Outside Lands - Good things come to those who wait
Friday got off to a bit of a rocky start in my eyes at San Francisco’s inaugural Outside Lands music festival. The polo field simply could not handle the 60,000+ crowd that streamed in to watch Radiohead, and the sound system couldn’t handle it, either. Two complete cut-outs for at least 30 seconds? Unacceptable! I was mad.
But the festival redeemed itself on Saturday when better weather, more relaxation during the day and the start of a great and more local lineup began. The festival was actually quite well organized for the sized crowd that was present Saturday & Sunday. No lines for beer, IDs, or other stuff. An awesome wine tasting tent. The Visa Signature room was killer, too - a secret spot to hang and enjoy clean portajohns, a nice bar and streaming live music from the stages - if you had a Visa card. Slick promotion if you ask me. And even the weather got better every day - from thick fog Friday night to blue skies on Sunday. This was clearly a festival that just got better over time.
Mike Gordon’s set was most anticipated by yours truly, and it was OK, but not spectacular. I miss the old Phish. What can I say. Steve Winwood, on the other hand, was unexpectedly “jammy” and there were great improv songs during his set which got the crowd really moving.
All in all the festival was fantastic. People were respectful, though the park was far from clean when it was over. I hope the festival is welcomed back next year, and I hope a not-quite-so-big headliner is chosen for Friday night so we don’t anger the rest of the city by completely ruining mass transit. (Not that it functions anyway, but, you know…)