Classixx – Showbams

SF Show of the Week // GO4FREE to XXYYXX’s secret show 8/12 (SAT)

August 9, 2017 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

XXYYXX (Live) with Elderbrook (Live), DJ Pierre //
Secret Location – San Francisco
August 12th, 2017 //

At just 21 years old, Marcel Everett is a prominent record producer and electronic musician who records and performs under the name XXYYXX. Growing up in Orlando, he began his career at 13, eventually finding himself deeply experimenting with electronic music.

Influenced by Lapalux, Star Slinger and Disclosure, Everett engrossed himself in creating his own crisp, experimental-bass sound and started building a following through his remixes of Usher, Future and Tinashe. His big break came back in 2013, when his single “Pay Attention” exceeded 1 million plays on Bandcamp. That same year, he headlined Noise Pop and put out “What We Want” on the “Grand Theft Auto V” soundtrack to further his career.

Everett has spent the majority of this past year touring as well as playing large-scale music festivals like HARD Summer, Mysteryland USA and Ancient Future. In 2016, he was credited for working on Torey Lanez’s single “Flex” that appeared on rapper/singer’s debut LP I Told You. XXYYXX’s hottest tracks include “About You”, “Fields” and “DMT”.

This Saturday, you can catch XXYYXX perform live at an undisclosed location in the Bay Area after UK producer ElderBrook and Chicago’s very own DJ Pierre take the stage at an unofficial all-night Outside Lands 2017 after party. A limited number of tickets are still available for $20, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Follow Showbams on Twitter for more contest giveaways throughout the week. Be the first to respond to our contest tweets to GO4FREE to these shows:

• Classixx: August 11th (FRI) @ Mezzanine
• A-Trak & Chromeo‘s David Macklovitch: August 11th (FRI) @ 1015 Folsom

Enter your name (First and Last) along with your email below. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

CONTEST CLOSED.

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 1015 Folsom, A-Trak, Chromeo, Classixx, Elderbrook, Mezzanine, Xxyyxx

SF Show of the Week // GO4FREE to Classixx (DJ set) at Mezzanine 5/28 (SAT)

May 25, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Written by Nik Crossman //

Classixx with Satin Jackets, California Casual //
Mezzanine – San Francisco
May 28th, 2016 //

With their influences ranging from old-school R&B to Paul Simon, the DJ duo made up of Kyle Blake and Michael David got their stage name Classixx from a shared appreciation for classic compilations of different music.

These childhood friends from Los Angeles separated after high school when Blake pursued his own music career touring as a bassist while David attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music. In 2005, Blake left his band and David dropped out of school to begin making music together under the moniker Classixx and quickly became a prominent part of LA’s modern electronic movement.

With their blend of disco, funk, house and indie rock, Classixx were a welcomed change from the high-tuned electro sounds that were dominating the EDM scene at the time. Their remixes quickly gained praise from Pitchfork, who wrote how the duo gave Phoenix’s “Lisztomania” a “gorgeously pillowy synth-disco framework,” while the Los Angeles Times called their work “pure disco cotton candy.”

This Saturday, two more electronic music duos — Satin Jackets and California Casual — will set the stage in SF before Classixx share an exceptionally smooth evening of funk, new wave and disco tunes with the audience at Mezzanine. Tickets are available for $25, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Follow Showbams on Twitter for more contest giveaways throughout the week. Be the first to respond to our contest tweets to GO4FREE to these shows:

• Refused: May 26th (THUR) @ The Fillmore
• Big Black Delta: May 26th (THUR) @ Great American Music Hall
• Son Little: May 26th (THUR) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
• Particle: May 26th (THUR) @ The Chapel
• Loudpvck: May 27th (FRI) @ 1015 Folsom
• Travis Hayes: May 27th (FRI) @ Great American Music Hall
• Moving Units: May 28th (SAT) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
• Ginuwine: May 29th (SUN) @ Mezzanine

Enter your name (First and Last) along with your email below. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

CONTEST CLOSED.

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 1015 Folsom, Big Black Delta, Brick & Mortar Music Hall, California Casual, Classixx, Ginuwine, Great American Music Hall, Loudpvck, Mezzanine, Moving Units, Particle, Refused, Satin Jackets, Son Little, The Chapel, The Fillmore, Travis Hayes

FYF Fest drops 2016 lineup, led by Kendrick Lamar, LCD Soundsystem, Tame Impala & Grace Jones

March 29, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

FYF Fest //
Exposition Park – Los Angeles
August 27th-28th, 2016 //

If you thought Kanye West and Morrissey were big gets for FYF last year, the two-day music festival is going even bigger in 2016.

Led by headliners Kendrick Lamar, LCD Soundsystem, Tame Impala and Grace Jones, the lineup for the 13th annual FYF Fest is jam-packed from top to bottom.

The rest of the bill includes performances from Air, Beach House, Anohni, Grimes, Hot Chip, Father John Misty, Explosions in the Sky, Rae Sremmurd, Blood Orange, Young Thug, Moby (DJ set), Saves the Day, Vince Staples, Wolf Parade, Shellac, Todd Terje & the Olsens, Charles Bradley, Ty Segall & the Muggers, Junior Boys, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Jagwar Ma, The Black Lips, Peter Bjorn and John, DIIV, Chelsea Wolfe, Kelela, Bicep, Wild Nothing, Floating Points, Gold Panda, Corbin, Hop Along, Viet Cong, Oneohtrix Point Never, Julia Holter and more at Exposition Park near downtown LA.

UPDATE: FYF has added slacker-rock king Mac DeMarco, LA electronic duo CLASSIXX and Banks & Steelz, a new collaboration featuring Interpol frontman Paul Banks and Wu Tang original member RZA, to its already stacked 2016 lineup more than two and a half months after dropping the festival’s initial bill.

Founded by Sean Carlson back in 2004 and produced in association with LA concert promoter Goldenvoice, FYF will sell weekend passes for $199, with single-day passes also available for $125 and weekend VIP passes available for $339. Tickets can be purchased starting this Friday, April 1st at 12 p.m. here.

Excited for FYF now? Make sure to check out our coverage from 2015 here.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Air, Alex G, Andy Stott, Banks & Steelz, Beach House, Bicep, Blood Orange, Boogie, Charles Bradley & his Extraordinaires, Chelsea Wolfe, Classixx, Corbin, Corbin fka Spooky Black, Denzel Curry, DIIV, Explosions in the Sky, Father John Misty, Floating Points, FYF 2016, FYF Fest, FYF Fest 2016, Gerd Janson, Gold Panda, Grace Jones, Grimes, Head Wound City, Honey Soundsystem, Hop Along, Hot Chip, Interpol, Jagwar Ma, Julia Holter, Julien Baker, Junior Boys, Kamaiyah, Kelela, Kendrick Lamar, LCD Soundsystem, Mac Demarco, Moby (DJ set), Museum of Love, Oneohtrix Point Never, Peter Bjorn and John, Rae Sremmurd, RZA, Saves the Day, Sheer Mag, Shellac, Tame Impala, The Black Lips, The Black Madonna, Todd Terje & The Olsens, Ty Segall & The Muggers, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Viet Cong, Vince Staples, Wild Nothing, Wolf Parade, Young Thug

The 25 best live music acts of 2015

December 28, 2015 by The Bam Team 3 Comments

Around this time last year, we shared our 25 favorite live performers of 2014 after spending the past 12 months covering many excellent bands, musicians and DJs. So, with 2015 almost in the books, we thought we would give the same exercise another try, except this year, we made the call to exclude any artists we named in 2014. What fun would it really be to list them two years in a row anyway?

