Treasure Island Music Festival 2011: Day 2

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As is the case with most two day festivals, Sunday morning came way too soon. After shaking off what little sleep we were able to catch and slamming down some breakfast and coffee, we were on our way back to the island. My brother and I didn’t want to be late since the first band of the day was also one of our favorites. While Empire Of The Sun’s short set on Saturday was disappointing, it did give us the benefit of an extra half hour of rest. The festival gods must have been smiling down on us this weekend, for it wasn’t until we had made our way through the line and past the dancing lady that we began to hear the unmistakable psychedelic yelps of a certain John Dwyer echoing across the island.

Thee Oh Sees — 12:00-12:40

Let me begin by saying that whoever was in charge of the decision to put Thee Oh Sees on at noon should have their head examined. They are one of the most prolific and hardworking bands in the bay area, and a case could certainly be made that they are also one of the best as well. Why they were slotted to play first on Sunday was a question I could not answer. There were even rumors of a picket line in front of the shuttle buses at AT&T Park protesting the early time slot, although we didn’t actually see any evidence of this. Continuing the drummer theme that was present on Saturday, the band had not one, but two drummers on stage facing each other. Rounding things out was Brigid Dawson on keyboard in the middle, flanked on either side by John and Petey. Although they were only playing to a few hundred early risers, John Dwyer led the band through a handful of psychedelic, garage rock stompers, including “Mega-Feast”, “Enemy Destruct”, “Meat Step Lively” and “Block Of Ice”. At one point between songs, I couldn’t help myself and yelled out, “Thee Oh Sees at noon on Sunday is a travesty!” My outburst was greeted with with at least one “agreed” and I thought I heard a “hear, hear!” in there as well. The band continued their onslaught with “Tidal Wave”, with the dual drummers stacattoing at each other in unison. By 12:30, the crowd had reached critical mass and the mosh/dance pit that usually breaks out during the first song of a Thee Oh Sees show emerged in front of the stage. While bouncing off of fellow festers as Dwyer held his guitar up against his chin, as if to snipe a bird out of the sky, I couldn’t help but wonder if Tooth was among us.

Weekend — 12:40-1:20

Stepping back to the smaller stage, we happened upon the band that should have been playing in the “walk through the line” slot instead of Thee Oh Sees. While Weekend’s lazy shoegaze certainly matched grey skies behind the stages, their songs were pretty uninspiring. The only memorable song in their arsenal was the final cut, “Hazel”. Hopefully by their next festival appearance Weekend will have written a few more songs.

The Antlers — 1:25-2:05

Back at the main stage, the sky was still gray. Perhaps it was anticipating the next act to come? The Antlers set to work, running through songs from their recent album Burst Apart, including “Parentheses”, “No Widows”, “Rolled Together”, and “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”. The band looked as sad and forlorn as they sounded, with two of the members peering back at us with only one eye, the other obscured by a swoop of hair. During one of my personal favorites, “I Don’t Want Love” the sun finally broke through the clouds and a tiger butterfly fluttered down and landed on my shoulder. Could things get any more magical? My new friend chilled with us through two more songs before taking back to the skies, just in time for the band to finish the set with their album closing track “Putting The Dog To Sleep”. While the band’s sound wasn’t quite optimal — the intricacies of a few songs were lost due to the bass being too loud — the strength of The Antlers songwriting was still able to shine through, just like the sun that they so deftly coaxed out of hiding.

Warpaint — 2:05-2:45

Next up was Warpaint, the best all girl group I’ve heard since Sleater-Kinny. Emily and Jenny came out wearing a scuzzy sweatshirt and baggy 49ers tank top, but despite their best efforts, the girls still looked just as radient as they sounded. Warpaint is one of the few bands of this festival (sharing a trait with Thee Oh Sees and Explosions In The Sky) that consistently sound better onstage than they do in the studio. On this particular afternoon things were no different and we were treated to generous helpings of dreamy psychedelia. Highlights included the buzzing bass of “Bees”, the muffled, tribal toms of “Burgundy”, and any point when Jenny and her bass turned her back to the audience as to better lock in with Stella on the drums (read: pretty much the whole set). Strangely, the band skipped “Composure” (a song that I’ve seen them transition seamlessly into “Undertow” at past shows) and instead played their single on its own. Alas, the shortened time allotted to bands during a festival set claimed another victim. While I think it’s hard for a group with so much chemistry to have a bad set, Warpaint needs some leg stretching room to really transport us to higher planes like they did the last time they came to SF and treated everyone at The Independent to a sprawling, jammed out, 20+ minute version of “Beetles”. Still, you could tell the girls were having fun, and I’d be lying if I said their set closer “Elephants” didn’t slow down time and lift my head off of my shoulders for a few minutes.

