Posts Tagged ‘outside lands’
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
First off, parking for Outside Lands Festival is way easier than the website tries to make you believe. All last year and tonight I have had no trouble finding a perfect spot to park. Just in case you cared. Anyway, I arrived a bit late and missed Akron/Family and Autolux, two bands I was looking forward to seeing since they had extended the Friday timeslots from last year’s. So I waltzed in without a problem and made my way to the Sutro stage to see The Dodos.
Now The Dodos had this extra accessible Animal Collective sound until songs from their next album Time to Die started to leak and fans of the band started to find out what he band sounded like when they were more focused and sharper (much like what happened with The Shins). The band brought that very sharpness and focus to the stage today. Playing many off Visiter and a handful off their next album including Fables, the band was playful yet very concentrated. Most of the crowd didn’t seem familiar with the band’s material but were extremely impressed. Good job boys!
The Dodos – 
Fools from Visiter (2008)
After that I walked over to the Lands End Stage for Silversun Pickups. Not a huge fan but i was willing to give them some ear space and see what they had to bring. However the Lands End Stage is the ‘Main Stage’ and people had already layed out their blankets and gotten comfortable, making me do somersaults over their shit in order to get a good spot to watch Silversun Pickups. Well about three songs into the set I was bored and ready to move to the Twin Peaks stage to catch Q-Tip. I will admit that I was happy to hear There’s No Secrets This Year from the band. One of my favorites off the new record.
Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year from Swoon (2009)
Off to the Sutro stage I bought a nice cup of $7 New Castle and watched the remaining songs from Midnite. The best part about this set; the dancing reggae hippies! Oh my God! I am so surprised (I shouldn’t have been) to see how many stinky, dreadlocked, bad dancing hippies with bare feet there were at the festival. I had a good laugh.
So after 45 minutes of waiting Q-Tip took the stage with a full band. Opening with about 4 songs off last year’s album The Renaissance (One of my favorites). All songs performed flawlessly and with full throttle energy. It only got better from there, he then began to churn out Tribe Called Quest classics like Check The Rhime, Award Tour, Bonita Applebum, and many more.
I was going ballistic! I was dancing and singing along and freaking the fuck out. This was all probably due to the titan of a stage presence he had during the entire performance. He seemed to be channeling James Brown and Otis Redding which kept the entire crowd on their feet and dancing uncontrollably. It was a blast and made it hard for me to believe that anyone could top a performance on that magnitude this week. Yes, it was that good.
Q-Tip – Dance On Glass from Lynwood Rose (Bootleg) (2009)
So after he wrapped it up, I grabbed a messy burrito, ate it like a caveman would eat a freshly caught kill, ran into some friends that said watching Incubus was like watching an animatronic display acting out Incubus songs, and then tried to get a good spot for Pearl Jam. Now I have nothing against Pearl Jam, the band has always had a special place in my heart but my local alternative rock radio station (WRRV 96.9) where I grew up ruined the band for me due to them playing their radio friendly songs over and over again. I own Ten, Vitalogy, and Yield. So I know a fresh amount of PJ songs. I was ready for some nostalgia to be pumped into my ears.
They were…good! Really good. They didn’t seem bored or tied to a timeslot. The band had their fair amount of rockin’ solos, sing-a-longs, and lighter waving slow tunes. Nothing new or super special, but it was a nice thing to witness and brought me back to the time I realized Pearl Jam wasn’t just another Alt-rock single-machine. They are songwriters and very good ones at that.
They shoved a few new ones in there and seemed to really have a lot of fun play those. The crowd was more into it than I thought but over all people really wanted to hear their favorite radio hits.
Setlist: Why Go, Animal, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Low Light, The Fixer, In My Tree, Small Town, Even Flow, Got Some, I am Mine, Down, Given to Fly, Black, Do the Evolution, Go, Save You, MFC
Encore 1: Wasted Reprise, Betterman, Daughter, The Real Me, Crazy Mary, Alive
Encore 2: Throw Your Hatred Down, Rockin in the Free World (Neil Young Cover)
Pearl Jam – Do the Evolution from Yield (1998)
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I left surprised how everything was working out real well so far. No hiccups. No major mishaps. Yeah I missed The National but I can live another day. Off to Day Two with my favorite line-up, Mastodon, TV on the Radio, and The Mars Volta.
Tags: INCUBUS, outside lands, outside lands festival, Outside Lands Music Festival, outside lands review, PEARL JAM, Q-Tip, SILVERSUN PICKUPS, The Dodos
Posted in Concerts, Music | 5 Comments »
Monday, August 25th, 2008
Day Three of the Outside Lands Festival involved no running around at all. I just stayed at the Twin Peaks Stage all day long to watch act after act perform wonderfully. I arrived early like I have for the rest of the days, however there seemed to be little more people than I expected this morning.
The first act of the day was ALO, or Animal Liberation Orchestra. A surfer rock band that has your typical happy-go-lucky lyrics about being true to yourself and all that sappy shit. I didn’t dig’em, but the meathead “bros” loved them to death. Surfer Rock is catnip for meatheads. They love it! Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Dispatch, G. Love, etc etc. They have a monster hard-on for surfer rock. One of the “bros” even had a t-shirt that said, “Do You Like My Pecs?” Lots of “Woos!” and “Yeahs!” coming from them. If you know what I mean.
Stars is that special kind of band. They play like a band that have been together for decades. There seems to be some sort of camaraderie when they play together. Plus Amy Millan is cute as all hell. This Canadian indie-pop band played songs from Heart, Set Yourself on Fire, and last year’s In Our Bedroom After the War. They were also chucking flowers into the crowd in between songs. It was quite a fun show.
