This was my first time ever in the Pacific Northwest, much less Seattle, and based on my experience, I can safely say that everyone in Seattle lies about the rain because it was 75 degrees and sunny all weekend long. Don’t believe them when they tell you it always rains – they’re dirty fibbers fibbing the fibbiest of fibs.

Weather: perfect. Mix of local acts and national acts: just right. Seattle hot dogs: intimidating at first, delicious after several beers. I snapped some pictures and jotted some notes at various points during the day concerning bands, people, and experiences. I was welcomed into Seattle’s hood like an old friend, and it felt like I was a part of something special in Capitol Hill, and not just a tourist taking in the scenery and local fare. Thanks for the hug, Seattle.

-Jeremy Larson
Content Director

Friday, July 22nd

1:14 p.m.– I walked around Capitol Hill, and a homeless guy pointed toward the barricade where the fest is being set up and asked, “Are you going to the parade?” I didn’t correct him because he’s probably more right than wrong about festivals being parades.

2:45 p.m. – Zion’s Gate Records is a great little dive of a vinyl store. There are tons of rare 7”s on the wall and really good hip-hop 10”s, as well. Got a Los Crudos 7”. Chicago represent.

4:05 p.m.  – The first official act of the fest kicks off with Fresh Espresso, a Seattle party-rap crew who inaugurated things nicely. Before going into another “get yr hands up” jam, they rhetorically asked, “What’s the best thing about Michigan? Girls and fast cars.” I didn’t correct them because he was probably more right than wrong, again.

4:35 p.m. – Capitol Hill Block Party has four stages:  A main outdoor stage, a smaller outdoor stage (Vera stage), and two indoor venues, Cha Cha’s and Neumos. The Neumos lineup on Friday was stacked, so I spent most of my time in and out of there. Unknown Mortal Orchestra started the bill at Neumos, and, for the second time in a row that I’ve seen them, they asked for there to be no lights on the stage. I’m still not quite sure of the reason for that (other than opening themselves up for really easy jokes about their name), but it’s frustrating.

Being shrouded in dull darkness notwithstanding, UMO bleed talent, and with only one album under their belt, they play those songs to the bone. Singer/guitarist Ruban Neilson is a guitar virtuoso. It’s not often you get to say that about a young indie band, but Neilson shreds. He pulls at the strings without a pick, and his solos call back classic garage rock stuff from the 60′s, like if Eddie Van Halen were drunk. I mean, there was an older guy with a Sleep hoodie playing air guitar in the back of the house. UMO aren’t afraid to improvise and jam like on the highlight of the set, “Boy Witch”. During the middle of a solo, Neilson went back to his Fender amp and just cranked up the volume and continued shredding. I can’t verify this, but I’m pretty sure it went to 11.

5:10 p.m. – I stood outside long enough to catch some of Kurt Vile’s set/hair. “Jesus Fever” may be one of my favorite songs of late, and I got miffed that the crowd wasn’t screaming those lyrics. Back inside Neumos, The Fresh & Onlys kicked off their set with that hale and hearty psych-garage stuff that I trip and fall in love with all over the place. Maybe it’s that the mean age of The Fresh & Onlys is far older than most bands here, or maybe it’s their confidence onstage, but I trust that every song they play is one of the best songs ever written. It sure seems like it at their show. If nothing else, boat hats should really make a comeback.

5:45 p.m. – Fucked Up played in a coffee shop. That’s a real thing that happened.

6:47 p.m. – What makes Woods so enjoyable to listen to? Why do I sit around and listen to their entire set? They’re a band that has a great arc to their performance–sequenced meticulously and yet it feels elastic and free. The brevity of their warm, short songs (“Be All Be Easy”) is interpolated with focused improvisation that rolls steadily like a water just before it boils. In lieu of noodling solos and self-absorbed jams, Woods work with tension, letting minutes of psych play out with tape effects and folksy textures. They captured a big outdoor festival crowd at Pitchfork, and most of Neumos were wrapped in their arms. Any jam-heads (or anyone for that matter) who hasn’t heard Woods live should really check them out, but if that’s not an option, NYCTaper has a recent set from their June show at Northside Festival. Cop that.

8:35 p.m.– I read somewhere that Cults front lady Madeline Follin sounds terrible, “like The Shaggs terrible.” That’s a fierce aspersion to cast, and it stuck with me up until the first note Follin sang. Nah, Cults are on the real. There was an older couple next to me just knockin’ boots during “You Know What I Mean”, and Follin received an unexpected ovation mid-song for her climactic turn on the chorus. Extended to a five-piece, Cults’ retro ditties were filled in with vibrant indie rock colors. “Go Outside” didn’t just sound like a jangly summer anthem, but a punchy head-nodder, as well.

8:45 p.m.– Ra Ra Riot were just finishing their set, the crowd’s hands were in the air, and everyone seemed to really be picking up what they were putting down.

9:50 p.m.– Another riotous Fucked Up show in the books. I overheard someone say Seattle was notorious for not moving at shows, but leave it to Damien Abraham to transform Nuemos into a stage-diving, crowd-surfing clusterfuck. Every dude that made their way onstage fumbled into a mic stand or slipped into a band member. It was hardcore chaos. Two firsts for this show: Madeline Follin from Cults singing Veronica’s part on “Queen of Hearts” (with lyric sheet in hand) and bassist Sandy Miranda diving into the crowd. Neumos was razed.

Also, Ben Cook is probably the only dude in a hardcore band that can pull off shorts.

10:40 p.m. Over on the Vera stage, I laxed to local hip-hop group Brothers From Another/Kung Foo Grip. The Seattle hip-hop scene seems notoriously insular and self-affirming; is that a bad thing? I’m still trying to get a beat on what Seattle hip-hop stands for or sounds like, but “kickin it in the 206” seems to be these guys’ M.O.

11:15 p.m. After seeing them perform as guests in Shabazz Palaces set at SXSW, I was anxious to see how Seattle’s female hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction would fare as a pas de deux. They take cues from femmes of the past, giving nods to KP & Envyi and Rhianna in a matter of songs, and they give it that confidence that I’ve come to expect from 206 hip-hop. The two ladies would trade verses and work with each other across songs that had them alternating from the fronts to the backs of their heels. The bass and the lyrics made my heart pump. It was a welcome sign that empowerment is both wide-reaching and catchy. One song about how fellas are trying to knock down their doors sent a hard message to the male-heavy crowd. “No dickie, dickie/I’m a lezzie,” they hooked.

11:40 p.m. – Back at Ghostland Observatory, and look at all those lasers. There’s one for every color of the rainbow! And, oh shit, that strobe light is syncing up with that egregiously long build before the cheap drop hits! All this ado is a fine distraction from whatever nonsense is happening onstage. The duo brings an energetic show, they have a great time, and the crowd loves it, but it’s truly nonsense music bereft of form, substance, influence, and it’s just a visual and sonic rotten carrot dangling in front of false synesthetes and entry-level electroheads and–whoa. That last laser array was dope!

Saturday, July 23rd

2:15 p.m. – I ask people where to take a good picture of The Space Needle, and they tell me, and I realize that I don’t want a picture of The Space Needle because everyone, including myself, couldn’t care less about The Space Needle. They’re just The Watts towers or the towers in Flushing Meadows for The Worlds Fair, and unless it’s a secret alien spaceship, don’t care.

2:32 p.m. – Another dose of Seattle hip hop with Champagne Champagne has me warming up to some of these local crews, but I still don’t know what they stand for. Champagne^2 have a Das Racist vibe with several portions of levity removed from their flow, or a Jurassic 5 vibe with no trace of jazz in the production. Weed, girls, Seattle: all delivered under semi-swirling beats made less avant by the propensity for getting the party started. The two MCs worked well as a duo bolstering each other and trading spotlights when necessary and had enough energy to shotgun the first set of the day.

3:17 p.m. – The spectral songs of Austra drew me in to the coffee shop to witness some of their KEXP set. Her voice is a ghost, aided by her two other ghosts/female back up singers. Austra benefits from playing cloaked in the darkness of a club, as opposed to surrounded by burlap sacks of coffee beans, so their brooding ethos was kind of tampered by the venue. None of this affected Katie Stelmanis’ power as a vocalist, especially during “Lose It” – a quivering and painful song, the Arabica beans notwithstanding. Maybe it’s not as Poe as all that, but the blank expressions on Austra’s faces don’t exactly make me think Leslie Gore or anything.

3:47 p.m. – Fences: I’ve seen this Seattle band a few times now, and each time inked-out Chris Mansfield becomes more confident, and less trembling. His trials seem cemented and reflective as opposed to maudlin heart-on-sleeve bellyaching. Guitarist Jonathan Warman could really take the band to another tier with some of the volume swells and elastic jams he includes live, and would separate them from the rest of the saturated pop-folk scene. Carry the emotion of the lyrics into the music and find a connection there so that each everyone matches Mansfield’s mood. Promise?

4:10 p.m. – Getting from stage to stage can be a bit of a maneuver here, as Nuemos is a 21+ joint so you have to walk through a checkpoint to get there. If you want to leave Nuemos and go back to the Mainstage, you can’t exit where you entered, you have to walk up a block and come back around. I’m sure there’s a good infrastructural reason, but the contained spirit of each stage/venue wasn’t optimal for the old “wander around and see what grabs me” trick.

4:35 p.m. – Eleanor Friedberger stood on a bare stage. The whole setup looked very intimidating, and she appeared nervous performing her prolix-folk set to a restless crowd, much like I would expect a young Patti Smith/Joni Mitchell would have done pre-fame. Friedberger’s songs weren’t met with the attention they deserved, which is too bad because that particular style of distaff beat folk was in oddly short supply over the weekend. Even though her set was marred by some tech issues, Friedberger pleased this fan, who thinks she has a lengthy solo career and prefers the earnestness of her voice and an acoustic guitar as unencumbered by the often thoughtless instrumentation of The Fiery Furnaces.

5:10 p.m. – I’m full up on less-than-Superchunk power pop, Telekinesis. You sound great, but I have no desire to learn your songs so I can sing along to them in my car, which seems like the only boon to repackaging college power pop these days and the thing is I don’t even own a car because I live in Chicago and take the train.

6:10p.m. – Whatever misgivings I had about Handsome Furs‘ latest synth-driven album were washed clean by their set. I miss Wolf Parade, I’m coping, but Dan Boeckner looks so much happier playing up there with his wife Alexei Perry rocketing through his own material. Or, I guess as happy as a veritable shadow of a dude who asked the crowd right-out for shrooms can be. Boeckner’s synths hit harder than his guitar, the four-to-the-floor beats got the crowd bouncing, and was a great precursor to TV on the Radio’s forthcoming set. “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything” raised my fist and voice in hedonistic delight, something I’m sure Boeckner and Perry champion as a lifestyle and not to be macabre or portentous or anything but really they look like Sid and Nancy up there. Or at least their unleashed stage presence makes me think that.

