Ahhh, summer. What better time is there to put on your strangest clothes get out to the nearest park, desert, or fairgrounds for a festival of cool tunes, lovely weather, and all kinds of interesting food, wine, and beer choices? It’s one of my favorite things of the season, and this year I was invited to attend San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival for the first time.
Because I live in Napa, I didn’t want to try to “commute” via rail, ferry, or bus. I opted to drive in daily and take my chances with parking. No small feat, as I’d been warned, but ultimately it was the best choice for me. The first day proved the trickiest because I had to park somewhat near the box office entrance, on the opposite side of Golden Gate Park from where I’d enter/exit all other times. It took me, sadly, two whole hours to park, so I missed most of Chromeo’s set, arriving inside just as they played the only song I know, their current hit “Jealous.” On the other hand, it made for a light day, giving me only two acts to see that evening. I came in during Kacey Musgraves’ lovely set, found Bacon Bacon and headed over to the Lands’ End stage with an “LGBT” – a delectable sandwich of lettuce, goat cheese, bacon and tomato.
Disclosure
Prior to this weekend, all I really knew of Disclosure was their hit “Latch” featuring Sam Smith, which is admittedly addictive. Though it was definitely the highlight of the band’s energy-filled set, it’s now several days later and I still have “When a Fire Starts to Burn” stuck in my head. Though I didn’t have much expectations at all, Disclosure is now on my radar and in my iTunes where they belong. “I think this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever seen in our lives!” one of them remarked in awe. While I’m sure it’s true that it’s the first time they’ve played for an audience of that magnitude, I don’t expect it’ll be their last.
Kanye West
Oh, Kanye. I really wanted to enjoy your set. I really wanted you to make it worth my while. I wanted it to have made me elated to have skipped the joy that is Arctic Monkeys for a mind-blowing, Yeezy-redeeming set full of amazingness. And yet… here we are. As you might expect, Mr. West’s set began before a massive, rowdy crowd. At first it was hard to focus on his face, because it appeared that he had a beanie or some kind of mask over his face. I watched the screens to be sure, and then realized what I was seeing: he was wearing a white hood, covered in diamonds (or something similarly sparkly), that was sewn into the neck of his shirt. In other words, it wasn’t coming off. There’s a reason superhero movies always show you the hero’s face at least once, folks: so that you have something to relate to. Not only did ‘Ye not ever give us that, I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who realized that it would’ve been theoretically possible for someone other than Kanye to have performed the set in its entirety. Do I think it was really Kanye? Yes, but that’s beside the point. His set was erratic, jumping around from song to song and then back again. While I appreciate that he gave me more of the older stuff I enjoy (the first 3.5 albums, specifically), it just wasn’t enough to give me anything close to the satisfaction I felt after I saw him last. (The first and only other time I’ve ever seen him live, back on his Glow in the Dark Tour back in 2008.)
Aside from giving wife Kim Kardashian a shout out to wherever she stood in a VIP section, Kanye’s set was lean on the mini-rants for which he’s so well known. Nothing especially crazy was said, but one thing I overheard multiple groups of people discussing well into the next day was the comment that “at the Yeezy show, everyone is a star, cause I promote self-confidence. If you’re a fan of Kanye, you’re really just a fan of yourself!” I’m not sure I follow the logic, but I definitely agree that Kanye is, first and foremost, his own biggest fan. Oh, and he also announced, “Kanye wants you to tell your kids about this night!” What exactly should we tell them, Mr. West? I wondered as I watched the crowd steadily hemorrhage people throughout the entire set. Thanks for “Bound 2” and “Heartless,” which I love, but otherwise, Kanye was forgettable at best and quite frankly regrettable. Next time I’d opt for Arctic Monkeys without a moment’s hesitation, and that’s all there is left to say.
To be honest, the highlight of the Kanye experience for me was when I abandoned the crowd altogether, listening from the perimeter instead, wandering over to il Cane Rosso for some griddled french toast with maple salted caramel and whipped cream. Now that made Kanye’s weak-sauce performance go down much more easily! At any rate, there was more fun to be had in the coming <a href=”
days…
(Parts of this review originally published by Spinning Platters – thanks for sharing!)