In the end, it wasn’t an easy task whittling down our list to 25, but some tough decisions had to be made. Those who didn’t make the cut but still deserve to be mentioned here include the following artists and bands (in alphabetical order) who we either covered at their own show and/or at a music festival this year:

AlunaGeorge, Ariel Pink, BADBADNOTGOOD, Bad Religion, Battles, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Big Grams, Billy Idol, Black Lips, The Black Keys, Blonde Redhead, BØRNS, BROODS, Built to Spill, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Chet Faker, Chromeo, City and Colour, Classixx, Cold War Kids, Dâm-Funk, Damien Rice, Death Cab for Cutie, Dengue Fever, Django Django, Dr. Dog, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Failure, The Flaming Lips, Flight Facilities, Goldroom, Glen Hansard, The Glitch Mob, Gorgon City, Holly Herndon, Interpol, Israel Nash, James Bay, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, The Jesus and Mary Chain, JMSN, Jose Gonzalez, Jurassic 5, Kanye West, Kindness, King Tuff, Marina and the Diamonds, Miami Horror, Milky Chance, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, MS MR, Les Sins, Lotus, Natalie Prass, Neon Indian, ODESZA, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear, Penguin Prison, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Purity Ring, Ratatat, Royal Blood, San Fermin, Shlohmo, Slow Magic, SOHN, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, STRFKR, Surfer Blood, Talib Kweli, Tame Impala, Tennis, Toro y Moi, Tycho, Umphrey’s McGee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Vintage Trouble, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, YACHT.

Now, without further ado, The Bam Team presents our 25 favorite live performers of 2015.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2015

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2015:

25. Lord Huron

The audience reacted with just as much enthusiasm during classic Lord Huron tunes as they did in hearing brand-new material, especially during fan favorites like “She Lit a Fire” and back-to-back rockabilly-tinged jams “The World Ender” and “Fool for Love”. At this point, the crowd had not only warmed up to Lord Huron’s infectious stage presence, but also gave into their buoyant vibes as mini dance parties broke out throughout the venue. -Molly Kish, photo by Steve Carlson

24. Puscifer

Maynard James Keenan and friends have established themselves as not just a group of musicians who play songs on stage, but rather an assemblage of entertainers that provide their viewers and fans with something they may not have ever seen before — a true experience. Paying homage to the likes of Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and the glory days of the rock opera, Puscifer have a very special way of combining their music with a stage show that offers so much more than just music. -Scotland Miller, photo by Mike Rosati

23. Viet Cong

Once the appetizer had been digested, Viet Cong were taking the stage and beginning a theme of quirky banter that eased the crowd into the blistering set as opposed to bombardment. Within the first few chords, it was evident that continued time on the road found the band at the peak of perfection. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Diana Cordero

22. Kate Tempest

This decade will likely be known for the death of “genre,” the end of how groups have been contained into categories like R&B or rap since the birth of record labels. And with dance music on the rise, digitized conventions are creeping into pop, rap and indie music on the regular. With music more accessible than ever and for free, listeners are willing to experiment with their auditory material — and amalgamation is the natural result. Tempest represents this change as much or more than anyone as we enter the smack-dab middle of this decade. And that includes Kanye West, Sylvan Esso or Run the Jewels. -Mike Frash, photo by James Nagel

21. Deerhunter

Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox talked about how he decided on the way over to the island that he wouldn’t play many songs, how he took ayahuasca on Saturday night in LA and he was surprised at how reserved the TIMF audience was. He said we were “polite like the Japanese.” Bradford, that’s what we call “respect” — and you’ve earned it. -Mike Frash, photo by Marc Fong

20. Faith No More

It can be hard to know what to expect from a crew like Faith No More and their eccentric, yet prolific members. The entire stage was dressed in white, from the curtains to the amplifiers to the mic stands. Lining the entire length of the stage and any flat surface that would support them were thousands of dollars worth of beautiful, fresh flowers. The abundance of purples and pinks, reds and yellows created a very comfortable and soothing, yet incredibly eerie feeling as to what was about to happen next. Once the setup was complete and the lights dropped, the crowd was let in to the stark contrast that is the weird world of Faith No More. -Scotland Miller, photo by Greg Ramar

19. Sufjan Stevens

Stevens spoke of the need for community in the throes of grief, and the audience ably did their part to help him through this very public grieving process. At the end of the main set, a young woman crashed the stage to offer a bemused Sufjan something (a hug? words of love and encouragement?), and it seemed wholly appropriate, as if the audience needed in some small way to collectively reach out to the man after he bared his soul so openly. -Steve Carlson, photo by Steve Carlson

18. Allen Stone

In many ways, Stone’s ideological stance on technology shapes not only his set as a performer but also his fan base. Watching an Allen Stone show, one can feel certain that all pretenses will be left at the door and those surrounding you will be committing their full attention to the music. Midway through Stone’s set, the venue was completely under his charismatic spell. The audience actively followed the Seattle-born frontman’s lead as he prompted a group participation “2-step” and rolled through crowd favorites from his self-titled LP and latest album Radius. -Molly Kish, photo by Tom Dellinger

17. The Kills

Mosshart, tall and slender, strutted her way through just about all of it, displaying a bravado that exudes both sex and confidence, while Hince handled his axe like a bona fide rock star, eventually playing some slide guitar during the gritty, blues-infused track “Pots and Pans” that got the crowd roaring after it was over. After all, it’s that blues/garage-rock overlap, along with the chemistry exhibited between Mosshart and Hince onstage, that makes The Kills such a captivating rock ‘n’ roll act to see live these days. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

16. The Chemical Brothers

Directly following their dramatic entrance to a recording of Junior Parker’s epic “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the duo kicked off their career-spanning set with crowd favorite “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” from 1999’s Surrender. They launched into a full-blown frenzy from that moment on, and the UK dance legends went hard (no pun intended) throughout the rest of their two-hour performance, debuting live remixes of new material from their 2015 release Born in the Echoes while interspersing nostalgia-inducing EDM classics off their seven previous albums. -Molly Kish, photo by Justin Yee

15. Eagles of Death Metal

EODM have the perfect style as a rock band, one that takes itself just seriously enough. As a whole, they are a hard, fast and tightly-wound production, with their silly lyrics and even sillier frontman bringing a perfect balance to what you want to see at a rock show. Closing with “Speaking in Tongues”, EODM walked off the stage at the Great American Music Hall knowing that they had accomplished what they came to do — to prove that rock ain’t dead. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Mike Rosati

14. Florence + the Machine

Welch lapped around the inside ring of the bowl, stopping briefly at the sound stage. What a cool moment. -James Nagel, photo by James Nagel

