Outside Lands 2010: Day 2 Part 1

With Day 1 of Outside Lands 2010 behind us, we arose on Sunday psyched to catch some more rock and roll. Granted, the weather was still being a bit disagreeable, but that didn't change the fact that there was a killer bunch of bands awaiting us in the park. With that in mind, we snagged the camera, and headed out for the day!

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The Soft Pack

The Soft Pack looked sleepy and cold as they took to the stage. It has to be hard playing one of the main stages at 1pm on a Sunday, also the last day of Outside Lands.

The crowd was a bit thinner, and everyone seemed a tad groggy from the night before. Moreover, the band was on a larger stage that seemed to artificially reduce the crowd size. Nevertheless, the band delivered a totally solid set.

The crowd that was there was dancing and having a blast. Moreover, the excitement really ramped up when the band dove into "C'Mon", and the set was a thoroughly enjoyable way to start our day.

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The Temper Trap

We overheard whisperings in the press tent of those who had never heard of The Temper Trap, but we thought this Aussie band put on a great show. They were full of energy and it was nice to see the singer switch it up and play keyboard as well as guitar.

And even though their big hit "Sweet Disposition" reminds us a little too much of U2, their other songs are totally original, and we dig the heavy drums and harmonies that make for a good electropop sound.

We noticed the bass player's favorite move was the same one as that of bass player Juan Croucier from Ratt -- a move sometimes referred to as "The Dive Bomber" -- and he did it a lot. Can you really argue with a band that is one, Australian, and two, can simultaneously ape from both Ratt and U2? We thought not.
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Al Green

Let's not mince words: Al Green is one of the greats, and we were psyched to hear him. It didn't exactly hurt that his new material is pretty killer as well. Before Green took to the stage, a small group of people in the audience was chanting "We want Al!" The crowd was stoked to see him, and he definitely brought together the random mix of hipsters and hippies at Outside Lands: everyone was familiar with his music.

During the set, we overheard this tidbit: "He really works the crowd, It's like he's hitting on every woman out there all at once. Look at them!" We're inclined to agree: The ladies definitely seemed charmed by him, especially when he came out on stage and started throwing long stem roses to the women in the crowd.

The set consisted of a lot of covers, and his jacket finally came off when he sang "Pretty Woman". Green introduced the three backup singers as his daughters and told the audience they had all just come from Lisbon, Portugal and that he was happy to be in California. He was totally charming and fun to watch.

The Reverend delivered a sweet version of "Amazing Grace", but then followed it up with a weird medley of Motown songs -- we wished he had at least sung all of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", but he only gave us about a minute or so of each song. The crowd went crazy for "Let's Stay Together," and more roses came out for that one.

Green's killer set was interspersed with some lovely one liners from the man, notably:

"You keep messing with me I'll make you jump that fence and come up here"

"I'm a bad mother fucker"
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Make sure and swing by tomorrow, when we wrap up our Outside Lands 2010 coverage with Day 2, Part 2!

Words By Christina Loff

Pictures By Rick Audet

Many, MANY, more photos at the HAD Archive

Because (Christmas = Awesome), Stupid.

Al Green's Latest Caught Us By Surprise

One of the advantages of running a music blog is that we get exposed to a far wider range of artists and releases than we might otherwise see. Unfortunately, the advantage can also be a hindrance, as the sheer volume of releases allows for some stuff to slide by unnoticed. Luckily, the folks at record companies are more than happy to send out droves of end-of-year emails to try and remind you of their overlooked masterpieces.

It was one such email that alerted us to Al Green's latest record Lay It Down. The record caught our eye (aside from Green's obviously huge legacy) because it was produced by none other than The Roots' ?uestlove. For us here at HAD, The Roots have a special signifigance: When they backed Jay-Z on 2001's Unplugged, they drew us into hip-hop in a way that no other band had done before. Allowing hip-hop to escape the now-standard heavy studio production values and venture into the realm of completely live music was a move of total genius. As such, we had high hopes for the Green album: not only has Green made a self-proclaimed return to R&B, but with ?uestlove producing (which he also did for Jay-Z's record) it seemed like a solid bet that this record would deliver in a way that Green's hadn't in quite some time.

Thankfully, our suspicions were completely accurate. While the record does include some much-hyped duets with modern singers (John Legend, Corrine Bailey Rae), the thing that really makes it a fantastic record is just how vintage it sounds. The production yields not even the slightest hint of synths or drum machines, and the arrangements are laced with solid horn and string sections. In short, the record is a classic R&B record, in the best sense of the word. What's more, Green's voice is in top form, and if the years have done anything to affect his classic timbre, they've only served to make it warmer.

There are many reasons why hearing a record like this is such a treat: the realization that an R&B legend is still making it happen, and the fact that a modern hip hop artist is also a killer producer with insight into why genres need to be handled differently, to name two. But more than anything, it's great to hear an R&B album that has such a solid sense of soul and musicality. So much of the R&B material today is sickly-sweet and painfully smooth. Even much respected artists are releasing records that make us cringe a bit. They seem to lack personality and any real sense of generating a true musical groove and persona. By contrast, Lay It Down is the polar opposite: Green and ?uestlove have delivered a classic R&B album that transcends both its time and place by delivering something far more lasting: real music.

Stream: Al Green - Lay It Down