My last Outside Lands was in 2019. I’ve gone nearly every year up until that point, only missing the third year. I had tickets for 2021. Lizzo, The Strokes, and Hinds are all on my “never miss” list, but by October, Delta was rearing its ugly head, and I just couldn’t do it. This year, I was still on the fence until the week beforehand. With BA.5, the virus has become more contagious, and outdoor transmission is more prevalent. However, with wastewater tracking showing a downward trend, toddler vaccines FINALLY seeing the light of day, and studies seem to indicate that N95s and a good breeze are still very effective at thwarting the virus, I decided to give it a go. I packed like ten masks, two packs of antibacterial wipes (which made me the most popular guy at the festival at times. One woman actually proposed marriage when I gave her the end of one of my packs!), an empty water bottle, and several layers of clothing, and decided to make a solid go of it.
The feeling was weird when I hopped off the bus, walked through the south gate tunnel, and onto the polo field. In many ways, it felt like I was just returning on Day 4 after my last visit. In other ways, it felt like seeing an old friend for the first time in years I’ve missed ever so dearly. I might have teared up a little. Maybe. I crossed the field, filled my water bottle, and headed to Sutro stage to see SPELLLING. Of course, I encounter an actual old friend on my way there! It was beautiful. We hugged for like 5 minutes. Then we tucked in for some music.
SPELLLING
SPELLLING’s 2021 record, The Turning Wheel, is a magical chamber pop masterpiece. Its lush layers call to mind Kate Bush at her most experimental. This stunning piece of work has been something I’ve longed to experience live. However, and I hate speaking ill about any portion of this event, but SPELLLING really shouldn’t have been the first act on the first day of a festival. The sound was far off. Her band large band looked like they were tackling the dynamics with aplomb. But all we could hear was bass. It wasn’t until the last song that things started to sound “right.” But all I could think was, “I wish I were seeing this in a symphony hall.”
I headed over to Twin Peaks to catch New Zealand’s The Beths. This set was very festival friendly. They played 40 minutes of infectious, hooky pop-punk goodness that wouldn’t have been out of place on Warped Tour in 1999 or on the soundtrack to a heartfelt teen comedy. So I put my bag on the floor and had a lovely dance party with friends and strangers.
The BLSSM
I left my friends for a bit to explore on my own, took a wrong turn, ended up at a tiny stage hiding in Hellman Hollow, and experienced the most effective 90 seconds of a set I’ve experienced. I literally caught the last verse and chorus of a song called “Hardcore Happy” that stopped me in my tracks. It was the kind of big rock sound that people say is dead, but it was certainly not at that moment. I wish I saw more of this set, but they are on the notebook, and I’m DEFINITELY digging into this catalog.
Faye Webster
I Know I’m Funny haha is a record that is pretty well-loved around the Spinning Platters team. I’ve been trying to see her live for a bit, but I wasn’t expecting the live show that I got. Webster’s music is technically very skilled but also beautiful and concise. Live, however, it was a jazzy, jammy affair. The grove was filled with clouds of marijuana smoke, unlike I’ve ever witnessed at this event that’s already known for its 420-friendly atmosphere. Webster wasted no opportunity to show off her impressive guitar chops, at times calling up Wes Montgomery or an electric Ani DiFranco. Or, dare I say it, Phish. Never in a million years would I have expected to leave a Faye Webster set thinking that it reminded me of Vermont jam-rock legends Phish. Surprise is the spice of life, I guess?
Ludo Lefebvre x Natasha Leggero
Leggero took the stage with a giant purse in her hand, clumsying around with a wireless mic and looking like she walked out of her car and onto the stage. She opened up with a crack about how there used to be comedy at this thing, and, instead, she was the only comedian there. I agree that it’s a travesty that The Barbary is gone, but I anticipate that may have been a COVID thing. I genuinely hope it returns next year. After a solid five minutes of Leggero at her most relaxed and effortless best, she brought out French chef Ludo Lefebvre to show us how to make a proper French omelet. I’m always amazed when I encounter hardcore fans of particular chefs, but Lefebvre had a nice crew of fans that cheered whenever anyone named his restaurants. He seemed a bit humbled by the experience. Anyways, I took extensive notes on how to prepare an omelet. I hope this helps:
- Use a 9” nonstick pan
- Melt the butter very slowly.
- Don’t make the pan too hot! Your eggs shouldn’t begin cooking immediately.
- Scramble the eggs in the pan and cook it very slowly.
- Your eggs should start to get “custardy”
- Once it reaches a crepe-like consistency, take it off the heat.
- Fill a pastry bag with soft French cheese.
- Squeeze it on the eggs.
- Roll it like a burrito with your spatula.
- Serve it with brown butter and chives.
