Outside Lands 2010: The Festival

For the past few days we've been bringing you the highlights of all the fantastic music at Outside Lands, but that was just one piece of the pie. This year the festival continued its awesome community-centric take on art and food, and managed to thumb its nose in the face of some gloomy weather by providing tons of entertaining between-show options.

This year's festival offered up some organizational changes, all of which went off without a hitch. To start with, the festival was shortened to a more manageable two days. The main entrance was also moved to the center of the festival, which was nice for navigation and entry. Also, the repositioning of the Sutro stage, and careful planning of set times, meant we were never hearing two bands at the same time.

On top of that, the show's logistics were perfect: shows were painstakingly on time, food was outstanding, and the festival site was kept immaculately clean. In short, it was exactly what you would want out of a festival, and made for one of the most fun weekends of the summer.

Check out the shots below for some perspectives on Outside Lands 2010!

Photos By Rick Audet

Many more photos at the HAD Archive

Outside Lands 2010: Day 2 Part 2

The closing of the second day of Outside Lands 2010 brought us a whole lot of awesomeness. Not only did we get to see three killer bands, but the sun also made an appearance for the first time all weekend. Enjoying the weather, and the shows, here's a glimpse of our last day out in the park!
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Phoenix

It's no secret that we here at HAD are totally in love with the boys in Phoenix, so it wasn't exactly a shocker that they were one of the most fun, original bands we saw all weekend. We've seen the band live enough times to know we'd have fun, but frankly, we didn't realize just how giddy we'd be for another dose of French rock and roll.

Like a good omen, the sun came out just as they started to play, and stayed out for the rest of the day. The festival was packed, and Sunday was definitely more crowded than Saturday. While we can't say for sure, we have a feeling Phoenix had a lot to do with that. This was their last US show for a while and Thomas Mars was ready to bring it.

Keeping that in mind, he jumped into the crowd right off the bat. He said the band was there to have a good time: mission accomplished. The move got the crowd rolling, and it was a pretty sweet way to start the show.

As has been the case as of late, the set featured Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix heavily, and that's certainly never something to complain about. The band opened up with a killer version of "Lisztomania" and then closed out the set with the record's other big hit, "1901". The show was fantastic, and we'll just say this: our opinion has not changed.

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Social Distortion

As expected, the audience for Social Distortion was definitely a little older and there were a lot of guys all in black with dark glasses and lots of tattoos. We thought it seemed like a weird place for the band to play but they had a decent sized crowd that was super stoked on seeing them.

The stage was littered with lots of miscellaneous objects: a traffic light, toy truck, various signs saying things like "inmates stand here," "no drinking", Everlast boxing gloves, a crucifix, and an old license plate. We're not exactly sure what the aesthetic goal was, but there you have it.

In short, they sounded good. The crowd seemed happy they played "Bad Luck" and "Born to Lose". The lead singer said "It's great to be on the west god damn coast. Doesn't it seem like people on the east coast just don't get it?" We're not sure what to think of that, exactly, but it seems more likely it's the people in question, not where they're located.
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Kings of Leon

Make no mistake about it: Kings Of Leon are completely huge. They've come a long, long, way since we saw them at Axis in Boston on their first tour, and it seemed like everyone at the entire festival was there to see them.

Many screaming ladies, high school kids, and dudes chanting 'K.O.L.!' filled the field for them. In short, they have become a band that it so ubiquitous that their crowd becomes like some sort of amalgam of mainstream society. In return, the band busted out some stage antics, including plumes of magenta smoke.

As always, they definitely delivered with a solid set (complete with screaming into the guitar pickups, above) and a great show. Kings Of Leon are one of those bands who, whatever your opinions might be about them musically, it's impossible to deny that they've put in the time to become a completely killer live act. It was fitting, then, that they were chosen to close out an unparalleled weekend of rock and roll.
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Words By Christina Loff

Pictures By Rick Audet

Many, MANY, more photos at the HAD Archive

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

Outside Lands 2010: Day 1 Part 2

Yesterday we eased you into Day 1 of Outside Lands 2010, and now here we are, back with more! The second half of Saturday offered some killer performances, and the weather held up well enough to let the fans seriously enjoy some rock and roll awesomeness. Also, we're not going to lie: THE STROKES!!!! Just sayin'. Check out all the coverage below, and come back tomorrow for Day 2!
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My Morning Jacket

It had been quite a while since we'd seen My Morning Jacket live, and we certainly weren't disappointed with their Outside Lands set. Ramping up for some dates opening for Tom Petty, the band delivered a set that was definitely a winner. A massive crowd gathered at the Lands End stage to see them play, and the scene was pretty crazy.

