I couldn’t think of a much better setting than Treasure Island to close out the summer in the Bay Area. Situated just a stones-throw from the San Francisco skyline, this man-made enclave paints a pristine picture of the Bay’s majestic beauty, boasting some of the most breathtaking views the area has to offer. Coupled with the Isle’s splendor was the true, hometown appeal of the festival. Roughly 8,500 attendees glittered the grounds with so much of the flavor SF has become known for over the years. Hipsters, hippies, hip hoppers and heads all coming together, a scene reminiscent of Sundays in Dolores Park, a colorful concoction of what this town is all about rallying for a Saturday to remember.
Clearly when putting together the line up for the 2nd Annual Treasure Island Music Festival, organizers Noise Pop and Another Planet created a two pronged attack that would feature one full day of dance and electronic music and the second as a Mecca of indie rock. With the exception of TV on the Radio being slated to perform before Justice to close out Saturday, the scheduling flowed seamlessly. What worked so well was the eclectic combination of big-ticket acts, the aforementioned TV on the Radio, Justice, Hot Chip with lesser known, up-and-comers like Foals, Nortec Collective and CSS. As far as the event’s production goes, the only hiccup was the solar-wind powered generators going out on a couple of occasions. Each time the bands took it in stride, but with a festival of this prominence, these kinds of things shouldn’t be happening. Regardless of all that, the luxury buses to and from AT & T Park were stellar, complete with leather seating and flat screen TV’s. Onsite amenities and toys for big kids included the giant, 60-foot Ferris wheel overlooking downtown SF, the Treasure Hunt, a Treasure Chest full of local flavor and the Treasure Trove, featuring the quite impressive Carnivalesque Gallery (highlighted by the work of Shepard Fairey).
With only one day to take in all the festival’s glory, I’d like to offer a brief synapse of the days’ occurrences, complete with delectable quotes and a colorful collage of everything Treasure Island. As the winds whipped and the beats bumped, here is how it went down:
TUNNEL STAGE
12:30-12:50-The Frail- A little light for my taste, caught the last song and in all honesty, it was a too frail for me.
BRIDGE STAGE
12:50-1:15-Loquat-Spent most of the set taking in the vast skyline and taking a stroll over to the graffiti wall on the opposite end of the grounds. But I did have to drop by to see another of my editors, Kylee Swenson, of Remix, and her band. The music was brisk, pop-infused and electronically charged, a melodious meandering of organic and ethereal sensibilities further fueled by Swenson’s delightful voice. I was glad I stopped by. What came next would easily be the day’s most loquacious and boisterous act.
TUNNEL STAGE
1:15-1:40-Chester French-Wow, these guys like to party. Armed with what looked to be vastly different personalities, Chester French (formed by two Harvard Grads) performed strictly sexual music aimed directly at promiscuous sex and groupies. But do they even have groupies? Maybe so, after a short set thick and chunky funk, the rather obnoxious lead singer with a boatload of charisma had the crowd popping from the get-go, energy exploding with tracks from their debut album Love the Future. I do have to say, a trio of high-school age girls next to me left quite aroused, leaving the impression that the band clearly did their job.
BRIDGE STAGE
1:45-2:25-Aesop Rock-He killed it. Through the years, Aesop has always proved a worthy live performer and he certainly didn’t skimp on his performance in front of his new, hometown crowd. Hailing from NYC but now a SF resident, Aesop, along with cohort Rob Sonic, arrived to an increasingly enthusiastic crowd that held onto his unique delivery with every line. Being the only true hip hop performer of the day, Aesop certainly filled the niche and made heads bob and fists pump from front to back.
TUNNEL STAGE
2:25-2:55-Nortec Collective-Out of all the acts that performed Saturday, this would have to be the big surprise. Armed with three sombreros, an accordion, drum machines, synthesizes and a whole lot of spunk, this Tijuana-based Norteno techno outfit flawlessly combined the two genres into a cohesive and rather raucous soundscape. In reading about Nortec Collective, the words on paper pale in comparison to their tremendous live show and ability to work a crowd into frenzy. Watching the fog roll in over the city, I couldn’t help but coin them honky-tonk electronics from south of the border.
BRIDGE STAGE
3:00-3:45-Antibalas-This was another solid performance from one of Brooklyn’s finest. 12 members, yes a dozen, dancing, singing, playing, and creating music together harmoniously. One concert-goer next to me, in response to the scantily clad ladies next to us, proclaimed, “Lots of booty being shown over there…Good for them.” Summing up their sentiment, Antibalas proclaimed “We always feel a lot of love every time we come to San Francisco.” San Francisco, too, felt a lot of love for Antibalas.
