Radiohead's Thom Yorke [© Jay Blakesberg]

Inside Outside Lands

By Amanda Hanson

San Francisco, long known as a bedrock in rock 'n' roll history, finally joined the ranks of modern day festival destinations last weekend as the inaugural Outside Lands Festival came down on Golden Gate Park for three days of live music showcasing a diverse array of genres from 65 bands on six different stages.

Things kicked off chaotically on Friday at 5:00PM when over 60,000 festival attendees--some ticket holders, some fence jumpers--fought rush hour traffic on buses and trains (as there was no parking available for this heavily touted "green" festival in true eco-friendly S.F. form) to get onsite and kick off a weekend that promised to deliver headliners Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson over the three-night span of music in the park. Up until Friday night at Outside Lands, no band had ever performed after dark in Golden Gate Park. Radiohead would be the first. Perhaps a perplexing "first" for a city that spawned the mostly psychedelic-flavored music of the '60s counter-culture movement with bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and Quicksilver Messenger Service, but Radiohead is currently writing its own chapter in music history as the most celebrated live act working the touring circuit today and would prove themselves worthy of that "first" title by night's end.

Before the evening's piece de resistance, the mostly hipster turnout on day one, thanks to a billing that skewed mostly alt-rock (Beck, The Black Keys, Black Mountain, Cold War Kids, Radiohead) had to figure out how to navigate the six stages spread across 80(!) acres of parkland with bottleneck byways evoking more than one "moo" from frustrated yet patient throngs of music lovers trying to catch their favorite band no less than 20 city blocks away. Good luck. For those smart enough to sit tight at the Land's End Stage rather than suffer the overcrowded Sutro Stage where Beck turned out hits like "Loser" and "Devil's Haircut" while mostly ignoring new material from his latest album Modern Guilt, they were privy to a sampling of one of the world's best-selling artists, Manu Chau. Chau, who sings in no less than 5 languages, and his Barcelona band delivered a high energy, almost frenzied set of Iberian Latin rock that should not have been missed. His live appearances stateside are a rarity due to his lack of a true U.S. fan base. Live and learn, folks.

As the inevitable fog and mist rolled in over the park at dusk--as it does almost every night in Fog City--the electricity in the air began to rise and the space between blankets at the Outside Lands stage began to shrink. It was time for Radiohead to make SF history. When Radiohead takes to the stage, they don't just put on a rock concert, they deliver a sweeping sonic experience that incorporates elements of jazz and classical music interwoven with Yorke's aching tenor, which he manipulates like a finely tuned instrument. Multi-instrumentalist Johnny Greenwood's audio effects gives their music an otherworldly almost sci-fi feel. Saturday night would be no different. The 22-song set and spellbinding light show that the Brit-rockers delivered to the enraptured crowd was heavy on In Rainbows, their most recent masterpiece that allowed the quartet to thumb its nose at traditional major label distribution by opting instead to release the album digitally on a "pay what you want" scale. (Their fans paid.) Despite the fact that the audio went silent right at the dramatic arch of not one but two songs, "Airbag" and "All I Need" during the mesmerizing two-hour set, the band played on only to jokingly apologize after the fact for "someone putting their beer too close to the speaker." Gotta love those Brits.

Where day one belonged to Radiohead's ambient electronic rock, day two was an altogether different musical affair. It belonged to the guitar gods, namely: Steve Winwood, Ben Harper, Les Claypool (yes, technically he plays bass but he wails on that thing as if its a guitar) and Tom Petty. Steve Winwood by far delivered one of the weekend's best performances to an older, more subdued crowd camped at the main stage on Saturday afternoon. He alternated between piano and guitar duty for most of his set, and pulled out a few classic Traffic songs, including "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" and "Mr. Fantasy." Another festival highlight played out at the other end of the park on the Twin Peaks stage with the reformation of Les Claypool's Primus. The trio turned out a full hour of their funk-induced, beat heavy riffs stylized with Claypool's signature backwoods howl that more than likely roused a few animals from their slumber in the semi-wilderness of Golden Gate Park.

By the time Tom Petty took the stage as the final act on Saturday's already action-packed line-up of guitar wizardry, tens of thousands of fans were primed and ready for the massive sing-a-long that was about to ensue, because when Petty brings the hits, he brings them ALL, one after another in rapid fire succession with the stage bravado telling of a performer who has enjoyed a successful 30+ year career. He ripped through "You Wreck Me," "Listen to Her Heart," "I Won't Back Down," "Even the Losers," "Free Fallin'," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," and the Traveling Wilbury's "End of the Line" (whewwwww) before having to take a necessary, and yes annoying to all of those drunk and fired up Petty fans who came to dance (and sing), five minute intermission so that a few audio issues could be remedied. Though that break failed to alleviate future problems, with sound mysteriously disappearing then reappearing throughout the rest of the set, Petty did return to the stage with Steve Winwood in tow only to break out in Bllind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" and Winwood's own "Gimme Some Lovin'." Nothing but the hits!

Maybe it was the dramatically different flavor of day three's line-up that leaned heavy towards jam bands (Drive-by Truckers, Mike Gordon of Phish, Widespread Panic) and singer-songwriters (Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Nicole Atkins, Jack Johnson) and or maybe it was simply because the sun was shining for the first time since the gates opened Friday evening, but by the final day of Outside Lands things had slowed down considerably. That is until Kingston greats Toots & The Maytals, led by the ever charismatic "Toots" Hibbert, who can easily lay claim to having the most booming voice in roots reggae, kicked things off on the good foot with a string of favorites from their greatest hits catalogue, including "Reggae Got Soul" and "Pressure Drop." Soul diva Sharon Jones, a Boomer who burst into mainstream consciousness last year with the release of 100 Days, 100 Nights, and her backing band the Dap Kings then brought the funk (along with Jones' infectious dance moves) as they shimmied their way through an hour-long set of retro-inspired grooves.

Indie-rock also enjoyed its time in the literal sun on Sunday with stand-out performances by Canadian band Broken Social Scene, Bay Area outfit Rogue Wave and "America's greatest band," as touted by Broken Social's frontman Kevin Drew, Wilco. Jeff Tweedy and his Wilco boys, which now includes explosive jazz guitarist Nils Cline, played a mellow Sky Blue Sky set, only kicking it up a notch for their encore, "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." For many a fan who couldn't fathom why soft-rocker Jack Johnson was awarded the final billing of Outside Lands, Wilco was the unofficial closer for the day and weekend. Nothing against Johnson and his surfer pop, but after a line-up as exciting and eclectic as the festival had just delivered over the past 48 hours, having Johnson close out the weekend certainly didn't put any sort of exclamation point on the end of inaugural festival hoping to bring back the masses next year.

Regardless, by the time the last of the stage lights had dimmed, over 150,000 music lovers of all ages from near and far had made their way through the turnstiles in Golden Gate Park. Not bad for a first time festival. And though Outside Lands suffered the same plight as every other first time festival--a less than ideal layout, jammed up entrances/exits, poor signage, not enough restroom facilities, $7 beers--there's little doubt that the city by the bay won't greenlight a second round of music in the park come next summer. If you go (and you should), just remember to wear layers (Fog City!) and comfortable shoes (no parking!).