There was something about lead singer Jim James that seemed sort of majestic -- maybe it was his big hair, flowy scarf, and long coat -- whatever it was, he was fun to watch. Considering how much the band has played recently it was refreshing to see how stoked they all seemed to be on stage.

These guys are great performers and the crowd loved them. We've always been pretty surprised at how much energy and noise MMJ make on stage. For such a mellow band on record, they really rocked. Of course we were happy to hear some of our old favorites including 'I'm Amazed' and 'Golden'.
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Wolfmother

Outside Lands definitely does a good job at bringing a dose of musical diversity, and Wolfmother delivered one of the heaviest sets of the festival. Yielding a classic blues rock sound that landed the band somewhere between Zeppelin and Sabbath, the band really got into their show.

In fact, they got so into it that this stage was one of the few where we caught a glimpse of some real, true to life, crowd surfing. Ah, the nineties are no longer, but maybe the spirit's still there?!?!?

Regardless, they delivered a set that was unquestionably solid rock and roll. Their performance and stage presence, combined with a wild crowd, made for one of the most aggressive and balls-to-the-wall sets of the entire festival.
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Cat Power

Poor Chan Marshall: no one seemed too excited to see Cat Power play Outside Lands, and while we're old fans of hers, we were sort of surprised to see her on the line-up. There wasn't much of a crowd, which surprised us, and her mellow, quiet music just didn't really inspire the drunken crowd.

To add to the difficulties, it was cold when she got up there, and it was obvious people were killing time waiting to see The Strokes. We overheard someone later say "Could Cat Power have played any longer? That set went on way too long." Sadly, we kind of agreed.

She opened the set with 'Good Woman' which we were excited about, but her quiet covers after the first song bored us. Now that Cat Power can get through an entire set without freaking out, we think she's best seen at a smaller, more intimate venue, not a big outdoor festival like Outside Lands.
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Wild Beasts

Outside Lands was the last night of Wild Beasts' US tour. While we were lucky enough to catch them in New York last week, some SF fans who didn't make it to Golden Gate Park this past weekend were (understandably) a little disappointed the band didn't play another venue in the city before heading back to England.

The band played to a much drunker and colder crowd who were clearly ready to dance. Maybe we were getting tired at this point in the night, or maybe it was the festival vibe, but (unlike New York) their performance at Outside Lands didn't really hold a candle to their studio records.

We were clearly in the minority. Similar to the New York show, the crowd was filled with adoring, painfully enthusiastic fans. Maybe we're just getting old, but when the sound of the band is overwhelmed by the idiots next to you, we always get a little frustrated. Nonetheless, it was monster show for the band to close out their tour with, and we're happy to see them riding the wave of success.
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The Strokes

It seemed like everyone at Outside Lands was there to see The Strokes on Saturday night, and frankly, we were with them. For a band that hasn't had an album in 6 years, and just started touring again, we weren't sure what to expect. We should have known better: The Strokes were just as awesome as ever.

Featuring a notably close-trimmed-yet-bearded Albert Hammond Jr., the band were rock solid and bulletproof in their live incarnation as always. We were impressed with how complex their music sounded, and the intricacy of the later material really shown through. They've definitely come a long way from the Petty-aping chug of "Is This It".

They opened up with "New York City Cops" and gave the crowd a pretty solid set complete with a monstrous 6 encores. Julian Casablancas said he appreciated all of the love and then commented that "maybe it wasn't love, so much as drunken excitement, but he would take that too".

After the gray day it was really fun to see a show as epic as The Strokes, with a crowd that was ready to eat it up. It seemed like it was probably the biggest production of the day, although we didn't bother to see what was undoubtedly a pretty trippy light show happening for Further on the other side of the park.

The crowd seemed pleased with what The Strokes had brought to the show, and with good reason. The band is a charismatic on-stage unit, who only truly shine when they're all together. Sure, we love a lot of their solo work, but at the end of the day, this show at Outside Lands demonstrated perfectly why The Strokes are (and should continue to be) here to stay.

