After seeing Big Grams’ debut public performance at Treasure Island Music Festival last weekend, not only am I convinced it was the best set of the weekend but man this show is only going to get better! Get ready to see them on nearly every festival lineup in 2016 and for good reason. While Big Boi and Phantogram have chopped it up for years, getting on stage to perform their self titled debut album you would think may take some work but man it was tight and on point even down to the production. Bringing out Run The Jewels for “Born To Shine” was a nice touch, “Put It On Her” sounds like classic OutKast and the “Ms. Jackson”/”Mouthful of Diamonds” mashup was perfect and the crowd was eating up the whole set. As for me, I’ve been listening to the album on repeat for the last two days and falling in love with it more and more every spin.
‘Fare Thee Well’ Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Shows Here We Come!
25 JunJune 19, 1995 that was the first and last time I would see the Grateful Dead. Bob Dylan opened, I was with my childhood best friend and his Father (who took us) and what an experience it was…..at 13! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting me go to the show!
Fast forward 20 years and one week later and after losing count of the amount of The Dead, Furthur, Rat Dog, Phil & Friends, Mickey Hart Band, Dark Star Orchestra, etc. shows I’ve been to, it’s just shy of 24 hours until I board a plane to San Francisco to catch the two Fare Thee Well shows at Levi’s Stadium. While it won’t be the Chicago experience, it will be an amazing experience that I can’t wait to be a part of and perhaps even better given that it’s a short distance from the origin of the Grateful Dead.
Peace + Love + Music
Revisited: My 2013 Outside Lands adventure
18 AugTook me a little bit to get around to writing up this bad boy but below is a little bit of my recount from Outside Lands. Believe it or not, this was my first time attending this festival and now I’m scratching my head wondering why I’ve never actually gone (to be fair to myself, the dates never really lined up for me until this year). My hope is that I don’t miss another Outside Lands. The city, the setting, the experience, the people all made for an amazing weekend.
I decided to get things started a little bit early and book my trip to arrive Thursday night for two reasons, one I wanted to be there Friday morning (I’m not a fan of flying in the day the festival starts) and two, Zedd was playing at The Independent. Seeing him in a venue that only holds 500 people (and that’s one of my top 3 favorite venues, yes please!) just doesn’t happen so there was extra motivation to get to this show. Excited, set to leave Vegas and then it hit, the damn weather in SF delayed ALL flights. Quickly I started thinking I was going to miss the show as my plane was delayed first an hour, then three hours and finally four hours and we were told to deplane. Once off the plane I immediately checked the departure board and boom, flight to Oakland leaving in 9 minutes. Could it happen? Could I really make it? Guess luck was on my side because the gate agent held the door as she was processing my change and off to Oakland I went! Landed, hopped in a cab, $80 later dropped my stuff off, got in another cab and made it to Zedd right on time!
As for the real Outside Lands experience, two words, PAUL MCCARTNEY. This was hands down one of the top musical moments of my life. Watching from front of house and witnessing the 71 year old jam for three hours, no water breaks, silence a crowd at times and create the biggest sing-along in San Francisco, now that was cool. After six failed attempts for all sorts of reasons, I was finally destined to see Phoenix live! And man was it awesome. 35,000 strong at the Twin Peaks stage and everyone going crazy for Thomas Mars and the gang. I can still visualize them playing “Lasso,” it was that good. So many great memories from this trip, here are some of them.
