Treasure Island Music Festival - San Francisco, CA - September 15 & 16, 2007

Posted by Brian Berry on 09.20.2007

Modest Mouse, Spoon, M.I.A., and a special set by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist were just a few of the cutting edge performers at the inaugural Treasure Island Music Festival. Was the festival a bust or will it warrant a second year?


Background
Ah, Treasure Island, the nearly inaccessible city plopped directly between sunny Oakland and gloomy San Francisco. Care to visit? You can drive in, use the 1 bus line, or the ferry to enter (this writer recommends the latter). For those uninitiated with California history, Treasure Island was "constructed" solely for the 1939 World's Fair (space in San Francisco is extremely limited).

For the next fifty plus years, the nearly one square mile island was used as a naval base. In the mid-90s the base was shut down. Treasure Island now houses approximately 1500 San Francisco County residents, mainly from lower income families. While it's a popular tourist attraction, the only reason to visit is for the amazing panoramic view of San Francisco's bay…and now the two-day Treasure Island Music Festival!

The organizers of Noise Pop (San Francisco's answer to South By Southwest) threw the first ever Treasure Island Music Festival this past weekend. The Saturday line-up boasted mostly electronic based musicians and hip-hop acts, headlined by Thievery Corporation and a supporting line-up including M.I.A., Gotan Project, and a special turntablist set by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Day two was dominated by indie rockers including heavyweights such as Spoon, Built To Spill, and headliners Modest Mouse.

With limited parking on the island, the only way in/out of the festival was by shuttle bus (taking off from AT&T park, where the SF Giants play) and festival hours ran from 12:30pm-10pm each night. Early word on the street (and in this writer's mind) was skeptical of how efficient the festival would run and whether enough people would show up to warrant a second year.

Saturday-Day One
After waiting in line a mere ten minutes and taking the "shuttle", which was actually a luxurious bus limousine(!), we entered the venue to find an endless line of vendor booths, tons of lawn space, a Ferris Wheel, an arcade equipped with vintage games (e.g. Marble Madness, Spy Hunter), a small stage nearby, and a huge stage off in the distance.
(Kid Beyond)
The first act we caught on the 2nd stage was San Francisco beatboxer Kid Beyond. His short set became the surprise discovery of the festival and arguably the most exciting performance of the two days. KB is a one-man show, using only his voice, a footboard, and a laptop for his craft. He creates impressive live vocal loops, which mold together to emulate synthesizers, drums, and other popular instruments. The music fell somewhere in between Industrial and Drum & Bass, and the charismatic Kid Beyond had no problem keeping the crowd pumped for the entire performance. Pandering to the crowd to call back "hell yeah" is usually an obnoxious concession but KB's showmanship blinded the too-cool-for-school crowd this afternoon. At the close of his set, KB announced "What are you doing here? Go see M.I.A., dogs!"…and everybody rushed to see one of the most anticipated acts of the festival.

Over at the main stage club kids, scenesters, and the hip hop set waited shortly for the controversial Sri Lankan rapper. M.I.A. drove the hip crowd into a dance frenzy with tracks off her highly acclaimed albums Arular (2005) and Kala (2007). Her music contains influences from London grime, Reggaeton, and American hip-hop but her sound is uniquely her own.
(M.I.A.)
Wearing a baggy, blue t-shirt with gold lettering, and tight gold, vinyl pants, M.I.A. flowed and gyrated tirelessly for her forty-minute set. Her performance included, amongst other things, a song where a swarm of sexy female fans were allowed to dance on stage, a few moments of awkward banter ("I swear to shit", "Where my baby daddy's at?"), and an obligatory climbing of the risers by the performer. All novelty
aside, M.I.A.'s strongest points are her beats, which both she and some of the best US and international producers create. Save a tweaked speaker mid-way into the set, M.I.A.'s performance astonished the crowd.

West Indian Girl was up next on the 2nd stage. Their brand of '60s neo-psychedelic rocked infused with modern synthesizers couldn't hold my attention for more than a couple songs so taking a whiz and wandering around the grounds seemed my best option.

As expected, the portable restroom was fouler than foul and the portable hand washing sinks were already out of water by 5pm. Bacteria ridden hands in tact, the hunt for the best political, ironic, or humorous t-shirt was on. Candidates included "Fuck Clear Channel" and "Winning the War" (image of a bulldozer knocking down trees) but the far and away winner was "Make Awkward Sexual Advances, Not War".

The beaming bay heat proved too strong for many concertgoers who were already exiting the event in droves. Unfortunately, these folks missed a special 45 RPM record only performance by turntable gurus DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Their hour long set mashed together every genre of music imaginable, including but not limited to pat '80s softrock, Metallica, lounge, and Top 40 hip-hop. Using eight turntables, four mixers, and two guitar pedals the set proved more technically impressive (especially with bird's eye view cameras projecting their work on the big screen) than exciting and danceable.

