…and so it ends.
The second day of Outside Lands ended in the frenetic and sonically charged sets of Girl Talk and later the Muse as we headed towards our base camp. With two days of having our eyes, ears, and taste-buds bombarded by the musical festivities and culinary vendors during the SF based festival, the team went into the third day with the kind of fatigue that can only be felt first hand. Having participated in a few festival benders and even marathons (of the healthy variety), there was a sense of pride that washed through our team to bring the rest of our scheduled time at the festival to end in a high note.
Luckily, festival programmers helped to ease the flow by starting us off at the Lands End main stage with the sounds of Charles Bradley and The Menahan Street Band, followed by Mavis Staples. As a fan of music in general, this was a real treat, as we were able to take in a band that we have yet to see live, because of sold out shows, as well as a band that some of us were raised on. The mellowing, yet lively sets helped to provide a moment or respite as we headed off into the final moments of our time here.
After spending time to cover, the Jose Gonzales’ helmed Junip show, we continued our behind the scenes coverage by tagging along with Latyrx (Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born) through their set and later their adventures backstage. We followed up by jumping on board with the folks behind Little Dragon.
We took some time to reenergize our stomachs by taking one last visit with some of our friendly, neighborhood culinary artists, such as Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats and Dennis Lee of Namu fame. Taking in an invitation by Eric Sharp, of RockIt Science Records, as he rocked The Domes by Heineken, we were treated to a quick glimpse in party-rocking as he brought the Domes to a heightened state of euphoric frenzy.
Upon reconvening we began weaving through the maze of people that filled Deadmau5’s set at the Twin Peaks mainstage and made our way to finish with the Arcade Fire, settling in at the elevated press tent at the opposite end of the park.
With a look of embattlement and completion, we took the time to finally enjoy the moment and settle as the sights, sounds, and tastes of the weekend slowly faded back into memory.
(Words by Phil Nacionales)
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Sunny Days:
Food: Thanks and Props to Ryan Farr’s 4505 Meats (Bacon Studded Hot Dogs, Air Backed Chicharonnes), Dennis Lee’s Namu (Korean Tacos, et al… as well as for the fine pre-festival dinner treatment given to our SF shoot team), and Woodhouse Fish Company for shipping in fresh… and do we mean fresh oysters to the festivity.
Music: Outstanding shows by STRFKR, the Roots, Erykah Badu… The Black Keys opening with a rendition of GZA’s Cold World/Stevie Wonder’s Rocket Love… Little Dragon, Junip… The Muse provided a pretty arresting set as well… Macklemore and DJ Ryan Lewis commanding a mob as they moved from one location to the next. Dave Chappelle covering for Big Boi was a plus…
People: Despite the laid back attitudes that is often characteristic of San Francisco Bay Area, the people maintained a palpable energy that was infectious and helped to move the festival at a forward pace. Aside from the usual ‘hippie/bohemian’ chic that one would expect, the festival goers remained fashion forward… pushing the look from more a festival vibe to more of a night on the town/concert steeze.
Cloudy Days:
Food: One complaint that was overheard from the ‘foodie’ camp within the festival, as how spread out some of the food vendors were from the middle or end stages.
Music: Having two bands that were fav’s playing on opposite ends of the park… Big Boi’s delay and later on stage cancellation….
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