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Some important people, ahem, yours truly included, were born today, Sept 22. (Believe me, it's a trying time being born on a cusp and at the start of fall).
For one, there's Joan Jett. Bad-ass, love the headband, Joan.
And also Mr. Nick Cave. Dude, your 'stache...sighhh, incredible!
But most importantly: I've hit the quarter-life crisis age (Photo unavailable, just picture me aging). Cheers to you all who have gone through this before. It's a growing pain, ain't it?
Can't you see the birthday buddy resemblance among us all?
(Click and read the Day 1 wrap up: photos of Hot Chip, Goldfrapp and more.)
Back to the island! It started off windy and stayed that way. Some performers struggled with the wind - Fleet Foxes asked, "Can you turn the wind down? Less wind, thanks." The wind and cold affected the atmosphere of the crowd. They seemed underdressed and cold, inhibiting their enthusiasm. But Okkervil River hit the stage and Will Sheff amped the crowd up.
With his acoustic guitar sliding around the front of him as he moved about the stage in a suit jacket, he eventually had the audience energetically clapping as they played a new song "Lost Coastlines." As they started in on "Unless It Kicks," Sheff instructed, "Just clap right now! Just like this!" He raised his arms over his head and clapped, the excited audience clapped along for most of the song. "What a fucking beautiful day. There's birds in the sky, there's water on all sides. And we're about to see some great bands! So just clap!"
Over on the second stage, after momentary confusion over whether they were still sound-checking or if they were actually on, Fleet Foxes intro-ed with some humor which was good to hear from a band that's taken so seriously. "Thanks for coming. It's amazing they did this all for us. We usually don't have a rib shack at our shows." The band segued into "Sun Giant" off the EP of the same name. While they sounded great it wasn't enough to hold my attention, as I imagine it'd be better to see them in a sit down, opera house-style venue.
Spiritualized held the main stage as late afternoon passed. "Death Take Your Fiddle," from Songs in A&E was a highlight, as it's somber, death-laden lyrics are so intense. The whole band was engaged in the moment, powerfully conveying the emotion. "Shine a Light" and "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" were moving as well, the latter especially due to the assistance of the back-up singers.
Vampire Weekend drew a huge crowd who waited in anticipation of them taking the stage. Their performance was predictable. The sound was good but exactly like listening to their album. They rifled through a good sampling of the songs off their debut and the younger crowd, younger than the previous day, pogo-ed, and danced away but no one seemed overly thrilled, rather just going through the motions, as the band seemed to be doing.
Dr. Dog hit the small stage right after and provided solid, jammed-out renditions of songs mostly off their recent release Fate. Set opener "The Breeze" demonstrated the overall tone of their performance. The guys started bouncing all around the stage despite its size, kicking up their knees and stomping away. A slight mist passed through as the opening lines of "The Ark" were sung out: "God, he called for rain, so I built an ark..." There were lulls in their performance where it felt like the audience didn't care much anymore, were too cold too move, or were anxious to see what was next, but the performance was still a highlight.
I wasn't ready for the snarky, intentionally-awkward stage banter between Tegan & Sara. It's funny for a bit, like "I feel like we're in that movie the Lost Boys. There's the carnival over there, I'm wearing a black trench coat..." but for a non-fan it gets unamusing fast. "Like O, Like H" had a Rihanna "Umbrella" intro which Tegan blamed Sara for messing up. "Rihanna is soo mad at you right now."
Jamie Hince, red cup in hand, and Allison Mosshart, a bag on her shoulder, a red cup and a cigarette in her mouth, are The Kills. Their performance was seductive but subdued. "U R A Fever" made a crowd-pleasing opener and other new songs, like "Last Day of Magic," and "Sour Cherry" sparkled. Fans were also into some of their older songs like, "No Wow," and "Kissy Kissy."
When The Raconteurs took the stage people were reenergized and ready. "Salute Your Solution," was a great opening song, followed by "Level," and then "Blue Veins." "Top Yourself," "Steady As She Goes," and "Old Enough" were personal favorites, live, they give so much more than could ever be heard just on record.
Day 2 was busy, filled to the brim. Definitely find me there next year if the line up is as awesome as it was this year. Bands treat it as a special performance, the festival-goers are delighted to be there and it's an easy-going (if chilly) atmosphere to spend a whole weekend in with worthwhile, live performances. Totally golden experience. Just make sure you bring your wool sweaters and parkas next year.
P.S. My favorite duo of the day:
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Good digs... would have loved to have seen vampire weekend too.
Wonder how the kills are in a festival vibe. I've seen them many times ages ago in small tiny dark smoky rooms, and you can cut the atmosphere with a knife!! Must be a different experience!
