesday has synth-pop sweetie La Roux with io echo at Café du Nord, the Fake Problems show at the Bottom of the Hill is canceled, and experimental pop group Micachu & The Shapes keep it real at the Rickshaw Stop.
Thursday, The Weakerthans play The Great American Music Hall, hip-hop legends De La Soul hit up The Fillmore, and singer-songwriter iaWillm Fitzsimmons soothes The Independent.
Friday has of Montreal and Jon Brion at the Fox Theater in Oakland and reggae acts The Lions, Bedouin Soundclash and Rootbeer featuring Pigeon John hits up Slim’s.
Saturday has the reunited No Doubt, Paramore, and The Sounds at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and local indie pop act maus haus plays with Rainbow Arabia at the Bottom of the Hill.
I’ll be at ComicCon a majority of this week, but those are your recommendations for this week. Have fun!
Olga Neuwirth – Lost Highway
Trespassers William – Sparrow
Ceschi – Frank Purpose
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan
Kata Rokkar is a place where you can download free mp3 from artists and bands that I currently love and listen to. They are only for sampling purposes and to influence you to go out and support these artists by purchasing their records and going to their concerts. If you are a record company or an artist that is displeased with a song being displayed, feel free to contact me and I will remove it ASAP. Thank you and enjoy!
Everyday from Tight Knit (2009)