13. Sturgill Simpson

Simpson has stage presence, that is without a doubt. The conviction of his voice bolsters his words as he describes a life of highs and lows, trials and tribulations. This was evident on renditions of songs like “Turtles All the Way Down”. If there is a song to capture your attention and convince you of Simpson’s talents as a songwriter, this is one of them. Just like that of his predecessors, he writes music that goes against the grain of popular country music. It may be defined as “outlaw country,” but I personally feel it is music that resonates with a wider audience than that of its counterparts. -Kory Thibeault, photo by Kory Thibeault

12. alt-J

The 2012 Mercury Prize winners echoed a semblance to that of Sigur Rós or Volcano Choir, leaving audience members entranced in a near-altered state while observing the foursome. The biggest fan responses erupted during the band’s singalong favorites “Breezeblocks”, “Fitzpleasure” and their token cover of Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day”. -Molly Kish, photo by Mike Rosati

11. Hot Chip

In recent years, only ever getting the chance to see the outfit in stripped-down DJ sets or as part of side projects/collaborations, the afternoon crowd full of die-hard, nu-disco fans were not disappointed as the UK dance veterans set the polo fields ablaze. Refraining from any slow builders, Hot Chip performed an hour-long set of career-spanning bangers, keeping the crowd moving with hit after hit, that seamlessly blended into one another. The set procured one of the most viral dance party moments of the festival, with the audience spiraling into a collective bliss as it came to a close. -Molly Kish, photo by Josh Herwitt

10. Dan Deacon

One of the toughest things to do in the world of electronic music is to sound organic, to imbue a sense of heart into the digitized nature of ones and zeroes. The Baltimore native accomplishes this through his hilarious and improvisational free-form, stand-up comedy, which thrives on wandering non sequiturs. And he mirrors this by adapting his insane-train of sound to meet and exceed the energy in the room. The “America” suite finished off the show with an extended doom metal quality that gave a sense that no aesthetic boundaries can contain Deacon’s sense of musical exploration. -Mike Frash, photo by Pedro Paredes

9. FKA twigs

British singer-songwriter Tahliah Debrett Barnett, better known as FKA twigs, has been all the rage lately after performing at Coachella in April, and she closed out FYF in style, donning an elaborate burgundy- and gold-colored robe for her Sunday night set. Just the week before, the 27-year-old fiancée of actor/musician Robert Pattinson released her brand-new EP M3LL155X, and with it receiving high marks from a number of music outlets, there were quite a few fans who stuck around after 11:30 p.m. on a “school night” to watch her perform some of them, including the opening track “Figure 8”, “In Time” and “Glass & Patron”. FKA twigs might be one of the most compelling live acts out there right now, and after scheduling Purity Ring to close out The Lawn the night before, FYF seemed to make a point of letting women rule that stage in the late-night hours this year. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

8. Empire of the Sun

As Steele belted out “Alive”, the hit single off the band’s sophomore studio album Ice on the Dune, to close things out, he brought the audience to a transcendent place of exhilaration. Crowd members embraced and danced amongst a like-minded family of people lost in the moment, even if it involved intergalactic creatures dancing in colored smoke and a crowned Emperor playing without his bandmate on stage. EOTS shows are a special kind of magic that regardless of the material’s absurd nature, translate into an experience unlike anything else. -Molly Kish, photo by Steve Carlson

7. My Morning Jacket

Though it was more than understandable to see the band play a large majority of The Waterfall for its first performance at the Santa Barbara Bowl in almost four years, there were plenty of other deep cuts mixed in over the next two hours, from “Bermuda Highway” to “Mahgeetah” to “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2”. After all, it’s no secret that My Morning Jacket have always been good to their most loyal and dedicated fans, and in once again taking song requests as part of their “Spontaneous Curation Series,” they made sure to dig up many of the classics from their seminal album Z, including “Wordless Chorus” and “Off the Record” one after the other in the middle of a loaded, four-song encore. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

6. Jamie xx

Throughout his tour, Smith has refused to compromise his individual style for the sake of appeasing either extreme of his now commercially hybrid audience. Whereas those familiar with his early XL Records mixtapes were satiated by his intermingling of Gil Scott-Heron and Idris Muhammad samples between hits, his newfound post-In Colour fans experienced equally breathtaking moments with the crowd hitting peak energy levels during the encore chorus of “Loud Places” amidst the glow of a warped-speed, neon-green strobe light. Other notable moments included the near-religious choral drop of “Gosh” that escalated the packed house to spiritual levels of enthusiasm, bathed in the glowing sparkle of Smith’s staggeringly iridescent ceiling to floor disco ball and stage lights. -Molly Kish, photo by James Nagel

5. Elton John

The star-spangled legend sat at his majestic piano as the sun went down on Sunday and moved the crowd with his brilliant playing. The adoring audience hung on every word and joined in singing his most popular hits. Walking off stage quickly after his last song, the audience demanded more and Elton happily obliged. With rumors of Lion King songs being played at past performances, some doting fans wanted a second encore to the tune of “Circle of Life”. While he didn’t indulge the Lion King fans, his stellar performance was a perfect ending to an amazing weekend at Outside Lands, leaving everyone’s festival tank full of love. -Nik Crossman, photo by James Nagel

4. Father John Misty

Father John (Sassypants) Misty has his festival game on point, and he has progressed his I Love You, Honeybear songs into epic plateaus since premiering them in the Santa Cruz mountains last February. He spewed banter like an Stephen Colbert-esque contrarian, saying, “Look at these suckers with their hair blowing all over the place.” And as he approached the mic for more improv-snark later on, Tillman paused to say, “Sorry, I have nothing to say. Ha.” FJM was speechless for once, but granted, it might have been set up for “Bored in the USA”, a song that should be considered an American classic at this point. -Mike Frash, photo by Pedro Paredes

3. Kendrick Lamar

As Kendrick Lamar’s incredible performance began to wrap up with his newest single “Alright”, a group of fans in the crowd proceeded to lift someone up in a wheelchair, who, if I recall correctly, was the same guy who had his photo famously taken at Outside Lands in 2013. Kendrick took notice and called him out — his sense of sincere appreciation for a place like the Bay Area was written all over his face. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Marc Fong

2. Caribou

Described by fellow musician Dan Deacon as “one of the most brilliant acts touring right now” just before their set, Caribou lived up to the hype. Starting with “Our Love”, the four-piece band led by Dan Snaith perfectly set the stage for the next hour — a series of tightly wound compositions that, as the song progresses, expand in rhythmic complexity before reaching a climax that will get even the most tired Sunday afternoon crowd moving. Heavily augmenting its live performances from its studio recordings, the band’s live rendition of “Jamelia” in particular was a highlight of the set. Caribou is a band not to be missed. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Justin Yee

1. D’Angelo & The Vanguard

One of the most anticipated sets of the entire weekend was none other than D’Angelo’s — and for good reason. The R&B/neo-soul singer-songwriter hadn’t put out an album in 14 years until he suddenly dropped his 2014 masterpiece Black Messiah last December, so you knew that getting the rare opportunity to see Michael Eugene Archer work a crowd at FYF would be something special. Sounding more like a youthful James Brown than a wannabe Prince (we still don’t totally understand where those comparisons are coming from), D’Angelo and his eight-piece backing band The Vanguard took the audience for a ride as they doled out new and old hits. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

