Posts Tagged ‘San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival’

Outside Lands Festival 2009: Day 3

Monday, August 31st, 2009

The final day of Outside Lands Festival was a very foggy and chilly day in Golden Gate Park. I got a bit of joy seeing these LA hipster brats in their designer t-shirts freezing their asses off.

I made it in time to see Australia’s Lenka play a few songs including her single The Show as well as a brand new tune. She was having a good time despite the tiny crowd she generated. Plus she was cute as all hell. When an audience member asked her when the new album was going to be out she responded, “Fuck if I know, next year maybe?” Adorable. [Lenka Kuestionnaire]

I strolled up the John Vanderslice stage a bit confused. There had to be about 15 people in the crowd and he was going to perform in the next five minutes. Here was this talented singer-songwriter and creator of one of the best albums of the year, Romanian Names, and no one was here to appreciate it.

Gradually people started to trickle in and he eventually generated a sizable crowd. And for good reason, he brought his usual sweet and goofy personality mixed with his vulnerable and moving songs. This was a treat for anyone there to witness it. Playing plenty off his extensive catalog and a few gems off his new record including my favorite, Tremble And Tear. An impressive performance from this criminally underrated artist.

John Vanderslice – Fetal Horses from Romanian Names (2009)

My real test was to figure out whether I was stoked enough to see Dead Weather and Band of Horses or Modest Mouse, M.I.A., and Tenacious D. For some people this would be an easy choice, however for me I was torn. I figured I would catch Dead Weather and Band of Horses on their next tour and see Modest Mouse for the first time, see M.I.A. again, and witness the rockin’ that is Tenacious D. So I trekked over to my least favorite stage, the Lands End (Main) stage. The Lands End stage reminds me what I don’t like about festivals; the smell (you know what I’m talking about, that mix of BO, bad medicinal pot, and greasy fair food), loud ignorant people, and being compact with people I otherwise would never converse with. Well here’s a short list of characters I ran into while I was waiting for the Lands End acts.

The Guys Fascinated and Obsessed With The Beach Balls
The Two Valley Girls From Hollywood That Had Nothing Interesting To Say For 45 Minutes Straight But “OMG Why Is She (M.I.A.) Taking So Long?”
The Guys Who REALLY Wanted To Be Seen On The Jumbo-Tron
The Dude Who Smoked (I’m Not Exaggerating) 20 Blunts. “Dude….I’m so high..I….I can’t walk.”

Moving on. I’m a casual fan of Modest Mouse (I own The Moon and Antarctica and Good News For People Who Love Bad News, that’s it), but what I got was a decent performance filled with a few familiar tunes and some not so much. I have no idea whether tonight’s audience favored newer or older material. A nice thing happen though, Float On wasn’t played. Thank you Modest Mouse for building a genuine setlist for all of us and not randomly throwing a radio single in there. Bravo.

The show rocked on and the crowd sang along compellingly. Lead vocalist/guitarist Isaac Brock was short on banter which was also nice for a guy that is famously shitfaced during each show. Modest Mouse songs start (or end) like a lullaby at times but explode with precise time signatures and loud choruses, which was all on display today on this cloudy afternoon in San Francisco.

Modest Mouse – Heart Cooks Brain from Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

This was my second time seeing M.I.A. The first time was a week after Kala was released. Her shows are typically very energetic and this was no exception. The difference from this show and my first M.I.A. concert was the crowd’s energy, which was close to nothing. It didn’t make much sense. She had these twin albino crunk dancers going apeshit, two more hype dancers, she jumped into the crowd several times, they even tossed out a few dozen annoying plastic horns for the crowd to play with. Still, no dancing, no arm waving, just a few head nods. Keep in mind I was directly up front and I was squashed with Tenacious D fans who were vaguely familiar with anything from M.I.A. So I assume it was different at other parts of the crowd, but where I was standing, they were dead.

I however was having a blast with these random strangers I had just met. Dancing and singing along like I usually do. It was hard to keep any level of enthusiasm with the crowd at such a boorish energy level. I still don’t understand it. Anyway, she played a new song which I’ll post in the coming week. I forget the title but it sounds like Tricky crossed with …well, M.I.A.Very experimental and loud. I liked it.

All in all, she rocked, as usual. It’s just a pity the crowd sucked ass.