St. Vincent — 2:50-3:35

Hot on the release of her 3rd album, Strange Mercy, Annie Clark was ready to systematically serenade and bust heads. She stepped onto the stage wearing a pair of big, round shades, black heels, and a fuzzy yellow sweater, threatening to steal the title of #1 indie queen from Beach House’s Victoria Legrand. Her long, slender fingers had no trouble fluttering up and down the fret-board as she sauntered through old and new songs alike. “Surgeon” and “Cruel” represented the new while both of my favorite tracks on her previous album “Save Me From What I Want” and “Actor Out Of Work” were there to represent the old. Per was skeptical at first, wondering aloud if Clark was just another product of the internet buzz monster, but by the time the final licks of “Cheerleader” faded away into the crowd, he was convinced. St. Vincent thrives on contrast, almost every song would find Annie softly crooning into the microphone one second before whipping away to lose herself in her guitar the next. The set continued with a cover of The Pop Group’s “She Is Beyond Good And Evil” and the strangely relevant (‘Oh America, Can I Owe You One?’) “Year Of The Tiger”. One thing’s for certain, after 3 acts of relaxed and dreamy vibes, it was nice to get another jolt of rock and roll in our systems.

St. Vincent

Wild Beasts — 3:35-4:15

Soon after Annie and her crew finished up, we started hearing another female voice float across the island. But wait a second, was this really another female voice or was it just Hayden Thorpe’s operatic falsetto? Even being halfway across the globe from their home, these Englishmen still had the rail filled with girls holding up signs that proclaimed their adoration. Of course, what else would you expect with a band whose songs are loaded with such lust and poetic innuendo? Hayden and friends played “Bed Of Nails” and “Albatross” from their new album as well as two of my favorites from their previous work, “We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues” and “All The King’s Men” before finally finishing their set with the equally enchanting “Hooting & Howling”. Few bands this weekend sounded so much like something you might hear back in the day when pirates actually roamed the seas, and in that capacity Wild Beasts haunting chamber-pop was a perfect fit for Treasure Island.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks — 4:20-5:10

As Stephen Malkmus stepped out on the stage he wasted no time before setting the tone of his set. He was sure to introduce himself — “We’re The Jicks, and I’m Stephen” — but not before remarking on how surprised he was to find music on Treasure Island instead of a decomissioned base full of DDT and asbestos. Bass player Joanna quickly followed up with “By the way, it’s 4:20.” Not that this crowd needed any reminder. As the former Pavement frontman led the band through “Jenny And The Ess-Dog”, clouds of smoke could be seen snaking their way towards the sky. The new song “Senator” was next, and its references to SF’s Ocean Beach drew a cheer. Of course, Stephen wasn’t content just playing his guitar — on more than one occasion he threw it behind his back before tearing into a solo. It seemed like a song couldn’t go by without some sort of banter tumbling out of his mouth. Stephen commented on the dancing lady across the field after “Brain Gallup”, how bros make everything funnier after “Spazz” and asked the crowd if they were single and loving it (or married and kinda loving it) after “Forever 28″. Naturally, every song was full of rockstar flourishes. Anytime there was space between a verse or a few words, Stephen would be ready to fill the space with blistering riffage. Since my new favorite ballad, “Share The Red”, never made an appearance, the highlight of the set ended up being the sunny singalong of — ‘We are the Tigers, we need sep-arate rooms!’ — on the aptly named “Tigers”. Before finally leaving the stage, the band made sure to let us know how they really felt — “The bay is the best place, best place, best place!” With the help of Treasure Island booking acts like this, they just might be right about that.

The Head And The Heart — 5:10-5:55

After the aging hipster rock of the Jicks, it was a bit of a transition into the second scheduling failure of the day. The Head And The Heart’s indie folk sounded nice enough, but sadly, the band just doesn’t have any particularly compelling songs. The tumbling piano in “Ghosts” almost got us there, but overall it wasn’t enough to keep us interested. Normally I wouldn’t rag on a blandness too much, but it’s hard to hold back when said blandness is slotted after amazing acts like Thee Oh Sees, St. Vincent and The Jicks. Hoping to save the rest of our stash for Explosions In The Sky and The Hold Steady, we mused on other ways of getting high enough to enjoy such a lackluster set. Luckily, the answer was right over our heads.

Beach House — 6:00-6:50

After a quick spin on the Ferris wheel to ride out the rest of The Head And The Heart’s set, it was time for Beach House. Victoria Legrand and company were ready to lullaby the sun to sleep as it set behind the Golden Gate bridge. Victoria’s sultry voice and lazy organ powered the dreamiest indie pop of the weekend and the band was quick to break out my two favorites, “Walk In The Park” and “Norway”. Turns out this was the perfect soundtrack for getting a bit cozy with whoever you had brought to (or met at) the festival, and sure enough, Per and I counted at least 5 other couples making out around us. Victoria’s inner voyeur must have noticed as well, because before departing she remarked on how beautiful everyone was.