Filed Under: Best of 2015, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: Allen Stone, Alt-J, Bad Religion, Battles, BØRNS, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Best of 2015, Big Grams, Billy Idol, Black Lips, Blonde Redhead, Broods, Built To Spill, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Chet Faker, Chromeo, City and Colour, Classixx, Cold War Kids, D'Angelo, D'Angelo and the Vanguard, dam-funk, Damien Rice, Dan Deacon, Death Cab For Cutie, Deerhunter, Dengue Fever, Django Django, Dr. Dog, Eagles of Death Metal, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Empire of the Sun, Failure, Faith No More, Father John Misty, FKA twigs, Flight Facilities, Florence & the Machine, Glen Hansard, Goldroom, Gorgon City, Holly Herndon, Hot Chip, Interpol, Israel Nash, James Bay, Jamie xx, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, JMSN, Jose Gonzalez, Jurassic 5, Kanye West, Kate Tempest, Kendrick Lamar, Kindness, King Tuff, Les Sins, Lord Huron, Lotus, Marina and the Diamonds, Miami Horror, Milky Chance, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, MS MR, My Morning Jacket, Natalie Prass, Neon Indian, Odesza, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear, Penguin Prison, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Purity Ring, Puscifer, Ratatat, Royal Blood, San Fermin, Shlohmo, Slow Magic, SOHN, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, STRFKR, Sturgill Simpson, Sufjan Stevens, Surfer Blood, Talib Kweli, Tame Impala, Tennis, The Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips, The Glitch Mob, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Kills, Toro Y Moi, Tycho, Umphrey's McGee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Viet Cong, Vintage Trouble, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, YACHT

Outside Lands 2015 highlights: Eight years strong and feeling ‘fantastic’!

August 17, 2015 by The Bam Team 1 Comment

Photos by James Nagel, Marc Fong & Benjamin Wallen // Written by Molly Kish, Nik Crossman & Brett Ruffenach //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 7th-9th, 2015 //

We’re finally putting our lives back together after what was easily the biggest and most raging Outside Lands to date in its eight years. This year, local concert production company Another Planet Entertainment outdid itself on all fronts, bringing the best the Bay Area had to offer to Golden Gate Park. They pulled out all the stops and man, did they deliver!

From the amazing lineup of music, comedy, food and beverage to the near perfect weather and best crowd of characters you could ask for, Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival has officially become a bar-setting force to be reckoned with on the festival circuit. Those lucky enough to attend this year will wholeheartedly agree that the festival has become not only a staple within the Bay Area community, but also a premiere destination for crowds from around the world and one of the fastest growing festival experiences currently in production.

Here’s what stood out to us at Showbams in 2015. What was your standout moment?

TOP SETS:

Artist: Lindsey Stirling
Set date/time: Friday, 3:40-4:30 p.m.
Location: Twin Peaks

Hailing from Gilbert, Ariz., Lindsey Stirling leaped around the Twin Peaks stage on Friday afternoon with violin in hand. Combining classical violin riffs with modern electronic beats, Stirling had the entire crowd dancing alongside while she made use of every inch of the stage. Despite her modesty, Lindsey put the violin down and treated Outside Lands with a rare and beautiful singing performance. Based on the reaction to the violin fairy’s voice, Stirling should be proud to put her strings down from time to time. -NC

Artist: D’Angelo & The Vanguard
Set date/time: Friday, 7:45-9 p.m.
Location: Sutro

“The Black Messiah” made his triumphant return to the Bay Area on Friday evening for a soul-clapping set with a sea of devoted fans. Outside of Karl Denson’s mighty performance on the Twin Peaks stage later on in the weekend, this was one of the few opportunities for funk fans to get down this year — and D’Angelo pulled out all the stops. Mirroring more of a religious revival than a R&B jam session, the sunset spectacle hit the crowd’s Friday night sweet spot. D’Angelo’s silky smooth vocals ushered in all the post-work/late arrivals, crooning out audience favorites from his latest joint “Ain’t That Easy” and “Sugah Daddy”, which book-ended a sultry set. For anyone who missed his sold-out shows at the Fox Theater Oakland earlier this year, the performance served as the perfect redemption amidst a collective of festival fans who all came prepared. -MK

Artist: Angus & Julia Stone
Set date/time: Saturday, 4:20-5:10 p.m.
Location: Sutro

Recently reunited after a few years of time apart, the brother-and-sister duo played a mix of old and new hits at the Sutro stage on Saturday afternoon. Their latest album brings a new sound to their discography and marks a milestone of achievement for the Australian siblings. Anyone with a brother and/or sister can appreciate the banter shared between Angus and Julia on stage. Describing Angus laying in the grass of a park staring at the clouds as inspiration for “Other Things”, Julia poked fun at his peculiar “state of mind.” -NC

Artist: Toro y Moi
Set date/time: Saturday, 5:15-6:05 p.m.
Location: Twin Peaks

Chaz Bundick is almost a great artist. Touring with a new full band as opposed to his typical synth-and-drum-machine combo, the new sound of Toro y Moi is a very nice expansion on their sound. That being said, Toro y Moi seemed to often come up flat when singing throughout the set, leaving more to be desired. I did love the new version of “So Many Details”, though. -BR

Artist: Tame Impala
Set date/time: Saturday, 6:30-7:40 p.m.
Location: Lands End

As the de facto opener for The Black Keys, Tame Impala brought their heavy compositions and trippy visuals to the Lands End stage to the delight of a crowd of young, old, sober and heavily intoxicated folks alike. Tame Impala’s ability to expand on and change up their studio recordings is what makes them the greatest rock band touring right now — breakdowns and glitchy, sonic asides in songs like “Mind Mischief”, “Elephant” and “Apocalypse Dreams” came out of nowhere, creating a wave of awe and amazement in the crowd. They were certainly a highlight of the weekend. -BR

Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Set date/time: Saturday, 8:40-9:55 p.m.
Location: Twin Peaks

Artist: Hot Chip
Set date/time: Sunday, 4:20-5:20 p.m.
Stage: Lands End

An anxious crowd remained at the Lands Ends stage after Nate Reuss’ solo set on Sunday afternoon for an all-too-rare performance from percussion powerhouse Hot Chip. In recent years, only ever getting the chance to see the outfit in stripped-down DJ sets or as part of side projects/collaborations, the afternoon crowd full of die-hard, nu-disco fans were not disappointed as the UK dance veterans set the polo fields ablaze. Refraining from any slow builders, Hot Chip performed an hour-long set of career-spanning bangers, keeping the crowd moving with hit after hit, that seamlessly blended into one another. The set procured one of the most viral dance party moments of the festival, with the audience spiraling into a collective bliss as it came to a close. -MK

Artist: Dan Deacon
Set date/time: Sunday, 5:55-6:35 p.m.
Location: Panhandle

Dan Deacon, everyone’s favorite electronic experimentalist and figurative “adult camp counselor”, was the perfect pick-me-up for a festival-weary crowd between neighboring bass-heavy sets from ODESZA and Caribou. Playing to a crowd partially made up of Deacon enthusiasts and otherwise occupied by enthralled passersby, the one-man spectacle reeled in a sizable audience to the Panhandle stage for a lesson in crowd participation that was rivaled by no other act over the course of the weekend. Excited to see how his live-show magic would translate to a large-scale festival crowd, the audience was equal parts bewildered and attentive as they were beckoned into a storm of peer pressure and oddball antics, maestro-ed by none other than the king of interactive showmanship. The crowd relinquished control of the moment to the man in charge as he orchestrated colorful coordination amongst a sea of noise and frenzied electronica. Needless to say, established fans of Mr. Deacon were pleased while new converts lives were changed on Sunday afternoon. -MK