6:50 p.m. – So usually when a band has the technical prowess thing going on, there’s a lot of stasis on stage. Stationary crowd watches stationary band watches their fingers dancing on fret-boards. Not so with Ravenna Woods, who sounded like Kaki King meets The Dodos with everything — including the lead singer’s dance moves — having a percussive quality. Like UMO, Ravenna Woods birth these rare sounds from their guitars with exuberance and celebrate with high-test energy. The burst picking and tapping at times sounded like a synth loop it was so clean and on time. I look forward to seeing these guys again in any capacity.

7:45 p.m. – I honestly thought Seattle would be the last place you’d see Nirvana t-shirts, but they’re everywhere at CHBP. I had drinks at a bar where Kurt Cobain was last seen alive, and even a bar felt reverent to me, but it seems like people have either moved on to indifference or pride in Nirvana’s legacy. And yes, I’ll watch Hype as soon as I can.

8:15 p.m. – I’m up in the clouds at Teen Daze’s set. Dude’s wearing a cardigan, dropping some 4/4 grooves with chillwave synths and I’m feeling it all around. It’s sad that the Vera Stage feels auxiliary and disconnected from the rest of the fest, and Teen Daze’s music needs to spread out as opposed to filter down a small street. I only stay for a few songs, long enough to overhear a guy in the crowd say, “Man that bass is really killer.”  I never want him to hear a dub step track ever and he’ll die, for several reasons, a happy man.

8:47 p.m. – I’m waiting in Neumos for Cold Cave to go on, which I know I won’t stay for the whole thing because Les Savy Fav is playing opposite and I should get pictures of Les Savy Fav cause Tim Harrington does wacky shit and they make for good pictures.

8:50 p.m. –But Cold Cave are superlative live, and if I can just see a couple minutes of Dominick Fernow’s dance moves and hear some high Hz noise mush for like a couple more minutes I’ll be satiated. Plus they make for great pictures, too. Everything’s coming up Jeremy! Get ready for this sick coverage, conflicts be damned.

9:45 p.m. – Goddammit.

9:47 p.m. – So, Cold Cave lit their show with predictably minimal light for their first song — the extricating “Icons Of Summer” — none of which was on Fernow and his fly-ass dance moves so strike one. I wanted desperately to stay for the rest of their set, but I knew I could run out and get into the pit for Les Savy Fav and watch the rest of their set and just deal. For reasons I won’t go into here, I was not allowed in the pit for Les Savy Fav. So instead of capturing with photos, I’ll ashamedly recapture the events with the pitiful 1:1000 ratio of words. Harrington: left the stage and ran into an adjacent apartment building, dipped his head out of the window, ran back downstairs, grabbed a potted plant from the foyer of the building, brought the plant on stage, hurled it into the audience effectively destroying it. Then, Harrington put on a blond wig and aviators, stripped down and put on corduroy cutoffs, posed like an ingenue actress, grabbed a camera from the in-house film crew and filmed the crowd, threw a tarp in the crowd and stage dove on it, danced with a man in a bald eagle costume, put on the head of the bald eagle costume, pushed the man eagle into the crowd perhaps injuring the man he’s not sure, eased tension by singing the “higher than an eagle” line from “Wind Beneath My Wings”, grinded on the stage, posed like an ingenue actress again, threw confetti all over himself, put on a crudely fashioned head dress cape thing with streamers, jumped off stage, ran through crowd with microphone in hand, pushed through to the back, jumped the security fence, threw a bucket of water on the crowd, and disappeared into the night. Incidentally, they played some peppy post-punk songs, too.

10:15 p.m. – Akimbo saved the whole day for me. Entering the Cha Cha venue is like stepping into a basement jam, and for all intents and purposes, this was a legit basement jam. Akimbo were set up on the floor, no stage, and just ripped into the sweaty walls of the place with sludge punk of the highest pedigree. Beer sprayed everywhere, two big dudes were preventing the mosh pit from overtaking the three piece and the 100 or so people in the venue clawed were fully into Akimbo’s ballsy shitshow, ending with what I’m pretty sure was Black Flag’s “Thirsty and Miserable”, inciting a punk scrum just the way it should be.

10:50 p.m. — In the long corridor of Pike St., sound is can ricochet off the walls of the apartment buildings and storefronts causing for some sound difficulties. I had trouble hearing some of TV On The Radio’s vocals – but other than that, they delivered a similar performance as we reported on last week, only this time welcoming “DLZ” to the setlist. Check out the video of deftly wrangling Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” (and please try not to cringe when the lady sings during the rest at the beginning).

Sunday, July 24th

Sidebar concerning that Pacific NW Folk-pop sound – (The Head and the Heart, The Lumineers, Campfire OK, Loch Lomond, The Cave Singers)

These bands don’t obfuscate their aesthetic at all, which is almost punk in and of itself these days. It’s the importance of being earnest, right? I don’t think that’s a shallow choice, but I think it’s an easy one to make, and not one that offers many rewards in the long-run. I’ve heard and read harsh words regarding the easy-listening jimmy-jangling sentimental strains of bands of this particular ilk, and I agree – to a point.

It’s unfair of me to lump these talented bands into one group because they are truly unique from one another, but someone who’s more aligned with their ethos would be able to describe their emotional effect better. I just don’t jive with they they’re throwing out there. Blame it on me being an outsider, or blame it on the bands’ nationalistic pastoral tendencies, I just can’t connect. However, each band had a few kernels that made me tune in.

The Cave Singers at least know there’s more rain than sunshine in Seattle, and when they incorporated a more southern-blues tinge to their sound and allowed for vocalist Pete Quirk to detach from his folk yolk, I listened. The Head and the Heart pleased a huge crowd on the Mainstage, but at the cost of mawkish mugging and if they’d simply show me their hearts and not tell me ad nauseum about their hearts, I’d be listening. Ritchie Young’s voice of Loch Lomond was hidden behind sleepy instrumentation, and when I could hear the timbre and versatility of his sound, I listened. Campfire OK brought like five people on stage to dance around and play tambourine to their songs which seemed like an insular celebration of themselves and when they briefly forewent the antics of a hempy hootenanny, I listened. The Lumineers actually were a stately, confident young band from Denver, but never really grabbed me with any of their songs, which may bode well for some deeper listening to their studio recordings. I’ll be listening to them.

3:55 p.m. Do you have to be 15 years removed from your prime to ‘rock” on stage? The Posies could give fellow aging 90’s act Guided By Voices a run for their money in terms of old hat rock moves. I expected a polite trip down power-pop lane, but the Seattle natives ripped into their seven-album career like they were playing them for the first time. As previously stated, I’m doing just fine with my power-pop reserves, but it wasn’t really about the songs but how much fun they had playing them. It was hard to look away or stop listening, especially when they nailed their singles of yore “Dream All Day” and the finale with “Solar Sister”. Tingly feelings from 1993 – another good use for power pop other than car-jamming.

4:22 p.m. I eat a Seattle hot dog with cream cheese, grilled onions, hickory BBQ sauce, sriacha sauce, on a toasted bun and it’s five stars, 100%, and most assuredly BNHD.

5:15 p.m. – You want math rock? Cacophonous noise noodling + taught instrumental prog + watching Ian Williams and Dave Knopoka subtly conduct each other like classical musicians + John Stanier’s crash rigged 1,000 ft in the air + projections of delicious Ice Cream during “Ice Cream” + faithful tension wrought from two tweaky synths played simultaneously by Williams + including “Atlas” on the setlist + a flawless, seamless, nonstop show = Battles and Battles are tantamount to none.

5:42 p.m. – The wall of low-drive guitars that Papercuts pushed out didn’t really mesh with the crowd at Neumos. Jason Quever’s hushed, reverb-caked songs have a Galaxie 500 by way of The Shins vibe which may be a tough sell to a crowd after a long weekend. But they strode through their set, playing ambling, lush indie pop. “Do What You Will” sounded particularly pristine as Quever just nailed that chorus.

6:30 p.m. – Some final thoughts about Capitol Hill Block Party: Sucks that I didn’t see Federation X, a touted band by many locals. All the security crew on the grounds were local bouncers and were the most genial, helpful people I’ve ever encountered at a festival. The fact that you can see shows at a club and outdoors is the festival’s greatest boon. For all the Fauxlk running rampant in Seattle, it was pleasing to hear a defined sound reach so many people, and if that’s Seattle’s current identity it’s something to take pride in. On the other side of the coin, a lot of Seattle hip-hop in its current iteration came across as amateurish and near-sighted party bangers, and perhaps afraid to follow the path of Shabazz Palaces has forged. I spoke with several Seattleites about their take on the town’s identity with regards to music, but I was only there for three days and would love more insight. I would wager the fest was ballpark 75% local, 25% visiting, and it did a fantastic job of catering to that percentage, especially with the selection of headliners. Finally, logistically speaking, the fest ran with nary a hitch. Save for some odd 21+ ordinances and no real place to sit down in the grounds, it’s a model for any large-scale block party, you know, if you can get Best Coast and TV on the Radio to show up like they did.

8:35 p.m. –The sun was setting behind the stage with the perfect light hitting everyone’s faces. With a weather anomaly of clear skies and 80 degree heat, I couldn’t imagine the harsh noise of Mogwai of the brooding intensity of Godspeed You! Black Emperor capturing the mood of this weekend of quite like Explosions in the Sky did. Even though every song is unabashedly hyperbolic, Explosions aren’t just “< >”. Their use of space and silence, notable in the opener “The Only Moment We Were Alone”, shows that their keen ear for compositions don’t simply adhere to the primal human need for simple build ups and come downs.

The purified, triple reverse osmosis guitar tones paid dues to The Edge by extending major mode riffs to the end of the block and skipping off to infinity. You could close your eyes and feel transported to the end credits of the weekend (or whatever time-frame you choose, really) and reflect and transcend. Or, you could nod your head and sync up with the band’s exuberance rollicked through their songs matching their intense stage presence. Or, you could hop off the epic wave of sound at any moment, grab a beer, and hop right back in. Music is rarely this inviting for all ears. The grand finale, “Let Me Back In”, swelled to such an ultimate emotional intensity that the fest had no other choice but to come to a close or it surely would have skipped off the space-time continuum. It ended on a good note, stacked upon thousands of other good notes.

The Culture of Capitol Hill Block Party

Openers Papercuts brought their reverb-drenched tunes to town Saturday night, playing to a sold-out house (if you could call a crowd of picnickers in a cemetery that). Their music — a pleasant midpoint between dream-pop and surf rock — served as a fitting complement to the beautiful sunset and light breeze behind them. The San Francisco-based quartet’s warm tones and frontman Jason Quever’s soft vocals were rounded off nicely by David Enos’ keyboard lines and the occasional auto-harp part.