WHO I SAW:
Friday: Naia Kete, Midi Matilda, Smith Westerns, Houndmouth, Wild Belle, Band of Horses, twenty one pilots, The National, Zedd, Paul McCartney
Saturday: Atlas Genius, Young The Giant, Jurassic 5, Baauer, Grizzly Bear, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Nine Inch Nails
Sunday: The Easy Leaves, Kopecky Family Band, Rudimental, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Foals, The Head and The Heart (surprise show in the woods), Hall & Oates, A-Trak, Vampire Weekend, Matt & Kim, Dillon Francis, Red Hot Chili Peppers
My First Show: Naia Kete
My Final Show: Red Hot Chili Peppers
My Moment of Joy: Paul McCartney. This was an absolutely unreal experience. Just look at THIS 39 song setlist
Best Lands End Stage Show: McCartney, hands down nothing could have been better BUT I will say Vampire Weekend crushed it and had a monster crowd
Best Twin Peaks Show(s): Phoenix and twenty one pilots but I’m biased since these were two must see sets. Now Rudimental, they stole the show and my Outside Lands experience (more on that below)
Best Panhandle Stage Show: Kopecky Family Band, had seen them a couple times prior but this performance was just solid
Best Sutro Stage Show: I only made it over there for The Easy Leaves and Kurt Vile (yeah, I missed out on some amazing performances including CHIC which received rave reviews)
Best Overall Show (not being Paul McCartney): Rudimental. Thanks to a friend from London I was told to check them out and boy was he right; I got to catch the beginning of their set and wow was it awesome! If you are not familiar with this troupe, I suggest you start listening to them
Biggest Surprise: See directly above
Best Legend Show: Can Jurassic 5 count for this one? So awesome to see the MCs back together again doing it big and with a massive crowd responding to every rhyme
Random Moment(s) Of Awesomeness: Paul McCartney asking for a moment to take in the scene, The Head and The Heart surprise show in the woods, and that bloody mary on Sunday at a location I won’t disclose was delightful.
Overall Stage With The Best Performances: Lands End had the big ones but I think the shows over at Twin Peaks were all ragers
Most Entertaining Show: twenty one pilots, you never know what’s coming next, those fellas have unlimited energy
Most Disappointing Moment: Missing a plethora of bands I wanted to see just based on schedule conflicts – Willie Nelson, Yeasayer, Rhye, King Tuff, DAWES, Fishbone, Dumpstaphunk
Next Big Thing: Wild Belle, it has got to happen for this brother-sister act, they keep getting better and better live
Perfect Moment: coming over the hill to catch Nine Inch Nails and them busting right into “Closer,” too perfect!
Giving it a shot: Young The Giant, I’ve seen these guys live 7 times, was a bit over them and then I accidentally caught their set and they reminded me why I became a fan in the first place
Top Party: A-Trak, dude just crushed the crowd in the middle of the day
Band I Was Sad To Miss: Yeasayer
Best Intro: Do my intros to friends going to see a band they never heard of count?
What Would Have Been Great: two of me to split myself and see every show
Top Moment: Taking in the surreal moment the first time the entire crowd went dead silent listening to Sir Paul
Best Festival Eats: The Whole Beast’s Lamb Paella
Best Beer Lands Beer: Magnolia Brewery Kolsch
Best Place To Cool Off: Wine Lands
Biggest Waste of Time: thinking taking anything but an Uber (at surge pricing) to get to/from the park was a good idea
Shocker Of The Festival: There was a whole lotta sun (until Sunday)
Worst Part: Scheduling conflicts
Clutch Move: bringing a backpack and having layers for when it got cold
Tip For Next Year: stay a day later and enjoy SF!
More Tips: drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen even if the sun isn’t shining, have comfortable shoes, VIP access is totally worth it, arrive early to take advantage of all the good eats, if you think you’re going to want a blanket or sweatshirt from OSL buy it on day one
DoYouHearTheMusic.com 2013 @SFOutsideLands Playlist
4 AugFigured since I am heading up to Outside Lands in a handful of days, why not put together a little playlist leading up to the festival. A great lineup awaits and I only have two words, PAUL MCCARTNEY! I cannot wait to see Sir Paul perform live, this is truly going to be a moment in time where everything else is going on pause for me.