TUNNEL STAGE
3:45-4:15-Foals-These Oxford electro rockers are frankly, the shit. On the bus ride over my counterpart in the seat next to me, the self-proclaimed ‘175 pounds of fury,’ explained to me that I was an idiot for not being more than merely hyped on this band. Well after just a couple minutes, I became that guy. With a swarm of pulsating bass beats, crunchy guitars and hypnotic drumming, Foals were undoubtedly my favorite act of the day. For 25 minutes, slick keyboards colliding with dance floor funk, moving the side stage crowd with a flurry of excitement. Their relentless and fast-paced attack coupled with smooth-sounding vocals was just about to climax when….the sound cut out completely. Without placing blame anywhere, this was certainly an unwelcome event, a “big fucking boner in the ass,” as a nearby member of the crowd proclaimed. It was like the lights going out in the fourth quarter of a tight-fought basketball game, but hey, shit happens. 
BRIDGE STAGE
4:20-5:10-Hot Chip-Hot Chip puts on a dynamic live show. Their substantial grooves spend so much time deep within the pocket that it’s almost impossible to not sit back and enjoy. With band members switching between bass, guitars and keys frequently, the crowd was treated to the electro pop wonder as Alexis Taylor’s witty, charismatic and booty-shaking compositions got one of the largest uproars of the day’s festivities. Then again, there was the wind, to which Taylor commented, “I apologize on behalf of the wind.” With or without, Hot Chip’s full band set, much like their DJ sets, is pure pop magic, a playful brand of music that can surely make even the slowest of feet move. Without a doubt, as one festival goer said to me while taking notes, “Hot Chip is the hottest chip in the bag.” What that means, I just don’t know.
TUNNEL STAGE
5:10-5:50-Amon Tobin-Walking around with a broken foot at a festival is no easy task. My good friend Tyler, at this point in the day, was ready for a little sit down time, as was I. So we headed over the Art Gallery to check out Shepard Fairie’s work and were delighted to find a couple leather chairs to kick back, relax and have a beer in while listening to Amon Tobin. Super spacey and dissonant, Amon Tobin was Amon Tobin and I was glad to be sitting down.
BRIDGE STAGE
5:55-6:45-Goldfrapp-This set was pretty good but I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed. While Allison Goldfrapp is sensual and seductive in her vocals and stage presence, to me, the music was fairly lacking at times. Glam rock, ambient electronic and even softer acoustic sounds abound, just none of which completely grasped my attention.
TUNNEL STAGE
6:45-7:20-Mike Relm-Here was the Top 40 set of the weekend. Relm’s reliance of pop culture references and comic relief weren’t spared on this day, nor were some of his more eclectic mixes and one poignant failure in the form of a botched “Killing in the Name” Rage Against the Machine mix. Other than that, it was business as usual.
BRIDGE STAGE
7:25-8:25-TV on the Radio-One word-disappointing. When they hit the stage and the Antibalas horns came out, I, along with many in the crowd, was thrilled. After two songs, not so much, after three, really not, after four, what the fuck is all the hype about? Towards the end of the set there were roughly 40-50 patrons walking out to CSS for every one that was walking in. Enough said.
TUNNEL STAGE
8:25-9:10-CSS-No wonder CSS is so fun. For one, they’re Brazil’s biggest band. Two, they are extremely colorful, vibrant and sassy to the bone. Even standing at the back of the crowd I could feel the enormous amount of energy emanating from the crowd. It was like being in a packed Miami club during Winter Music Conference, or maybe San Francisco during Love Fest. Somewhere in between, there was CSS.
BRIDGE STAGE
9:15-10:30-Justice-Opening with “Genesis” was the perfect fit to a packed crowd worked into a flurry of head and shoulder bobbing. The song that brought the French electronic duo so much airplay and success by being featured in the latest Cadillac commercial, got several-thousand strong swaying to the frenetic glitches and bass thumping Justice has become so known for. Well, of course there’s the giant, glowing cross situated in the middle of the hollowed out speaker stacks with two Frenchmen situated at the top playing some of the most raging electronic music to hit since, guess who, Daft Punk. Sure the comparisons are, and will continue to be there, but Justice’s live shows are something to marvel at. With dance friendly tracks like “D.A.N.C.E.” a constant staple, as well as plenty of tension and release, the duo capably combine pop samples, hard-driven beats and an almost messiah-inducing stage presence to impress and stir up thousands. Their only drawback is that their set, in the three times I’ve seen them, has been virtually the same each time.
Treasure Island offered a great day of music and an ideal atmosphere for those seeking to get out of the city for a day, enjoy some sunshine, some art and the company of friends and fresh faces. The small festival appeal reached all corners of the festival, from the luxurious bus ride over to the graffiti wall, Ferris wheel and the vast array of local art. After several solid sets of music, conversations with plenty of interesting characters and surviving the onslaught of winds of the Bay, I’d have to say this was quite the pleasurable experience.
photos by Aaron Ketry
