Outside Lands

2017 marks the 10 year anniversary of the now powerhouse San Franciscan music festival Outside Lands. Its namesake, Outside Lands, was a term dating back to the 1800s used to describe the then uninhabitable western edge of the city. It turned into the Richmond and Sunset districts of today which comprise Golden Gate Park’s northern and southern borders respectively.

Coming in at over 1,000 acres, it’s 20% bigger than NYC’s Central Park which it’s modeled after (although they don’t share an architect as is commonly misconceived). The park is an idyllic backdrop for a summer music festival. Attendees are entirely secluded from all signs of city life, enclosed by a massive treeline of Redwoods and Monterey Pines. The giant polo field holds the Lands End main stage. Nearly one mile due east lies the Twin Peaks main stage. Near to Twin Peaks is the smaller Panhandle Stage. Finally, wrapped around a corner from Lands End, in the totally isolated Lindley Meadow, lies the Sutro Stage.

San Francisco is known for its consistent weather. It’s warm in the afternoon, a little cool at night, and rarely outright cold. However, Outside Lands falls smack dab in the middle of “Fog-ust”, which covers the city in dense clouds, particularly the western half near Golden Gate park. The festival fared well in terms of weather this year though, with temps in the mid-60’s and little by way of chilly fog.

Unfortunately, the artists were far more temperamental. Before the festival even started, second-line headliner Queens of the Stone Age backed out due to injury. Their Saturday set just before Metallica was replaced by rowdy Kentucky’s rockers, Cage the Elephant. That’s not equivalent stature, but for such short notice it was a solid replacement in terms of style and live reputation. A second shift was moving another second-line headliner, Solange, to Sunday from Saturday due to scheduling conflicts. For single day ticket holders coming Saturday to see the soulful sister of Beyonce, this was a harsh turn of events.

The biggest hit was the saga of legendary Native Tongue movement leaders A Tribe Called Quest. Few are held in higher regard for their contribution to the genre. In the fall of 1998 they announced their 5th and final studio album, The Love Movement. It came just a short 8 years after their debut. However, shortly after the death of core member Phife Dawg in the spring of 2016, it was announced a new album had been in the works. That fall they released We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service. By far one of the best albums of the year, it showed the group’s skills, beats, and message were as sharp and vital as ever. A rare feat for an aging act of any genre.

In the midst of their final world tour, landing Tribe was a huge get for the festival. They were scheduled for a Lands End mainstage set just before Gorillaz ended the night Friday. Two hours before, an announcement was made from stage that they were being rescheduled for Saturday. The groans were audible. The festival moved EDM act RAC to Lands End from the tiny Pandhandle stage, and bumped dreamy Swedish electro-poppers Little Dragon up to cover Tribe’s set. For a last minute pinch, it was as well as they could have handled it. The real heartbreak came on Saturday when Tribe canceled their appearance all together. The group has since issued a statement regarding the matter. They attributed the cancellation to “a wave of grief” they felt following recent appearances without recently passed member Phife Dawg.

The organizers took this all in stride. They made adjustments to keep things flowing and arranged acts as well as possible. Solange was moved to play opposite The Who on Sunday, but staggered slightly allowing fans time to catch some of both marquee acts. With Tribe not officially canceling until midday Saturday, it wasn’t possible to replace them. The festival still impressed though with their quality booking and backdrop as the main features. It’s their independent status that allows them to craft such a unique experience.

Sadly, Outside Lands is one of the increasingly few major 3-day independent music festivals in the United States. With the two goliath entertainment corporations LiveNation and AEG always expanding, many are either absorbed or out competed. At a press conference Outside Lands co-founders Allen Scott of Another Planet Entertainment and Rick Farman of Superfly (starters of Bonnaroo) fielded questions about the fest. I asked them what they had to say about the phenomenon of AEG and LiveNation competing with independent festivals.

