Music lovers risk their lives for Treasure Island Music Festival
September 20-21, 2008, in San Francisco
By Camille Ikalina-Robles
Published: September 23rd, 2008 | 9:50pm
The Treasure Island Music Festival is set on a little manmade island in the San Francisco Bay, and from this island is one of the most gloriously beautiful views of the San Francisco city skyline. If you can forget for a moment that a high magnitude earthquake could liquify the land-filled island sooner than you can say “Ahoy, matey!” then you could possibly find yourself asking if anything could be more beautiful than this. Microwaved chicken shawarma and port-o-potties aside, the festival hosted an eclectic mix of musicians, indie crafters, designers, and fashionable festivalgoers.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
On Saturday the festival started as almost all days do in San Francisco: overcast and with a chill in the air. Posh Bauer buses with TVs blaring the latest podcast`s from Current TV carted attendees from SBC Park halfway across the bridge and onto the little island. Food stations offering pizza, spinach knishes, and organic coffee lined one side of the festival, along with the indie mart, which featured handmade creations, haircuts, and interactive art installations. Smack in the middle was a large Ferris wheel that moved faster than most Ferris wheels have a right to. I was nauseated just looking at it and made a mental note to stay clear of the bottom. I imagine festival food has a hard time staying down anyway, let alone at that speed.
Unlike most summer festivals, the two-stage set up at Treasure Island made it possible for festival attendees to catch every band if they were so inclined. The set times were spaced five minutes apart, so there was plenty of time to make it to the next show, or simply turn back and forth between the Tunnel Stage and the larger Bridge Stage.
UK band Foals played the Tunnel Stage mid-afternoon on Saturday and rocked the crowd with their loud distorted guitars and chaotic stage presence. The intensity of the performance came to an abrupt halt when the sound suddenly turned off, leaving the band members slightly annoyed, but in the end pretty resourceful. While the sound issue was being fixed, the musicians beat on the percussive instruments before full power was established again and then roared right back into the set.
Across the way at the main stage, Goldfrapp was just starting. With the band members dressed in white, loose garments and painted faces, and with microphone stands wrapped in different colored ribbons like maypoles, it felt like we were getting a sneak peek into a private pagan ritual gathering. Harps decorated the back of the stage, while up front the keytar took center stage. Singer Alison Goldfrapp graced the stage barefoot and in her signature short, flirty dress, this time with streams of different-colored ribbons hanging from her body. The wind coming off the bay made her curly hair and ribbons blow majestically in the wind, lending to the overall theatrics of the performance. Among Goldfrapp’s danceable tunes were “A&E,” “Little Bird,” “Happiness,” and “Ooh La La.”
The infectious French duo Justice took the stage that night to what was, by far, the largest gathering of the day. Mixing behind stacks of Marshall amplifiers and a large illuminated cross, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay were hardly visible. With their heads turned down toward their turntables, it was only the smoke billowing from their cigarettes that gave any sign of the men behind the synthetic melodies and distorted beats. As the weather cooled significantly and the wind picked up, everyone gathered closely and danced their way into warmth. I walked away that night with the bass still bumping in my chest.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
While Saturday’s lineup featured more electronic and DJ acts, the majority of Sunday’s roster featured a bunch of all-dude bands and their guitars. Styles varied from danceable rock acts to harmony-driven folk rockers. Around mid-afternoon the Oakland, California-based band the Morning Benders warmed up the crowd at the Tunnel Stage with their infectious pop pieces reminiscent of the ’50s and ’60s. Before beginning their song “Waiting For The War,” vocalist-guitarist Chris Chu asked the crowd to “dance and have fun because you only live once.” The band dispensed a few more danceable tunes before finishing their set on the beautiful bright San Francisco day.
Sunday’s attendees seemed to have come more prepared for the long day with blankets and food in tow. Vendors were everywhere, as screen-printing artists charged as little as $10 to print designs on new pastel-colored underwear and white boxer-briefs. One man sat offering to write poems on a topic of your choice for a simple donation. As inspiration hit, he hammered away at his vintage typewriter and gave the special donor his/her poem on a recycled scrap of paper.
The sweet Canadians of Tokyo Police Club warmed up the main-stage crowd with what could only be described as energetic madness. The group seemed truly happy to be at the festival, as the band members continually thanked the audience and took photos of the crowd from the stage. If anyone demanded audience participation, it was definitely this band.
Okkervil River took the stage next with its signature rock anthems that mixed bluegrass, country, and rock, set to a heavy backbeat. Dressed in suits and ties, the band meandered through hard-rocking songs and lo-fi ballads. Fleet Foxes took a simple musical approach and focused mainly on beautiful three-part harmonies with a light musical background that was quietly rich in piano, guitar, and drums. Their jokes and witty between-song banter about the festival were entertaining and fun, and the Raconteurs’ Jack White hung out by the side of the stage to check out the set.
When Vampire Weekend took the stage, the kids went crazy. Although the band shot up to stardom pretty fast, the guys’ comfortable stage presence and frontman Ezra Koenig’s pitch-perfect voice made it seem like they’ve been doing this for most of their lives. Their danceable style, influenced by punk, ska, reggae, and pop-rock, seemed to reach deep down in the hearts of festival goers, and it was hard to find anyone who didn’t at least recognize one of the songs.
Tegan and Sara, who performed before headliners the Raconteurs, proved to be the highlight of the festival. Severely lacking throughout the weekend was any sort of significant female presence, and the Quin twins definitely helped to bring at least a little diversity to the day full of boys. Windy and chilly by the time they took the stage, the duo came prepared, as Sara quipped, “I’m wearing my black trench coat, which makes me look like I should be playing ‘Dungeons & Dragons.’” She also explained that she didn’t want to seem vain, but she was glad the wind was blowing the same direction as her bangs, or that “would have been really annoying.”
Their building guitars and vocal harmonies lent themselves well to the songs Tegan and Sara write, which provides the right kind of angst-ridden tension that is so prevalent in their songs. Both Tegan and Sara switched guitars and lead vocals throughout the show, and also took turns at the piano during a few songs. They even mixed in a little cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” into one of the songs, but had to start over because one of the women made a mistake. The funny banter between them as they tried to figure out who made the mistake was entertaining, and it likely gave the audience a glimpse into what the sisters’ relationship is like on and off the stage. At some point Sara, who was very talkative throughout the set, mentioned her love of the movie The Lost Boys, a reference that came up many times during the show. At one point, when the lights went out on stage for a few seconds, Sara said she thought “that was it … I thought the vampires were coming to ravish us.”
If Tegan and Sara showed everyone that women could rock, then the Raconteurs reminded us that the boys do it well too. The testosterone-laden performance showcased Jake White and guitarist Brendan Benson’s love for rocknroll and the blues through their large, anthemic songs and numerous guitar solos. In the end, it was clear how much they enjoyed playing together, and it’s easy to see why their shows are more like an onstage gathering of friends.
The Treasure Island Music Festival is in only in its second year, and I imagine it will just get better and better. And although it could do well with adding more female artists to the bill and expanding the diversity of the music, the collection of vendors, entertainment, and artists seemed to fit just right on this island in the bay. The setting is truly out of this world, and if the goals were camaraderie, good music, and fun, then even a little encounter with Mother Nature would be well worth the risk. Ahoy, mateys!
Issue #35
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