The on-going San Franciscan debate over which Bay Area music festival is better, Treasure Island or Outside Lands, returned yet again this weekend. With a taste of who’s up and coming and a select handful of seasoned artists, Treasure Island proved it’s quality, not quantity, that makes an event like this great. Here’s a rundown of the weekend’s highlights.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
After releasing a new solo album last month, The Names, Baio—who’s more famously known as the bassist for Vampire Weekend—gave listeners a warm welcome with his crooning lyrics and oh-so-cute aura. His new work is true to his indie-rock roots, but with a much stronger electro-pop sound, which gave his set the vibe of an indie house party. But if Baio opened the doors to the party, it was Shamir who really got it going. Playing songs from his recent debut album, Ratchet, Shamir got the crowd boogying with his disco–house–R&B fusion sound, nonconformist cred, femme charm, and high-range vocals.
Baio
Everyone next ran to the Bridge stage for Run the Jewels, where the East Coast-hailing hip-hop duo got fans’ hands up (in their signature pistol-and-fist fashion) and bodies jumping. But before rappers EI-P and Killer Mike could finish their set, listeners in the back slowly trickled over to the Tunnel stage for Cashmere Cat. The Norwegian DJ, aka Magnus August Høiberg, started things off with his famous track “Mirror Maru” and kept the crowd pleased with teasers from other artists, such as lines from Drake’s “Hotline Bling.”
Tucked away near the entrance was the festival’s first-ever comedy stage, the Blah Blah Blah. Presented by Funny Or Die, the comedy tent was reminiscent of Outside Lands’ Barbary tent. Tim Heidecker, Jonah Ray, and Jermaine Fowler were featured for the tent’s final act of the day. Hopes were high for Heidecker (of the popular comedy duo Tim & Eric), but it was Jermaine Fowler that won the crowd over with harsh-hilarity inspired jokes such as a failed attempt at love with a stranger in the grocery store line.
FKA twigs was the evening’s winner by all accounts. Twigs absolutely dominated the stage with her angelic high notes and billowing black lace and leather ensemble. The singer, whose music ranges from trip-hop to R&B to electronic, treated the crowd to her organic dance moves and humble stage presence. We’re thankful that she joined last-minute in September, even if that meant replacing Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique.
From the amount of mouse-head masks in the audience, it was clear that a large portion of the crowd had come for EDM icon deadmau5, who capped off the night with a killer set, including songs off the latest album while(1<2). There wasn’t much surprise with this performance though: heavy drops and bright lights are a staple for any EDM performance, and he gave us just that.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18
There wasn’t a dry eye on the island when Swedish singer-songwriter José González took the stage on Sunday afternoon. After a warmup by Mikal Cronin, González performed a set of crowd-pleasing feel-good tunes, including his classic “Heartbeats,” as well as a cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.”
Next, Father John Misty lead singer Joshua Tillman lit up the stage with a Western-rock vibe and comedic antics between sets. He played right to his audience when, mid-set, he intentionally adopted what he described as a “controversial hairstyle” (i.e., man bun). Ever the good sport, Tillman cracked wise jokes and got down with the front row—he even took a few selfies on one fan’s iPhone during the song “Bored in the USA.”
The War on Drugs did their long-hair-jam-sesh thing, but it was Chvrches that drew the crowds close to the stage. The Scottish electronic sensation brought a synth-heavy sound that sent everyone a few decades back to the ’80s. Lead singer Lauren Mayberry twirled in a long black tutu on stage and had everyone dancing with her before closing with their breakthrough track “The Mother We Share.”
Back over at the Blah Blah Blah stage, Michelle Wolf did not disappoint. The comedian, who also works on Late Night with Seth Meyers, shared her unfiltered thoughts on the dating game and women in politics, and had the house rolling. Up next was Chris Gethard, who plays Alana’s boss on the Comedy Central hit Broad City. Gethard’s stand-up had all the tropes of a successful comedy act–audience involvement (a running joke was to point out the man sleeping in the middle aisle), unabashed, self-deprecating humor, and a natural flow that felt more like we were hanging out with a really funny friend.
Finally, the National. Frontman Matt Berninger was rocking longer hair than the last time we saw him, at Outside Lands in 2013, and his ’do seemed to better suit the band’s melancholy rock flair. About halfway through the set, Berninger welcomed Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches back to the stage to sing “I Need My Girl,” off their latest album, Trouble Will Find Me. Soon after, Berninger made his way into the audience, walking through the crowd while singing over screaming fans who were all desperate to get close. And just before leaving everyone in tears, the band brought out “Mr. November,” rallying up the energy one last time before a final sendoff and festival farewell.
Images: Sydney Johnson
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