From the first notes of FUTUREBIRDS set down in Hellman Hollow on Friday at high noon to the Stevie Wonder-led singalong “My Girl” closer on Sunday, Outside Lands 2012 was a resounding, across-the-board success. The peak-level quality of music, setting, food, drink and weather in Golden Gate Park all contributed to making this thing a delight for all five senses. Wine Lands, Comedy Tents, Choco Lands, Beer Lands, gourmet food offerings and killer street art offered enough side appeal to make a break in the music action something to worth making time for. Being a newcomer to the fest and the city, I was initially drawn in by what was arguably the year’s most impressive and stacked festival lineups. By the time we exited the Park on Sunday night, my extremely high expectations for the weekend had been obliterated.
THE VIBE
Throughout the weekend, festival goers were greeted by cool and comfortable Nor Cal weather and periodic blankets of the Bay Area’s trademark fog through the exceedingly idealistic woodland layout – a setup that expertly utilized the park’s natural beauty to create some rather picturesque daytime vistas and a wondrous nocturnal mystique, particularly within the well-accentuated and uber-cool Choco Lands area. The still-young event, in its fifth year, has unquestionably established itself as one of the nation’s premiere music festivals and is a must-stop at some point for those who don’t mind the crowd sizes at the U.S. mega fests.
THE MUSIC
FRIDAY
Outside Lands 2012’s unofficial orientation session appropriately came early at the nicely-tucked Sutro Stage when Brooklyn-based comedian/singer/beatbox extraordinaire Reggie Watts improvised his way through a set that meshed comedy and music – showcasing his pristine and soulful singing voice quite well amidst jokes, banter and loop pedal wizardry. This kind of fun, light-hearted mélange is exactly what a festival’s for and Watts read his audience like a book, delivering a bout of hilarity that got this thing moving in the right direction right from the get-go.
Beck’s set was heavy on earlier offerings, replete with mellow acoustic Sea Change material (dedicating “Lost Cause” to Adam Yauch) and a whisper-versed “Where It’s At” that produced the day’s first big dance party moment at the main stage. Any other performer maintaining such a staid, aloof temperament would likely be panned for not bringing enough energy, but Hansen’s cool cat persona and wry sense of humor compliment his music well – nothing is forced and he’s a one-of-a-kind. Beck’s set came on the heels of an intimate show the previous night for the lucky few who snagged tickets to see him at Bimbo’s.
Foo Fighters, another 90’s-born juggernaut, played to the largest crowd of the weekend in an oddly-placed slot before Neil Young & Crazy Horse, kicking the crowd energy into full-blown hysteria in a way that only Grohl & Co. are capable of. Drummer Taylor Hawkins needs to be cloned so future scientists can replicate his energy source, there just isn’t a parallel in rock music today.
Young’s set lost a good portion of the crowd early on, focusing on intriguing protracted, feedback-heavy guitar experiments like the opener “Love and Only Love” and other 10+ minute compositions for the first hour, before digging into more engaging classics like “Cinnamon Girl” and “Powderfinger” that received their deserved attention of the thinned-out crowd. However, credit and artistic legitimacy must be given, for Young didn’t do the festival-pandering, robot fest set thing by delivering canned radio-friendly versions of his hits. The payoffs for those standing at attention were plentiful and it was rewarding to see an band of Crazy Horse’s advanced age still innovating, pushing boundaries and breaking new ground as a live force.
SATURDAY
Although Sunday ended up ridiculously strong, the weekend’s most enchanting offerings came on Saturday, which offered an overflowing platter of ridiculously powerful and buzzworthy artists. The middle day’s schedule ran an impressive gamut from the dreamy and intoxicating early set by Tame Impala (a long overdue first chance to see the Aussie psych band), Father John Misty’s slithery, Lizard King dance moves (in a Freedom Now! Legalize LSD shirt), a massively crowded Alabama Shakes set and the sure-thing, always flooring guitar assaults of Explosions in the Sky all packed nicely into a four-hour window.
Despite their massive buzz, few could have foreseen a crowd of that size for the Shakes, and their placement on the Sutro Stage made it abundantly clear that the already have a main stage size draw. but the inability to even catch a glimpse of Brittany Howard and the rest of the Shakes made their set a wash and difficult to hear.
Following that impressive run, the 1-2 punch of Metallica and Sigur Ros was one of those rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that made attending Outside Lands a no-brainer. Although many would’ve liked to have seen all of both sets, the ability to thrash and mosh to speed metal and take in the over-the-top fireworks-laden display of a legendary hometown Metallica show, before traipsing into an ethereal wonderland created by the Icelandic wonder band at Twin Peaks is something I’ll never forget.