CC: This is for the founders, Allen and Rick. I love this festival. The scenic backdrop, the booking. Everything. I have been to every Governor's Ball, which is an independent festival that's been going on for 6 years in New York City. AEG came in and put on a festival called Panorama, on the same grounds for the last two years, and with similar booking. I'm worried about the ability for Governor's Ball to continue to exist with the competition. One month after. Similar booking. Same exact space. How do you feel about that happening there, and are you worried that it could ever happen here?

Allen Scott: It won't happen here.

CC: It won't? Good!

Allen Scott: Not to get in to the way that some of these things work, but the contracts are very different. So it wouldn't happen.

CC: What do you think about things where, for instance, LCD Soundsystem did their reunion tour, and Governor's Ball wanted them, as this marquee New York Band returning, but they couldn't get them because they have these contracts where if you played Coachella then you have to play AEG’s Panorama festival. And that's tough for a festival that doesn't have that leverage. Is that difficult for you too?

Allen Scott: I feel like we're a little agnostic out here. There are bands that are out here that play on Live Nation or AEG tours that will play out here and there's a ton of artists that we work with doing their concerts year round. In fact that's most of the artists on here, but we work with everyone, and at the end of the day this is a great play for a lot of artists and they recognize that, so it hasn't really affected us.

Let’s hope that holds true!


Here are some recaps of the top sets.

Belle & Sebastian

Glasgow Scotland’s legendary twee masters Belle & Sebastian have been together over 20 years. In 2015 they released their 9th studio LP, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. It came 5 years after the previous LP. The band shows no sign of slowing down though. Their live calendar stays busy with the band jetsetting year after year.

Stuart Murdoch reaches out to the crowd. Photo by Joaquin Cabello - joaquinxcabello@gmail.com
Taking the stage around 5:40pm at the Sutro Stage, the band wasted no time flashing their signature sunshine with the cheery mid-career cuts like “I’m A Cuckoo,” “Another Sunny Day,” and “Sukie in the Graveyard.” For the latter, frontman Stuart Murdoch spotted two jubilantly dancing fans. Struggling to get them on stage, he wasn’t to be deterred, jumping off and running them back around through security to dance on stage. “Piazza, New York Catcher” held particular relevance to the San Francisco crowd with its hometown references: “San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play. Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?” and “We hung about the Tenderloin and tenderly you tell.” By sets end, the stage was full of fans and all the rest were impressed.


Gorillaz

April 28th saw the release of everyone’s favorite animated band’s 5th studio album, Humanz. As usual, Damon Albarn worked with a number of musical collaborators. The result, customary for the project, is a wide range of styles. On a recent episode of Sound Exploder Albarn detailed the creation of Humanz standout “Andromeda”. He allows the contributing artists to put their unique stamp on the songs, as featured Virginian rapper D.R.A.M. explains. When directing many of the acts, he offered a simple guiding theme: imagine the world is going to end, and we’re going to celebrate. Leading up to Friday night, Donald Trump (who was the genesis for Albarn’s doomsday vision even before he won the Republican nomination) did his best to foster an apocalyptic mood, and the crowd was certainly ready to celebrate.

The band spread the tracks fairly evenly across their four main studio LPs, with a slight preference to Humanz. The surprise guests came early and often, much to the rabid crowd’s delight. A succession of Cali via Columbia upstart Kali Uchis (“She’s My Collar), legendary Virginia Beach rapper and GOOD Music CEO Pusha T (“Let Me Out), and classic crew De La Soul (tour debut of “Momentz”) showcased the new album one after another. Next was “Sleeping Powder,” a post-Humanz single but major standout. A minor misstep came next with first album throwback “19/2000” during which Albarn started over due to forgotten lyrics and missed notes from the band. Hardly a distraction, it only added fervor to the rapt crowd.