Artist: Caribou
Set date/time: Sunday, 6:40-7:40 p.m.
Location: Twin Peaks

Artist: Elton John
Set date/time: Sunday, 7:35-9:35 p.m.
Location: Lands End

OUTSIDE LANDS 2015 AWARDS:

Biggest a.m. crowd: Leon Bridges

Best make-out session: Angus & Julia Stone

Biggest equipment malfunction/distraction: St. Vincent’s blown-out sound system

Best stage dive: Mac Demarco (obviously)

Biggest band crush: Tie between Tame Impala and First Aid Kit

Best shirtless appearance: Billy Idol

King and Queen of GastroMagic: Beignets & Bounce Brunch with Big Freedia & Brenda’s Soul Food; Morimoto Karaoke

Best Unofficial Stage: #NoMoFoMo by StubHub

Food & beverage crowd favorites: Berry Lemonade; Ringmaster Doughnut Cheeseburger

Best Avant-Garde Act: Lindsey Stirling

Sexiest Set of the Weekend: D’Angelo & The Vanguard

Best Fairground Change: The Barbary’s relocation

Rowdiest Crowd: Kendrick Lamar

Best Hometown Act: Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke

Best Vocals: St. Paul and The Broken Bones

Best Commitment to the Bit: Mac Sabbath with Richie Nakano

Most buzz-worthy artist: SZA

Best Crowd Participation: Dan Deacon

Biggest DJ Drop: ODESZA

Crowd Favorite DJ: DJ Mustard

Best Cover: Hot Chip’s transition from Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” into an outro snippet of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” to close their set.

Most “Fantastic”: Elton John

Outside Lands 2015 - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Outside Lands 2015 - Alex Bleeker and the Freaks

Outside Lands 2015 - Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

Outside Lands 2015 - D'Angelo & The Vanguard

Outside Lands 2015 - Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, Angus & Julia Stone, Another Planet, Another Planet Entertainment, Benjamin Booker, Bill Kreutzmann, Billy Idol, Caribou, Chet Faker, Classixx, Cold War Kids, D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Dan Deacon, Deltron 3030, Django Django, Elton John, G-Eazy, Giraffage, Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke, Hot Chip, Hundred Waters, James Bay, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Kendrick Lamar, Lindsey Stirling, Mac Sabbath, METZ, Mumford & Sons, Nate Ruess, Odesza, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2015, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2015, Slightly Stoopid, St. Vincent, Strand of Oaks, Tame Impala, The Black Keys, The Family Crest, The Revivalists, Toro Y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Waters, Wilco

Outside Lands Shows of the Week // GO4FREE to The Knocks, Classixx & STRFKR or Karl Denson

August 6, 2015 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Written by Josh Herwitt //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is almost here, and as we mentioned a few weeks ago, the party doesn’t have to stop after the music ends at Golden Gate Park each day. For all of you who want to dance and get your groove on well past midnight, the festival is hosting a number of late-night shows throughout the Bay Area — and Showbams has your tickets to three of the best taking place this weekend.

Win a pair of free tickets to one of our Outside Lands Shows of the Week by entering your name and email below.

The Knocks (DJ set): August 7th (FRI) @ Mezzanine // BUY TICKETS

New York-based producers and electronic music duo The Knocks return to SF after they turned The Independent into a raging house party back in June. And after releasing their latest EP So Classic this year, Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson are coming a knockin’ again. This time, they’ll take their bass-driven, high-energy show to Mezzanine for a DJ set with Cut Snake and The Aston Shuffle also hitting the decks beforehand.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Classixx & STRFKR (DJ sets): August 8th (SAT) @ Mezzanine // BUY TICKETS

Los Angeles electronic music duo Classixx have come a long way since their early beginnings in 2008. After delivering the perfect set at Treasure Island Music Festival last fall, childhood friends Michael David and Tyler Blake have continued to show that they’re on the up and up, putting on an impressive main-stage performance at CRSSD Festival in March. At Mezzanine this Saturday, they’ll be joined by Portland electro-rockers STRFKR, who will play their own DJ set despite being absent from this year’s Outside Lands lineup.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Karl Denson superjam: August 9th (SUN) @ The Independent // BUY TICKETS

Funk/jazz virtuoso Karl Denson has stayed plenty busy over the past year. The San Diego native most recently toured with The Rolling Stones on their “Zip Code” tour and is getting ready to release a new album with his Tiny Universe crew in early 2016. To close out the 2015 edition of Outside Lands, the multi-instrumentalist (saxophone, flute, percussion, vocals) will take over The Independent for a special “superjam” with friends that will be one performance you won’t want to miss this weekend.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Pick the show you would like to attend from the dropdown, then enter your name (First and Last) along with your email. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

CONTEST CLOSED.

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: Classixx, Karl Denson, Karl Denson superjam, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Mezzanine, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2015, Outside Lands Music Festival 2015, Outside Lands night shows, STRFKR, The Independent, The Knocks

Outside Lands 2015: Elton John, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Kendrick Lamar are your headliners

March 24, 2015 by Mike Frash 5 Comments

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 7th-9th, 2015 //

The eighth Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival has unleashed its 2015 lineup, and it’s a winner. At first glance, this looks like the best lineup in the history of the fest.

The headliners are Elton John, Mumford and Sons, The Black Keys, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar & Wilco.

Other notable acts include Tame Impala, D’Angelo and the Vangaurd, St. Vincent, Hot Chip, Caribou, Mac DeMarco, Toro y Moi, Dan Deacon, First Aid Kit, ODESZA, Laura Marling, Sky Ferreria, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Classixx, Leon Bridges, Strand of Oaks, Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke, Natalie Prass, Django Django, Glass Animals, Speedy Ortiz, Shakey Graves, Lake Street Dive, Giraffage, Allah-Las, Benjamin Booker, METZ, DJ Mustard, The Revivalists, Iration, The Devil Makes Three, Twin Peaks, The Family Crest, Alvvays & Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.

Also playing at Outside Lands 2015 are Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Billy Idol, Porter Robinson, G-Easy, Slightly Stoopid, Chet Faker, Misterwives, DJ Mustard, Angus & Julia Stone, Robert DeLong, Ryn Weaver, James Bay, RL Grime, Milky Chance, GIVERS, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, SZA, The Sam Chase, Langhorne Slim & The Law, George Ezra, Fantastic Negrito, Broods, Lindsey Stirling, Nate Ruess, DMA’s, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Devon Baldwin, & The Tropics.

Watch the announcement video at Funny or Die and see the full lineup here.