At Metallica, James Hetfield exclaimed: “We’re playing for the whole Bay Area” early on and Metallica was easily the loudest band to play the main stage at Outside Lands. Hetfield added, “hope you can hear us” and the added dose of ferocity that the band delivered early on during classic songs like “Master of Puppets,” “Fuel” and “Ride The Lightning”, giving more than even most hardcore fans could have asked for.
On the way to Sigur, we also managed to catch the tail end of Dr. Dog’s set, who were ecstatically hopping around to “The Rabbit, The Bat, and The Reindeer” at the Panhandle Stage.
Sigur Ros’ set began with the stark and quiet bells of “I Gaer” on a shadow-filled stage before a massive explosion of guitar and light sliced through the fog and elucidated an indescribably beautiful scene in Hellman Hollow amongst mountain-moving music. The tension-and-release of the first 60 seconds encapsulated not only the band’s swells-and-peaks sound and set the tone for the remainder of the set – one that included the new single “Varuo,” “Svefn-g-englar,” “Olsen Olsen,” and “Popplagio.”
SUNDAY
Sunday involved a fair amount of racing around the park, in an attempt to take in as much as possible. The steady movement paid off quickly, as we stumbled into Jack White’s Third Man Records “secret set” in the woods with his all-female band and a special appearance by Tom Morello. All bets and better-laid plans were off for the time being and we were treated to “Hotel Yorba,” the new “Love Interruption,” and a Raconteurs’ cut “Broken Boy Soldiers.” All lucky enough to have stumbled upon this stealth set were asked to sit down so everyone could see the show. Watching White play in such a small setting followed by an appearance by Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine / Nightwatchmen) is a live music experience no one in attendance will ever forget.
After the special stop-in with White & Co., it was over for some Afro-pop with the decorous and golden spectacled Amadou and Mariam. Next at Twin Peaks, it was modern festival staple Santigold – who’s beats-heavy and stylin’ funk, rock and reggae mix blew the crowd energy wide open. After the highly-anticipated and thoroughly delivered-on Santi set, things got even better at Bomba Estereo’s set, as Columbian flags flew around the Sutro Stage and the ridiculously locked-in band laid down a thickly-layered, tropical wash of electronics and beat-perfect drumming for lead singer Lilliana Saumet to work upon, delivering a lively, yet too-short set that highlighted the festival’s final day.
Only one dilemma met fans on the final night: choosing between Stevie Wonder’s evening of classic singalongs and covers hit stream or Skrillex’s of-the-moment dubstep beats on the opposite end of the park. For many, it was actually a tough decision. Stevie did a fair amount of preaching interspersed with some playfully biting humor amongst hits like the opening “Master Blaster”, “I Wish” and a surprising cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The man’s vocal range is as good as ever and a Stevie Wonder closing set sent all on that side of the park home with hearts full.
THE VERDICT
While enjoying the final moments of the festival at Stevie Wonder, Thomas Johnson of FUTUREBIRDS remarked that Outside Lands was his favorite festival experience of them all, and, considering his band has now appeared at Bonnaroo, ACL, Lollapalooza and Forecastle over the last year, Johnson knows a thing or two about the modern festival landscape. It’s hard to disagree, even knowing that in-the-moment festival glow can make such a happening difficult to accurately assess. But as life oscillates back to normalcy, one thing is abundantly clear: there is something enchanting and truly unique that makes Outside Lands a must-visit and an American gem.
TOP SIX PERFORMANCES OF THE WEEKEND
(1) Metallica > Sigur Ros > Metallica
(2) Bomba Estereo
(3) Tame Impala
(4) Santigold
(5) Antibalas
(6) Reggie Watts
Bonus Round: FUTUREBIRDS and White Denim late night on Friday at the Brick & Mortar Music Hall.
Must-Eat: Hawaiian Poke from Pacific Catch Tent and Fried Pickle Chips from Fabulous Frickle Brothers.
Must-Drink: Pacific Brewing Labs Squid Ink, Black IPA, mmmm tasty and a cool name to boot.
Jolt: Plain ole coffee was in extremely high demand over the weekend as the lines at Philz Coffee were the longest I saw, building like clockwork once temperatures dropped.
Go Global: Malaysian vegan nachos from Azalina’s were among the worldly delights and healthy alternatives to normal festival fare that were around every corner in Golden Gate Park.
