On the walk to the festival grounds on the third and final day of Outside Lands, the most frequent topic of conversation that I overheard was regarding people’s exceedingly tired legs. I was pleased to get the exercise, though. An uphill walk through San Francisco isn’t the worst way to burn off the burgeoning beer belly that summer indulgence has left me with.

Stars, one of the more senior bands on the Toronto based indie-powerhouse label Arts & Crafts, were the first band I managed to catch after I caught my breath. They write melancholy pop, bordering on the maudlin. A few of their songs are actually quite good, but I had seen them at Coachella and their performance didn’t leave a lasting impression. Instead of sticking around, I caught a good spot for Bon Iver.  Though performing with a full band at the festival, Bon Iver is a creation of singer/songwriter/guitarist Justin Vernon. His new album For Emma, Forever Ago is wonderful. He shut himself up in a cabin for a few months and churned out the record, which is sparse instrumentally but overflowing with emotive melodies and lyrics.  Propelled by the haunting and poignant single Skinny Love, Bon Iver has been lavished with much critical and audience praise. The crowd at the hidden-away Presidio stage was, fittingly, larger than usual and the performance, though having moments of imperfection, was highly appreciated by the audience.

The only down side to Bon Iver was that I had to miss a fair percentage of Andrew Bird’s set. Bird, a recent focus of LA2DAY’s Artist to Know, performed on one of the main stages and managed to draw a massive audience. I was pleased, as I have been a fan of his for a while and I feel that he deserves widespread recognition. Rodrigo y Gabriela occupy an interesting niche in indie music. Their duo-acoustic guitar interplay renders some exciting parts, but they have a tendency to revert to acoustic-metal riffing way too often for me to remain interested. I didn’t stay for long, but rather weaved my way to a good spot for Wilco.

Wilco may be the closest thing we have to a great American rock band in their prime at the moment. They were already good at the time of recording Yankee Foxtrot Hotel, but the addition of second guitarist Nels Cline has pushed their music forward a great deal. His presence and ability, highlighted in a number of searing solos, have helped to alleviate the occasional feeling of monotony I got when I listened to their music. One solo in particular, for which he played a lap-slide guitar, was notably excellent. Despite a few generally unsuccessful attempts at cajoling the crowd into token arena-rock clap-alongs and the lack of a few notable high-tempo songs, their set was a fitting end to a solid festival.

I say end because, for the second time this year, Jack Johnson has provided my (and thousands of others’) exit music to a festival. The narrow, sloping streets of San Francisco echoed his generic beach-folk-pop all the way back to our vehicle. And that was enough for me.

All in all, Ouside Lands’ inaugural year was a pretty good festival. In terms of line-up, I wouldn’t say that it was as strong as Coachella, but the setting of Golden Gate Park was much more pleasant than the oven-like desertous climate that Coachella takes place in. I’m intrigued to see what the future holds for this event. 

Story by Jemayel Khawaja.

READ JEMAYEL'S DAY TWO REPORT