Catching up with the craziest of months...this is the second of three festivals in that span. Golden Gate Park in San Francisco proved to be a stellar place for Outsidelands-lots of grass and trees, plenty of room, and no fear whatsoever of that overwhelming Coachella sunshine sneaking out and biting you.
Fog was the word for day one, with the sun never really gaining purchase throughout the day, rendering sunglasses as a needless affectation. The setup was four stages, with two tents interspersed, covering a nice chunk of real estate. Unlike the more compact Coachella setup, this one demanded a lot of hiking if your tastes were random. The plus side was the lack of noise bleed between the stages-a major consideration when one is booking Metallica and Sigur Ros to overlap. Being San Francisco, the food was top notch, the best the Bay Area has to offer, and firmly above any other fest i've attended. Vendors were scattered throughout, and the wooded trail between the two largest stages was dubbed Chocoland! (Cue Homer Simpson drooling...) With Winelands and Beerlands both in effect, it really took the entire weekend to get to the bottom of things.
Friday was high intensity, and made for a lot of mileage roaming stage to stage. White Denim was a nice noisy way to start the weekend, and if day one had a predominant theme, for me it was Brass, and lots of it. From the seminal New Orleans outfit, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, to NYC's Afro-fusion heavyweights, Antibalas to L.A.'s Fitz and the Tantrums, there were horns every which way. Early on, Sharon Van Etten gave a set that would stand up with anyone by the end of the festival, alternating hushed confessionals and flat out rockers. Two Gallants got a rousing reception from their hometown crowd, and taking the opportunity to throw out chunks of their brand new LP. Tennis sparked some warmth from the depths of their down coats, and The Walkmen kept the faith with a large crowd at the Sutro Stage.
Afternoon found the main stage littered with acts that could have headlined the day, such was the abundance of talent on opening day. Both Beck and the Foo Fighters could have headlined the day, if not for Neil Young and Crazy Horse at the top of the bill. Beck brought one of the day's more touching moments, recalling that his first time at Golden Gate Park was brought about by Adam (MCA) Yauch of the Beastie Boys, who tapped Beck for a spot in the Tibetan Freedom concert. Beck then dedicated "Lost Cause" to MCA, and went on to cover Neil's "After The Gold Rush". Foo Fighters provided rock and roll bridge to the evening, cutting through the looming fog with an intense set. Justice siphoned off the hipsters for late night dancing fun, but center stage belonged to Neil Young, together again with Crazy Horse, and they wasted no time in upholding the tradition of doing whatever the hell Neil felt like. Opening with an extended "Love And Only Love" from Ragged Glory, the Horse took control, and Neil didn't even hit the first verse until eight minutes in. After scaring off the lightweights, he dove into a searing version of "Powderfinger", a highlight of the set. He also made room for songs from an upcoming album with Crazy Horse, due in October. Knowing his audience, the perfect closer was "Roll Another Number". And with that, Outsidelands was off to an auspicious start.
After a few quiet years, with more time seemingly spent behind the boards than in front of them, 2012 appears to be the year Beck returns to the spotlight. Having just wrapped up recording a new LP in Nashville that will hopefully see the light of day later in the year, Beck's appearance at the Santa Barbara Bowl was something of a mystery timing-wise.
Upon entry to the Bowl, all became clear with seeing the posted signs noting that filming would be taking place, as well as the huge boom camera over the pit, and stage camera placements. Apparently Giovanni Ribisi is helming the project-it will be interesting to see what final form it takes. During the set, a camera equipped helicopter made the rounds, much to the chagrin of the neighbors.
The night certainly played out as an event; Beck set off mass delirium in the pit by opening with "Loser", and it was off to the races from there. After charging through "Black Tambourine", he revealed the reason for this gathering, noting it as having the band from Sea Change back with him for the first time in many years. They proceeded to essay luminous takes on songs from that LP, the bittersweetness of which fit the spring night at the Bowl perfectly. Smokey Hormel was present on guitar, and served as a welcome fulcrum for the evening. Also, Roger Manning and Justin Meldal-Johnsen (pictured above) were on hand, on keyboards and bass, respectively.
As the show progressed, Beck moved throughout his songbook, touching on his most recent, Modern Guilt, and getting a rapturous response for a trio of tracks from Odelay!, "Devil's Haircut", "Where It's At", and "New Pollution".
Capping off the night was "E-Pro", from Guero, that featured his son Cosimo coming out to bust some moves. The night underscored Beck up to this point, and as always, it will be fascinating to see where he heads next.
(video courtesy of Justin Wagner, who hit the YouTube lottery with Pitchfork picking up this clip, currently over 42K views!)
Opening the evening at the appointed hour, Devendra Banhart strolled onto the stage, plopped down into a chair, and proceeded to weave his spells. He was joined after one song by his band, and their 'South American meets Laurel Canyon' vibe was the perfect tone setter for the evening, as the Bowl slowly filled up. He was unfazed by the talkers, and closed the set strongly. It will be nice to catch him on his own turf at some point.
Looking forward, Beck also has a new 45 out this week on Jack White's Third Man Records, "I Just Started Hating Some People Today" b/w "Blue Randy".