Get your tickets starting Thursday at 10 a.m.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Allah-Las, Alvvays, Angus & Julia Stone, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Benjamin Booker, Billy Idol, Broods, Caribou, Chet Faker, Classixx, Dan Deacon, D’Angelo and the Vangaurd, Devon Baldwin, DJ Mustard, Django Django, DMA's, Elton John, Fantastic Negrito, First Aid Kit, G-Easy, George Ezra, Giraffage, Givers, Glass Animals, Green Velvet & Claude VonStroke, Hot Chip, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Iration, James Bay, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Kendrick Lamar, Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim & The Law, Laura Marling, Leon Bridges, Lindsey Stirling, Mac Demarco, METZ, Milky Chance, MisterWives, Mumford and Sons, Natalie Prass, Nate Ruess, Odesza, Outside Lands 2015, Porter Robinson, RL Grime, Robert DeLong, Ryn Weaver, Sam Smith, Shakey Graves, Sky Ferreria, Slightly Stoopid, Speedy Ortiz, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, St. Vincent, Strand of Oaks, SZA, Tame Impala, The Black Keys, The Devil Makes Three, The Family Crest, The Revivalists, The Sam Chase, The Tropics, Toro Y Moi, Twin Peaks, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wilco

CRSSD makes a big splash in debut as 2015 festival season heats up

March 19, 2015 by Josh Herwitt 3 Comments

By Josh Herwitt //

CRSSD Festival //
Waterfront Park – San Diego
March 14th-15th, 2015 //

Music festivals rarely ever run smoothly in their inaugural year. Whether they are poorly timed, disorganized or just not well thought-out, first-time festivals often have their fair share of problems.

But Southern California-based event promoters Goldenvoice and FNGRS CRSSD are quickly changing the game after putting on a nearly flawless first edition of CRSSD Festival at San Diego’s Waterfront Park last weekend.

Bridging the gap between the EDM and alternative electronic worlds much like HARD Events founder and CEO Gary Richards has done with his own festival series, the two-day, 21-and-over event initially caught fans’ eyes with electro-rock bands like Empire of the Sun and Chromeo topping an impressive, dance-oriented bill that also included ODESZA, Flight Facilities, Hot Natured, Classixx, Maceo Plex, Justin Martin, Lee Burridge and Pete Tong.

Then, a month later, CRSSD organizers drew even more attention to the festival when they announced Phase II of the lineup, adding James Murphy, Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons and Trippy Turtle to an already stacked list of performers.

And with temperatures hitting the high 80’s on both Saturday and Sunday, CRSSD Festival couldn’t have served as a better warm-up (no pun intended) for Coachella, which, by the way, is only three weeks away.

Here are our awards from the first-ever CRSSD Festival.

Most Epic Set: Empire of the Sun

The Aussie glam-pop giant has been headlining festivals for a while now and continues to do so in epic fashion. Empire of the Sun’s live performance is as much of a spectacle as it is a psychedelic dance party, and when they intertwine the two so fluidly as they did to close out the first day of festivities at CRSSD, they’re able to leave lasting memories for both new and old fans.

Biggest Dance Party: Chromeo

These two childhood friends from Montreal have been igniting dance parties all over the world since dropping their 2004 debut She’s in Control, and while their synthpop sound hasn’t necessarily evolved leaps and bounds over the last decade, they still know how to get a crowd moving, whatever the occasion may be. With the weekend winding down, you could find plenty of festivalgoers all over the grounds grooving to Chromeo’s signature brand of disco funk. We even saw people dancing on their way to the porta potties!

Most Uplifting Set: Classixx

As we found out at Treasure Island Music Festival last fall, LA electronic duo Classixx have come a long way since their early days remixing artists like Phoenix, Mayer Hawthorne and Holy Ghost! Scheduled to play the always-important post-sunset set on the Ocean View Live stage, they stepped up to the challenge and delivered one of the most awe-inspiring shows of the weekend. With their wide range of influences, the sky — especially when it’s tinged orange, red and blue — appears to be the limit for these two beatmakers.

Biggest Surprise: Lido

Quite frankly, we didn’t know anything about Norwegian producer Lido (aka 22-year-old Peder Losnegård) prior to his 4:30 p.m. set on Sunday. Well, maybe we should have. After watching him drop remixes of Bill Withers, The Weeknd and alt-j all while maneuvering between keyboards, electronic drums and a variety of programming equipment, we were thoroughly impressed with this young stud’s skills. Oh, and his pipes aren’t shabby either.

Best Stage Visuals: ODESZA

The Seattle production duo has been on fire of late, and its Sunday night set was easily one of the most anticipated of the weekend thanks to the release of its second full-length album In Return this past September. While “Say My Name” has taken the airwaves by storm over the last few months, it was their stage visuals that really stood out. Artistic and abstract at the same time, you couldn’t help but stare at the huge LED screen directly behind Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight as they worked their magic on us.

Most Enthusiastic Performance: Robert DeLong

Is there a more entertaining live performer in dance music right now than Robert DeLong? Whether he’s singing or banging away ferociously on the drums (his stage setup includes both acoustic and electronic), the 29-year-old Washington state native is one of the most animated acts in electronic music. Fusing house, moombahton and a handful of other EDM sub-genres into his Sunday afternoon slot, he showed an enthusiasm unparalleled to any other artist on the CRSSD lineup.

Best Guest Performance: Flight Facilities

Since their inception in 2009, Australian production duo Flight Facilities have continued to soar by dropping new singles year after year. Exceeding all expectations at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco during Noise Pop 2015, they arrived at CRSSD on Sunday night and didn’t disappoint, employing guest vocalists like Brooke Addamo (aka Owl Eyes) to engage the crowd and supplement their disco-house grooves.

Most Under-Appreciated Set: STRFKR

Portland electronic quartet STRFKR have been going strong for more than eight years now. With four studio albums to their name, Joshua Hodges, Shawn Glassford, Keil Corcoran and Patrick Morris have continued to build on their synth-heavy sound. Unfortunately with DJ Harvey and Thomas Jack playing sets on the festival’s two other stages at the same time, STRFKR’s rather fun and upbeat performance on Saturday went relatively unnoticed.

Sexiest Stage Presence: Goldroom

We unexpectedly caught Goldroom at Lightning in a Bottle a couple years ago, so we were already familiar with Josh Legg’s breezy, chilled-out arrangements. But somehow we did forget how sexy Mereki Beach can be when she takes over the mic, as she strutted her stuff in her shiny kicks midway through Goldroom’s Saturday afternoon set. With Legg getting the live band back together, fans of the LA-based act should be seeing a lot more of Beach.

Most Mysterious Performance: Slow Magic

One of the biggest enigmas in electronic music these days is the man behind a Technicolor wolf mask. While his identity still remains unknown to most, his fans know him best by his stage name Slow Magic (read our review of his SF show from the fall). Though a small, yet passionate crowd assembled for his early-afternoon set on the main stage Sunday, you had to feel for a guy wearing a mask and playing drums in almost 90-degree heat.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: Chromeo, Classixx, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, CRSSD, CRSSD 2015, CRSSD Festival, CRSSD Festival 2015, Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons, Empire of the Sun, Flight Facilities, FNGRS CRSSD, Goldenvoice, Goldroom, James Murphy, Jason Bentley, Justin Martin, Lee Burridge, Lido, Maceo Plex, Pete Tong, Robert DeLong, Slow Magic, STRFKR, Tensnake, Trippy Turtle, Waterfront Park

Five reasons why you won’t want to miss CRSSD

January 12, 2015 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

CRSSD Festival //
Waterfront Park – San Diego
March 14th-15th, 2015 //

Making its debut this spring at San Diego’s Waterfront Park, CRSSD Festival is the newest music festival to call California home.