Hey, too bad for the chill, but a great lineup. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it, a great read. And killer pics Brit :)
Treasure Island Music Festival Day 1 Wrap-Up
Immediately after entering the grounds of the Treasure Island Music Festival it became clear why this 2-Day festival was so highly recommended. Aside from this year’s lineup, which includes: Hot Chip, Goldfrapp, TV on the Radio, Justice and CSS all within Day 1, it boasts two stages and the area is walk-able. It’s not a huge journey or commitment should you decided to wander between stages. The organized flow lent a relaxed feel to the audience. Of course, the backdrop of the San Francisco skyline doesn’t hurt either.
Arrived just in time for a sunny performance from Aesop Rock, joined by Rob Sonic with DJ Biz Wiz on the turntables. "Where y’all from? Me and Rob come from New York, New York!" And for those who weren’t listening one could easily guess NY as Aesop Rock’s home turf, as he sported a navy Yankees cap to match his oversized white t-shirt and dark denim. Rob pumped his fist in windmill-like motions to get the crowd doing the same.
Aesop is capable of rhyming fast without making it sound like he’s rushing through his verses; he took care in annunciating through every syllable, just as he does on record. In between song as he raised his water bottle to his mouth he said, "I’m just gonna enjoy this beverage for a second." Once refreshed, Aesop asked many people were old fans of his. "Longer than six months? Longer than a year? This one’s an oldie for ya." The song was "Big Bang" off Float (2000).
Hot Chip came out to a sizable audience that was ready for ‘em. "Shake A Fist" made for a good warm-up, especially as they intermixed it with "Bendable Poseable," another track from their Made in the Dark album. The addition of live drums and other instruments made their music a lot more successful as a live show. "Over and Over," off The Warning (2006) got a big response from the mostly young crowd. It made me wonder how many of them knew the intro to their last played song, "In the Privacy of Our Love," was Sinead O’Connor’s "Nothing Compares 2 U." At the end the band bowed like classic gents.
By the time Goldfrapp came on the wind had picked up considerably. A mic-stand decked with crepe paper and carnations, fake owls and ivy, and giant antlers transformed the stage into Goldfrapp’s own territory. The band entered wearing all-white and Alison Goldfrapp took the stage in something that was as colorful and childlike as a May Pole: a caboodle of colorful, flowing ribbons streamed off the sleeves and down the front and back of her. She noted the wind but by the end was using the wind to enhance the dramatic flair of her costume, as a mess of gold locks concealed her face. Live, their songs had a T.Rex vibe to them, like "Ooh La La," "Number One," and set-closer "Strict Machine," all songs off albums pre-Seventh Tree.
TV on the Radio again failed to impress me live. I first saw them at a free, little show in Boston a few years ago and was hoping I’d like them better this time around. Something about their music makes me nervous when it’s live. They get great live reviews, so it must be the hip-gyrating and pogo-ing moves of vocalist Tunde Adebimpe. The live horn section was a nice addition. but overall they seem like a band you have to get intimate with on record before seeing them live. They previewed songs off their upcoming (leaked) album and some of those were engaging. "Dancing Choose," for the extra-fast tempo and "Golden Age."
Justice came with their cross. It sounded satisfyingly loud and clear. Strobe lights lit the sky and the crowd busted out, as the once-grassy patch became an all-out rave situation in certain dark spots. Just the right amount of energy and dance-ability for the crowd to leave happy and digging in for more.
Foals
CSS: They sounded awesome and Lovefoxxx got friendly with the crowd. A guy helped her pin her hair back up and she gave him her sweater in exchange. The end of the set had pink glitter flying through the air courtesy of Lovefoxxx's bag o' tricks.
Hey, is that...?
Treasure Island's creatures
Stay tuned for Day 2's report! (Day 2 lineup includes: Okkervil River, Spiritualized, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, Dr. Dog, The Kills, Tegan & Sara, The Raconteurs)
Link to Day 2 wrap-up and photos.
Comments
Great brief review B! I gotta say, I wasn't too impressed w/TVOTR when I saw them live at Download Fest a few years ago, they sounded great but weren't very interesting to watch at all. So what did you think of Foals, you didn't say anything about them.
You know I love me some Goldfrapp who I adored seeing at Coachella as well as Hot Chip!
That was a great post! Sounds like a really cool festival actually, good acts, but not toooo serious. Sometimes festivals are too big that you never get to appreciate it,
Love goldfrapps maypole outfit!!
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Happy birthday Brittany, You're a refreshing breath of fresh air & a good friend. Always remember the words of Warren Zevon; "Enjoy Every Sandwich".
Well.... Happy Birthday to H.M. Brittany!!!
hahaha quarter life crisis....what the hell's that?
You look absolutely beautiful...so there!
First of all, happy birthday. Seriously, it just keep getting better. Secondly, that's a good idea - to find other musicians w/ the same birthday. Is there a search engine of sorts that will find those sharing the same birthday?