Photo by Nicholas Valenzuela

Explosions in the Sky took the stage promptly at nine, a rare treat for the Los Angeles crowd all too used to stage delays. After thanking the crowd for coming out and inviting the audience to join him in making ghostly noises, Rayani stepped away from the mic and began picking out the tentative, chiming opening to “Postcard from 1952″, a standout off of the just-released Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. Guitarists Michael James, Mark Smith, and Rayani traded lead parts, while a touring bassist/keyboardist provided the rhythmic backbone along with Chris Hrasky on drums, who came in pounding when the song finally broke through to high heaven in one of the band’s typically exuberant climaxes. Calling their performance cathartic would be a grave understatement. When James moved from the smashing end to Take Care‘s first single, “Trembling Hands”, into the shimmering opening to “Your Hand in Mine”, the inscrutable looks on he and his band members’ faces cast the beautiful flurries of notes in an especially haunting light. By the time the song finally crested in its breathtaking peak, it’s safe to assume that there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.

There’s something to be said for the manner in which Explosions in the Sky bring their evocative songs to life; indeed, the fact that the quartet managed to turn a set of 10-minute instrumental jams into a positively crowd-pleasing performance is in a great feat in its own right. The musicians themselves cut mystic figures against the dark sky, any otherworldly aura they gave off was no doubt magnified by the performance’s supernatural backdrop. Even as they were aided by no sort of visual frills (indeed, nothing aside from a fluttering Texan flag, which hung from an amp cabinet) and very minimal lighting (much to the chagrin of my photographer friend), the quartet moved like men possessed: Munaf Rayani alternated between sitting crosslegged in front of his pedalboard, his eyes closed, once slamming a pedal into effect with a raised fist, and standing hunched over his low-slung guitar. Mark Smith, who seemed most content with hanging back in his corner of the stage, was easily the most stoic of the four, occasionally thrashing at his guitar in the show’s more gripping moments. Michael James, who stood center stage, seemed to anchor the music, his face often contorted in complete absorption in the music, with good reason. Their harmonic tracks rely heavily on impeccable timing; had he come in a second late with his part of the lurching riff that kicked off set closer “Greet Death”, his flub would’ve been painfully audible. It’s hard to imagine the kind of synchronicity it must’ve taken to stay that in sync for a whole song, let alone the entire concert.

Photo by Nicholas Valenzuela

When the music finally came to a grinding halt — almost exactly 90 minutes after it had began — everyone in attendance took awhile to get used to the sudden silence, in a manner not unlike people in a room whose lights have suddenly been switched on without warning. Rayani, the band’s sole spokesperson thanked the crowd for sticking around, openers Papercuts for supporting and the cemetery and its occupants for hosting us all, calling the night “one of the most beautiful things they’ve ever been a part of,” and promising to be back soon. I sure hope so.

Photography by Nicholas Valenzuela.

Explosions in the Sky setlist:
Postcard From 1952
The Only Moment We Were Alone
Trembling Hands
Your Hand in Mine
The Birth and Death of the Day
Last Known Surroundings
Catastrophe and the Cure
Let Me Back In
Greet Death
——

Gallery by Nicholas Valenzuela

They’re not yet listed on the festival’s website, but Queens of the Stone Age will play La Zona Rosa on March 16th, according to an issued press release. Also, Yoko Ono has been confirmed as the festival’s featured speaker, and she’ll also play Chimera Music night at The Elysium on March 20th.

Update: Expect to see The Strokes, too. According to the band’s latest newsletter, they have “something cool planned for SXSW.”

Other newly confirmed acts include B.o.B., …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Panic! at the Disco, Lucinda Williams, Liz Phair, Meat Puppets, Robert Earl Keen, X Japan, The Black Angels, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Reggie Watts, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Sasha, Calvin Harris, J. Cole, The Cool Kids, Megafaun, Jamie xx, Jesse Malin & The St Marks Social, and She Wants Revenge.

And if that weren’t enough, Spank Rock, Cyhi Da Prynce, Curren$y, Dawes, Chiddy Bang, Theophilus London, Rainbow Arabia, Big Freedia, Cass McCombs, Phantogram, The Cave Singers, Liturgy, The Fresh & Onlys, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, An House, AWOLNATION, Ben Sollee, Boats, Colin Stetson, The Ferocious Few, Hanson, Papercuts, Parlovr, and Peanut Butter Wolf are all also confirmed.

Again, this about 1/10 of the currently announced roster for this year’s festival, so head over to Festival Outlook for a even more extensive glimpse. The music portion of South by Southwest 2011 runs from March 16-20 in Austin, Texas. For ticket information and all other necessary details, visit sxsw.com.

The five-date US voyage will begin in Los Angeles on February 17th, and after stops in San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia, concludes close to home on February 26th in Washington DC. Labelmates, Papercuts will once again be the main support of the tour. Pre-order your tickets now, and stay toasty warm with a free Beach House Sweatshirt.

Beach House 2010/2011 Tour Dates:
11/19 – Manchester, UK @ Cathedral
11/20 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
11/22 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
11/23 – London, UK @ Shepherds Bush Empire
11/24 – Bristol, UK @ Trinit Centre
11/25 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
11/26 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Festival
11/27 – Brussels, BE @ Autumn Falls Festival
01/25 – Melbourne, AU @ Hi Fi
01/31 – Auckland, NZ @ Laneway Festival
02/04 – Brisbane, AU @ Laneway Festival
02/05 – Melbourne, AU @ Laneway Festival
02/06 – Sydney, AU @ Laneway Festival
02/11 – Adelaide, AU @ Laneway Festival
02/12 – Perth, AU @ Laneway Festival
02/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box
02/18 – San Francisco, CA @  The Fillmore
02/23 – New York City, NY @ Webster Hall
02/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
02/26 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

Treasure Island sits next to the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. It was built out of landfill in the 1930s specifically to celebrate the completion of the bridge, along with the Golden Gate Bridge, and has been owned by the Navy since then. The Navy closed its base over a decade ago, however, so now its main functions are being an earthquake disaster waiting to happen and hosting more celebrations, like dragon boat festivals and music festivals.

The Treasure Island Music Festival, which by its fourth year has found its niche as California’s most worthwhile annual concert not in a desert, took place over the weekend. There are reasons it’s so worthwhile — the tickets have been great value from the start, the setting is top-notch, the transportation is efficient, and, most importantly, it knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else. Twenty-thousand-plus people came out for two days of music tailor-made for the Bay Area audience: one day of electronica and dance for the rolling-super-hard crowd, and a second day of chill indie rock for the rolling-fatty-joints crowd.

Photo by Ted Maider

The festival also featured all the usual (and some not-so-usual) festival amenities, such as a ferris wheel, a cybercafé/DJ Hero station, a silent disco, and various sponsored tents (one, of course, was a cannabis club tent offering coupons for free “medijoints”). There was a salon tent giving out free haircuts, a workshop for learning crafts, and a skee ball booth. The food was mostly the usual fare, but there were some interesting options, including a booth for organic health food and a vendor offering potato and spinach knishes along with the hot dogs. A French truck featured escargot lollipops and what were called Maine lobster cappuccinos. Yum.

Only real downside to all of this? It’s cold as hell. In San Francisco, you can expect the weather to be cold, windy, and foggy at any given time of year, and in October there’s just no way you’re going to get your comfy, dependable, 100-degree-plus summer festival weather. On Saturday, no amount of dancing could have prevented the unprepared from shelling out for a hoodie or flannel shirt; the heavy wind was a disaster for the myriad hipsters in hot-pants. The wind chill Sunday was equally cruel, and the intermittent rain that marked the first three hours of the fest was actually a welcome change.

Photo by Ted Maider

But outside of one stage change and a short set time early on for The Mumlers, the music was unhampered by the weather. And the music is what matters, right? Right.

Feature photo by Harry Painter.

Saturday, October 16th

Maus Haus
Bridge Stage, 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The first of several local bands, San Francisco’s own Maus Haus kicked things off with an energetic set of experimental electropop jams. The sextet was heavy on the synthesizers (there must have been at least three up there), but Maus Haus is no generic dance pop band. There was a little of that, but there was also a little ambient noise and electro rock. Also, as any good festival opener should, Maus Haus opted to take some time between numbers to educate the early crowd on some of the history of Treasure Island. All of it was equally welcome, and hopefully the next time the band plays the fest it will be at a well-deserved later slot.

wallpaper.
Tunnel Stage, 12:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

When the highlight of your show is bringing out your “band” of brightly dressed hipsters with cowbells, you’re probably a bit of a gimmick. Like Mayer Hawthorne, Oakland’s Eric Frederic — one-half of wallpaper. — makes his living as a skinny white guy singing ironic soul songs. Both corny, except wallpaper.’s music is even less authentic, if that’s possible. The duo (Frederic on vocals and iPod, Arjun Singh on drums) played song after mailed-in neo-disco song about sex and booze, Frederic playing the backing tracks on his iPod while Singh drummed along. Of course, the iPod handled the complex drum parts. Oh well, being bored at a festival at one in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Besides, it was all in good fun; Frederic was charismatic and made some choice jokes about casual sex and selling drugs at the merch booth. And he apparently has a song called “Laptops from Methadone Clinics”, so there’s that.

Holy Fuck
Bridge, 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

If you haven’t seen these folks yet, go go go. I won’t profess to have any idea what Holy Fuck does on stage, but I know it sounds great and the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. Visualize a drummer and a bassist backing two guys standing opposite each other twisting knobs and screaming into distorted microphones. You’re already probably halfway to knowing what the Toronto four-piece sounds like, but basically it’s noisy, improvisational, sometimes psychedelic, and all live (*cough* wallpaper. *cough*). Instruments include analog synths and a 35mm film synchronizer, but that translates into a bunch of gadgets on a table tangled in a mess of wires. It’s fun to watch. I had the thought, Holy Fuck’s sound would fit an arena quite nicely, so Radiohead, if you’re reading this, first stop reading and put out your album, and then invite Holy Fuck to open for you please.

Jamaica
Tunnel, 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Fun fact: Eight of the 13 Saturday acts were foreign, and only three of those were from primarily English-speaking countries. Another fun fact: Jamaica isn’t from Jamaica, but Paris. The band also doesn’t play even remotely electronic music, so what was it doing on the Saturday lineup? Never mind, it’s dancey rock music so close enough. Jamaica, dressed for climbing Mt. Everest, put on a set of catchy grunge-pop songs in the vein of fellow slackers Free Energy. There wasn’t much beneath the surface, but it was kind of nice to have a token riff-rock band on Saturday.

Die Antwoord
Bridge, 3:00 p.m.

What does it say about the state of indie hip-hop when Die Antwoord is the only hip-hop act at a festival that previously signed on acts like Murs, Cut Chemist, Zion I, The Streets, Aesop Rock, and Crown City Rockers? Screw it, what does it say about the state of indie hip-hop that Die Antwoord is even popular (and not even technically indie anymore)? Yes, the South African trio is a joke, but the band is not any funnier than ICP, which everyone hates (or Ali G, who Ninja is shamelessly biting).

