3rd and counting

Outside Lands was my 3^rd festival since April; it was my 3^rd music festival ever. I immensely enjoyed my time.

2 days and 5 stages in Golden Gate Park in San Fran where all the free thinkers and clouded thinkers roam.

Music

Art

Food

Wine

Festival.

We were surrounded by tall trees and walking, dancing, sitting in green grassy fields. The sun was shining, which is unusual for San Francisco even in August when the rest of the country is in the middle of a heat wave. It was warm and the day was bright and everybody had the loving feeling.

The first day was not as big as the second day, in the amount of people there. No lines, just awesome people. I went with Fred and three of our guy friends from San Diego, it was so much fun, I felt like I had four guys looking after me and just having a good time. We went straight for the food tents. About 30 local restaurants had booths at Outside Lands and they were outstandingly delicious. Fred got a Philly cheese steak with really good seasoned meat and lots of it. I got garlic mashed potatoes and barbequed chicken with some tangy Asian sauce. The first act we saw was PRETTY LIGHTS!

We are in the middle of a music revolution. Like in the late 60’s with Jimi and the Woodstock generation. Techno is taken to a different place, where electro is combined with soft hip-hop beats that hit you hard and oh so good. Dub step is a new type of music. Pretty Lights is a man that makes new sounds, sounds never sounded so good.

Then we went to the other stage to see Gogol Bordello. If you haven’t heard of them I wouldn’t be surprised. They play gypsy, Russian, folk, good big ol Russian wedding music. They are so energetic on stage and festive. The lead singer is a skinny mid aged guy with long black hair and a clearly European face. He referred to his Fiddle/electrical violinists as “the king of Russian rock and roll.” Look up “Start wearing purple” by Gogol Bordello on YouTube, when they played that song my mind went into complete festival mode.

Then we went to Bassnectar. He did awesome except for a sound problem. After that we went to the Heineken tent. We all got beers then followed the tent hallway to a rave, basically. Rave music and lights being projected off the ceiling and everything was dark blue. It was a fun time. Then we went to a small stage to hear Beats Antique. They are super chill beats with a twist. I was on my feet the whole time. Then it got very cold and I turned into a pussy. After it got dark we went to watch the Strokes. Not only did they play very well they had awesome red light bulbs on their set. It was spectacular to see especially at night, the contrast between the dark from the outside and the lights from the stage.

The first day was great. It was energetic and exciting. I had a blast with Fred and the boys and met some great people. The people set the festival environment. Of course everyone is awesome at a music festival.

You don’t camp at this festival. The park closes at 10 every day so the festival was done around 9 30. I went to stay with my old roommate from ballet school on Washington st. while Fred and the boys went to the Pretty Lights after show at the Independent. They said it was beyond words, he did a mash up of Biggies Juicy and Empire State of Mind for the chorus. They were dead the next day. My body shut down when I came home and even though I slept on the floor it was such a good sleep.

The next day had way more people than the first day. Even though it was more crowded I didn’t feel uncomfortable or cramped. That is an important aspect of music festivals for me, the comfort of not being over populated and too big and having it in a nice comfortable grassy place. Again, the second day was shiny and great. The Devil Makes Three blew me away as well as all my friends and the crowd. There are three musicians that make up this high energy, southern folksy band. They all play in unison, each as fast as the next so they are more in sync. It was real knee slapping, skipping type of fun music, true happy festival tunes. “Black Irish” is an outstanding jam.

What sold me on the music aspect of the festival was that Al Greene was performing. After The Devil Makes Three, Fred and I got some food and went straight to get a good spot for Al Greene. We got up close to the stage, we went about an hour early. We got to our spot in the midst of people and sat down. Met some friends and jointed it up. Al Greene was awesome, quite possibly one of the best, funkiest performances that moved me.. He broke out into random dances and really felt the music. He wore a black suit and at one point took of his jacket and threw it on the floor and went into a groove.

Then we went to Slightly Stoopid. As always, they were great and music as chill and irie as ever. Big surprise when Del Tha Funky Homosapien came on. It raised my blood and my voice.

Aterciopelados is a band from Colombia. Nice beats and good to jam to.

Nas and Damien Marley put on a good ass performance. Nas did this freestyle that kept going and going and he was flowing and owning that stage. “Welcome to Jamrock was a huge hit and set everyone off, as usual.

The last thing we saw was Kings of Leon. Again it was nighttime and they had superb lights on their stage. They sang a cover of the

Pixies “where is my mind?” and “sex on fire.”

It was a great festival. Just enough people, good food, great environment. Cool looking statues and a cool Rasta man made out of balloons. I enjoyed myself. More festivals give me more ideas of what I want in my own music festival, coming soon one day.