Outsidelands, Sunday: Sights And Sounds

OUTSIDELANDS (day three)

GOLDEN GATE PARK, SF

10 AUGUST, 2014

Another successful year of Outsidelands is on the books, and we made it up for Sunday, spending the day with friends new and old in the comfy confines of Golden Gate Park.While the overall multi-day lineup spoke more to the conformity of today's big festivals, we managed to carve an enlightening path through the day, starting with Jonathan Wilson, from LA. He's spent a few years behind the scenes playing and producing, but two albums in, is making his mark. Woods, fresh off hosting their own festival, journeyed up Highway One to Golden Gate Park, using the meadow to the advantage of their soaring sound, doling out generous portions of their most recent LP, With Light And Love, and dropping in an obscure early Pink Floyd cover for good measure.
Moving over to the Panhandle Stage, the big discovery of the day was North Carolina's Hiss Golden Messenger, who have joined forces with Merge Records for their brand new LP, Lateness Of Dancers. M.C. Taylor made for a compelling front person, a small horn section was a most welcome bonus, and I very much look forward to diving into this record. Next up was Courtney Barnett, who didn't seem any the worse for wear after journeying up from their last stop in Pioneertown. Perhaps sensing their tour's finishing line, started with a stomping take on "David" and never looked back, once again backloading "Avant Gardener" and "History Eraser" in the set to maximum impact.
Having the fortune to see Spoon in a record store during the past week was the mother of all outliers. Returning to their natural state, they rocked the main stage, unleashing the new songs from They Want My Soul, and sneaking in enough older material to keep the crowd on their toes. From there the day dissolved into catching up with friends amidst the frenzied backdrop of a typically psychotic Flaming Lips set, nosing around Beerlands, Winelands, and the Food Truck rodeo, as well as a full on excursion into Chocolands. Ranger Dave, our hat is tipped for another fine year.

JONATHAN WILSON

WOODS

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER

COURTNEY BARNETT

SPOON

OUTSIDELANDS 

members of Lucius watching Woods...

Flaming Lips on the main stage

Flaming Lips break out Rover...

All Dogs Go To...Oakland: Live At 1234Go! Records

ALL DOGS

1234GO! RECORDS

OAKLAND, CA

09 AUGUST, 2014

When we stop to look back, this space in time will live on in infamy as: "The Week Of No Effing Around". Starting in Orange County, the trail wound up to Big Sur, down to LA, over to Joshua Tree, and now up to the Bay Area. Which is to say, a hyper-compressed version of the year. The timing of the Desert to the Bay run was fortuitous, landing me in Oakland with time to spare Saturday evening to check in on Columbus, Ohio's All Dogs, fresh from an appearance in LA days before.
1234Go! Records is both a shop and a label, keeping things punk in the Bay Area, and well worth a trip over the bridge if you're visiting SF. It only took 10 minutes shopping to make a convert of me. They've recently expanded, and their performance area was, for a record store, well laid out, with a good sound mix. Furious promoters of all ages shows, a quick peek at their impressive event schedule will give you an idea of how they do business.
As part of a four band bill, All Dogs once again occupied the third slot, and the space quickly filled as they set up. Once again, they were the perfect mix of bittersweet personal songs pinned to tunes given to dynamic shifts, every song an emotional rollercoaster, and it was sweet to see people singing every word back at them. Two choice outtakes below sum up the proceedings..."Farm" from Split Tape With Slouch opened with ringing chords, a burst of feedback that didn't faze the band, and when they kicked in, the song took off skywards. Having seen the impact of the live version of "Say" on the audience in LA, I made a point to have my head in the game, and won't waste words on it, simply a must see, and encapsulates all the virtues of the band in one neat little package. Simply, one of my favorite bands at the moment, and recording on a new LP is taking place. Yay! From here, All Dogs crossed the Bay to SF for a show the next night, then wound their way home to the Midwest for a well earned break.