Outside Lands - Day 3 - Sunday 8/31/09

They performed their hits such as "Bananas & Blow" to a packed audience on the Twin Peaks stage. In true form, there was something in the air with this jam-band, and the audience for that matter. - Clovis

Dead Weather's infamous collaborators Jack White (Whitestripes) and Alison Mosshart (The Kills) took the stage on the what had become a cold day even for a San Francisco winter. Breaking into their set, they heated the place up with their brand of sonically/noisy/bluesy tinged rock'n'roll.
The energy was visceral as they pounded out songs with lyrics like " I look like a woman, but I Cut Like a Buffalo". The vocal duties (and and a good deal of the sexual tension on stage) were mainly in the realm of Moshart. White also sang periodically, taking a break from the drums. Moshart and White also sung together on one of the last songs, making the show an excellent ride from intense and noisy to emotional & noisy. The Dead Weather is definitely a band to see. - Clovis
The indie-pop stylings of the multi-talented Australian singer Lenka, wooed the audience with equal parts charming demeanor and catchy indie-pop songs. She delivered quirky and catchy tunes without being contrived. One of her last tunes was a catchy philosophical number about life called "I Want my Money Back", and the audience chanted along
Heartless Bastards from Cincinnati, OH sounded tight as the band lead by singer/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom's rocked the house. - Clovis
Calexico repped the southwest the third and final day of Outside Lands, performing their widely-beloved form of tejano/spaghetti-western rock with guest vocalist and percussionist Salvador Duran as well as an expanded horn section. - Dru


After two days of uncharacteristic sun, the fog and cold wind of summer returned to Golden Gate Park; but neither that-- nor the late replacement of final headliners Beastie Boys with Tenacious D-- stopped the thousands that came for the last day of Outside Lands. Soul/blues chanteuse Bettye LaVette was one of the first acts of the afternoon and caught the attention and awe of everyone in ear range of her emotional performance, during which she told stories from her 47-year career. LaVette's set included "A Change Is Gonna Come," the 1964 Sam Cooke song that she also performed at the Obama inauguration.

Many fans stayed close to the main stage, where Modest Mouse and M.I.A. drew some of the largest crowds of the weekend-- evidently no one was deterred by M.I.A.'s twitter posts earlier in the week in which she complained about having to open for "The D," due to to recovery of Beastie Boy MCA (aka Adam Yauch) from cancer surgery.

In all it was an excellently run festival-- though they might have wanted even more public busses available at the end of the night considering what an effort the organizers put into encouraging everyone to "go green." It seemed that one need but turn to find a convenient set of three large cans for trash, recyclables and compost, and even a friendly volunteer to help make determinations if you spent too much time in the wine tent. Many environmental causes and green businesses were supported by the festival including ecomom.com, Save the Waves Coalition, Global Water Challenge and the Surfrider Foundation. The San Francisco Bike Coalition returned for a second year of Outside Lands to handle the valet parking of hundreds if not thousands of bikes.