Missed Outside Lands or just want to relive it all again? Then this recap is for you.
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
DAY 1:
Everything You Missed at Outside Lands
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The plan was to start Outside Lands right by seeing Toro y Moi. Turns out the Box Office didn’t get the memo or my name on the list. I wasn’t going to let that keep me down so I took to the road on the pauper side of the fence, found a cozy log on a hillside overlooking the Twin Peaks stage, where I was soon accompanied by various Haight Street folk and their dogs. Despite being in a different zip code, Toro y Moi was everything I wanted and more, elevating their ambient chill-wave sound and even getting straight-up dancey, as evidenced by the video below. The street kids dug it too, in case you were wondering.
I then returned to the scene of my you’re-not-on-the-list shame, where peace negotiations took place that ended with a media bracelet on my wrist. MGMT played “Time to Pretend” somewhere in the trees and it sounded perfect.
After a walk through a Burning Man-esque village and a spin on a rope swing/wind chime, I found my way to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Unfortunately, they were just OK and I was way more into watching a drunk boy accidentally put his lit cigarette on his backpack, causing a little smokey scene. Maybe the band should consider incorporating more pyrotechnics?
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
To follow up this lackluster set, I headed over to the Panhandle stage to see The Limousines, a Bay Area band I had never heard of. With the help of masked drummers, the duo served pure electronica and the crowd ate it up. Then, the sound went out…five or six times, apparently, during the band’s best song. Luckily for everyone involved, the Limousines saved the day with a cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al.”
Instead of trekking over to Phish, I staked my ground for Best Coast. It didn’t take long to realize I was one of the oldest people there. I actually heard a girl complain about how early her mom wanted to pick her up. But Best Coast put on a show that was worth feeling a bit ancient. Bethany Cosentino’s voice doesn’t come across as particularly strong on the studio album, but she really has some pipes, not to mention just the right amount of attitude, especially considering she was sick and had to have a shot of B-12 before performing.
From there, it was off to the sardine-packed field in front of the Shins. It was dark, but I’m pretty sure some people cried.
DAY 2:
Blisters on my feet, mud on my new shoes, and general exhaustion kept me from Outside Lands Day 2, but I did listen to a bit of it from the nearby Botanical Gardens as I munched on Arizmendi bread and hummus and slipped in and out of a nap surrounded by geese.
DAY 3:
Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
I had a hunch that tUnE-yArDs should not be missed and boy was I right! Merrill Garbus is a musical genius, pure and simple. With a mischievous grin and some paint on her face, she was constantly juggling sounds, from looping her glorious voice to smashing drums to playing the ukelele. Her live music experiment blew my brain out the back of my head and I couldn’t have been happier. After her set, a jock turned to his friend and said, “Dude, that girl is insane!” Here’s hoping she never finds sanity.
Mavis Staples with Win Butler of Arcade Fire
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
In a daze after transforming into one giant goose bump, I caught some of Mavis Staples, who had a ton of soul and hand gestures to match, on my way to the media tent (free beer and super fancy bathrooms — we’re talking marble sinks and flushing toilets).
One of the best acts I saw the entire weekend was by pure accident. While walking from one stage to another through food truck alley, my path was blocked by the liveliest bateria imaginable called the Loyd Family Players. Bystanders with various dancing abilities were compelled to join the professional movers and shakers and, while I didn’t partake, I did actively gape for a good 30 minutes.
The Loyd Family Players
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
More dancing was had at Major Lazer, which can be best described as a nightclub without the benefit of dark lighting. Lots of messy booty popping.
With a gut full of frickles (deep-fried pickles!), I made my way to the Sutro stage to get a good spot for Beirut and accidentally caught Sweden’s Little Dragon. I saw them being interviewed without knowing who they were earlier in the day in the media tent and here they were, a few hours later, making a fan boy out of me. Beirut continued the international flavor with their accordion-heavy Balkan rhythms and had the packed crowd swooning.
Regine Chassagne and Win Butler of Arcade Fire
Photo credit: Wendy Goodfriend
Then it was finally time for the main event: Arcade Fire! Surprisingly uncrowded in the beginning (at least compared to the mob scene that gathered for Radiohead four years ago), there was a divide between the fans who knew all the words and the people who had been drinking since noon and were in various stages of collapse or stumble. I worked my way towards the sound tent where I found a group of about 20 teens. They spent their time either jumping up and down while WOOHOO-ing, group hugging while chanting YEAH, SENIORS! (no joke), and moshing. After an entire weekend of resisting and being irked by similar youngsters, they finally broke me. Obscured by the dark, I joined their clan for most of the Arcade Fire set and adopted their rabid excitement so well that I made it into more than one of their group hugs. Turns out freaking out is super fun and I learned a valuable lesson. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
A few more thoughts on this year’s Outside Lands festival:
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