Ashe
My little, punk rock-loving heart shouldn’t be into Ashe. Ashe is a vocal powerhouse. If Jim Steinman were still with us, he would have loved to have the opportunity to work with her. She has musical theater chops, and didn’t miss any opportunity to express it. She led her band through a pitch-perfect rendition of Queen’s “Somebody To Love,” hitting the Freddie Mercury high notes and pushing the crowd to the next level. There were moments where it did, indeed, feel like I was experiencing Queen at Wembley. Her guitarist, Donnie Laudicina, studied Brian May, and even when not covering Queen, he got his sound and technique spot on. The crowd ate it all up. Even security was pumping their fists and singing along to a song that I believe was “Get Lost,” but I’m sure an Ashe fan will read this and correct me. When she played “Shower With My Clothes On,” one of two times this weekend when a performance was so intense and powerful that I started tearing up. I enjoyed this set a lot, but now that I’m sitting here and writing this review, I’m gonna preorder Rae. That wasn’t sponsored: reflecting on this set made me decide that I will need that record on wax.
Sampa The Great
After Ashe, I was getting very hungry. So I started walking to find food. Then I caught a fireball of an MC performing with a level of enthusiasm usually relegated to hardcore punk. Zambia’s Sampa The Great was pure fire. Her sound was a fusion of afrobeat and classic 90s hip hop. I was captivated by every moment of her performance and totally forgot about the hunger in my belly. This set truly was nourishment enough.
Beignet + Bounce with Katey Red and Brenda Buenviaje
Beignet + Bounce is one of the few things that happens every year. I was at the first one and haven’t done it again. So I decided it was time to see how it’s changed. Well, it’s now just pure anarchy. I knew something was afoot when roadies covered all the onstage speakers with plastic. Then Brenda Buenviaje of Brenda’s Soul Food fame came out with an assistant and a tray of beignets and began to pour powdered sugar all over each other, occasionally hitting the tray of beignets. Then Katey Red came out with her dancers and did an excellent bounce set. Then, at about the halfway point, things descended into chaos. Trays and trays of beignets were coming out, and the dancers launched them into the crowd. Then they poured powdered sugar on the audience. One dancer climbed the rafters, twerking while throwing sugar everywhere. It was a full-on mess. The entirety of the Gastromagic stage and viewing area looked like a bakery explosion by the end of the set. Also, I did get to eat an unsullied beignet.
The Marias
I saw The Marias play to a small crowd on the Pandhandle stage in 2019, and it was a sexy, groovy, joy. In the three years since that set, this band has blown up. I had never seen so many people in sync at Twin Peaks. As far back as I could see, folks were grooving with this band. And they have gotten comfortable with the fame. Singer Maria Zardoya is now wearing sparkling cocktail dresses on stage. The band has leveled up to suits and played with arena-level effortlessness. Their big hit, “Little By Little,” may have elicited the best crowd response of the entire day.
Best Coast
Another return to the festival, Best Coast talked about how they last played ten years ago. I have only fuzzy memories of that set. This set was one by a more mature band that has gotten to know their sound and performance in that time. They opened with the droning, psych workout of “California Sun” before diving into a set that consisted largely of the pop-punk meets reverby country of their first two records. This was great because it was the first time this weekend that I got to sing along to nearly every word with everyone around me.
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers went into the pandemic as a cult favorite of the emo set, probably most famous for her record with Conor Oberst. Then, right as the pandemic hit, so did The Punisher. In a normal world, Bridgers would’ve been booked to play smaller venues and then gradually move into the bigger rooms as the record picked up steam. However, she spent nearly two years unable to promote the record on the road. Instead of gently getting a feel for big venues, she was pushed straight to the big rooms. Most artists would’ve floundered at this. Bridgers isn’t like most artists. Instead, she took her headlining slot on the second biggest stage and managed to play with both an arena-style bigness and a relaxed, intimate, conversative confidence. One could tell she was a little unnerved and confessed to feeling the weight and anxiety of our current world. She even called out the Mariposa Fund as a great place to donate to help with the current abortion crisis. I already send them like $10 a month.
SZA
I’m not sure anyone has headlined Outside Lands with only one record under their belt. Let alone one that’s five years old without any follow-up aside from a handful of singles. And CTRL, though excellent, is a pretty mellow album. Yet, SZA brought it. Her show was significantly bigger and bolder than the last time I saw her at The Warfield back in 2017. She brought dancers. She brought massive energy to the stage. And when I witnessed a girl who looked like she was about five singing along to every word while dancing with precision, it reminded me of how great the future will be.
The Linda Lindas
Speaking of hope for the future, tween & teen punk band The Linda Lindas give me hope. Another pandemic explosion from the strength of their charged-up viral hit “Racist Sexist Boy” quickly moved this band from LA’s favorite kid band to the national stage. They played a polished show that both sounded excellent and had the energy that only a group of kids could bring. They even convinced drum legend Gina Schock to come out and play The Go-Go’s “Tonite” with them!
Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong was quoted in the Chronicle as saying that they are the first “real” Bay Area band to headline Outside Lands. This was a gentle jab at Metallica and their LA origins. He’s also wrong because there is minimal argument about whether or not The Dead is a Bay Area band, and Further, the Dead project with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, who have already headlined, clearly fits the bill.
Enough of that. I was amazed by the universality of Green Day. From the opening line of their megahit “American Idiot,” the entirety of the polo field, all the way to the very back, was all in tune, singing and jumping along. And not just the audience. Security, food vendors, and every single person were in total sync. You don’t always see this at proper headlining shows or festivals. Every age, race, gender- everyone was aligned by Green Day. So the type of unity on display is something I don’t think I’ve EVER seen.