The sun wore this writer down also, with the last act we caught being Flosstradamus, a mash-up DJ duo. Their performance was heavy on mixing pop-rock from the '80s with contemporary hip-hop. Fun set, but some energy needed preservation for day two. Our chariot (err, limo bus) awaited, bringing us back to the parking lot within 15 minutes of exiting the premises.

Sunday-Day Two
The weather was much more agreeable on Sunday with a mild wind, which proved conducive to a day's worth of head bobbing with hands placed firmly in pockets (see: dancing for indie rockers).

The Bay Area's own Trainwreck Riders rocked a small crowd at the 2nd stage with their country fried punk fury. They were the most musically aggressive band of the festival. Fellow San Francisco band, and Trainwreck Riders friends, Two Gallants followed on the main stage. The guitar and drum duo's folk-punk set opened with the fantastic "Las Cruces Jail" and followed with cuts from their first two albums and forthcoming self-titled album. Highlights included the closing song "Steady Rollin'" and an appearance by violinist Anton Patzner (Bright Eyes, Audrye Sessions) on a newer song.

Scantily clad stilt walkers and a mobile band of costumed musicians, most closely resembling the café scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, entertained concertgoers disinterested in the music.

M. Ward received a good crowd response on the main stage for the most sedate performance of the day. His unique, old-timey country-blues sounds like what would result if Jerry Lee Lewis popped a few valium before performing. This description sounds like a pan, but M. Ward is a tremendous musician and live performer with one of the most distinctive voices in rock music.

Sea Wolf played music that sounded transplanted from the homogenized music scene in Los Angeles' Silver Lake area. At the close of their set, the band revealed they are from the region, which has become a hotbed for popular bands like Silversun Pickups and Earlimart. High on fashion, low on creativity. Hecklers trash talked Los Angeles while Sea Wolf's frontman made half-assed excuses defending Southern California. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah followed with the most painful set of both days. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth's voice can peel paint live and the band's musicianship was scattered at best. Their set lent equally from their impressive debut album (2005) and their inferior sophomore effort Some Loud Thunder (2007). Disdain for the performance was overheard throughout the day from many concertgoers.
(Devil Makes Three)
The surprise performance of day two came from Santa Cruz's Devil Makes Three. The trio, consisting of a stand-up bass, an old Fender, and an electric acoustic guitar (a Spanish guitar and banjo also appeared pulled in the largest audience of any second stage act. Their rabid fan base danced and sang along to DMT's throwback country rock. My only gripe is that their set was too short.
(Built To Spill)
Built To Spill launched into a show that played like a greatest hits compilation. The tireless kings of indie guitar rock played popular favorites such as "Liar", "Time Trap", and "You Were Wrong" during their fifty-minute set. They even covered a Brian Eno song, which is not an easy feat to pull off without the aid of synthesizers. Highlights included a Doug Martsch solo performance of "Car" and the summerific final song, "Conventional Wisdom" from BTS's 2006 album, You In Reverse.

At this time it became clear that one surprising aspect of the festival was how well behaved everybody was. Not one drunken fool or drug fueled pass out victim was to be seen. No fighting either. Hopefully, this trend becomes indicative of the popular music scene as well.

San Francisco's own Film School played next at the 2nd stage as the sun began its' descent. The few people who saw the performance were treated to a dreamy show of old-school shoegaze rock that would've made members of Ride, Spacemen 3, or Galaxie 500 proud. Hot female bass player? Check.

Spoon came off a recent crack into the Billboard Top 10 to deliver their stripped down, literate rock'n roll for the packed crowd. They played the best cuts off 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga including "Don't Make Me a Target", "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", and the single "The Underdog". The latter suffered from an absence of horns that appear on the album. Their best tunes came from performances of fan favorites "I Turn My Camera On" (heard on the Stranger Than Fiction soundtrack) and "I Got A Feeling".

Headliners Modest Mouse arrived on stage ten minutes late, looking like death. The band is infamous for hot and cold performances and tonight was no different. They opened with the loud rocker "Bury Me With It" followed by "Paper Thin Walls". Isaac Brock announced shortly into the set that the whole band had the flu. He was either feigning a hoarse voice or actually ill. After hearing excuses in the past at MM shows it's hard to decide which is true. Overall, they weren't at their worst but they should've been much better (especially with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr in the fold).

The 411: On the whole, organizers did an exceptional job putting on the Treasure Island Music Festival. Most of the bands sounded good and there were several fun activities available outside of the two music stages. Day one was highlighted by main stage act M.I.A. and second stage act Kid Beyond. Day two's best were Built To Spill and Spoon on the main stage and Devil Makes Three on stage two. This festival is just what the SF Bay Area needed.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]