Damon Albarn debuts “Momentz” with De La Soul. Photo by Joaquin Cabello - joaquinxcabello@gmail.com
A clear highlight of the night came from back-to-back tracks of 2010’s Plastic Beach. First up was single “Melancholy Hill.” Then came what many were wishing for: Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano joining for the lush, beautiful banger, “Empire Ants.” It was the first time since 2010 they’d played it live. The chemistry between the two was as strong as ever. Ensuing guests included Anthony Hamilton, Bootie Brown, Jamie Principle, Peven Everett, and Little Simz. They saved their biggest tracks for the encore. All in a row came their three biggest singles. “First was 2010’s “Stylo” featuring Peven Everett and Bootie Brown in place of Mos Def and Bobby Womack (R.I.P.). Then 2005’s monster “Feel Good Inc.” featuring De La Soul. Last was the song that started it all, 2001’s “Clint Eastwood” with the Bay Area’s own Del the Funky Homosapien, who rapped on the original. The ethereal combo of “Don’t Get Lost in Heaven” and “Demon Days” saw the it all off in the most fitting of ways.

Albarn enjoys a moment of tranquillity amidst the chaos . Photo by Joaquin Cabello - joaquinxcabello@gmail.com
The Lemon Twigs

Brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario are aspiring child actors turned classic and pop rock revival wunderkinds. Their ear for turning familiar elements of seminal bands (Beach Boys, Zombies, Badfinger) into wholly original compositions has made for some of the most exciting new rock in years. They are quick to acknowledge their friends Foxygen for inspiration and influence as well. The schizophrenic pastiche of Foxygen’s 2012 breakthrough Take The Kids Off Broadway is cited as a partial basis for the sound of their breakthrough debut, 2016’s Do Hollywood. Their barnstorming live sets have accelerated their ascension to major festival features. They're backed by childhood friends Danny Ayala and Megan Zeankowski on keys and bass respectively. Ayala has recently put out an EP under the name Dr. Danny that treads in similar styles and is equally exhilarating.

Michael D'Addario and Danny Ayala sing “How Lucky Am I?” Photo by Carl Carpenter
The band were in typically exuberant form. As is customary, one brother starts on drums and backing vocals while the other handles guitar and frontman duties. Older brother Brian started up front this time. They kicked it off with the swinging, doo wop flavored “I Wanna Prove to You.” Brian stayed up front through “These Words,” their biggest single to date, midway through the set. His distinctive dancing is a unique, loose descendant of Chuck Berry’s duckwalk. “How Lucky Am I?” was next, with younger brother Michael taking over lead vocals and guitar. It’s a serene love ballad evoking early 70’s era Beach Boys. Keyboardist Dr. Danny shared the mic to play Al Jardine to Michael’s Carl Wilson. Not to be outdone by his older brother, Michael has his own distinctive dancing style as well. It’s notable for his stomps, high kicks, and a variety of jumps. Few rock bands of late pack as much fun and technical skill into their live sets.


Kaytranada

Kaytranada gives electronic music a good name. He’s a breathe of fresh air. The 24 year old son of Haitian immigrants is the latest gift from the ever fruitful Montreal music orchard. He came to fame through the remix world, but his original work has set the EDM, Rap and R&B worlds aflame. His 2016 debut 99.9% was a top dance record but stood apart from the rest of the body moving crowd with its distinctive production style. Appearing on Pharrell’s Beats 1 radio show, the GOAT level production wizard praised Kaytra for having an unmistakable signature sound. He stole the show on Chance the Rapper’s world beating Coloring Book with his “All Night” beat. He makes beats for established acts like Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige, on the rise artists like Anderson Paak, Vic Mensa, and Azealia Banks, and bubbling undergrounders like Buddy and GoldLink.

Kaytra in the zone. Photo By Joaquin Cabello - joaquinxcabello@gmail.com
Kaytra’s 5:20 Twin Peaks set was undoubtedly one of the funkiest and had more dancing than nearly any other. His Macbook was appropriately adorned with a Thriller era MJ sticker. Sporting a grey Richardson brand hoodie and dark shades, he couldn’t have looked more at ease as he effortlessly whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The set was heavy on 99.9% tracks, much to the crowd’s delight. He packed in a few surprises too, including a version of his remix of Janet Jackson’s “If.” Many of his remixes have reached cult status. When he dropped his version of Teedra Moses’ “Be Your Girl,” the crowd was anticipating the bounce of each and every drop.


