popwreckoning

With the summer fog and windy chill separating the locals from the ill-prepared tourists, day 3 of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park had both moments of brilliance and powerful performances across the festival’s seven stages. If you missed day 1 or day 2, check them out now!

Matt & Kim
Almost too happy for their own good, the duo of Matt and Kim bounced through their Casio-infused set including “Daylight” and “I Wanna.”

The Dead Weather
All of the elements were in place for The Dead Weather’s mid-tempo performance on Sunday afternoon. The weather was indeed dead and gloomy and The Kills’ Alison Mosshart’s vocals were bluesy, primal and raw. While Jack White, pulling double-duty on drums and vocals, fits the personality of the band perfectly, he was overshadowed by Alison’s powerful onstage presence.

Modest Mouse
Proving that plaid may just be the new black, Modest Mouse played their set, curiously skipping their most radio-friendly tune “Float On.” While the show was enjoyable, I found that I would rather have a Modest Mouse experience which includes a comfy chair, good headphones and a copy of The Moon & Antarctica.

Loop!Station
Performing their third brilliant set in three days, Loop!Station shared part of their show with performers from the Vau de Vire Society.

Ween
Ween’s hard-core fans were out in large numbers to see the free-spirited absurdist-rockers on Sunday. Filling the spot occupied by Primus at last year’s fest, Dean Ween and Gene Ween (Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman) showed their cred as gifted guitarists.

M.I.A.
After her bratty reaction to the announcement of Tenacious D as replacement headliners for the Beastie Boys on the final day of festivities, M.I.A.’s performance did little to improve her image. M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) failed to generate much enthusiasm from the crowd, even after passing out hundreds of annoying toy horns which, coincidentally, sounded just like “boo” when played en masse. It was quite fitting that Street Sweeper Social Club’s version of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was more inspired than her own.

Band of Horses
Shimmering with reverb, the Southern-tinged rock of Band of Horses was filled with warm and moving moments. Song such as “The Funeral” and “Ode to LRC” were part of a well-crafted and rousing set.

Tenacious D
Bringing skits, stunt doubles and shtick-heavy rock, Jack Black and Kyle Gass closed out the final night of the festival. After being named as replacements for Beastie Boys who dropped out due to the throat cancer diagnosis of Beastie’s Adam “MCA” Yauch, The D unleashed their “earthquake of rock” on the Bay Area.

We wish you the best, MCA!

The heat of the first day, replaced by the requisite layer of San Fran summer fog, brought the largest crowd of the three-day festival.

Street Sweeper Social Club
Coming off a successful supporting role with Jane’s Addiction and Nine Inch Nails on last year’s NIN|JA tour, SSSC was easily the best dressed band of the festival. With great machine-gun style and obvious DNA from Rage Against the Machine, Tom Morello and Boots Riley performed songs from their recently-released and self-titled album including “Fight! Smash! Win!” and “100 Little Curses.”

Mastodon
Performing with a formidable presence, fans at this live show know why this is one of the best heavy metal bands in the country. Mastodon’s progressive style is intricate and monstrously powerful, drawing from metal, metalcore and jazz influences. Their immense sound is even more potent when it is radiating from an outdoor stage.

Bat for Lashes
Though it was too early in the day and their stage was too small to contain them, UK’s Bat For Lashes dished up wistful songs for the crowd who shoe-horned themselves into the side stage area. Less cutesy and more dynamic than I expected, vocalist Natasha Kahn’s velvety voice was haunting, even in the light of the afternoon.

Black Eyed Peas
Supporting their latest release, The E.N.D., the Black Eyed Peas are determined to keep their fans happy. Creating a massive dance party in the middle of Golden Gate Park is certainly one way to do just that.

Deerhunter
Also coming off a supporting role with Nine Inch Nails on their Lights in the Sky tour, Deerhunter’s performance was a surprisingly subdued version of their usually moody punk-art-rock shows. Maybe it was the tiny stage or the complete lack of atmosphere but only a hint of Bradford Cox’s lo-fi brilliance was evident.

Dave Matthews
No stranger to massive shows in Golden Gate Park, Dave Matthews brought his quirky personality and prodigious catalog of music back to the live stage. After the recent band turmoil, including the death of founding member and saxophonist LeRoi Moore in 2008, fans were happy to be dancing with the GrooGrux King once again.

check back for Day 3!

The first day of the second annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park was filled with all of the ingredients you would expect at such a mammoth, eco-conscious festival. Expressions of art in many forms, lots foodie-centric vendors and throngs of music-adoring fans packed the event for three days of music, activism and celebration in a picture-perfect setting.

West Indian Girl
One of the early highlights was the set by West Indian Girl with guest vocalist Miranda Lee Richards. WIG delivered a psychedelic set of dreamy pop to an appreciative SF crowd.

Built To Spill
Often mentioned and praised by other bands throughout the day was the swirling, guitar-driven performance by Built to Spill.

Loop!Station
A San Francisco favorite, Loop!Station played three days in “The Barbary,” a magnificent “venue” brought in from Belgium. The effect of Robin Coomer’s soaring vocals, set atop layered samples and powerful cello from Sam Bass is absolutely mesmerizing.

The Dodos
Displaying their unconventional techniques for the hometown crowd, San Francsico’s The Dodos gained some much-deserved exposure with their opening-day performance.

Silversun Pickups
Often compared to Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups have built out their own sonic wall of sound. Delivering the most powerful set of the festival, Silversun Pickups brought their familiar “Lazy Eye” and “Swoon” in all of their fuzz-out, screamed-out glory.

The National
The performance by Brooklyn-based The National was filled with well-crafted gems of surprisingly interesting indie pop. A band familiar to San Franciscans from their song “Fake Empire” which was used in the Obama campaign, The National had the crowd won over before they hit the stage.

Incubus
Struggling with some vocal issues, Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd did his best to power through the hit-laden set. The fans were more than happy to fill in the gaps while Boyd nursed his pipes with a Cotes du Rhone.

Tom Jones
In an odd Vegas-meets-the-Bay moment, Tom Jones brought his endearing sing-along show to Golden Gate Park. I wasn’t sure if “It’s Not Unusual” or “She’s a Lady” would resonate with the hipster, boomer and ubiquitous ironic t-shirt-clad festival crowd. Sure enough, Sir Tom had everyone, young and old, dancing and singing right along.

Thievery Corporation
Even exceeding my expectations as a long-time devotee of Thievery Corporation, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton led fans through an amazing spectacle during their performance on Friday night. The opening minutes of the show featured no less than three lead vocalists, a cross-legged Rob Myers on sitar and were followed by one of the most stunning performances of the entire festival. Pearl who?

Check back for days 2 & 3!