Outside Lands 2010

Who: VN Associate Editor Liz Miller and VN Editorial Assistant Brooke Still

What: Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival

Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.

When: August 14-15, 2010

Why: Because nothing says summer like live music, outdoor dancing, and free vegan beer.

The Scoop: San Francisco might not have the same sun-kissed summers as Chicago or Austin, but that doesn't mean SF's answer to the summer music festival is left out in the cold. Depending how you view it, in 2010, the third-annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival got a facelift: The festival was cut from three days to two, and the lineup included a more eclectic set of musicians. While the 2009 festival featured mainstream names including Tom Jones, Jason Mraz, Pearl Jam, Incubus, Lucinda Williams, and Dave Matthews Band, the 2010 line-up was significantly dialed-down, with a shorter list of heavy-weight headliners such as The Strokes, My Morning Jacket, Gogol Bordello, and Phoenix, decidedly skewing more indie-rock than soft-rock.

Brooke and I couldn't wait to take in the sights and sounds of some of our favorite acts. We arrived on Saturday just in time to catch the end of Electric Six's high-energy set, and then went in search of lunch. With tons of veggie options to choose from, we felt slightly overwhelmed, but finally settled on moderately priced veggie burgers—with two sides of free curly fries courtesy of the generous concessions man. Score! After mowing down our festival fare, we trekked over to the main stage to see self-described "gypsy punk" group Gogol Bordello tear it up with their raw, revivalistic blend of multi-national music, incorporating influences ranging from Eastern European-inspired accordion to Ecuadorian rap riffs.

A tattooed stranger fist-pumping during Gogol Bordello

After Gogol Bordello we crossed the field to the Sutro stage, where Bassnectar had just begun to spin his signature, soul-thumping sounds. Somewhere between Lil Wayne synths and his big beat "Seek and Destroy" remix we remembered why summer music festivals are awesome: kids with no rhythm shamelessly dancing in public at 3pm. It was fantastic. As Bassnectar wrapped up, we headed back to the main stage for indie darlings—and Brooke's favorite act of the day—My Morning Jacket. Their unmistakable melodic, crowd-swaying songs were just what we needed after Bassnectar's danceable set, and MMJ didn't disappoint, playing all of our favorites, closing with their classic from It Still Moves, "One Big Holiday."

My Morning Jacket rocks out

With our minds sufficiently blown by MMJ's powerful performance, we staggered across the field yet again to watch Wolfmother bring metal to the day's overall electric mix of music. We're not sure if it was the driving metal chords or the six hours between meals, but near the end of Wolfmother's set, our stomachs were definitely rumbling. We figured this was the perfect time to head over to the Chase Freedom Lounge, where our press passes (hey, that's the name of this blog!) allowed us to enjoy free dinner and drinks. On top of complimentary wine tasting and snacks, we enjoyed free beer and a vegan-friendly buffet.

Brooke enjoying the free vegan skewers and ale

Yes, it was a buffet situation, but a classy one nonetheless, offering vegan jasmine-coconut rice, salad, and marinated veggie skewers. Then, as hippie-children relived their youth to the sounds of Further at the main stage, we relived our own bygone 15-year-old fandom by dancing to Saturday's other closing act, The Strokes. Publicity was buzzing around the band's performance at Outside Lands, as it marks their first touring summer in four years, and the second of three stateside shows before finishing their forth album later this year. From Is This It early hits "Last Nite" and "Someday" to sophomore album favorites such as "I Can't Win," the set was full of the band's effortlessly catchy classics. After the band exited the stage, we filed out of the park, heading for home and some much-earned rest and relaxation. Definitely not to stalk The Strokes tour bus, whatever the papers might have said.

Power to the Peaceful

Who: VN Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Joseph Connelly

What: 11th Annual Power to the Peaceful Festival

Where: Speedway Meadow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.

When: September 12, 2009

Why: Michael Franti & Spearhead plus Alanis Morissette

The Scoop: Five a.m. thunderclaps threatened to put a damper on Michael Franti's annual Power to the Peaceful love fest in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, due to kickoff at 9:00 a.m. with a two-hour "1,000 Yogis for Peace" morning yoga practice. Maybe 1,000 yogis didn't show, and maybe it did rain a little, but the weather wasn't going to stop this 11th annual tradition that pre-dates yet coincides with 9/11 and which has grown into a call for world peace on the weekend closest to the 2001 tragedy.

PTTP epitomizes San Francisco, as one speaker told the assembled. Where else can you wander into an urban park on a Saturday and stumble across a free concert with top-shelf talent, displays of art, a healing sanctuary, zones for kids, booths for environmental and social justice organizations, and vendors selling eco-products? Oh, and 70,000 close-knit friends.

