Outside Lands 2011, Day 1: The Commute Formidable; or Anger, MGMT

I may have broken my Coachella streak earlier this year due to a startlingly quick sell-out, but I have another festival streak to nourish, and this year marked my third straight at San Francisco's awesome Outside Lands. Last year I failed to review it, but two years ago I did a sort of running diary of Day 1, so I thought I'd give that another go. If no one seems to care, or if writing it just proves too big a pain, expect one large post for Days 2 & 3. But for now, let's dive right into the hills and fog of the Bay Area!

Coachella 2011: Yeah, great, but where the hell is Kyuss??

It's that time of year again.  Hipsters all across Southern California start getting antsy with antici..........pation, wondering just who will be playing at their favorite desert hangout, at least when they're not focused on getting as pampered and drugged up as possible.  Ok, perhaps that's a bit cynical; they also care about getting into the parties.  But what does the Coachella 2011 lineup mean for all the people who go exclusively for the music?  Very good things, in this humble blogger's opinion.

Coachella 2010, Day 1: Oh, the humanity!

It's April, and for me that means one thing: Coachella.  After being drawn to the desert in 2004 by Radiohead and the Pixies, I've been every year since.  As I like to say, it's the greatest weekend of my life and it happens every year.  That may be a bit hyperbolic, but only a bit.  Nowhere else can I see so many bands all in the same place, and it's more or less guaranteed to surprise me.  This year was no different, though it did get off to a rocky start.  In the days leading up to the festival Goldenvoice had announced that the festival was sold out, and that the number of tickets sold was 75,000, the most I can remember in the seven years I've been going.  So I anticipated a lot of people, but what I encountered was another thing entirely.

Outside Lands, Day 1: San Franciscoachella

Now is the time on ITIHSTDWO when we talk about Outside Lands! I know, finally. Luckily I have one of those good memories you always hear so much about, so it's still very clear in my mind. Outside Lands was exciting to me for a lot of reasons, but other than some of my favorite bands the main interest was in going to a multi-day festival that wasn't Coachella. So, basically, I was looking forward to sub-100° days; a festival where I wasn't hiding from the sun constantly. San Francisco is known for its cold winds and overcast weather, so I figured I was in good shape. 

Outside Lands, the San Francisco Treat

Speaking of concerts, and my awesome girlfriend, look what she got me for my birthday! As you can see, it's not for another couple of months, but I am extremely excited. I go to Coachella every year, but I have a feeling this will be totally different, what with less bands and a (hopefully) nicer climate. There are probably ten bands I'm really excited about, with Pearl Jam being at the top of that list, and TV On The Radio and The Dead Weather (Jack White's new project) right up there too, but there are also plenty of good bands/bands I'm interested in/bands I wouldn't pay for otherwise, and I predict a very good festival. If anyone's going let me know, and expect to see something here after I get back, talking about how totally sweet the whole thing was.