M.I.A. – MIA from Piracy Funds Terrorism, Volume 1 (2004)

It was time for The Beastie Boys’ replacement, Tenacious D. I would have preferred The Beastie Boys but I figured seeing the D wasn’t too bad of a trade off. After listening to their first full length album and watching a borrowed copy of The Pick of Destiny, I was hyped up enough to see the epic rocking that is Tenacious D.

It was a blast! They’re not a full fledged rock show though. They are more of a combination comedy act with skits, battles against the devil and something called The Metal, and a lot of dueling acoustic guitars and balls out rockin’ the fuck out.

It was very entertaining to say the least. You had to kind of let yourself except that this was more of a ’show’ than a rock concert and once you did that, you were having fun.

Playing classics like Fuck Her Gently (haha, classic…), Wonderboy, and Tribute were great to watch along with some Pick of Destiny songs, and a handful of Who covers during the encore. Not a bad way to end the night and these exhausting but overly satisfying festival.

Tenacious D – Kielbasa from Tenacious D (2001)

Outside Lands Overall Conclusion? While an epically embarrassing line-up and an audience of people who embrace shitting music, my journey through the festival was 90% a success.Lets rank my top 5 moments…

The Mars Volta. They know how to put on a fucking show. Just an amazing thing to witness.
Q-Tip. Playing Tribe Called Quest songs alone was great but his stage presence was amazing. A born performer.
Portugal. The Man. They need to be experienced live. The band plays like they’ve been doing this for decades.
Pearl Jam. You can tell that this is a band that has the art of performing live down to a science. Fantastic.
John Vanderslice. It was great not only to hear him play new favorites, but old favorites as well…all the while outside in the foggy San Francisco afternoon. Gorgeous.

I had a great time and may go again next year if all goes well. See you then!

Tags: john vanderslice, LENKA, M.I.A., Modest Mouse, Outside Lands Music Festival, San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, Tenacious D, The Beastie Boys
Posted in Concerts, Music | 8 Comments »

Outside Lands Festival 2009: Day 2

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

I entered the Outside Lands Festival grounds a bit peeved. See when you try to find a spot at the Lands End stage (Main Stage), people have already claimed seven or more spots with a God damn blanket and their huge lawn chairs (which I thought were banned). So here I am walking on people’s blankets and they’re giving me these dirty looks like I just pooed in their soup. Hey man, you decided to call property on six square feet of lawn and you expect me to tip-toe around your shit? I don’t fuckin’ think so.

Anyway, after pissing off people I could care less about, I caught Zion I perform a moderately fun set. After all it was noon, how much rockin’ can one do? A lot actually, the crowd was pretty into them despite the fact it was majorly filled with camped out Dave Matthews Band fans at the average age of 40 years old. Zion I played mostly new tracks off their new album, The Takeover but I got what I wanted when they performed songs off 2005’s True & Livin‘. Things got crazier when the Oakland’s original ghost rider Mistah F.A.B. showed up to help out with a few songs. A good way to start the day.

Zion I – Doin’ My Thang from True & Livin’ (2005)

I wondered around for an hour and camped in front of the Panhandle Stage to catch Portugal. The Man. While I waited I got to see afro-rock group Extra Golden pump out a few more songs. They seemed very happy to be there and the small crowd they generated were into it I guess. A nice change of sound.

Now I have been trying to see PTM for years now. Ever since 2006’s Waiter: “You Vultures!” I have been trying to see what my friends called “one of the most unexpectedly amazing live bands I have ever seen.” Fair enough. After about three songs into their set, I was convinced.

The band is tight and extremely talented. They create perfect pop songs that blended pretty well with the bright and sunny 80 degree San Francisco weather we were having today. Their early 70’s throwback rock, R&B, and vintage soul with the latest innovations in melodious experimentation proved worthy for this sunny afternoon.

Portugal. The Man – Dawn from Church Mouth (2007)

I had to book it to the Twin Peaks Stage in order to just catch the mighty Mastodon rock the fuck out. Another band I had missed several times, Mastodon brought it today. Opening with songs from this year’s Crack The Skye and gradually breaking into older material showed how the band had evolved as more than just a run-of-the-mill metal act.