Friendly Fires — 6:50-7:35

After Beach House we found ourselves back at the smaller stage for the first time since the sun set to find Friendly Fires ready to ignite. I was curious as to why an electronic outfit like the Fires were slotted on day two while decidedly non-electronic act DFA1979 was on day one, but after a few songs of the English dance-rock, I gave up caring. It was nice to have a some energy after two sets of chilled vibes. Friendly Fires was yet another band to rock the double-drum setup, and frontman Ed MacFarlane worked the crowd into a sea of energy in front of a grapefruit tinged skyline. The tropical-funk crew brought favorites such as “Live Those Days Tonight”, “Hurting”, and “Hawaiian Air”. For a moment, it felt like we had time traveled back to Saturday.

Explosions In The Sky — 7:40-8:30

I’ll admit it. I’ve never been huge on Explosions In The Sky. And while I had listened to their new album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care a few times, it never really clicked with me. Sometimes though, all it takes to change an opinion on a band is to see them live. The all instrumental act took a commanding presence on stage as they carefully built each song up piece by piece until the entire field was brimming with a celestial rolling crescendo.  While they had a full 50 minutes to perform, they only managed to get through five songs. Of course, that’s what happens when each of your songs is 10 minutes long. Guitars simultaneously chugged and fluttered, cymbals shimmered and crashed while the three members of the band who were not locked down to a drum set rocked and lurched back and forth, as if slowly advancing upon the entranced audience. A look around at the crowd confirmed my suspicions, most people looked to be in a daze, as if they were afraid to move or speak, lest they miss the next layer of guitars. On this night, no one on the island was safe from the onslaught of Explosion’s post-rock-alypse.

The Hold Steady — 8:30-9:15

While 8:30 found many festival newbs milling around or even pushing forward after Explosions In The Sky (presumably to get close enough to the stage to count the fibers on Ben Gibbard’s flannel) those in the know continued towards second stage for The Hold Steady. This is a band not to be missed, even if doing so might grant you a slightly better view of the headliners. The Hold Steady has a penchant for writing boisterous rock songs with a literary slant. It’s as if frontman Craig Finn is sitting in a bar, telling us about his last failed relationship, or the trip he recently took to his hometown that turned out to be totally depressing – in rock and roll form. But how does he make a show at a festival in front of thousands of people still seem like an intimate, soul baring conversation? By making eye contact and lots of outrageous hand gestures, of course! If you’ve never seen Craig Finn in action, it’s hard to explain, but you’ll just have to believe me when I say the man has a way about the stage. The Hold Steady were also keen to lead us in plenty of yell-alongs, including “Sequestered In Memphis” (complete with finger quotes during the line “I went there on business”) and their breakout hit “Chips Ahoy”. There aren’t too many other bands out there today who can finish a set and leave the whole audience feeling as if they’ve just reunited with a thousand of their closest friends.

Death Cab For Cutie — 9:20-10:35

Earlier in the day I was joking with Per about how the only thing that would really get me into Death Cab’s set later in the night would be if they opened with the moody, 8 minute, slow building “I Will Possess Your Heart”. Well once again the festival gods nodded in our favor, as that brooding bassline was exactly what came floating out of the mainstage speakers at 9:20. It’s the perfect antithesis to all the saccharine filled, high-school mix tape tunes that B-Gibbs and friends are best known for. No offense to Empire Of The Sun (as I really do like their music), but it was nice to be watching a band with an actual discography. We could tell that Gibbard was having fun, and depending upon the song being played, his floppy mop of hair could be found bobbing behind a keyboard, guitar, and even drums. All eras of the band were represented, from the new single “You Are A Tourist” off of 2011′s Codes And Keys stretching all the way back to “Photobooth” from 2000′s The Forbidden Love EP. After a few songs, Per climbed one of the trees on the left side of the field in an effort to get some better pictures over the tops of all the dancing bodies. Later in the set, our favorite Death Cab song “Cath…” made an appearance and try as I might, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. As much shit as I like to give this band, I have to admit, they know how to make their songs sound good on stage. After a short break, they came out for two last songs, and as the final “Transatlanticism” ‘so come on, come on’ sing alongs faded into the dark, the communal spirit of music had never felt more alive. Thanks for an amazing weekend Treasure Island, here’s hoping we’ll both be around to do it again next year.

Death Cab For Cutie

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Treasure Island 2011 Sunday

Cheat Sheet

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Most memorable acts

St. Vincent

Explosions In The Sky

Thee Oh Sees

The Hold Steady

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Death Cab For Cutie

Most forgettable acts

The Head And The Heart

Weekend

Best scheduling

Beach House

Worst scheduling

Thee Oh Sees

The Head And The Heart

Blisteringest riffage

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Thee Oh Sees

St. Vincent

Weepiest vibes

The Antlers

Beach House

Most stage banter

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Biggest mosh pit

Thee Oh Sees

Sexiest stage presence

Warpaint

Wild Beasts

Most feeling conveyed with the least amount of words

Explosions In The Sky

Best “guitar necklacing” offender

The Hold Steady

Most delicate butterfly whisperers

The Antlers

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See the rest of Sunday’s photos here.

Read about day 1 of the festival here.

Photos by Perhansa Skallerup