Day Two of Treasure Island saw more rock and less DJ’s which made the crowd significantly larger and happier.
If you haven’t heard of Vampire Weekend then you’ve probably been under a rock for the last year. Due to a brilliant marketing plan and not much else, this band has catapulted onto the cover of Spin and performed on “Saturday Night Live” straight out of college. After listening to their entire set, I can safely say that they have no memorable melodies, just a clean image and a great gimmick. Truthfully they came off more like a teacher singing nursery rhymes than a rock band playing to 10,000.
On a side note I think it should be a rule that V-Necks and cardigans have no place in rock and roll unless you’re Jimmy Page. What happened to rock bands that would beat you down and steal your girlfriend?
The Kills came out boozing and smoking and burned through their 45 minute set. Even if you don’t understand what Allison Mosshart is saying, you’ll believe it because she puts everything she has into her performance. Don’t let this two-piece fool you, they will pummel you and leave you wondering what happened to your innocence.
Okkervil River provided the most energetic set of the afternoon and frontman Will Sheff knows how to work a crowd. Â With such diverse songwriting and musicanship, this band won’t be Austin’s best kept secret for much longer.
Fleet Foxes sound like every great band in your parents record collection and they have the look to match.  With the addition of J Tillman on drums their 3 part harmonies are what dreams are made of.
Spiritualized brought their near epic arrangements that either make you cry or make you wonder if someone slipped something into your Kool-Aid. After a long hiatus, Jason Pierce hasn’t lost a step and the new material sounded great.
Tegan and Sara’s sound translated well to the festival setting since everyone in the audience adored them. They’re in the midst of writing a new album so they stuck to their released material which had the crowd in the palm of their hand throughout.
The Raconteurs are better than your favorite rock band (unless they’re QOTSA), just make it easy on yourself and come to grips with it. You may ask why but the answers are simple; they dress better, play guitar better and write better songs. The two headed songwriting monster that is Jack White and Brendan Benson are backed by an air tight rhythm section in Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler and they play straight up no frills rock and roll. White seemed more interested in playing the keys rather than guitar which allowed their set to dynamically breath. They leaned heavily on their new album The Consolers of the Lonely and found time to fit in a couple guitar solos…remember those?
Pingback: Five-hour marathon of rock at 107.7 The End’s Deck the Hall Ball 2009 | popwreckoning