Treasure Island Festival Day 2 - Pictures, Review

Day 2 at Treasure Island got off to a tenuous start: the morning was quite rainy, and the festival grounds were unquestionably dampened in the early hours of the day. However, after a few (quite aggressive) downpours, the weather took the rest of the day off, and things cleared up just in time for us to start checking out some killer tunes on the "rock" day of the fest.

Superchunk

We've been really digging on Superchunk's latest disc Majesty Shredding, so we were stoked to make sure we caught their set at the festival. The band definitely did not disappoint, and have clearly been putting in the time to rehearse for this tour. Their set was ridiculously tight, and brought the rock and roll out to play right when the dreary day needed it most.

The set was a nice mix of old and new material, and it seemed like pretty much everyone taking in the show was well satisfied. With less frequent records and touring, Superchunk is somewhat in danger of being relegated to a nostalgia act, so it was nice to see them realize the full potential of their new material, and deliver a killer set that left little doubt as to their solidity as a band.

The Sea And Cake

After Superchunk's set, we headed over to catch The Sea And Cake, a constant favorite around these parts. The band, who haven't had a new record in a while, delivered a set that focused heavily on their last two, Car Alarm and Everybody.

The band was just coming off of a lengthy tour with Broken Social Scene, and did seem a tad road-weary, but nonetheless managed a killer set. They're always on top of making their tunes live up to the album versions, and the intricacy and exacting nature of their playing is always a treat.

At the end of the day, The Sea And Cake are one of our faves both on record and in a live environment. Getting to see them play a set at a show that already had so many awesome bands on the bill was like icing on the cake.

She & Him

She & Him made their way on stage to the shrill screams of a countless number of women, and from there, well...we don't exactly know what to say. Does Zooey Deschanel have a decent voice? Sure. Decent in the sense that if you went to karaoke with her, you'd probably have a good time. Decent in the sense that she should be taking up Matt Ward's time and talent? Not exactly.

Look, we know they probably love each other to death. We know that she's a movie star, and that sells records. We know that they probably both appreciate each other's talents so much. But that's not really the point. The point, is that Matt Ward is a killer musician in his own right, and when we hear She & Him it just seems so middle of the road. At the end of the day, at least for us, that's just not good enough.

Broken Social Scene

Luckily, our skepticism was soon to be overridden by the awesomeness that is Broken Social Scene. As mentioned above, the band was on the final date of a lengthy tour with The Sea And Cake. Frontman Kevin Drew was quick to admit they were dragging a bit, and the crowd was quick to respond with a solid dose of enthusiasm.

Despite being tired, the band certainly didn't let it get the best of their set, and they pulled out all the stops in delivering the rock and roll to the masses. As is custom, the band traded up on vocals and instruments, including a vast array of horns to even out the material. The set started off with a positively epic rendition of "Meet Me In The Basement", and took off from there.

In terms of the "pillars" of BSS, Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, and Andrew Whiteman were all in attendance. The female vocals were filled out by now-regular member Lisa Lobsinger, who did a killer job on "Shoreline" and "Anthems For A 17 Year Old Girl", to name a couple. For a festival show, this one really did the trick, and the band's enthusiasm combined with a killer setlist (below) left us more than satisfied.

Broken Social Scene Treasure Island Setlist

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Meet Me In The Basement

Shoreline

Fire-eyed Boy

Texaco Bitches

Forced To Love

World Sick

Anthems For A 17 Year Old Girl

Almost Crimes

All To All

Ibi Dreams Of Pavement

The National

As always, The National delivered an impecable set, both visually and sonically. These guys have simply got their act down, and they deliver every time. The set was timed perfectly as darkness fell on the festival, and the band emerged amidst smokey lights to offer up their own brand of melancholic soul.

That being said, The National are so well put together that it's starting to feel a little contrived. The act is always dead on, and it's always so heavy, that one starts to wonder if it's genuine. Don't get us wrong: these guys make killer records, and have an amazingly well composed live show. We just worry that if they don't switch it up a little, they might be in danger of becoming a one trick pony.