Power to the Peaceful, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (9/12/09)

After sets by politico hip-hop artist Truth Universal, San Francisco poet Sellassie, Malinese guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, and the powerful vocalist Cherine Anderson (see her before she hits the big time), sultry songstress Alanis Morissette took the stage. The reportedly newly vegan Morissette, looking happy and healthy, delivered a hits-filled acoustic set that pleased all.

Alanis Morissette in San Francisco

The final act of the afternoon was, of course, Michael Franti & Spearhead, complete with the legendary Sly & Robbie rhythm section and Anderson on supporting vocals. The band was on, which may or may not have had something to do with the sweet smoke filling the air or Morissette's recurring guest star role on Showtime's Weeds. It's all just coincidence. To be honest, there seemed to be more of the herb at the Outside Lands Festival two weeks prior, but then again, who's token?

Franti obviously lives for this weekend (though his tour bus arrived in the early hours of Saturday he was still spotted at the morning yoga session). And he should. The festival he has created has now reached that stage where it is an annual San Francisco tradition, and much better than most of them. In his trademark bare feet he prowled the stage with more energy than anyone should be allowed to have, filling the gaps between songs with stories of his recent appendectomy and how he wrote his current hit song, "Say Hey (I Love You)," while in Woody Harrelson's bathroom. "Woody only has one medicine in his cabinet," confessed Franti, to a roaring crowd.

Michael Franti closes the Power to the Peaceful Festival

Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival

Who: VN Publisher Joseph Connelly, VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig
What: Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.
When: August 28–30, 2009
Why: Think Woodstock. Without the mud or nudity.

The Scoop: The East Coast might have its All Points West Music & Arts Festival, but, you know, it’s in New Jersey. Year Two of San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, which I’m trade marking as All Points East™, might be 3,000 miles from the birthplace of the three-day, any-kind-of-band-goes fest. That’s OK. Since it is held in August—the same month Woodstock took place—and within shouting distance of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, I think it only fair that we take back what rightfully should have been the City by the Bay’s all along. Forget Coachella, Bonnaroo, or any of those other posers. San Francisco now owns the multi-stage mega-concert. There’s no competition.

Where else can you enjoy a beautiful, outdoor, mild-weathered, perfectly organized production all within a major city’s limits? No desert storms, no off-the-beaten path drives, plenty of toilets, great food, social consciousness, seven stages, and no need to camp. Leave the park at night, come back the next day. And why not, as many of the bands play after-hours “night shows” at local venues?

The three day line-up had something for everyone, in no particular alphabetical order: Band of Horses, Black Eyed Peas, Incubus, M.I.A., Dave Matthews Band, The Mars Volta, Mastodon, Modest Mouse, Jason Mraz, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Pearl Jam, Q-Tip, Silversun Pickups, TV on the Radio, Tenacious D, Ween, Lucinda Williams, even Tom Jones—yes, that Tom Jones, who rocked the house lawn like nobody’s business. At nearly 70, Tom not only still has it, he could teach a few of the younger kids a move or two. And thankfully, bless the gods, Tom’s pants aren’t as tight.

He's not unusual: Tom the Bomb.

We attended all three days of the festival, watched a combined 16 shows, got plenty of exercise and Vitamin D, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves to the point that we couldn’t believe this was “work.” Our dual mission: scope out the veg-friendly artists, which included Jason Mraz and Conor Oberst, and spy on the eco-efforts of the exhibits, to make sure they were as billed. “Whether it was Jack Black making love to the crowd, or the groovy beats of Jason Mraz, there was something for everyone at the Festival,” including free Heineken in the press tent, says a happy Lyndsay Orwig, VN’s office manager. “I was pleased to see many of my favorite bands, who played both old and new songs, and kept a smile on my face the entire weekend. I am hooked, and will be going back next year.”

"I'm Yours": VN's Lyndsay Orwig checks out Jason Mraz

Mraz and Oberst gave impassioned performances, while Lydia’s Organics, our friends from Sambazon, and Whole Foods Market were among the food vendors that catered to those on the lower end of the food chain. While there was plenty of dead stuff being sold, veg options were available— we could even get kombucha on tap.

Lydia's Serves up raw vegan chow...

...while Whole Foods offers Kombucha on tap.

The environmental efforts were stellar, with ample recycling and composting stations, solar power stations (one stage was powered by the sun), and a slew of fine exhibits, including Toyota’s Prius, Garden for the Environment, and the TRASHed Recycling Store. Life is good.

Now, if I could only get Tom Jones’ “Sex Bomb” out of my head...