Photo by Ted Maider

Anyway, a certain portion of the crowd ate this shit up. Die Antwoord came out dressed in the same outfits from the “Enter the Ninja” video, Yo-Landi Vi$$er making a wardrobe change halfway through and Ninja gradually undressing. Ninja can flow and both of them have stage presence and can work a crowd. But maybe I’m a little old to be impressed by generic electro-rap beats and fart-joke lyricism. One crowdmember remarked after it was over, “Some people will dance to anything with that type of beat.” Exactly. However, like wallpaper. earlier, Ninja and Vi$$er did not take themselves seriously; they actually made the butterfly gestures during “Enter the Ninja”, for example, and ended the set by yelling out “Be happy!” No arguments here.

Phantogram
Tunnel, 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Phantogram, one of the best acts Saturday, also turned out to be one of the mellowest. The duo, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel (accompanied by a live drummer), plays a blend of shoegaze, trip-hop, and psychedelic pop backing dark, atmospheric vocals from both members. This was the first band that really packed the stage, and if that’s a sign of rising popularity, it’s well deserved. Phantogram played a dance-friendly set but sported some substance to go along with the style. And, okay, elephant in the room, Sarah Barthel is cute. It’s just a little crush.

!!!
Bridge, 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Everyone should be familiar with what !!! does by now. The Sacramento dance-punk outfit is a nonstop ball of kinetic energy, particularly metrosexual frontman Nic Offer, who made his way into the crowd several times and was never standing in one place for five seconds – despite having performed in Tokyo the day before, according to Offer, and getting a mere three hours of sleep. While the band is much more suited to the club, like say the Noise Pop festival earlier this year, than a large festival stage, it’s not for lack of presence. !!! is no stranger to festivals and handled the large crowd gracefully. At times, Offer seemed out of breath and couldn’t quite nail his parts. In hindsight, it wouldn’t have killed the energy for him to slow down a little — there is plenty else to focus on at a !!! show, with the band’s multiple guitars, keyboards, a backing vocalist, and a saxophonist.

Four Tet
Tunnel, 5:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Kieran Hebden’s main live instrument is a laptop, and his light show came across as modest with full daylight still out. However, flashiness was not required and Hebden, better known as Four Tet, put on an irresistible set. Probably the second-best of the day, in fact. It’s understandable that IDM doesn’t get a lot of love at festivals where people just want to wear mouse masks and dance, but artists like Hebden lend credibility to the mainstream-again dance music community. Still, it’s hard to tell what Hebden was doing up there besides checking his e-mail and bobbing his head.

Kruder & Dorfmeister
Bridge, 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister are renowned for their downtempo remixes, but they kept the tempo up in a rare live show Saturday. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the first nighttime act, rocked the turntables in front of some stunning visuals, while two well-dressed MC’s kept the crowd involved. This meant prancing around stage and yelling inane things like “everybody go boom!” but the crowd would surely have lost interest otherwise. Actually, for a crowd that was oblivious even to LCD Soundsystem’s early material, the audience was rather enthusiastic about K & D. This performance marked the end of the duo’s first North American tour in 10 years, and whenever K & D does it again, it won’t be soon enough. Well, a couple months or so would be fine.

Little Dragon
Tunnel, 7:05 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat — Little Dragon is known more for frontwoman Yukimi Nagano’s appearances on Gorillaz’ album Plastic Beach than its own music, and it would have delighted people to hear a line from “Empire Ants” during Little Dragon’s set. But there was no need to pander, because believe it or not, Little Dragon has some fantastic songs in its own right. The Swedish quartet played a new one for the Treasure Island crowd, and it fits right into the band’s tiny canon of subtle dance pop. These songs are to be heard live, not only because of Nagano’s infectious dancing and sexy crooning, but because the band is pretty damn good too. Sure, Little Dragon plays some simple, atmospheric pop songs, but the guys can also jam a little — and that’s when they’re at their best.

Deadmau5
Bridge, 7:55 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Firstly, Deadmau5 apparently flew to the Smokeout Festival in Southern California after his set to perform another set there, but he does wear a giant mau5 mask, so he could’ve swindled us — we’ll never know. Either way, a plethora of Treasure Island attendees were there just to see Deadmau5, whose star has risen swiftly. It’s not clear why; is he doing anything dozens of other artists aren’t doing, besides wearing a giant, glowing mouse mask and performing behind a v-shaped structure and a bunch of cool visuals? Maybe that’s the point, to drug up, dance, and be impressed with the lighting, but why is Deadmau5 better than Mickey Mau5? Besides “Ghosts n Stuff”, most of the tunes he played at Treasure Island were relatively tuneless, which is fine if done right; it’s just hard to get into the repetitive noodling. Further, the energy never really built up; he would tease at something explosive before reverting to stagnant, lifeless minimalism. Once again, that single of his was the only exception.

Like K & D, Deadmau5 had an MC come out to hype the audience, but she was only on stage for a song or two before leaving the man to his work. The DJ (real name Joel Zimmerman) is certainly hard-working, and has put together a beautiful show. The question is whether people would care about that show if a couple of French robots hadn’t popularized the concept of masked DJ’s and personalized stages in the first place. I suppose it doesn’t matter, because if you want to see Deadmau5 for the visuals and the drugs, you will not be disappointed. If it’s the music you care about, just don’t expect anything special.

Miike Snow
Tunnel, 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Deadmau5 concluded the rave portion of the evening, meaning people began to leave, but Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem kept the vast majority of folks there for the rest of the night. The former, which played amidst a thick cloud of smoke, played to an enthusiastic but exhausted crowd — an inevitable side effect of a long and relentlessly cold day. The Swedish band, which American singer Andrew Wyatt insisted was a band and not a person, strolled through songs like “Burial” and “Black and Blue”, the latter of which went through a pretty ugly and unnecessary distortion job. However, Miike Snow nailed singles “Sylvia” and “Animal”, the song that will never escape this band. “Animal”, which seemed to go on extra long just for shits and giggles, obviously elicited the largest crowd response.

LCD Soundsystem
Bridge, 9:35 p.m.

How do you follow up a career-defining headlining gig at the Hollywood Bowl with a short headlining set at a small festival? The way James Murphy and co. pulled it off was to do everything the same but cut out a few songs. Literally, we’re talking the same set in practically the same order, minus “Get Innocuous!”, “Someone Great”, and “Losing My Edge”. Those are three songs that it sucks to have missed out on.

But let’s focus on the positive, namely that LCD Soundsystem murdered this festival. As Murphy has neared the end of his tour — like so many other acts at Treasure Island — he and his band have begun playing “Dance Yrself Clean” live, and now it’s hard to imagine being satisfied without hearing the This is Happening opener. Everyone knew when the beat was going to drop, everyone was waiting for it, and most reacted appropriately and danced thmselves clean. The other two This is Happening tracks which opened the set were also well received, although “Drunk Girls” is kind of a snoozer, at least coming between “Dance Yrself Clean” and “I Can Change”.

Photo by Ted Maider

LCD continued to murder with “Daft Punk is Playing at My House”, although the audience shockingly seemed to lose interest. This trend continued for the other old songs; there were singalongs for the new ones, but anything off of the self-titled (almost half the set) was met with half-assed response. Even “Tribulations”, for God’s sake. Was 2005 really that long ago?

The band ignored Sound of Silver material with the exception of “All My Friends”, which was probably not a wise choice for this crowd, but if Murphy is really going to be easing off of LCD Soundsystem in the coming years, it was the right choice.

Photo by Ted Maider

Lame crowd notwithstanding, the show was the best you could hope for in one hour and 15 minutes. Murphy really sings nowadays instead of just yelling into the mic, and you can tell his band is having a good time. The highlight was Murphy leading the audience in a slow clap which built directly into the opening of “Movement”, which just so happens to shred live.

Murphy acknowledged that the show was just too short, however: “I don’t make the rules,” he quipped as he introduced the final number, “Home”. Finishing up at just after 10:50 p.m., LCD was not allowed an encore, which was expected given the strict start and end times to every set. Still, here’s hoping Murphy comes back before he abandons the project.

Sunday, October 17th

Phosphorescent
Tunnel, 12:00 p.m.

Phosphorescent was booked for the main stage, but the weather had different plans for indie folk musician Matthew Houck and his band. Thankfully, no cancellations, because damn if Phosphorescent wasn’t one of the best acts all day. There’s no good reason Phosphorescent should have been on so early — this meant a lot of people missing him, rain or not. Houck’s guitarist Jesse Anderson Ainsley and his keyboardist Scott Stapleton were some of the most technically proficient musicians at the festival. Phosphorescent’s set included a good mix of vocal harmonization and good, old-fashioned rock soloing. Houck is quite the musician himself, and an even better vocalist. “The Mermaid Parade”, in particular, was a moment of brilliance.

Photo by Harry Painter.

The Mumlers
Tunnel, 12:52 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Thanks to Phosphorescent being switched to the Tunnel stage, The Mumlers held the distinction of being the only act with a snipped set time. The San Jose sextet, which was also the only act with a guitarist dressed like a pirate, was able to make it on stage 12 minutes after scheduled. The Mumlers, despite the pirate (bloody face makeup and all) and a french horn or two, got kind of lost in the shuffle of chill indie rock acts on Sunday. They’re more than just an indie rock band, though — they displayed classic rock, jazz, and folk sensibilities and aptly followed a Phosphorescent set everyone seemed to love. When The Mumlers weren’t allowed to play their final song, the audience let out a loud groan. The pirate took it all in good humor, leaving us with “The greatest treasure was having you for an audience.” Arrr, matey.

Ra Ra Riot
Bridge, 1:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

My, oh my, I can’t believe I’ve ignored this band for so long. Ra Ra Riot is much more than a pretty cellist — she also has a good voice. Kidding, kidding. Really, Ra Ra Riot was perfect. If you’re a sucker for strings in your indie pop, jump on this bandwagon. The Syracuse sextet has a penchant for playing cheerful, emotional music with marching skins and sweeping strings. Frontman Wes Miles, who seems comfortable with the band’s popularity, can make the main stage feel like the most intimate place on Earth, like you’re up there with them just watching them rehearse. Ra Ra Riot will certainly be on much later next time the band plays this festival; the band was an absolute pleasure so early in the day.

Papercuts
Tunnel, 1:55 p.m.

Local musician Jason Quever’s project Papercuts is another act that failed to leave an impression amongst the several laid-back indie acts Sunday. Quever makes droning dream pop accompanied by soft, almost whispering vocals. He and his band had a couple of genuinely interesting moments, but the majority of Papercuts’ set was background music.

Superchunk
Bridge, 2:30 p.m.

The old guys of the festival, North Carolina’s indie rock heroes Superchunk, were touring behind new album Majesty Shredding, their first album since 2001′s Here’s to Shutting Up. Superchunk’s DIY riff-rock fit in just fine in an era when people suddenly care about Pavement again. The band played new tracks such as “Rosemarie”, “Digging for Something”, and “Crossed Wires”, along with old faves like “Slack Motherfucker” and “Throwing Things”. The band looked happy to be there, but also made a point whether they meant to or not — bring back the fucking rock and roll.

Photo by Ted Maider.