Heading up to Outside Lands as well? Here are a handful of acts I suggest you make your way to see:
- twenty one pilots – look up their story when you have time but for now, click HERE
- Phoenix – check out their production on their current dates
- Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City should be up for album of the year
- Jurassic 5 – if you never had the chance to see them back in the day, do yourself a favor now
- D’Angelo – everyone should see him perform at least once
- Zedd – fastest rising DJ in the world right now
- The Head And The Heart- to this day one of my favorite shows I’ve seen at a festival
- DAWES – their live show puts their albums to shame
- Gary Clark Jr. – take the time to see this man
- Wild Belle – Natalie Bergman’s voice will have you at the first note
- Foals – see what everyone is talking about
- King Tuff – stoked for this set
- Rhye – talk about a rise to stardom, this should be a stellar performance
- Deap Vally – you want to see two chicks rock, here’s your chance
- Milo Greene -super talented quintet
- The Growlers – hooked on these guys thanks to a friend’s suggestion
- MS MR – fun show
- The Wild Feathers and The Easy Leaves – good way to start your Sunday at OSL
Playlist: Treasure Island Music Festival I’m Ready For You!
12 OctThis weekend up in San Francisco marks the sixth installment of the Treasure Island Music Festival. The festival which not only is in a kick ass city, also has a knack for grabbing top talent and acting as a springboard for younger bands before they break it big (I urge you to take a look at past lineups). This year features headliners Girl Talk and The xx. As for the complete line-up:
Saturday: Girl Talk, The Presets, Porter Robinson, Public Enemy, SBTRKT, Tycho, AraabMuzik, Matthew Dear, Toro y Moi, Grimes, The Coup, K.Flay, Dirty Ghosts.
Sunday: The xx, M83, Gossip, Best Coast, Joanna Newsom, Divine Fits, Youth Lagoon, Los Campesinos!, The War On Drugs, Ty Segall, Hospitality, Imperial Teen, The Neighbourhood.
In preparation here is a little playlist for you to enjoy this weekend!
Outside Lands 2012 Lineup Released
17 AprThis morning Outside Lands released their lineup for the festival taking place at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, August 10-12.
Not a bad lineup at all with Stevie Wonder, Metallica and NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE (how can you not be stoked about this?!). Plus Dispatch, Of Monsters and Men, Sigur Ros, The Kills, Bloc Party, Die Antwoord, Alabama Shakes, White Denim, Allen Stone, Electric Guest and Michael Kiwanuka; going to be a solid three days in SF.
Tickets go on sale Thursday at noon PST. If you are within a two hour plane ride of SF, no reason why you shouldn’t be booking tickets now, with all this great talent slated to perform in one of the best cities in the US.
Stevie Wonder, Metallica, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Skrillex, Sigur Ros, Justice, Norah Jones, Dispatch, The Kills, Regina Spektor, Passion Pit, Andrew Bird, Grandaddy, Big Boi, Bloc Party, Explosions In The Sky, Franz Ferdinand, Mstrkrft, Rebelution, Die Antwoord, Fitz and The Tantrums, Portugal. The Man, Amadou & Mariam, Wolfgang Gartner, Fun., Dr. Dog, The Walkmen, Washed Out, City and Colour, Two Gallants, Of Monsters and Men, Mimosa, Alabama Shakes, Reggie Watts, Trampled By Turtles, Tame Impala, Jovanotti, The Be Good Tanyas, Geographer, Sharon Van Etten, Yacht, Sean Hayes, Bomba Estereo, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Gigantic, Thee Oh Sees, Wallpaper, Tennis, Zola Jesus, White Denim, Allen Stone, The M Machine, Michael Kiwanuka, Tanlines, Father John Misty, Electric Guest, Caveman, Yellow Ostrich, Papa, Honey Island Swamp Band, Animal Kingdom.
Just Released: Outside Lands 2011 Line-up
11 AprJust released, check out the line-up for Outside Lands Festival August 12-14 in San Francisco. Should be an incredible three days with Phish, Muse and Arcade Fire headlining. Throw in The Black Keys, Deadmau5, The Roots, Foster The People, The Decemberists, Girl Talk, MGMT, Beirut, Arctict Monkeys, STS9, Warren Haynes, Big Boi, The Original Meters, Major Lazer, !!!, Joy Formidable, Toro Y Moi, The Original Meters and a whole lot more, you have yourselves a pretty sick group of musicians.
Do You Hear The Music? 