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Words By Christina Loff

Pictures By Rick Audet

Many, MANY, more photos at the HAD Archive

Outside Lands 2010: Day 1 Part 1

If you were anywhere near San Francisco this weekend, then you probably were aware of the epic rock madness that was going down at Outside Lands 2010. Despite a summer that's been unreasonably cold and cloudy, the festival went off without a hitch in its third year. With a slightly condensed two day schedule, the spectacle was a little bit more manageable, and Hippies Are Dead was there the whole time. Each day this week we'll be taking you along for the ride, so buckle in and enjoy!

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The Whigs

The Whigs were one of the first bands onstage at the festival. For noon on a Saturday we were pretty impressed with both their energy level and the size of the crowd that gathered to see them. Most people in the crowd seemed to know their music, and there's no doubt they have fans in San Francisco.

The band's music manages to sound polished and catchy while still having somewhat of an edge. The singer (Parker Gispert) is entertaining to watch on stage, dancing around and kicking it almost looked like he was doing voodoo on the crowd with his hand movements and shakes. Gispert would dance in a trance for a bit, and then reach out to find the mic to brace himself.

The drummer was kick ass and we got to hear a little more from him at a press conference later in the day. There he talked about how playing festivals has always been great for exposing the band to new fans. He said he was impressed with the turn out for a city festival, where usually people just come out to see headliners.

It's no surprise these guys are touring with Kings of Leon as their sound is well paired with the band and we wouldn't be surprised if they became just as well known.

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Electric Six

Next we caught Electric Six, with a bigger stage and much bigger crowd. The band really revved the crowd up with their catchy dance numbers. They sounded a little disco and a little 70's funk.

They didn't seem to be too happy about playing so early in the day, and the singer made a joke about how they were asked to headline but they declined because they didn't want to be wasted when they played for their fans. The band's website has a funny note about this too:"Just a friendly notification to all our friends. When we play at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco on Aug. 14, we will go on at 12:40 p.m. That's lunchtime. That's weird. Just letting you know so you can plan. You might associate Electric Six with THE NIGHT. You are going to be forced to adjust your perception."

The singer also made fun of People Under the Stairs who had played just before them. He pretended to rap and then made a joke about trying to start fights with all the other bands playing at Outside Lands. Indeed.

In addition to the banter, they played all their hits ("Gay Bar", "Fire in the Disco") and unquestionably got the crowd moving. The lead singer told the crowd his drummer was the son of Carlos Santana (although we can't find that info online to verify) and seemed pretty proud of the fact that he grew up in Marin county. But then again, aren't they all?

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Dawes

Next up was the LA-based outfit Dawes. This was our first time hearing the band, and we were pretty impressed. The band came out all wearing button down plaid shirts and we definitely thought we were about to hear some typical college music: we were happy this wasn't the case.

The band has a strong stage presence and Taylor Goldsmith has an incredible voice reminiscent of Ryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen. Dawes is great, but band or no, Goldsmith is definitely going places. Forgetting the music for a moment, we'll say this: The ladies definitely love Goldsmith, and there were many swooning girls in the crowd.

As a whole, the band consistently reminded us a little of Old Crow Medicine Show, with a tad more rock influence. They deliver a sounds that (dare we say it?) is highly reminiscent of the mid-70's LA scene, with country sounds highly integrating blues and rock.

Sonically, the band were slight victims of being up early in the day. The first song had a few hiccups as there were mic problems but once the technical issues were worked out this was a great show we were happy to have caught.

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Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello played the main stage, and had a huge crowd that was super into their unique carny rock sound. These guys were upbeat and fun, and were a great afternoon band. They kept people going and got everyone's mind off of the rain and cloudy weather.

We'd never seen them before, but they're hugely entertaining. Throughout the show, they consistently delivered a vigorous and enthusiastic set. Of particular note were the frontman with the guitar, and the electric violin.

We'd heard rumors they put on a good show, and they totally delivered. Their unique blend of eccentric musical sensibility and extreme showmanship allowed for them to be one of the most memorable and exciting acts of the festival.

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Words By Christina Loff

Pictures By Rick Audet

Many, MANY, more photos at the HAD Archive