The Sea and Cake
Tunnel, 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The Sea and Cake, which has opened for fellow Treasure Island band Broken Social scene in the past, probably isn’t the best example of bringing back the fucking rock and roll, but the Chicago indie act did partake in some quality jamming. The Sea and Cake’s set wandered into everything from chill surf rock (which was becoming quite tired by now) to smooth jazz to post-rock. The mood wasn’t exactly befitting of the band, coming after Superchunk, but anyone who skipped The Sea and Cake is going to have to put the band on his list.

She & Him
Bridge, 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

If Zooey Deschanel wasn’t the queen of all that is indie, She & Him would not be booked at every damn festival on the planet. Half the people there are watching for the novelty of seeing Deschanel sing — and she’s pretty good at it, but the songs are another story. They range from poppy indie folk to doo-wop anthems, none of which are very original. And while Deschanel can sing, she just lacks power, the same way Charlotte Gainsbourg does. Deschanel has the better voice, but she either gets drowned out by the band or simply trails off at the end of each line. M. Ward is a little more reliable on the guitar, but he couldn’t save this set. If you were forgiving, however, you could have appreciated Deschanel’s earnestness on the ballad “Take it Back” or her cheeriness on Vol. 2 track “In the Sun”.

Monotonix
Tunnel, 4:50 p.m.

My God, what did I get myself into here? These three hairy guys from Tel Aviv may have sounded nothing like they do in studio, but I wouldn’t have known that beforehand and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Where do we begin? Singer Ami Shalev was dressed like an aging former soccer player making a final comeback just to break some bones. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman looked like the guys MGMT modeled themselves after before turning it into a lame fashion trend.

The band, Monotonix, doesn’t play on stage. The trio set up in the middle of the crowd from the start and proceeded to jam. Shalev was all about crowd participation, standing on top of the bass drum, crowd surfing, going out of his way to make everyone part of the show. The crowd formed a circle around Monotonix, Gat doing his best to keep on track while being shoved from behind. Periodically, the band would pick up its instruments and relocate, with fans doing what they could to help (it’s amazing the guitar cord made it through the show intact).

The very indie crowd wasn’t prepared for 40 minutes of garage punk between the She & Him and Broken Social Scene sets, but the mosh pits soon began. Anyone within 30 feet of the band couldn’t hum a single line from a Monotonix song, but everyone will remember three things: the impromptu Shalev-led singalong to “A Hard Day’s Night”, Shalev dumping a bag of garbage onto Fershtman, and the finale of Shalev tossing a tom into the stacked drum kit. Shalev is no GG Allin, but crazy is crazy and he was crazy enough.

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Photos by Harry Painter.

Broken Social Scene
Bridge, 5:35 p.m.

It can only be described as a shame that Broken Social Scene was limited to 50 minutes, but that’s the nature of Treasure Island — it was actually one of the longest sets of the day. The band started things off with Forgiveness Rock Record track “Meet Me in the Basement”, then quickly squeezed in some longtime favorites like “7/4 Shoreline” and “Texico Bitches”, both of which rock so much more live than on record. No Emily Haines, but BSS managed a sweet rendition of “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”.

Photo by Ted Maider

Kevin Drew dropped his guitar early on, which didn’t seem to matter, as BSS has four or five guitarists at once. Drew joked that he literally breaks a guitar at every show, which may not have been a joke at all. By the end of the set, Drew took to the crowd, making sure to leave his mark on the fest in case the music wasn’t enough. It really wasn’t, but that’s because there just wasn’t enough of it.

Surfer Blood
Tunnel, 6:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

This band so deserves all that hype it gets. There was plenty enough surf rock going on at Treasure Island, but if it’s good it’s good, and none was better at it than Surfer Blood. Touring behind its only album Astro Coast, Surfer Blood tore through tracks like “Swim”, “Take it Easy”, and “Floating Vibes”. The quintet even did a cover of Pavement’s “Box Elder”, which was appropriate considering the band is pretty much a cross between Pavement and Modest Mouse. The songs did blend together late in the set, being that most of them are similar in tone and tempo, but all in all Surfer Blood left a promising impression. Skipping even one song, the last song, to get a spot for The National was a tough decision.

The National
Bridge, 7:15 p.m.

Yet it was the right decision, because The National was the best act at Treasure Island this year. The National has gotten better and better over the years, and in 2010 has found the ideal mix between being sensitive, artsy poets and outright rock stars. This is especially the case with the Brooklyn band’s live output; songs that amount to midtempo hummers on record, like “Squalor Victoria” and “England”, become fiery and full of rage when performed live. The difference is the Dessner brothers’ love for loud, unhinged distortion and Matt Berninger’s willingness to scream — when Berninger gets red-faced and shouts “afraid of the house, because they’re desperate to entertain,” you realize he means every last word. Or maybe it’s the wine he drinks before he performs.

Photo by Harry Painter

The National also appear increasingly comfortable being on stage. It takes a lot of confidence to be a rock star, and it didn’t feel like the band had or wanted that confidence in 2008. Now, Berninger and the Dessners pose on stage and exchange witty banter like they’re in a living room with 8,000 friends. “He doesn’t let us wear suits,” complained Bryce Dessner about Berninger’s wardrobe choices. Berninger responded with, “Respect the suit; you guys are frumpy.” Before “Slow Show”, Dessner pointed out the song makes reference to Berninger’s genitalia, to which Berninger clarified that it wasn’t true: “A small area of the song is about my dick.”

The set was heavy on High Violet and Boxer stuff, including only the essentials from Alligator (“Abel”, “Mr. November”) and nothing from the band’s early albums. This was doing pretty well for a one-hour festival set though, and the band covered a pretty good range of the stuff people wanted to hear. The National, at the end of its tour, played all the late-set mainstays in the expected order: “Fake Empire” into “Mr. November” into “Terrible Love” — a lineup there’s no complaining about. Dessner dedicated “Mr. November” to the Democrats, after which Berninger, not wanting to be uncool, dedicated “Terrible Love” to the Republicans, and then to babies, because “everyone loves babies.”

Rogue Wave
Tunnel, 8:15 p.m.

“Following The National sucks,” sighed Zach Rogue, frontman of Oakland’s Rogue Wave. He wasn’t kidding, but his band held its own coming between the two big Sunday names on the smaller stage. Rogue Wave may have been the indiest band at this mercilessly indie musical gathering, but performances of songs like “Lake Michigan” and “Bird on a Wire” were anything but indie kitsch. The band made the performance something special by bringing out fellow Oakland musician Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States for a collaboration. Both Rogue Wave and Nesseth had their fair share of supporters at the festival.

Photo by Ted Maider

Rogue Wave brought the politics much more readily than The National, dedicating “Solitary Gun”, a track off the band’s latest album, Permalight, to Oscar Grant, the man who was shot and killed by a police officer at an Oakland train station while face down and unarmed. Trade secret: If you want to get a Bay Area crowd on your side, it’s a good idea to bring up Oscar Grant.

The set consisted of material spanning Rogue Wave’s career, and it felt like the band was a miniature headliner for the local folks. Nothing but love from the Bay Area audience.

Belle & Sebastian
Bridge, 9:05 p.m.

There was no one more deserving to headline the Treasure Island fest than Belle & Sebastian, but the Scottish indie poppers were an anticlimactic close to a great festival. Any huge fan would have been just fine with the set — it was heavy on If You’re Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress material, and gave equal attention to new album Write About Love. To top it all off, the band was accompanied by a five-piece string section. Stuart Murdoch was crowd-friendly, exchanging banter incessantly and even making a couple of kids’ days by pointing them out in the audience.

In fact, it was a good show. Belle & Sebastian just isn’t the band to close a festival.

Photo by Ted Maider

Guitarist Stevie Jackson at one point led the crowd in a relatively complex singalong for new track “I’m Not Living in the Real World”, featuring an “ooh” in three different keys. Jackson joked that we could handle it, because “San Francisco is a musical city.” SF handled it just beautifully, and it was one of the highlights of the set.

The band of course played “Piazza New York Catcher”, which features lyrics about the San Francisco Giants playing the New York Mets, and also references SF’s Tenderloin district. Murdoch remarked that he had not realized how many of Belle & Sebastian’s songs were based on San Francisco. He then did a little pandering: “The Phillies don’t stand a chance, man. Give it to them!” Sorry, Philadelphia, he’s right.

“The Boy with the Arab Strap” had people all the way across the grounds dancing jovially; this was on a weekend when people were reluctant to dance even on the dance day, and the talkers came in droves. But for this one song, Belle & Sebastian had everyone’s attention and there was nothing but happiness in the air, which is kind of what this band is about.

Photo by Ted Maider

So what made this the wrong band to close the festival? It’s just that they’re so damn…twee. By about halfway through, Belle & Sebastian had overdosed us on the upbeat four-minute pop songs, and I just wanted them to depress me for once. Where was the soul? Belle & Sebastian is such a lovable band in moderation that it’s hard to see how stale the band can get until it happens. Not once did Belle & Sebastian ever turn a head or wow anyone, not the way The National, LCD Soundsystem, or even Broken Social Scene did. Perhaps it just wasn’t an ideal setlist. The performance never felt important, not even during the encore of “Judy & the Dream of Horses”, which is a fantastic song, but not one with which to close a weekend of great music. Oh well.