Los Angeles promoter Goldenvoice and San Diego promoter FNGRS CRSSD have teamed up to assemble an eclectic lineup of electronic talent, one that’s suited for a more sophisticated, mature audience with headliners like Empire of the Sun, Chromeo, Justin Martin, Jamie Jones and more. Simian Mobile Disco, Classixx, ODESZA, STRFKR, Flight Facilities, Breakbot, DJ Harvey, Robert DeLong, Lee Burridge, Pete Tong and Aeroplane are some of the other names rounding out this year’s impressive two-day bill.

With CRSSD serving as a nice warm-up before Coachella in April, here are five other reasons why you’ll want to be in SD for all the festivities.

5. Tickets are going fast

Both early-bird and advance tickets are sold out, and only weekend GA passes, which started at $85 and are now up to $145, are left for purchase at this point. You won’t want to wait until the last minute to buy your pass and risk seeing the festival sell out.

4. There are more than just DJs

Portland-based quartet STRFKR provide an intriguing blend of synthpop and indie pop, while Robert DeLong and Slow Magic employ the one-man-band philosophy when performing live. Trust us, your weekend down south won’t be filled with only a bunch of button pushers.

3. You will definitely dance

With Empire of the Sun and Chromeo leading the way, there’s little chance that you won’t be dancing your ass off by the end of the night. Not to mention, electronica vets Pete Tong and Simian Mobile Disco certainly know how to throw down, too.

2. The location

Overlooking the San Diego Bay, Waterfront Park offers one of the best backdrops you could find for a music festival. Between the sunshine and sweet tunes, it’s sure to feel like mid-summer in mid-March.

1. The music

While the lineup leans heavy on the electronic, there is enough talent from top to bottom to keep you entertained and not overwhelmed over two days. With its laid-back vibes, CRSSD feels like it could be a perfect fit in sunny San Diego.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Aeroplane, Anabel Englund, Bakermat, Big Wild, Bixel Boys, Breakbot, Carmada, Chromeo, Classixx, CRSSD, CRSSD 2015, CRSSD Festival, CRSSD Festival 2015, Danny Daze, DJ Harvey, Empire of the Sun, Flight Facilities, FNGRS CRSSD, Giraffage, Goldenvoice, Goldroom, Hot Natured, Infinity Ink, J. Phlip, Jamie Jones, Jason Bentley, Justin Martin, Klangkarussel, Klatch, Lee Burridge, Lee Foss, Lee K, Maceoplex, MK, NIna Las Vegas, Odesza, Patrick Topping, Pete Tong, Pleasure State, Robert DeLong, Roman Flugel, Sander Kleinenberg, Seth Troxler, Shall Ocin, Simian Mobile Disco, Slow Magic, SNBRN, STRFKR, Swimm, Tensnake, Thomas Jack, Treasure Fingers, Viceroy, Waterfront Park, Wax Motif

The best of Treasure Island Music Festival 2014

October 21, 2014 by Mike Frash 2 Comments

Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash //

Treasure Island Music Festival //
Treasure Island – San Francisco
October 18th-19th, 2014 //

Treasure Island Music Festival 2014 will be remembered for its triumphant headliners along with its embrace of minimalist, finger-snapping electro-pop. Some of the performing acts that have blown up over the past year or so — including Jungle, Zedd, BANKS and Chet Faker — offered relatively tame performances, struggling to elevate their live music experiences. But many other acts gave inspired, breathtaking or insanely fun sets.

Here’s our best (and worst) of TIMF 2014.

Show of the Weekend: Massive Attack

With perhaps the most appropriate name for musical act on the planet, Massive Attack capped Treasure Island Music Festival 2014 in stunning fashion. With a balancing act of bass-infused downtempo brilliance highlighted by Martina Topley-Bird’s singing and industrialized synth-stabbing electronic pieces, a range of emotion is achieved for the listener. With contrasting tempos and a duality of tranquility then intensity, a cause-and-effect narrative starts to take shape — especially when paying attention to the video elements of the intense songs. “United Snakes” left nothing to the imagination with its barrage of corporate logos and national flags. It appeared the expanded duo slipped in one frame of a Ferris wheel, reminding us that yes, us consumers at TIMF, the only U.S. festival Massive Attack played on this tour, are part of the system. “Future Proof” visuals stripped out rows of zeroes and ones, using the simplicity of computer code to inspire multiple paths of thought, especially while absorbing this show in the Bay Area. And Tunde Adebimpe from TV On The Radio joined in for “Pray For Rain” for the grand finale.

Biggest Bay Area Party of the Year: OutKast

It’s almost the end of the biggest reunion tour in decades, and TIMF patrons were lucky enough to witness one of OutKast’s last shows. The Bridge Stage was more packed in than any show in memory, and festivalgoers outwardly had more fun compared to performances from past years. The set was perfectly paced, with André 3000 seemingly having a fun time — an important part of the equation compared to Big Boi’s rock-steady appearances throughout 2014. The guys gave shout-outs to Casual and The Misfits in the “local love” part of the show, and “Roses” (including a half-hearted apology for the “crazy bitch” outro) once again was one of the highlights. The set ended at least 20 minutes before the scheduled end of the day, emptying a large percentage of patrons into the shuttle line at the same time — there were some reports of people not making it back to SF until 2 a.m.

Most Likely to Headline Festivals Very Soon: alt-J

alt-J is no longer a band on the rise, but one of the biggest bands in the world with this just-launched tour in support of the group’s second LP. This hour-long set at TIMF seemed like a coronation of sorts as it was the first festival set the now-quartet has played with new material. The highlights from An Awesome Wave still act as the backbone of the set while the best cuts from This Is All Yours were cherry-picked and sprinkled in perfectly to enhance their already-inspiring live show. “Hunger of the Pine” got things going while “Left Hand Free” worked well, getting away from the heady elements for a bit. “Dissolve Me” into “Matilda” is still so incredibly beautiful and emotive — alt-J should never break these two songs up. “Every Other Freckle” is the one song where I wish the guys would have considered new lyrics, but it’s a small complaint for a concert experience that had a huge crowd rapturously involved. When music implores a festival audience to be fully invested as alt-J pulled off on Sunday, with no one talking during the quiet intimate parts, it becomes clear you are ingesting something special. Even though their rise in popularity has happened remarkably fast, that trend should continue to move upward through festival season next year.

Most TIMF Set of the Weekend: Classixx

On paper, Classixx is the ideal act for Treasure Island Music Festival 2014, and the duo delivered on this promise in the all-important sunset time slot. Restrained but upbeat enough, pop-oriented yet progressive in its sound, the LA-based remixers-turned-original producers brought Saturday together based on what we expect from past TIMF years. Their on-stage centerpiece, a modern take on a 1980’s-era television, visualizes Nancy Whang for “All You’re Waiting For” and YACHT’s Claire L. Evans for a remix of “Psychic City”. The television set offers a surreal scene juxtaposed with the backgrounded City skyline, functionally helping to break down the walls of disembodied vocals.

