Treasure Island Music Festival -- 9.20.08 -- San Francisco, CA

Posted by Brian Berry on 10.03.2008

One of Indie Rock's biggest festivals opens its 2nd year with a killer line-up and surprisingly good performances...

Background

The large crowds in the Pac Bell Park parking lot September 20 weren’t there for a San Francisco Giants tailgate party. The ultra hip, predominantly twenty-something dwellers were waiting for free shuttle service over to the 2nd annual Treasure Island Music Festival, just over the Bay Bridge. The festival’s focus is on emerging indie and fringe bands on the brink of breaking big in the music business.

Many skeptics thought last year’s festival would be a total logistical bust but alas the festival pulled in a large crowd, the sound was generally adequate and sets at the two stages were staggered so fans wouldn’t miss a second of any sets during the day. Last year’s headliners included established college music supergroups like Modest Mouse, Spoon, Built To Spill and Thievery Corporation but highlights came from artists on the way up the music biz ladder like M.I.A. and San Francisco’s own Two Gallants and Trainwreck Riders.

Without any platinum selling bands on the bill, it was astounding that so many thousands of alternative music fans showed up for a concert headlined by lesser known but critically acclaimed bands like The Raconteurs, Justice, TV On the Radio and Vampire Weekend. Pick a band on the bill on they’ve probably appeared on a music critic’s “year end best of “ or, more likely, will end up on a “Best of 20080 list this December.

Saturday, September 20

After passing through the non-invasive security checkpoint, I noticed that one of last year’s festival highlights was missing: the vintage video game arcade! When there weren’t any bands of interest playing, this was a place that housed multiple versions of Pac-Man, old school pinball machines, the always stellar 360 (“SKATE OR DIE!!!”) and a host of other timeless classics, in a cool, shaded tent. No arcade=instant buzz kill=hopefully the music alone sustains the crowd's interest for eleven straight hours.

12:50pm=At the “Bridge Stage” (the main stage), Oakland’s Loquat played one of the stronger sets of the day. Their vocalist sounds much like Beth Orton, simultaneously raspy and sweet. Their electro aided indie-pop proved very popular with the small, early afternoon crowd.

1:15pm=Harvard grads Chester French brought their The Kinks meet Hall & Oates act to the “Tunnel Stage” (the second stage). The young band was recently involved in a bidding war between Kanye West and Pharrell Williams (they signed to Williams’ Star Trak label). Hopefully the hip-hop mogul didn’t spend too much money on these egomaniacs. They opened with their two strongest songs, including the infectious “She Loves Everybody” (one of the best singles of 2008, in my opinion) before devolving into tired melodies, inane lyrics and idiotic stage banter. The band’s immaturity shone brightest when the lead singer crooned a young lady with “do you want to fuck in the crowd surfing situation” before asking “you aren’t underage, are you”. Most remarkable of this set was the cult of redheaded fans for Chester French’s set. Where did they all come from and, afterwards, where did they all go? Look for these kids in the bargain bin sooner than later.

1:45pm=San Franciscan by way of Brooklyn, Aesop Rock followed. Aesop commanded a large crowd, performing mostly off his strong 2007 album None Shall Pass (my pick for top Hip-Hop album last year) while throwing in older cuts for his rabid fanbase. DJ Big Whiz and back up MC Rob Sonic aided Aesop in a high energy set of off-kilter, emotionally charged, backpacker hip-hop.

2:25pm=One of the more unusual sets came from Nortec Collective: Bostich20+ Fussible, who blended traditional Norteno music with laptop techno. If a taqueria and a rave had the physical capacity to fuck, their offspring would sound like these guys. This was one of the more marginalizing performances of the day with most festival attendees using the set as a lunch break.

3:00pm=I missed Afro-beat collective Antibalas because I was waiting in a neverending line for the outhouse. Note to festival organizers: get more outhouses! Dozens of men (and a few women) were leaving the long toilet lines to piss behind the porta potties: each taking up a space at a comfortable 5 feet apart from his/her neighbor.

3:45pm=Oxford’s Foals followed with a Gang Of Four worshipping set featuring tracks from their debut album Antidotes. Their otherwise high energy, frenetic set was ravaged by sound problems due to solar paneling that was generating energy for the 2nd stage. Note to festival organizers: troubleshoot solar powered generators! Regardless, Foals whipped fans into a dance-punk frenzy albeit without playing their strongest track, “Cassius”.

4:20pm=On their albums, Hot Chip are mildly fun and write some catchy club songs but in concert these Brits are b-o-r-i-n-g. Even electro-pop rump shakers like “Ready For the Floor” and “Over and Over” fell flat for this mid-day set.

5:10pm=Amon Tobin’s set=see: Antibalas.

5:55pm= Alison Goldfrapp and band have alienated some of their loyal fanbase with her recent work while converting former haters (like me) into fans. Her club ready, electro-dance has been replaced by folkier, downtempo songs highlighting her sultry vocals. A strong set, with all of the expected dramatics, played to a large crowd.

6:45pm=DJ Mike Relm performed a short mash-up set with the strongest turntablism since last year’s DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist performance. A delightful surprise.

7:25pm=Eternal buzz band TV on the Radio’s set was outstanding, as expected. The New York group employed Antibalas’ horn section for several tunes and was highlighted by their newer, more soulful tracks from the recently released Dear Science album. Other highlights included the college radio hits “Staring at the Sun” and “Wolf Like Me”.

9:15pm=Many voices were overheard saying that they didn’t get Justice. Why is the French DJ duo so popular? Why are these guys who were unknown a year ago headlining a huge festival? People who had seen them suggested watching the duo perform live and be converted. And that’s exactly what happened this evening. Justice’s stage show featured a gigantic wall of amps and a huge illuminated crucifix. Church was in session for the sea of electronic fans who both crammed toward the stage for a good view and created mini-dance circles in the back of the festival grounds. While it’s suspect whether Justice performs “live” or not, their sound was incredibly crisp (even from over 100 yards away) and the stage/light show was nothing short of extraordinary. This is the next best thing to a Daft Punk show.

The 411: Tremendous, diversified booking and performances highlighted the 2nd annual Treasure Islan Music Festival while sound problems sporadically plagued the festival's second stage. Regardless, sets by Justice, Foals, and Aesop Rock were enough to make the trip out to the little island well worth our while.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]