Foxygen

Foxygen are far and away one of the most exciting new rock acts of the last 5 years. It’s comprised of lead singer Sam France and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado. Since 2012, they’ve released four albums, each with a new stylistic turn. Those turns aren’t confined to just albums though. Foxygen will frequently switch genres on a dime mid-song, often multiple times. The style is best exemplified by their breakthrough release, Take the Kids Off Broadway. In the span of one track, “Teenage Alien Blues,” the duo jumps from LA Woman era Doors, to novelty “Hang On Sloopy” 60’s pop, to Sly Stone psych funk, to bizarre Kim Fowley antics. It even directly references multiple songs, including “Time of the Season,” “59th Street Bridge Song,” and “Get Off of My Cloud.” They broke further through with their single “San Francisco” off 2013’s We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic. Their most recent, Hang, is a fully orchestrated affair. It’s an album they always planned to make and finally had the resources for. When off tour, Rado writes and produces other bands including the Lemon Twigs (who played the Sales Brothers to their Bowie as the rhythm section on Hang). He also produced the indie smash Light Upon the Lake by Chicago’s Whitney.

The band’s live performances have taken their vaudevillian tendencies to the extreme. Painted into a corner as 60’s revivalists, they pushed back with the music video for Hang standout “Avalon.” They parody the expectation to be psychedelic and 60’s, when the aim of the new album was somewhere closer to showtunes from earlier eras. The band brought a horn section along this time to capture the swelling orchestration of the record. Frontman Sam France brought his typical fashion flair with a matching powder white sport coat and hat, along with a powdered white face and red mascara. To start, the band rolled out two past favorites, “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic,” and “San Francisco.” They then played through all 8 tracks off Hang in order. They closed out with the always rousing “On Blue Mountain.” France’s energy never subsides and partner Jonathan Radio’s virtuosity never rests. Let’s hope their creative juices continue to flow for many albums to come.


Kamaiyah

The Bay Area crowd was treated to an early afternoon set from one of their very own, Oakland’s Kamaiyah. Her recent ascent is the sharpest of any new star in the region. Her style combines elements of classic Bay Area production and references with 90’s R&B and party rap. She was named to XXL’s 2017 Freshman Class. As the only female representative, she wasted no time using the accolade to her advantage, annihilating the competition in their freestyle showcase. Her spring 2016 debut, A Good Night In The Ghetto, was met with resounding praise, and she’s already released two singles as a follow up.

In the 5 minutes leading up to Kamaiyah’s set, her DJ warmed up the crowd with song of the summer candidates, from Playboi Carti’s “Magnolia” to Migos’ “T-Shirt.” It was just added fuel to an already blazing fire of enthusiasm as the hometown crowd was ready to greet their conquering queen. She opened up with her newest single “Build You Up,” a distinctly 90’s pop R&B turn. It was an appropriate match for her pastel colored Nike windsuit. Fan favorites like “Out the Bottle” and “Freaky Freaks” brought out the biggest singalongs. Her biggest single to date, “How Does It Feel,” was a fitting coronation to close out on.


Action Bronson

Flushing, Queens native Action Bronson is a jack of many trades. He’s a rap star turned Viceland series host turned author of the culinary arts. His hit web series, Fuck, That’s Delicious, has become a viral hit. It showcases the weed loving Albanian American sparking up and enjoying delicacies from across the country and around the globe. He recently released the comedic faux-club banger “Let Me Breathe.” It’s a preview of his forthcoming 4th LP, Blue Chips 7000.

Bronson made multiple appearances at the festival. Before his 5:10 set at the Sutro, he stopped by GastroMagic, a small food oriented stage. He hosted an event called “An Annotated Guide to Eating Well With Action Bronson.” He promoted his book, sang karaoke to classic 90’s R&B tracks by Montell Jordan and Next, and threw snacks to the crowd. The good times kept rolling at his actual set. He played new track “Let Me Breathe” alongside another preview from the new album, “The Chairman’s Intent.” He closed up with a back to back combo of his two biggest tunes, “Baby Blue” and “Easy Rider,” the latter a fitting exit number with the chorus of “Ride the harley into the sunset.”