The best part of this stage wasn’t just the band though, it was the random moshpits that were sprouting out of nowhere. This was both fun and aggravating for the crowd. I however, was loving it. Watching everyone’s reaction was great and seeing these metalheads clash with these uptight hipster punks was a sight to see. Anyway, Mastodon has a monster presence when they perform and seemed quite happy with the crowd’s enthusiasm. A nice addition being that none of the bands on this year’s line-up sound remotely like them.

Mastodon – Crystal Skull from Blood Mountain (2006)

45 minutes later TV on the Radio performed their last set in a long time (according to them). With Kyp Malone’s much anticipated solo project Rain Machine going on tour soon and the band extensively touring for last year’s Dear Science, they are taking a long much deserved break.

So what we got today was a highly energetic and moving hour long set filled with many songs off the brilliant Dear Science and many lovely familiar tracks like Staring At The Sun and Wolf Like Me. They play fast and slow with an equal amount of passion, and it’s a treat to see both.

TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun (Woven Remix) from TVOTR Remixes (2004)

I have been a fan of The Mars Volta ever since their formation and had passed up seeing them live until tonight. Here I was, about to see one of my favorite bands of all time rip up the stage like I had dreamed a millions times before. Opening with Goliath off last year’s amazing The Bedlam in Goliath, lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala immediately jumped and flopped around on stage all the while still able to hit the high notes.

That’s not all. All within the first song he grabbed the sign displaying their band name on the side of the stage and began to beat the everliving crap out of it. Also, he laid chestdown on the stage and started grabbing the presses’ cameras and singing into them. All the while I was thinking, “If this is what will be going on for the next hour and half….AWESOME!” Well he didn’t exactly go apeshit the whole set but Cedric and the rest of the band were most definitely full of energy for the remainder of the show.

Playing a perfect balance from all five of their albums, including this year’s impressive Octahedron. My “Oh-shit-o-meter” went off the charts when they played my favorite songs off their 2003 masterpiece De-Loused in the Comatorium.

Singing along and freaking out, I came to the quick conclusion that this may be one of the best shows I had ever seen. Now four hours after the show, I’m still pretty certain that what I had just witnessed was not only the best of the festival (sorry Q-Tip), but one of my favorite shows of the year. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I’m pretty much sold.

The Mars Volta – Cotopaxi from Octahedron (2009)

So today worked out pretty well. Tomorrow is John Vanderslice, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., and Tenacious D! Maybe some other acts in the middle and earlier in the day. We’ll see.

Tags: EXTRA GOLDEN, Lands End stage, Mastodon, Portugal. The Man, San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, The Mars Volta, tv on the radio, Zion I
Posted in Concerts, Music | 2 Comments »

More Outside Lands Festival News

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

You might already know about this but I’m going to tell you anyways, San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival we will be providing 1-day tickets starting this Sunday, June 21st. They’ve also released the day-to-day schedule (no times yet) and a handful of new bands added to the line-up:

Alpha Blondy – What do bro’s love more than Incubus and Dave Matthew’s Band? REGGAE! To be fair I like reggae as much as the next guy, which is a little bit…I think. Anyway, I have no problem with Mr. Blondy and his songs about struggle, revolution, peace, love and corruption. Bring the rasta!

Street Sweeper Social Club – Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and The Coup’s Boots Riley have joined forces to create Street Sweeper Social Club, a funked up revolution party act. The description sounds like Michael Franti…but upon listening to it, it’s a whole lot better than that asshole. It’s tolerable.

Autolux - I am very happy about this addition. Their first album, Future Perfect, is a masterpiece on so many levels. Yet that was back in 2004 and it’s a long time coming for a band that was supposed to revitalize the shoegaze genre, not disappear from it. Well their back and hopefully we’ll get to hear some new tunes.

Cage The Elephant – I should have seen this coming. These guys are becoming one of the most popular new artists in 2009. They’ve already done a handful of festivals and are not showing signs of slowing down. They come off like a UK version of The White Stripes not only because of their blues rock style but because of their electrifying live shows.

Infantree - With an EP called, “Tree-P” you can probably guess what kind of music they play. The Calabasas, CA folk foursome will be starting Saturday and will be a welcome addition to this year’s line-up.

Street Sweeper Social Club – Clap for the Killers