]]> Photo by Ted Maider The festival also featured all the usual (and some not-so-usual) festival amenities, such as a ferris wheel, a cybercafé/DJ Hero station, a silent disco, and various sponsored tents (one, of course, was a cannabis club tent offering coupons for free "medijoints"). There was a salon tent giving out free haircuts, a workshop for learning crafts, and a skee ball booth. The food was mostly the usual fare, but there were some interesting options, including a booth for organic health food and a vendor offering potato and spinach knishes along with the hot dogs. A French truck featured escargot lollipops and what were called Maine lobster cappuccinos. Yum. Only real downside to all of this? It's cold as hell. In San Francisco, you can expect the weather to be cold, windy, and foggy at any given time of year, and in October there's just no way you're going to get your comfy, dependable, 100-degree-plus summer festival weather. On Saturday, no amount of dancing could have prevented the unprepared from shelling out for a hoodie or flannel shirt; the heavy wind was a disaster for the myriad hipsters in hot-pants. The wind chill Sunday was equally cruel, and the intermittent rain that marked the first three hours of the fest was actually a welcome change. Photo by Ted Maider But outside of one stage change and a short set time early on for The Mumlers, the music was unhampered by the weather. And the music is what matters, right? Right. Feature photo by Harry Painter. Saturday, October 16th Maus Haus Bridge Stage, 12:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The first of several local bands, San Francisco's own Maus Haus kicked things off with an energetic set of experimental electropop jams. The sextet was heavy on the synthesizers (there must have been at least three up there), but Maus Haus is no generic dance pop band. There was a little of that, but there was also a little ambient noise and electro rock. Also, as any good festival opener should, Maus Haus opted to take some time between numbers to educate the early crowd on some of the history of Treasure Island. All of it was equally welcome, and hopefully the next time the band plays the fest it will be at a well-deserved later slot. wallpaper. Tunnel Stage, 12:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider When the highlight of your show is bringing out your "band" of brightly dressed hipsters with cowbells, you're probably a bit of a gimmick. Like Mayer Hawthorne, Oakland's Eric Frederic -- one-half of wallpaper. -- makes his living as a skinny white guy singing ironic soul songs. Both corny, except wallpaper.'s music is even less authentic, if that's possible. The duo (Frederic on vocals and iPod, Arjun Singh on drums) played song after mailed-in neo-disco song about sex and booze, Frederic playing the backing tracks on his iPod while Singh drummed along. Of course, the iPod handled the complex drum parts. Oh well, being bored at a festival at one in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Besides, it was all in good fun; Frederic was charismatic and made some choice jokes about casual sex and selling drugs at the merch booth. And he apparently has a song called "Laptops from Methadone Clinics", so there's that. Holy Fuck Bridge, 1:30 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If you haven't seen these folks yet, go go go. I won't profess to have any idea what Holy Fuck does on stage, but I know it sounds great and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Visualize a drummer and a bassist backing two guys standing opposite each other twisting knobs and screaming into distorted microphones. You're already probably halfway to knowing what the Toronto four-piece sounds like, but basically it's noisy, improvisational, sometimes psychedelic, and all live (*cough* wallpaper. *cough*). Instruments include analog synths and a 35mm film synchronizer, but that translates into a bunch of gadgets on a table tangled in a mess of wires. It's fun to watch. I had the thought, Holy Fuck's sound would fit an arena quite nicely, so Radiohead, if you're reading this, first stop reading and put out your album, and then invite Holy Fuck to open for you please. Jamaica Tunnel, 2:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Fun fact: Eight of the 13 Saturday acts were foreign, and only three of those were from primarily English-speaking countries. Another fun fact: Jamaica isn't from Jamaica, but Paris. The band also doesn't play even remotely electronic music, so what was it doing on the Saturday lineup? Never mind, it's dancey rock music so close enough. Jamaica, dressed for climbing Mt. Everest, put on a set of catchy grunge-pop songs in the vein of fellow slackers Free Energy. There wasn't much beneath the surface, but it was kind of nice to have a token riff-rock band on Saturday. Die Antwoord Bridge, 3:00 p.m. What does it say about the state of indie hip-hop when Die Antwoord is the only hip-hop act at a festival that previously signed on acts like Murs, Cut Chemist, Zion I, The Streets, Aesop Rock, and Crown City Rockers? Screw it, what does it say about the state of indie hip-hop that Die Antwoord is even popular (and not even technically indie anymore)? Yes, the South African trio is a joke, but the band is not any funnier than ICP, which everyone hates (or Ali G, who Ninja is shamelessly biting). Photo by Ted Maider Anyway, a certain portion of the crowd ate this shit up. Die Antwoord came out dressed in the same outfits from the "Enter the Ninja" video, Yo-Landi Vi$$er making a wardrobe change halfway through and Ninja gradually undressing. Ninja can flow and both of them have stage presence and can work a crowd. But maybe I'm a little old to be impressed by generic electro-rap beats and fart-joke lyricism. One crowdmember remarked after it was over, "Some people will dance to anything with that type of beat." Exactly. However, like wallpaper. earlier, Ninja and Vi$$er did not take themselves seriously; they actually made the butterfly gestures during "Enter the Ninja", for example, and ended the set by yelling out "Be happy!" No arguments here. Phantogram Tunnel, 3:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Phantogram, one of the best acts Saturday, also turned out to be one of the mellowest. The duo, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel (accompanied by a live drummer), plays a blend of shoegaze, trip-hop, and psychedelic pop backing dark, atmospheric vocals from both members. This was the first band that really packed the stage, and if that's a sign of rising popularity, it's well deserved. Phantogram played a dance-friendly set but sported some substance to go along with the style. And, okay, elephant in the room, Sarah Barthel is cute. It's just a little crush. !!! Bridge, 4:35 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Everyone should be familiar with what !!! does by now. The Sacramento dance-punk outfit is a nonstop ball of kinetic energy, particularly metrosexual frontman Nic Offer, who made his way into the crowd several times and was never standing in one place for five seconds - despite having performed in Tokyo the day before, according to Offer, and getting a mere three hours of sleep. While the band is much more suited to the club, like say the Noise Pop festival earlier this year, than a large festival stage, it's not for lack of presence. !!! is no stranger to festivals and handled the large crowd gracefully. At times, Offer seemed out of breath and couldn't quite nail his parts. In hindsight, it wouldn't have killed the energy for him to slow down a little -- there is plenty else to focus on at a !!! show, with the band's multiple guitars, keyboards, a backing vocalist, and a saxophonist. Four Tet Tunnel, 5:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Kieran Hebden's main live instrument is a laptop, and his light show came across as modest with full daylight still out. However, flashiness was not required and Hebden, better known as Four Tet, put on an irresistible set. Probably the second-best of the day, in fact. It's understandable that IDM doesn't get a lot of love at festivals where people just want to wear mouse masks and dance, but artists like Hebden lend credibility to the mainstream-again dance music community. Still, it's hard to tell what Hebden was doing up there besides checking his e-mail and bobbing his head. Kruder & Dorfmeister Bridge, 6:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister are renowned for their downtempo remixes, but they kept the tempo up in a rare live show Saturday. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the first nighttime act, rocked the turntables in front of some stunning visuals, while two well-dressed MC's kept the crowd involved. This meant prancing around stage and yelling inane things like "everybody go boom!" but the crowd would surely have lost interest otherwise. Actually, for a crowd that was oblivious even to LCD Soundsystem's early material, the audience was rather enthusiastic about K & D. This performance marked the end of the duo's first North American tour in 10 years, and whenever K & D does it again, it won't be soon enough. Well, a couple months or so would be fine. Little Dragon Tunnel, 7:05 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Let's get this out of the way right off the bat -- Little Dragon is known more for frontwoman Yukimi Nagano's appearances on Gorillaz' album Plastic Beach than its own music, and it would have delighted people to hear a line from "Empire Ants" during Little Dragon's set. But there was no need to pander, because believe it or not, Little Dragon has some fantastic songs in its own right. The Swedish quartet played a new one for the Treasure Island crowd, and it fits right into the band's tiny canon of subtle dance pop. These songs are to be heard live, not only because of Nagano's infectious dancing and sexy crooning, but because the band is pretty damn good too. Sure, Little Dragon plays some simple, atmospheric pop songs, but the guys can also jam a little -- and that's when they're at their best. Deadmau5 Bridge, 7:55 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Firstly, Deadmau5 apparently flew to the Smokeout Festival in Southern California after his set to perform another set there, but he does wear a giant mau5 mask, so he could've swindled us -- we'll never know. Either way, a plethora of Treasure Island attendees were there just to see Deadmau5, whose star has risen swiftly. It's not clear why; is he doing anything dozens of other artists aren't doing, besides wearing a giant, glowing mouse mask and performing behind a v-shaped structure and a bunch of cool visuals? Maybe that's the point, to drug up, dance, and be impressed with the lighting, but why is Deadmau5 better than Mickey Mau5? Besides "Ghosts n Stuff", most of the tunes he played at Treasure Island were relatively tuneless, which is fine if done right; it's just hard to get into the repetitive noodling. Further, the energy never really built up; he would tease at something explosive before reverting to stagnant, lifeless minimalism. Once again, that single of his was the only exception. Like K & D, Deadmau5 had an MC come out to hype the audience, but she was only on stage for a song or two before leaving the man to his work. The DJ (real name Joel Zimmerman) is certainly hard-working, and has put together a beautiful show. The question is whether people would care about that show if a couple of French robots hadn't popularized the concept of masked DJ's and personalized stages in the first place. I suppose it doesn't matter, because if you want to see Deadmau5 for the visuals and the drugs, you will not be disappointed. If it's the music you care about, just don't expect anything special. Miike Snow Tunnel, 8:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Deadmau5 concluded the rave portion of the evening, meaning people began to leave, but Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem kept the vast majority of folks there for the rest of the night. The former, which played amidst a thick cloud of smoke, played to an enthusiastic but exhausted crowd -- an inevitable side effect of a long and relentlessly cold day. The Swedish band, which American singer Andrew Wyatt insisted was a band and not a person, strolled through songs like "Burial" and "Black and Blue", the latter of which went through a pretty ugly and unnecessary distortion job. However, Miike Snow nailed singles "Sylvia" and "Animal", the song that will never escape this band. "Animal", which seemed to go on extra long just for shits and giggles, obviously elicited the largest crowd response. LCD Soundsystem Bridge, 9:35 p.m. How do you follow up a career-defining headlining gig at the Hollywood Bowl with a short headlining set at a small festival? The way James Murphy and co. pulled it off was to do everything the same but cut out a few songs. Literally, we're talking the same set in practically the same order, minus "Get Innocuous!", "Someone Great", and "Losing My Edge". Those are three songs that it sucks to have missed out on. But let's focus on the positive, namely that LCD Soundsystem murdered this festival. As Murphy has neared the end of his tour -- like so many other acts at Treasure Island -- he and his band have begun playing "Dance Yrself Clean" live, and now it's hard to imagine being satisfied without hearing the This is Happening opener. Everyone knew when the beat was going to drop, everyone was waiting for it, and most reacted appropriately and danced thmselves clean. The other two This is Happening tracks which opened the set were also well received, although "Drunk Girls" is kind of a snoozer, at least coming between "Dance Yrself Clean" and "I Can Change". Photo by Ted Maider LCD continued to murder with "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", although the audience shockingly seemed to lose interest. This trend continued for the other old songs; there were singalongs for the new ones, but anything off of the self-titled (almost half the set) was met with half-assed response. Even "Tribulations", for God's sake. Was 2005 really that long ago? The band ignored Sound of Silver material with the exception of "All My Friends", which was probably not a wise choice for this crowd, but if Murphy is really going to be easing off of LCD Soundsystem in the coming years, it was the right choice. Photo by Ted Maider Lame crowd notwithstanding, the show was the best you could hope for in one hour and 15 minutes. Murphy really sings nowadays instead of just yelling into the mic, and you can tell his band is having a good time. The highlight was Murphy leading the audience in a slow clap which built directly into the opening of "Movement", which just so happens to shred live. Murphy acknowledged that the show was just too short, however: "I don't make the rules," he quipped as he introduced the final number, "Home". Finishing up at just after 10:50 p.m., LCD was not allowed an encore, which was expected given the strict start and end times to every set. Still, here's hoping Murphy comes back before he abandons the project. Sunday, October 17th Phosphorescent Tunnel, 12:00 p.m. Phosphorescent