The Treasure Island Music Festival has, historically, been the last hurrah of summer. Taking place in the middle of October (or late September), it’s usually sunny and a great way to let go of the carefree warm months, before we all have to buckle to the stress of the holiday season.
Sadly, they had to take 2017 off. Even sadder was that, due to maintenance on the island, Treasure Island, for the first time, had to move from its namesake venue. We ended up drifting east a few knots to the shores of Oakland, to a beach in the middle of West Oakland’s warehouse district called Middle Harbor Park.
I live in Oakland so I decided against using the BART shuttle, opting to take a Lyft straight to the event instead. It was too easy. All in all, it took me 15 minutes to call my car in Adams Point, get to the venue, pick up my media credential, go through security (no, I didn’t get a media express line), and mosey on over to the stage to catch Soccer Mommy.
I’ll get to the music later. First, the venue. The entrance took us down a dock that had the most spectacular views of the bay. There were small art pieces along the way but nothing that distracted from the beauty of our surroundings. There were also a handful of food trucks and a bar along the path to the venue, for those looking for quick booze, Indian burritos, or a nice ice cream taco.
It was also a pleasant 75 degrees out, great for ice cream but not so hot that people felt uncomfortable. It was a somewhat windy day in Oakland, but the venue’s shape did a great job protecting us.
The center of the venue had plenty of vendors, as well as a surprising number of free snack samples from Odwalla and Clif Bar for the more frugal attendee (or from people that actually wished to sample new products). The food options were plentiful, but I had some music to experience first so my lunch was a blueberry protein smoothie and a Clif Bar filled with almond butter.
The one thing that was missing from this area was a coffee vendor, as I wanted some caffeine to fuel my day, but it was still some time until I found a booth hidden among the interactive art installation that sold cold brew.
I’ve got snacks in me. Time for some music.
Soccer Mommy
The first music I found on my own, as a tween in the early ‘90s, was female fronted, singer songwriter focused rock from New England—bands such as Belly, Letters To Cleo, Throwing Muses, and the Juliana Hatfield Three. Nashville’s Soccer Mommy is the logical extension of this genre.
Now, singer and chief songwriter Sophie Allison isn’t so much trying to emulate these bands. Instead, she’s turning the same influences—’70s AM radio singer songwriter, Outlaw Country, and post-hardcore—into a totally unique sound. She’s both delicate and heavy at once.
It’s no surprise that she spent last summer touring with Paramore, before jumping onto the support slot for Liz Phair. And next up she’ll be touring with mainstream country star Kacey Musgraves. Her rhythm section is tightly locked in a ‘90s angular rock groove, while Allison’s vocals sit delicately on top of that, colored by slightly fuzzed out electric guitars. What a fantastic way to start the day!
Alex Cameron
I’m really grateful that the sax is back in pop music. Alex Cameron, on his own, is a decent performer. He kind of moves like he got his bachelor’s degree in Jarvis Cocker, only without the subtle flirtation. I typically like my British glam rock with subtler lyrics, but when Roy Molloy, his sax player, got to show off, that’s when the set went from OK to great.
Shame
Every year, the good folks at Noise Pop decide to toss an extra heavy band into the mix. In past years, we’ve enjoyed sets from bands such as Deafheaven and Drive Like Jehu. Shame don’t yet have the name recognition those bands have, but after their brutal set, it would be hard to forget them.
Lead singer Charlie Steen is the kind of dangerous and charismatic frontman that legends are spoken of. He didn’t believe in the confines of the stage, the restrictions of gravity, the mass of his own mic stand, or the decency of keeping his shirt on. The band’s propulsive, post hardcore sound whipped the masses into a mosh that turned the sand on the ground into a small tornado.
Sharon van Etten
I’ve had some bad luck with Sharon van Etten. Something always prevents me from getting out to her shows. Today, however, I managed to finally experience that perfect, darkly resonant voice in person. The setlist was focused on her gothier works, which was an odd juxtaposition with the sunny beach landscape. Nonetheless, it was a potent performance and the first set to play to what felt like a full festival, with folks dancing and singing along in throughout the crowd.
U.S. Girls
This was the first time I’d heard this band. Post-event research claims that U.S. Girls is essentially a solo project of Meghan Remy. Live, however, this was definitely a full band affair.
Remy was complemented with a backup singer that also danced with Remy. There was also sax, guitar, bass, drums, and keys, turning the esoteric, mildly disco infused records into a giant disco dance party. They also had some of the most overtly political lyrics of the day. My notes simply called it “disco making the kind of political statement that was lost when disco went mainstream.” Yeah, that’s what this band is all about.
Courtney Barnett
For those who only know Courtney Barnett through her recorded works, the live show could be a bit jarring. Everything is cranked up to 11, and she just plain plays harder than on her albums.
Today, however, “harder” would be an understatement. Backed by her three piece band, they played with a heavy metal intensity and managed to get a full on circle pit in the crowd. Even during her ballads, the intensity stayed high. The lovely “Depreston,” when we hit the bridge, had the entire field singing, “if you’ve got a spare half a million, you can knock it down and start rebuilding,” a sentiment that anyone in the Bay Area could relate to.
For a day full of great sets so far, Barnett was definitely the one who played a star-making set.
Lord Huron
Maybe I’m getting old and cynical. Lord Huron have plenty of hype, but there wasn’t a lot of substance on stage. It might have been coming from four straight full-on banger sets that made my expectations too high.
Lord Huron just felt like radio friendly, by the numbers, alternative rock. They are clean and tight. They have hooks. But they clearly are lacking “danger.” There were no risks taken in that set at all, just clean pop songs.
Jungle
I want to like Jungle. I really do. They are touring as a full six piece funk band now, instead of just playing as an electro duo, and I wanted that to be the thing that brings me in. But their house flavored electro funk sound just feels repetitive.
I couldn’t discern which song was which, and I only identified their big hit, “Busy Earnin’,” once they hit the chorus.
Tame Impala
What hasn’t been said about Tame Impala at this point? They make the trippiest, weirdest things accessible. They’re both personable and elusive. They were largely hidden by their own light show but still managed to create a personal connection to most everyone in the crowd. The career spanning set managed to prove that Tame Impala are not only festival headliner worthy but are ready to jump ship and play arenas, without making concessions to who they really are.
In closing the first chapter of Treasure Island Music Festival’s first year off the island, I can’t wait until next year.