Now, I love Andrew Bird. I love his records and his brand of jazzy neo-folk. But I had never seen him live before this day. Freakin’ Wow! This guy is talented far beyond the conventional singer-songwriter. Not only does he play nearly every instrument on stage but he can also whistle like nobodies buisness. While he plays the violin, guitar, and xylophone. If he swings by your town, don’t miss him. His records don’t do him any justice, you need to see this guy live.
Broken Social Scene was always that type of band I liked but never bothered to check out their live shows. So I figured now was my opportunity to see them in all their glory. They did not disappoint. Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and their band of misfits look like they are having way too much fun up there. There were times where you’d have up to 15 people on stage playing trumpets, trombones, five guitars, and all sorts of percussion instruments. There aren’t that many bands like this out there.
After talking with what seemed like the biggest Wilco and Jeff Tweedy fan on the planet, I had high expectations for Wilco’s performance. Well it was nothing short of brilliant. The whole band is such a genuine and likable group of guys who are extremely talented. Mr. Tweedy’s songwriting and Nels Cline’s master guitar work made this live performance a massive highlight at this festival for me and probably everyone else lucky enough to catch the magic of Wilco.
Jack Johnson, or like my friend calls him, Jack-Off Johnson; was okay. I guess. I honestly wasn’t paying much attention except when I was on line for an Angus burger. I took the opportunity to wander around the festival grounds one last time and see the shops and artwork that people had displayed. I bought myself a neat little Obama T-shirt that say “Forward” on it. Seems appropriate. Particularly with his recent Joe Biden pick. Anyway, I listened to a few of Jack’s songs that I recognized. Then I left to hang out with my friends who lived nearby.
Well that’s it. It was definitely the best festival I’ve ever been to. However I’ve only been to a handful. I did have to miss Kaki King, Sean Hayes, Little Brother, Beck, Cool Kids, and M. Ward. But all these acts will be around here soon enough. I mean come on, I live in the Bay Area for Christ’s sake! One of the best music scenes on the planet. And this festival proved that fact.
Wilco – Jesus, Etc
Andrew Bird – First Song (Live)
Stars – The First Five Times
ALO -Lady Loop
Tags: ALO, andrew bird, broken social scene, jack johnson, outside lands, outside lands festival, san francisco, stars, wilco
Posted in Art and Photography, Concerts, Music, Show Review | No Comments »
Sunday, August 24th, 2008
Day Two of Outside Lands had a lot less compromise between bands and a shitload of great performances. I ended up getting there a little early to get a good spot for dredg and Lupe Fiasco.
First up was Goapele. To my pleasant surprise, this beautiful songstress can put on an amazing show. Her soul & neo-jazz combo was a very nice sound to kick off the day. I might have to check out a little more of her music for those lazy Sunday mornings.
I was really pumped to see one of my favorite bands play today. Not only do I love their live shows, but they have been playing a lot of new material off their unnamed fourth album. dredg hit the stage with a brand new intro that could be easily mistaken for a Explosions in the Sky b-side. After a few older hits, they played 3 new tunes that were a bit more refined and tighter than the live recordings I’ve heard. It seems like this new album they’re working on is going to be pretty unbelievable. Once they finished their set, drummer Dino Campanella extended the outro song by walking around on stage with air drums . It was quite a show to say the least.
After talking with a few people on how friggin’ awesome dredg was, Lupe Fiasco hit the stage. From what I’ve heard from my brother (who dispises Lupe for screwing up a Tribe Called Quest song at last years Hip Hop Honors), Lupe’s performances are hit-or-miss. However, this was a direct hit. He played hits like Kick/Push, Superstar, Dumb it Down, and Sunshine. The guy was all over the stage and even pulled off a back flip at the end of his set. Just a great performer and a master showman. Bravo, Lupe!
Once Lupe finished up, I wandered over to the long lines at the porta-johns. After relieving myself and eating my Powerbar and drinking my Red Bull, I went over to see Regina Specktor play her brand of goofy piano chick music. I love her style, so I was interested to see how she was going to represent that in her live performance. First off, she is absolutely adorable. She just gets up there and seems to have an absolute blast. The more fun she was having, the more the audience fell in love with her. Regina ended up playing a lot of old songs and a few off her latest album, Begin To Hope. I’ll definitely be checking her out again when she swings by the Bay Area again.
Cake. A band that isn’t easily characterized. Indie rock and roll? I won’t waste your time trying to figure it out. All I know is that their live show was fan-fucking-tastic. As you can see on the right of the picture, it’s a baby tree. They ended up giving it away to anyone who knew what it was. I guess there was a dendrologist in the audience tonight because it didn’t take long for someone to guess what it was. A Live Oak. The stipulation was to email Cake every so often to give status updates on the growth process of the tree. Seems like a fair enough trade off. Anyway, Cake provided their fair share of audience interaction and radio hits as well as older tunes that they claimed no one has heard before. Overall, great show.
I left Cake with a couple cool people I met while waiting for them to hit the stage. We walked over to watch Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers play some of my childhood favorites and a few covers. During Tom I walked around the emptying grounds and listened to songs that remind me of being in my dad’s car when I was 8 years old. So many memories are attached to his songs. It was nice to hear them in person. After he played American Girl, I tried my best to escape and find my car. No issues this time around. I think I’m starting to enjoy this festival thing.
Tomorrow is Andrew Bird, Broken Social Scene, and Wilco. After I report on that performance, I’ll post a link to the pictures from the shows as well as a video collage of performances.
Goapele – Love Me Right
dredg – Redrawing The Island Map
Lupe Fiasco – Little Weapon (ft. Bishop G and Nikki Jean)
Regina Specktor – Samson
Cake – Nugget
Tags: cake, dredg, goapele, lupe fiasco, outside lands, regina specktor, tom petty
Posted in Art and Photography, Concerts, Music, News, Show Review | No Comments »