Rogue Wave

SF locals Rogue Wave closed out the night at the second stage with a set of their own unique folky-rock mix. It's a testament to the band that their material is both artistically solid and easily accessible, and the crowd that assembled clearly enjoyed taking it all in.

The set was a truly enjoyable display of the band's musical talents, and they headed right through a set of great songs such that the set passed rapidly. Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States joined the band on stage, which was a treat as well. The band closed out the set, and the crowd promptly began the migration for the final set of the night.

Belle & Sebastian

When we heard about Belle & Sebastian headlining the festival, we were a little skeptical. Don't get us wrong: we love the band, and they positively kill in a live environment. It's just that we really couldn't figure if Stuart Murdoch and Co. would be able to deliver a set that was engaging and "big" enough to own the main stage.

Well, Murdoch was clearly dead set on proving any misgivings anyone had completely wrong, and took to the stage bursting with energy and enthusiasm. In trippy glasses and a scarf, he and the band proceeded to deliver a set that ran the gamut of their lengthy career, and had something for everyone.

While the quieter songs were a little more difficult to latch onto in the live environment, overall the band's set was well on top of things, and made sure it owned the night. One of the nice things about B&S is that their records are so restrained, and then their live show is so raucous. It reminds you that "twee" or not, these are clearly rock musicians who want to play their hearts out.

They did exactly that, and the set was a great close to a fantastic weekend.

Treasure Island Festival Day 1 Coverage

Many more photos at the HAD Archive

Treasure Island Festival Day 1 - Pictures, Review

Treasure Island is an ideal place for a music festival to take place, and the Treasure Island Festival's promoters make sure to make the most of it. We've been going to the fest since its inaugural year, and are always pleasantly surprised by what an awesomely streamlined operation it is. To get that many people onto an island, have a fantastically well organized music lineup, and then get them home again, well: it boggles the mind.

Saturday was an exceptional day for outdoor music, and as is tradition, it was the festival's more "dance" day, focusing heavily on DJ's and electronica. While that's unquestionably a little less "our bag", we still found a lot to enjoy, and found ourselves dancing away the afternoon and evening, awash in sun (and a little wind) throughout.

Four Tet

Four Tet is a DJ, and there's simply no other way to put it. Manning the decks in a hoody, Kieran Hebden put forth a set that was driven almost entirely from the decks, with the stage performance being limited to tweaks on mixers and laptops.

That being said, as the set continued, Hebden got noticeably invested in the set, and even started to crack a smile or two. The crowd was right with him, and loving every minute of it, as the bass lines thumped out a mid-afternoon dance anthem.

By the end of the set, everyone was on their feet, so much so that a few folks (including Green Man) made their way up above the crowd, inspiring enthusiasm from both Hebden and the crowd around them.

Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister are something of a nostalgia act for many, but that certainly didn't seem to inform their set on the main stage in any way, shape, or form. The duo delivered a set that was crackling with energy, and soundly supported by an amazing stage set and an energetic pair of vocalists.

The two did seem to be hiding behing the decks a little bit, but it really didn't phase us much - their set is one of the coolest we've seen in a long time, and did a really nice job at supporting their music in an energetic and exuberant way. Let's be honest: watching DJ's DJ isn't that exciting anyway, so why not give them a killer backdrop?

Whether or not their music has days-gone-by resonance for you, these guys know how to rock a crowd. Their presence at the fest was well conceived, and they did a fantastic job warming up the crowd as the sun began to fade into the evening sets.

LCD Soundsystem

We'll be frank with you: On Saturday, almost all of our attention was focused on LCD Soundsystem. We love the band, had heard positively glowing reports of their LA show the night before, and were completely ready for their set. And yet, we still weren't really prepared.

In short, James Murphy has somehow managed to take a project that is completely based around samples and beats, and turn it into one of the sickest rock bands you'll ever have the pleasure of seeing. On tour, LCD is a six person behemoth, and they realize the true potential of the record's tracks and beyond.

