Sunday was the final day for Outside Lands 2011, with arguably the most stacked lineup of the weekend. Whereas many chose to show up around 2 PM on Friday and Saturday, a huge number came to catch local favorite The Fresh & Onlys start right at noontime. While it would have been nice to see them (and Wye Oak in the Toyota Free Yr Radio! booth), Glide had the delightful chance to interview musicologist Stephen Thomas Erlewine (who goes by Tom in person) at the Rovi tent.
Many will recognize Tom’s name from his work as a critic for Allmusic.com, which is now part of the Rovi Corporation. AllMusic has been for the past two decades an invaluable database, kept up-to-date with such precision and attention to detail that there is no need for any rival. Erlewine has a variety of responsibilities as lead editor of www.allrovi.com (the latest iteration of www.allmusic.com), but it’s his critical edge that has proven so crucial over the past decade. He writes with lucid prose that engages the most important questions about new music: so what? Erlewine’s work is never clouded by the common critical tendencies of his peers; rather, his work takes a definite stand without appearing pompous and while he can never be objective and still assess an album’s strengths and weaknesses, his reviews are fair, judicious and thoughtful. He sets the bar for current and upcoming music journalists, and speaking with him was an absolute pleasure.
But, it’d be too easy to find out more about his background and work at Rovi and not ask him the eventual question: what are his favorite albums of 2011 (so far)? Tom gave it some thought, and responded with the Erlewine Best of 2011 list:
2. Brad Paisley– This Is Country Music
3. The Kills– Blood Pressures
4. Paul Simon– So Beautiful or So What
5. PJ Harvey– Let England Shake
6. Yuck– Yuck
7. The Smithereens– 2011
Many thanks to Rovi for setting up the interview!
DAY THREE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 14, 2011
After our interview with Tom Erlewine, the process of scheduling the next run of sets to see was particularly difficult. Starting out at the Panhandle Solar stage, Lord Huron delivered a surprisingly great show for an equally surprisingly large crowd. The Panhandle was definitely the smallest stage in scale and space, so lesser-known acts are usually relegated there. Sometimes this is to the band’s benefit, though, because it creates fantastically intimate connections, albeit in the context of a major festival. Lord Huron’s sound was seamless and almost carefree, but it never felt like they weren’t fully invested in the performance. Their songs are urgent without being aggressive, melodic without being derivative, and overall are able to be both calming and energizing. Definitely a band to watch as they continue to promote their two EPs, Mighty and Into the Sun.
Very rarely do you see a mind-bending, paradigm altering and utterly novel approach to performance at a festival. Bands usually have fifty minutes to communicate their sound and intentions, and then hurry off so the next act can soundcheck and keep on schedule. But every now and again, there’s an act like Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, aka tUnE-yArDs. Reigning from across the Bay in Oakland, tUnE-yArDs makes music that is fresh, irresistible and astonishing in its originality. Pulling mostly from their most recent album, w h o k i l l (2011), Garbus and Brenner tore through the material with a genuine zeal that is so frequently lacking from experimental indie bands. They seemed utterly disinterested with being cool, correct or fashionable, but instead put on what was a thrilling and breathtaking fifty minutes of nonstop energy. Garbus’ songs are in no way conventional in the pop/rock idiom, but Brenner’s unremitting bass lines kept the audience dancing feverishly. It’s so very difficult to categorize or even explain what happens when Garbus takes the stage, so it’s best left to watch and see for yourself. w h o k i l l one of the finest and most gripping albums to be released this year, and this is a band that exists so brightly and fully in the live setting.
Rushing from the Sutro stage after dancing incessantly to tUnE-yArDs, a brief pause before Mavis Staples began provided the perfect amount of time to fuel up with fried chicken from Farmer Brown’s Little Skillet and Ritual Coffee. Because, really, what better way is there to listen to Mavis wail than with fried chicken and mac & cheese?
Mavis Staples is one of the few consummate performers of her time left. But what she’s done so smartly is align herself with the incontrovertible heavy-weights of the indie modern age, such as Jeff Tweedy, Colin Meloy and Win Butler. Her lack of pretense, overflowing heart and total devotion to her music set Staples apart from many of her diva contemporaries who languish in the fading glow of their limelight. Rather than be known as a force from another era, she’s continually updating her career by working with brilliant co-creators, but without losing the spark that ignited America’s interest in Mavis Staples. Below is one of the absolute highlights of the weekend: Staples dueting with Arcade Fire’s Win Butler on a cover of The Band’s 1968 hit “The Weight.”
After a less-than-inspiring performance by Ty Segall and a Wye Oak set that never fully coalesced and connected with the audience, The Decemberists brought the energy back up for a rousing show on the Lands End main stage. The absence of keyboard and accordion player Jenny Conlee, who is undergoing treatments for breast cancer, was very much felt, but the band paid her generous tribute throughout the evening. While they toned down much of the shenanigans that were so welcome at Sasquatch earlier this year, they definitely delivered a rock solid group of songs that played to all of their strengths. Sara Watkins continues to grow in fierceness on “Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga),” and the songs from their most recent album The King is Dead (2011) reveal what strong legs they have among the Decemberists’ powerful back catalogue.
Despite underwhelming headliner sets from Phish and Muse, festivergoers had no qualms in calling Arcade Fire’s set as one of the weekend’s best way before they’d even performed. Even though such presumptions are annoying and eye roll worthy, the fact remains that Arcade Fire did just that. They took a day that was already packed with superlative performances and raised the bar to a whole new level. Propelled by the vicious dramatic intensity of tUnE-yArDs, the soulfulness of Mavis Staples, the folk beauty of John Fogerty, the epic sound of !!! and the exceptional storytelling of The Decemberists, Arcade Fire tied all those influences together and gave a performance of unrivaled weight.
Husband and wife duo Win Butler and Régine Chassagne orchestrated the evening with their gripping, expressive performances, but it was definitely clear that this was a full band affair. The amount of sound emitted through the massive speakers washed out over the tens of thousands of people there to witness these two special hours with the band. Arcade Fire has built up a lot of expectations over their years, from major cult status to winning the Album of the Year Grammy, but as they showed as the closer for the 2011 Outside Lands Festival, they’re worthy of all that idolatry. A totally brilliant end to three days of San Francisco best in food, wine and music. Here’s to 2012!