As for their set, it was a solid Green Day set. It also was a “for the masses” set. They stayed largely away from rarities, skipping the first two albums entirely and bypassing the last few, too. I hate to say it, but it was pretty much the same show Green Day has been playing since the American Idiot tour. There were fireworks, Armstrong pulled a kid on stage to play guitar on an Operation Ivy cover, etc. However, this was air-tight, unlike previous stadium gigs where some of the gags go on a little too long. The energy, the playing, the pacing… It was about as perfect as one would expect from one of the biggest bands on the planet. And, I’ve gotta say, I had the “time of my life” during this set. Pun intended.
Briston Maroney
I walked in Sunday afternoon, expecting to pick up a delicious Chicken Tikka Masala burrito from the Curry Up Now truck and watch Pusha T do some cooking. However, to my surprise, a LOT of people were already there, ready for this. I wasn’t prepared to fight a crowd, so I moved on to the Sutro stage and parked myself at the top of the hill with a delicious lunch. I watched the field fill up with young people. (I’m 42. 30-year-olds are young people to me) I had no idea who this band was, or even if it was a band, a DJ, or a hypnotist of chickens, for that matter. I witnessed from my grassy tower a power pop band connected to a group of passionate fans who knew every word by heart. For a 2:30 set on a Sunday, this is very surprising. For a band that I’ve never heard of? That has never happened before. The kind of fandom I saw, the way people were connecting to the band… These guys will go far, and those fans are in it for the long haul.
Wet Leg
If you’ve been reading this site for the last year, you know I love Wet Leg. Enough to be one of the first people in the US to interview them back when all they’ve given us was “Chaise Longue.” So I decided to use all my COVID risk points to push my way into the center of the crowd to take in a positively delightful set of perfection. They opened with “Being In Love,” and taking in such a beautiful song about processing anxiety, surrounded by fans singing along, brought me to tears FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEKEND. Man. That song just hits me right in the middle of the heart and gut. The band has been on the road for a year straight… This is their third time in SF even! Each time I see them they get more confident and playful. This show was a little different because multi-instrumentalist Josh Mobaraki was missing due to losing his passport, so the band had to fiddle a bit. Singer Rhian Teasdale, whose vocals are usually dry and a bit sing-speak, took on the theremin solo for “Obvious” with her own voice, pulling out the most unexpected mezzo-soprano turn, proving her vocal chops are on point. For “Too Late Now,” it gave room for lead guitarist Hester Chambers to show off in a way she hasn’t been able to before. Chambers has Carrie Brownstein-level chops; I loved that she got to show them off.
Goddamn. Wet Leg lives up to the hype. Oh, and that part in “Ur Mum” with the “loudest and longest scream?” You haven’t lived until you’ve screamed like that with 6,000 other people.
100 gecs
I played in a noise band for several years. Our goal was to make people feel as uncomfortable as possible while they listened to us. The biggest show we ever played was to 50 people. 100 gecs are FAR noisier, sloppier, and weirder than we ever were. Yet, somehow, they have found a way to make this chaos accessible. I will admit that I could only take about 15 minutes of this set. In that 15 minutes, there was a song that was pure feedback, an acoustic ballad that didn’t make any sense, a frantic cacophony of beats that were only danceable to the most committed of partiers, and a ska song, I think? I’m glad 100 gecs exist.
Weezer
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 90’s radio rock icons Weezer played the main stage with an insanely accessible set that seemed entirely lost on the crowd. They played a solid set of pretty much every single they’ve ever released, and the energy seemed to have been zapped from the crowd. It may have been that, aside from drummer Patrick Wilson, nobody looked like they were having fun on stage. So there was nothing to feed off of. There were four exceptions to this rule, and two were covers. Folks went batshit for “Enter Sandman” and “Africa,” which didn’t surprise me. However, the two Weezer originals that folks went crazy for were the “Island In The Sun” and “Say It Ain’t So.” Two positively mellow cuts. I guess those are the songs that have reached the Post Malone generation.
Mt. Joy
I only caught the end of Mt Joy’s set. This was a regret. I wandered into the Sutro stage grove to a solid cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers. The audience energy was right on, and in a blink, they were done.
Mitski
Mitski feels like a carefully guarded secret. The Sutro stage grove was somewhat sparsely attended for a closing act. It may have been because they booked her at the same time as Post Malone and Illenium, two arena-level acts. This meant everyone got a solid view of one of the most immersive performers I’ve ever witnessed. Each move was perfectly choreographed. The light show, the band, etc.- every move was perfect. Her music is equally delicate and angry, and she moved with power and gentleness. She has the grace and poise of a ballerina when she’s on stage. This performance was pure art. I stood there in awe for the hour she was onstage, unable to look away because I didn’t know what she was going to do next, and I didn’t want to miss it.
After that set was over, I decided not to stick around for Post Malone’s last 30. My heart was filled with enough joy, and I didn’t want anything to distract from those previous memories of my return to the park. So I can’t wait to come back next year.