We don't want to make you too jealous, but let's put it this way: if you've only heard the records, you haven't truly heard this band. Their instrumentation is immaculate, their delivery is totally on point, and the songs break out of their mold in the most beautiful way. Our personal fave was a killer rendition of "All My Friends", but the set was so standout that it's peers were almost equal.

Never mind that Murphy has killer stage presence (in an all white suit, no less) - the band manages to take his strengths and build them even higher. The result is a set that explores new nooks and crannies at every turn, and leaves you wanting more, more, more. Needless to say, we danced the night away and then drifted out to the parking lot, in a quest to get some rest before day two arrived with the sun.

Many more pictures at the HAD Archive

Treasure Island 2010 Lineup Announced

We've been loving the Treasure Island Festival from day one. Always immaculately organized, always a great lineup, and always a beautiful (albeit sometimes cold) view of the city by the Bay. This year is no exception, as the festival organizers (Another Planet and Noise Pop) have just announced this year's lineup.

Similar to past years, Saturday is more of an electronic day, and is headed up by LCD Soundsystem, with some old school support from Kruder and Dorfmeister, and some serious action from !!!. Sunday is, once again, the "rock" day, and as predicted, Belle and Sebastian are heading the lineup. Combine that with the awesomeness of Broken Social Scene, The Sea and Cake, and The National, and well....this is gonna be good.

Treasure Island Festival, Day 2 - Photos, Review

After the awesomeness of day one, we were more than a little excited to get back out to Treasure Island and enjoy the festival's "rock" flavored day. The fact that the TI is somewhat broken up by genre does mean that the crowds differ bit. Not enough that you could point to one factor, but definitely enough that there was a notable change in the air between the two. Sunday's crowd was definitely ready for some solid rock, and the festival definitely did not disappoint.



We started out our day checking in with local faves Vetiver. Given that we love their latest record, and highly enjoyed their show at GAMH earlier this year, we weren't exactly surprised to see the band put on a fantastic performance. That being said, it was pretty clear that the band had transcended some folks' expectations: the crowd was totally rapt, and so were we. If this band didn't already have a solid "keep an eye on them" label, they certainly do now.



From there we stopped in on probably the most hyped band this side of the globe, and caught a set from Grizzly Bear. All hype aside, these guys definitely do deliver live, so it's hard to be snarky about it. The set's dynamic was interesting, as it seemed to start incredibly high energy, and gradually mellow out. An unusual direction for a rock show to go in, but for Grizzly Bear, it seemed to work.



The Walkmen were up next, and what can we say? These guys are clearly in their prime right now. We were wowed by their shows in New York this summer, and the energy is still there. The band delivered a blazing set that was definitely riding the wave of last year's much lauded You & Me. It's really nice to see the band back on the ball after what seemed like a year or two of semi-aimlessness between records. We can't wait for the next one.



As darkness fell on Treasure Island, we made our way to Yo La Tengo's set. Suffice it to say: the band was definitely in mellow mode. For a trio who have the potential to be the loudest thing you've ever heard, it's always interesting when they pull it way back and dedicate the set to songcraft and technique. This set was exactly that, with the band clearly invested in what they were doing, and offering a fantastic night of tunage.



Then it was time for the big show. The Flaming Lips took to the stage, and proceeded to deliver their (now well known) brand of showmanship. The plastic ball was there. The lights were there. The confetti was there. And, so was the girl having the seizure in the front row. Yes, it's sad, but strobe effects were not made for everyone. Even so, the band powered through and delivered an awesome set that spanned many old favorites, and touched heavily on their latest, Embryonic. Our assessment of the Lips continues to be what is has, and always will, be: go see the show. Just go. There's really no other way to get it.

And with that, we wrapped our 2009 weekend at the Treasure Island Festival. It was as awesome as we had hoped, and continues to build on its own momentum. It's also nice to see that both Treasure Island and Outside Lands have carved out their own niche and are happily coexisting. Let San Francisco's festival-laden goodness continue!

Photos by Brian Fong
Many more photos at the HAD Archive