Best New Material: TV On The Radio

TVOTR gave one of the best sets of the weekend with their wonderful mix of slow burners, dance-punk blasts of energy along with three new songs: “Happy Idiot”, “Careful You” and “Could You”. The latter two were particularly impressive and fit perfectly into the band’s catalog. A couple other notes on the show: producer and multi-instrumentalist David Sitek now looks like Bono, Kyp Malone is still professionally chill and Tunde Adebimpe continues to be offended when listeners don’t give him full attention. After completing “Wolf Like Me”, wherein the TI faithful went nuts, the lead singer said that he couldn’t believe he saw someone leave during the song. Agreed Tunde, and we’re looking forward to the forthcoming record.

Best Recovery: Janelle Monáe

What’s exactly the point of sound checking a microphone if you’re not going to do it completely? The guy setting up the mic put it on the stand after unsuccessfully getting it to work, and Monáe sang the first song completely unaware her voice wasn’t projecting through the speakers. After some crowd chanting, a new microphone, and three different people near me saying “Why doesn’t she use the backup singer’s mic?” order was finally restored. Also, when we got “Tightrope”, all hope of seeing Monáe join mentor Big Boi during OutKast was shot. Still, there’s no doubt the Electric Lady is just beginning a long and illustrious career. And as she proved with “Cold War”, it’s damn near impossible to take your eyes or ears off her when it’s her time to shine.

Best Pop-Culture Friend-Finder: Bill Murray

Bill Murray is clearly the most important American pop culture icon, and this group knows it. They also had a high-flying Bill Murray flag to triangulate positions.

Best Festival Outlier: Ana Tijoux

French-Chilean MC and singer-songwriter Ana Tijoux brought the best change of pace on Saturday, something apparent from the beginning of “Vengo”. Upbeat and passionate fire-spitting about social injustice with electronic elements and a horn section? Yes please — this was perhaps the only set on the dance-oriented first day without finger snapping or words in English.

Most TIMF Set of the Weekend Part 2: Washed Out

It’s impressive how Ernest Greene has evolved Washed Out from bedroom project to leader of the chill-wave movement to a live performer that can mimic the energy of a dance show through instrumentation. Like Classixx, this one just felt right for TIMF.

Most Immersive Set: Poliça

Sultry. Intensely Moody. World music-infused. These are the words I wrote down before being completely drawn into this set. Once awakening after completing locking in to a couple songs, I opted to get to alt-J early for a good spot. It was a tough call since Poliça were thoroughly captivating — I’ll be looking to see them again soon.

Best Unintentional Festival Blending: MØ

MØ emerged on stage sporting a black eye-patch, seemingly joining in on the pirate theme that has defined TIMF over the years. But after a song, Karen Marie Ørsted needlessly admitted to an eye infection, even though the optical accessory worked well with her braid and masculine power stances. MØ stood above the other new minimalist-glitch offerings on display at TIMF 2014 with her authentic energy, ownership of the stage and video support. Mixing oddly-appealing archival footage on loop, including a small animal’s still-beating heart in the palm of a hand, with imagery of herself working background vocals, made this electropop highlight even more memorable.

Band that Deserves More Listeners: White Denim

It’s a shame White Denim couldn’t be featured later in the day for more festivalgoers on Sunday. The seemingly spastic song structures and prog-rock mentality make White Denim a group to add to that list of bands you try to see perform live when they come to town.

Set that Thinned Out the Most: The New Pornographers

Along with the TIMF headliners, The New Pornographers have the most seniority out of all TIMF acts. Cuts from their underestimated 2014 record Brill Bruisers created the backbone of the set with fan favorites laced in throughout. Songs led by Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, with their skewered and self-inflicting lyrics, resonated strongest. This show thinned out as the set went on while most younger festivalgoers were queuing up for Chet Faker, signifying the current state of indie music popularity. Sadly, the eight members of the group walked off stage to nary an audible clap.

Best Constant Dance Party: Silent Disco

With no overlapping sets, Silent Disco is always an option if you want house music instead of the provided musicians on stage.

Best Pop-Culture Friend-Finder 2: Kim Kardashian with Laser Beam Eyes at BANKS

BANKS kind of sums up the direction indie-turned-pop music has gone in 2014. Sleek bare-bones production, glitch elements and moody synth lay the ground work for whispery vocals. This aural cocktail has captured the collective zeitgeist (along with much of the TIMF curation) this year. Jillian Banks has an immaculate voice and is mega popular worldwide, but her set felt like more of the same. BANKS banned media photography for her TIMF set, so here’s a photo of one of the best location markers of the weekend: Kim Kardashian with laser beams coming out of her eyes.

Most Entertaining Hype Man: The Growlers

Weirdo garage rock! The Growlers almost didn’t make their set according to the introduction given by the group’s eccentric hype-man named DMTina. But the psych-goth surf rock was pleasant enough, with “Chinese Fountain” giving a fun tone to the afternoon, but the dude in the robe pretty much stole the show.

Most Shiny Electro-Pop of the Weekend: St. Lucia

I have to be honest, St. Lucia is a bit too shiny and synth-heavy for me, but damn do they give it their all. If you’re into the nu-disco pop revival, St. Lucia is for you. OutKast was a priority, though.

Most Surface-Level Fun: Jungle

Churning soul-disco mystery collective Jungle is a more well-known entity now, and the skyrocketing, UK-based outfit adeptly loops morsels of pleasurable phrasing as a house DJ would. But it all sounds the same. And given their debut record, I expected many similarities from song to song but still hoped for something more out of their live interpretations. Jungle is generic to the point of being an emotional blank slate, tofu without any other tastes involved. But there’s no better time than now to get involved in some Giants pandering — the “Let’s Go Giants” chant sparked by Josh Lloyd-Watson’s jersey and reference to SF’s World Series-bound team was one of the biggest crowd responses of the set.

Best Mobile Dance Party: Robot Dance Party

Robot Dance Party can’t stop, won’t stop.

Most Unlikely Show with People on Shoulders: Chet Faker

Chet Faker had the crew bring out a huge bass speaker to put directly behind him after his first song to give his music more oomph. And when he dipped into his career-making collaborations with Flume, “Left Alone” and “Drop the Game”, the Tunnel stage instantly began moving like the rhythm of the ocean. But otherwise, the set was downtempo to the point of boredom. And it’s not a good idea to take one of your best songs, “Talk is Cheap”, and strip it down even more. Some ladies still felt compelled to rock their friend’s shoulders as if it was a dance show, something that I’m still trying to figure out.

Biggest Spectacle Over Substance: Zedd

More than any other set at TIMF 2014, Zedd felt out of place. By this point on Saturday, the fest needed a jump of adrenaline, but the Top 40 producer wasn’t the solution. Where acts like Knife Party or Bassnectar would have fallen more in line with the traditional ethos of TIMF, Zedd brought his world of contemporary pop to the island. There was no layering or transitions, his drops didn’t stand out from the EDM pack, and the show lacked any memorable surprises.

What were your favorite sets of Treasure Island Music Festival 2014?