was booked for the main stage, but the weather had different plans for indie folk musician Matthew Houck and his band. Thankfully, no cancellations, because damn if Phosphorescent wasn't one of the best acts all day. There's no good reason Phosphorescent should have been on so early -- this meant a lot of people missing him, rain or not. Houck's guitarist Jesse Anderson Ainsley and his keyboardist Scott Stapleton were some of the most technically proficient musicians at the festival. Phosphorescent's set included a good mix of vocal harmonization and good, old-fashioned rock soloing. Houck is quite the musician himself, and an even better vocalist. "The Mermaid Parade", in particular, was a moment of brilliance. Photo by Harry Painter. The Mumlers Tunnel, 12:52 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Thanks to Phosphorescent being switched to the Tunnel stage, The Mumlers held the distinction of being the only act with a snipped set time. The San Jose sextet, which was also the only act with a guitarist dressed like a pirate, was able to make it on stage 12 minutes after scheduled. The Mumlers, despite the pirate (bloody face makeup and all) and a french horn or two, got kind of lost in the shuffle of chill indie rock acts on Sunday. They're more than just an indie rock band, though -- they displayed classic rock, jazz, and folk sensibilities and aptly followed a Phosphorescent set everyone seemed to love. When The Mumlers weren't allowed to play their final song, the audience let out a loud groan. The pirate took it all in good humor, leaving us with "The greatest treasure was having you for an audience." Arrr, matey. Ra Ra Riot Bridge, 1:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider My, oh my, I can't believe I've ignored this band for so long. Ra Ra Riot is much more than a pretty cellist -- she also has a good voice. Kidding, kidding. Really, Ra Ra Riot was perfect. If you're a sucker for strings in your indie pop, jump on this bandwagon. The Syracuse sextet has a penchant for playing cheerful, emotional music with marching skins and sweeping strings. Frontman Wes Miles, who seems comfortable with the band's popularity, can make the main stage feel like the most intimate place on Earth, like you're up there with them just watching them rehearse. Ra Ra Riot will certainly be on much later next time the band plays this festival; the band was an absolute pleasure so early in the day. Papercuts Tunnel, 1:55 p.m. Local musician Jason Quever's project Papercuts is another act that failed to leave an impression amongst the several laid-back indie acts Sunday. Quever makes droning dream pop accompanied by soft, almost whispering vocals. He and his band had a couple of genuinely interesting moments, but the majority of Papercuts' set was background music. Superchunk Bridge, 2:30 p.m. The old guys of the festival, North Carolina's indie rock heroes Superchunk, were touring behind new album Majesty Shredding, their first album since 2001's Here's to Shutting Up. Superchunk's DIY riff-rock fit in just fine in an era when people suddenly care about Pavement again. The band played new tracks such as "Rosemarie", "Digging for Something", and "Crossed Wires", along with old faves like "Slack Motherfucker" and "Throwing Things". The band looked happy to be there, but also made a point whether they meant to or not -- bring back the fucking rock and roll. Photo by Ted Maider. The Sea and Cake Tunnel, 3:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Sea and Cake, which has opened for fellow Treasure Island band Broken Social scene in the past, probably isn't the best example of bringing back the fucking rock and roll, but the Chicago indie act did partake in some quality jamming. The Sea and Cake's set wandered into everything from chill surf rock (which was becoming quite tired by now) to smooth jazz to post-rock. The mood wasn't exactly befitting of the band, coming after Superchunk, but anyone who skipped The Sea and Cake is going to have to put the band on his list. She & Him Bridge, 4:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If Zooey Deschanel wasn't the queen of all that is indie, She & Him would not be booked at every damn festival on the planet. Half the people there are watching for the novelty of seeing Deschanel sing -- and she's pretty good at it, but the songs are another story. They range from poppy indie folk to doo-wop anthems, none of which are very original. And while Deschanel can sing, she just lacks power, the same way Charlotte Gainsbourg does. Deschanel has the better voice, but she either gets drowned out by the band or simply trails off at the end of each line. M. Ward is a little more reliable on the guitar, but he couldn't save this set. If you were forgiving, however, you could have appreciated Deschanel's earnestness on the ballad "Take it Back" or her cheeriness on Vol. 2 track "In the Sun". Monotonix Tunnel, 4:50 p.m. My God, what did I get myself into here? These three hairy guys from Tel Aviv may have sounded nothing like they do in studio, but I wouldn't have known that beforehand and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Where do we begin? Singer Ami Shalev was dressed like an aging former soccer player making a final comeback just to break some bones. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman looked like the guys MGMT modeled themselves after before turning it into a lame fashion trend. The band, Monotonix, doesn't play on stage. The trio set up in the middle of the crowd from the start and proceeded to jam. Shalev was all about crowd participation, standing on top of the bass drum, crowd surfing, going out of his way to make everyone part of the show. The crowd formed a circle around Monotonix, Gat doing his best to keep on track while being shoved from behind. Periodically, the band would pick up its instruments and relocate, with fans doing what they could to help (it's amazing the guitar cord made it through the show intact). The very indie crowd wasn't prepared for 40 minutes of garage punk between the She & Him and Broken Social Scene sets, but the mosh pits soon began. Anyone within 30 feet of the band couldn't hum a single line from a Monotonix song, but everyone will remember three things: the impromptu Shalev-led singalong to "A Hard Day's Night", Shalev dumping a bag of garbage onto Fershtman, and the finale of Shalev tossing a tom into the stacked drum kit. Shalev is no GG Allin, but crazy is crazy and he was crazy enough. [nggallery id=136] Photos by Harry Painter. Broken Social Scene Bridge, 5:35 p.m. It can only be described as a shame that Broken Social Scene was limited to 50 minutes, but that's the nature of Treasure Island -- it was actually one of the longest sets of the day. The band started things off with Forgiveness Rock Record track "Meet Me in the Basement", then quickly squeezed in some longtime favorites like "7/4 Shoreline" and "Texico Bitches", both of which rock so much more live than on record. No Emily Haines, but BSS managed a sweet rendition of "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl". Photo by Ted Maider Kevin Drew dropped his guitar early on, which didn't seem to matter, as BSS has four or five guitarists at once. Drew joked that he literally breaks a guitar at every show, which may not have been a joke at all. By the end of the set, Drew took to the crowd, making sure to leave his mark on the fest in case the music wasn't enough. It really wasn't, but that's because there just wasn't enough of it. Surfer Blood Tunnel, 6:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider This band so deserves all that hype it gets. There was plenty enough surf rock going on at Treasure Island, but if it's good it's good, and none was better at it than Surfer Blood. Touring behind its only album Astro Coast, Surfer Blood tore through tracks like "Swim", "Take it Easy", and "Floating Vibes". The quintet even did a cover of Pavement's "Box Elder", which was appropriate considering the band is pretty much a cross between Pavement and Modest Mouse. The songs did blend together late in the set, being that most of them are similar in tone and tempo, but all in all Surfer Blood left a promising impression. Skipping even one song, the last song, to get a spot for The National was a tough decision. The National Bridge, 7:15 p.m. Yet it was the right decision, because The National was the best act at Treasure Island this year. The National has gotten better and better over the years, and in 2010 has found the ideal mix between being sensitive, artsy poets and outright rock stars. This is especially the case with the Brooklyn band's live output; songs that amount to midtempo hummers on record, like "Squalor Victoria" and "England", become fiery and full of rage when performed live. The difference is the Dessner brothers' love for loud, unhinged distortion and Matt Berninger's willingness to scream -- when Berninger gets red-faced and shouts "afraid of the house, because they're desperate to entertain," you realize he means every last word. Or maybe it's the wine he drinks before he performs. Photo by Harry Painter The National also appear increasingly comfortable being on stage. It takes a lot of confidence to be a rock star, and it didn't feel like the band had or wanted that confidence in 2008. Now, Berninger and the Dessners pose on stage and exchange witty banter like they're in a living room with 8,000 friends. "He doesn't let us wear suits," complained Bryce Dessner about Berninger's wardrobe choices. Berninger responded with, "Respect the suit; you guys are frumpy." Before "Slow Show", Dessner pointed out the song makes reference to Berninger's genitalia, to which Berninger clarified that it wasn't true: "A small area of the song is about my dick." The set was heavy on High Violet and Boxer stuff, including only the essentials from Alligator ("Abel", "Mr. November") and nothing from the band's early albums. This was doing pretty well for a one-hour festival set though, and the band covered a pretty good range of the stuff people wanted to hear. The National, at the end of its tour, played all the late-set mainstays in the expected order: "Fake Empire" into "Mr. November" into "Terrible Love" -- a lineup there's no complaining about. Dessner dedicated "Mr. November" to the Democrats, after which Berninger, not wanting to be uncool, dedicated "Terrible Love" to the Republicans, and then to babies, because "everyone loves babies." Rogue Wave Tunnel, 8:15 p.m. "Following The National sucks," sighed Zach Rogue, frontman of Oakland's Rogue Wave. He wasn't kidding, but his band held its own coming between the two big Sunday names on the smaller stage. Rogue Wave may have been the indiest band at this mercilessly indie musical gathering, but performances of songs like "Lake Michigan" and "Bird on a Wire" were anything but indie kitsch. The band made the performance something special by bringing out fellow Oakland musician Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States for a collaboration. Both Rogue Wave and Nesseth had their fair share of supporters at the festival. Photo by Ted Maider Rogue Wave brought the politics much more readily than The National, dedicating "Solitary Gun", a track off the band's latest album, Permalight, to Oscar Grant, the man who was shot and killed by a police officer at an Oakland train station while face down and unarmed. Trade secret: If you want to get a Bay Area crowd on your side, it's a good idea to bring up Oscar Grant. The set consisted of material spanning Rogue Wave's career, and it felt like the band was a miniature headliner for the local folks. Nothing but love from the Bay Area audience. Belle & Sebastian Bridge, 9:05 p.m. There was no one more deserving to headline the Treasure Island fest than Belle & Sebastian, but the Scottish indie poppers were an anticlimactic close to a great festival. Any huge fan would have been just fine with the set -- it was heavy on If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress material, and gave equal attention to new album Write About Love. To top it all off, the band was accompanied by a five-piece string section. Stuart Murdoch was crowd-friendly, exchanging banter incessantly and even making a couple of kids' days by pointing them out in the audience. In fact, it was a good show. Belle & Sebastian just isn't the band to close a festival. Photo by Ted Maider Guitarist Stevie Jackson at one point led the crowd in a relatively complex singalong for new track "I'm Not Living in the Real World", featuring an "ooh" in three different keys. Jackson joked that we could handle it, because "San Francisco is a musical city." SF handled it just beautifully, and it was one of the highlights of the set. The band of course played "Piazza New York Catcher", which features lyrics about the San Francisco Giants playing the New York Mets, and also references SF's Tenderloin district. Murdoch remarked that he had not realized how many of Belle & Sebastian's songs were based on San Francisco. He then did a little pandering: "The Phillies don't stand a chance, man. Give it to them!" Sorry, Philadelphia, he's right. "The Boy with the Arab Strap" had people all the way across the grounds dancing jovially; this was on a weekend when people were reluctant to dance even on the dance day, and the talkers came in droves. But for this one song, Belle & Sebastian had everyone's attention and there was nothing but happiness in the air, which is kind of what this band is about. Photo by Ted Maider So what made this the wrong band to close the festival? It's just that they're so damn...twee. By about halfway through, Belle & Sebastian had overdosed us on the upbeat four-minute pop songs, and I just wanted them to depress me for once. Where was the soul? Belle & Sebastian is such a lovable band in moderation that it's hard to see how stale the band can get until it happens. Not once did Belle & Sebastian ever turn a head or wow anyone, not the way The National, LCD Soundsystem, or even Broken Social Scene did. Perhaps it just wasn't an ideal setlist. The performance never felt important, not even during the encore of "Judy & the Dream of Horses", which is a fantastic song, but not one with which to close a weekend of great music. Oh well. ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/cold-days-on-the-bay-cos-at-treasure-island-10/feed/ 6 http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/05/robin-pecknold-will-oldham-vetiver-pay-tribute-to-graham-nash/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/05/robin-pecknold-will-oldham-vetiver-pay-tribute-to-graham-nash/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/05/be-yourself.jpg Wed, 19 May 2010 20:35:56 +0000 Alex Young http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=42223 In a year that has already seen David Bowie, John Prine, and Shel Silverstein get tribute albums, it’s only appropriate that another music great, one Graham Nash, get one as well. Fleet Foxes’ Will Robin Pecknold, Will Oldham, Vetiver, and The Raconteurs’ Brendan Benson apparently thought so too as they are among the musicians that have contributed their talents to the forthcoming, (((folkYEAH!)))-presented Nash tribute album.

Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash’s Songs For Beginners features 11 unique spins on Nash’s 1971 solo debut Songs For Beginners. For example, Oldham, using his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy moniker, tackled “Simple Man” (preview here), while Pecknold re-did “Be Yourself”. Other contributors to the album include Alela Diane, Sleepy Sun, Port O’Brien, Papercuts, and Graham’s own daughter, Nile Nash

There is also a five-track bonus EP, which features Two Gallant’s Tyson Vogel, Johnathan Rice, and Citay.

The album will be available next Tuesday, May 25th via Grass Roots Records, in collaboration with Nile Nash and Britt Govea of (((folkYEAH!))). It will be available in CD, digitial, and limited edition 180 gram vinyl formats. Click here to order.

Graham, Nile, the artists, and Grass Roots Records will donate a portion of the proceeds from the record to Wavy Gravy’s Camp Winnarainbow. Through the use of music, acrobatics, games, and production this circus and performing arts camp in the Mendocino woods of northern California teaches children and adults tools for building self-esteem, community, conflict resolution, communication, and plain old merriment.

Find both a teaser trailer and the complete tracklist below.

Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash’s Songs For Beginners Tracklist:
01. Port O’Brien/Papercuts – Military Madness
02. Brendan Benson – Better Days
03. Nile Nash – Wounded Bird
04. Vetiver – Used to Be a King
05. Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes) – Be Yourself
06. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Simple Man (Hombre Sencillo)
07. Moore Brothers – Man in the Mirror
08. Alela Diane – There’s Only One
09. Mariee Sioux (with Greg Weeks of Espers) – Sleep Song
10. Sleepy Sun – Chicago
11. Various/Nile Nash – We Can Change the World (Reprise)

Bonus EP:
01. Tyson Vogel (of Two Gallants) – Hey You (Looking At The Moon)
02. Johnathan Rice – On The Line
03. Jonathan Wilson + special guests – And So It Goes (Music Gets You High)
04. Bart Davenport – Better Days
05. Citay – Military Madness

Papercuts’ atmospheric pop will join the likes of No Age, Beach House, Retribution Gospel Choir, and many more. Previously, Jason Quever, the man behind Papercuts, had released his albums, including 2009′s You Can Have What You Want, on the Gnomonsong label, which is run by Andy Cabic of Vetiver. So, you should expect a new Sub Pop approved Papercuts album around the first part of 2011. There you go: news you can use.

We’ll keep you updated regarding aforementioned album as it becomes available.

In related news, Coachella didn’t take long adding a name to their lineup: Sigur Rós’ Jonsi. This will likely be in support of his solo album, Go, which is expected to be released at the end of March. He will appear at the polo fields on an already crowded Sunday.

Sing Me to Sleep Tracklist (alphabetical):
Asleep (Smiths) – Stars
Boys Of Summer (Don Henley) – Papercuts
Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (ELO) – Telekinesis
Cloudbusting (Kate Bush) – Neil Halstead
Dear Prudence (Beatles) – Casey Mecija (Ohbijou)
Dream A Little Dream Of Me (Traditional) – Dala
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music) – Laura Gibson
Gymnopédie No. 1 (Erik Satie) – Coctails
Have You Forgotten (Red House Painters) – Jenny Owen Youngs
Inchworm (Hans Christian Andersen) – The Leisure Society
Kafari (Original) – Sigur Rós [bonus 7” vinyl only]
Kiss Off (Violent Femmes) – Say Hi
Little Boxes (Malvina Reynolds) – The Real Tuesday Weld
Making Me Smile (Jack Early) – Dean & Britta
Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) – Tanya Donelly
Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) “Blue Mix” – Tanya Donelly [bonus 7” vinyl only]
Pure Imagination (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) – The Rest
Rainbow Connection (The Muppet Movie) – Trespassers William
Strings That Tie To You (Jon Brion) – Julie Peel with Field Mouse & Hailey Wojcik
The North Wind Doth Blow (Traditional) – Snowbird
The Sounds Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel) – The Abbasi Brothers
You And Your Sister (This Mortal Coil) – O+S
You Are My Sunshine (Traditional) – Peter Broderick

Pre-order it here.

Camera Obscura 2009/2010 Tour Dates:
08/23 – Wales, UK @ Green Man Festival
08/29 – Stockholm, SE @ Popaganda Festival
09/25 – Leicester, UK @ Leicester Musician
09/26 – Southend, UK @ Village Green Festival
09/29 – Osnabruck, DE @ Glanz & Gloria
09/30 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
10/01 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret
10/03 – Stockholm, SE @ Strand
10/05 – Malmo, SE @ Debaser
10/06 – Aarhus, DK @ Woxhall
10/07 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
10/08 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof
10/09 – Prague, CZ @ Cross Club
10/10 – Vienna, AT @ Flex
10/12 – Munich, DE @ 59to1
10/13 – Zurich, CH @ Abart
10/14 – Milan, IT @ Casa 139
10/15 – Lyon, FR @ TBA
10/16 – Paris, FR @ Maroquinerie
10/18 – Tourcoing, FR @ Grand Mix
10/19 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
10/20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/22 – Norwich, UK @ Waterfront
10/23 – Brighton, UK @ Komedia
10/24 – Exeter, UK @ Phoenix
10/25 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
10/26 – Lancaster, UK @ Library
10/27 – Leeds, UK @ Cockpit
10/29 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
11/03 – London, UK @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire
11/05 – Zaragoza, ES @ Casa Del Loco
11/06 – Salamanca, ES @ Multiusos Sanchez Paraiso
11/07 – Valladolid, ES @ Fair of Valladolid
11/08 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Heineken
11/09 – Barcelona, ES @ Apolo
11/18 – New Orleans, LA @ Tiptina’s *
11/19 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree *
11/20 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
11/21 – Norfolk, VA @ Attucks Theatre *
11/22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
11/24 – Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street Ballroom *
11/25 – Rochester, NY @ The German House *
11/26 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix *
11/27 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom *
11/28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *
11/30 – Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird *
12/01 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *
12/02 – Oxford, MS @ Lyric Oxford *
12/03 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club *
01/18 – Auckland, NZ @ King’s Arms Hotel
01/19 – Wellington, NZ @ San Francisco Bathhouse
01/21 – Sydney, AU @ Sydney Festival
01/22 – Brisbane, AU @ The Zoo
01/23 – Melbourne, AU @ Corner Hotel
01/25 – Perth, AU @ Amplifers

* = w/ Papercuts

While two borderline nihilists chatted about Facebook and what not, I at once came to the realization that I was in hell. Blame it on the three hours of sleep the night before, the lingering jet lagged feeling that remained from the morning, but I felt the heat of Hades, only damn was there a great soundtrack.

There’s something uncanny about Shuba’s that is unlike anywhere else, in Chicago at least. Where there’s a stage reserved for touring bands, there’s an audience right at bay, without any distance whatsoever. It’s a small stage too, something out of an old playhouse from the 1800′s, in fact, the entire room bears similarities to the ol’ pub house that Brom Bones might frolic about in, spinning up stories of Headless Horsemen. When there aren’t house lights or stage colors, tiny candles shine from the side walls, cascading shadows everywhere that dance to the creak and moaning of the old wooden floors.

What a perfect setting for the moody, downbeat, hollowed out sounds of Papercuts. Hailing from the sunny West coast, San Francisco to be exact, it’s surprising to hear such somber music. Vocalist and guitarist Jason Robert Quever started off rocky, sounding more like strep throat ridden Matt Bellamy than the more expressive Neil Young he chiseled out to be later on. Unfamiliar with their work, I can’t recall a song title to save my life, but it sounded great.

Familiar face Alex Scally kept things intact with sustained organ lines that didn’t variate much, but held some consistency and carried the songs through and through. Maybe it’s just watching Quever rock band and forth like a depressant induced Jack Black, but this band woke me up and scraped my spine a bit. It’s a little Yo La Tengo meets Neil Young at Jim James’ birthday party.

Can you tell I’m exhausted?

Replacing the typical track stage lighting, aquamarine blues and greens splashed around the room, awash of mysticism and psychedelics, all of which are fitting for a band like Beach House. Taking the stage in a white, cult-like robe that would make The Polyphonic Spree proud and Stevie Nicks envious, vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand, from behind a few locks of scruffy brown hair, smiled at the audience before jumping into “Wedding Bell” off of Devotion.

Even with Legrand’s spacey antics, including some twitching and Indian-styled body movements, nobody could compete with the allure and resourcefulness of Scally. Lending the keys to Legrand, Scally instead slid on a Fender guitar and fiddled about with a variety of pedals and switchboards. It was nice seeing Quever again, who enrolled himself in percussion and drums. I said these two bands seemed incestuous already, right?

Some highlights of the set included a stellar performance of the haunting, enigmatic “Gila”, where Legrand’s vocals took a seat on the corner outside, reaching far and wide. With the moody lighting, songs “Turtle Island” and “You Came to Me” were fitting. When the three grew tired of Devotion material, the band shimmied into a duo, leaving Legrand and Scally to fend for themselves, while Quever sat on the side of the stage bobbing his head to the sounds off the band’s self titled debut.

Both bands are immeasurably talented; however, much of Beach House’s latter half of the set started to blend and even if it’s a spectacle to watch two or three people create that many sounds (a trend that’s gaining popularity lately, e.g. Menomena), I could have used some more diversity in maybe sound or presence. Ironically enough, the band I knew nothing about (Papercuts) evoked more from me emotionally, as far as live performances go. Then again, let’s not forget I was listening to beautifully, lulling music with a numbed out brain and a pair of eyes, that had been carrying a much too heavy load of baggage.

On that note, I think I’ll leave the judgment to the hipsters with insomnia.

Check Out:
Papercuts [MySpace]
Beach House [MySpace]

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