The Strokes, Caroline Polachek, Sofi Tukker, Rico Nasty, and other musicians also performed on Halloween weekend.
This year’s Halloween in San Francisco was somewhat different than usual, as the Outside Lands Music and Art Festival took place on October 29th-31st rather than its typical August date. People moved from the city’s windy streets to the beautiful Golden Gate Park to enjoy the party.
The date shift to October is sensible regardless of the pandemic’s delays and cancellations, as San Francisco’s weather is almost precisely the same, albeit a little colder (jackets at a festival never hurt anybody!). Despite the fact that no 2020 Outside Lands was announced due to the Pandemic, being at this year’s event felt more like a party than ever before. A number of crucial elements from the Outside Lands Festival were restored, such as the ever-changing psychedelic lighting on the enormous trees surrounding the fields and, of course, unforgettable performances.
This year also featured some new elements: celebrity chefs collaborated with artists and comedians for a new stage called “Gastromagic,” and there were two “acoustic” stages at Cocktail Magic and Grass Lands (the festival’s sectioned-off, 21+ area in which you could purchase and consume cannabis from a variety of Southern California growers.)
Overall, Outside Lands was a vibrant, entertaining, and of course spooky event. With performances from The Strokes, Lizzo, and Tame Impala (a fantastic line-up in epidemic year), several artists donned outstanding Halloween costumes and celebrated the occasion beyond the holiday: the return of live music and festivals after months and months of cancellations. The party was clearly not over (until the cops shut it down), and there is no reason to believe that Outside Lands will not return in 2022.
Here’s a rundown of how it all went down.
Bands, Guitars, and Performance Arts Aren’t Dead
Outside Lands, which took place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park from August 8 to August 11, was a testament to the city’s illustrious contribution to rock and roll history. With Golden Gate Park located just a few miles away from the historic Height-Ashbury neighborhood, this energy was well represented at this year’s Outside Lands.
Tame Impala’s fantastic performance and breathtaking visuals were definitely appreciated, especially in San Francisco, where psychedelic rock is particularly unique. Tame Impala has played and headlined so many festivals that their performance is more about enhancing the overall Tame Impala experience than it is about adding to the The Strokes’ repertoire, as it was with them.
The return of The Strokes was an incredible and unexpected moment. They put on a great show and got the crowd extremely excited: talk about a powerful moment, an infectious rock reunion led by one of the most legendary bands in modern music.
However, despite all of the amazing psychedelic visuals and lengthy jams full of phasers, Kevin Parker was hesitant to bring songs from 2020’s excellent “The Slow Rush” to life. Most of the concert was taken up with songs from 2015’s “Currents”. Since the very Successful Currents tour, he has introduced a number of elements to the show, but if it’s basically the same nearly seven years later, it’s time to change things up a bit.
The Strokes, on the other hand, played their greatest hits for the fans on Friday night, and the crowd’s sing-along was well worth the wait. According to a long-time fan, The Strokes’ set was “rather nice” and “perfectly played.” While Julian Casablancas complained about the mix and volume of the performance, The Strokes actually sounded rather clear and polished from where this writer stood. There were several instances in which the individual guitar parts of Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi moved cohesively together, completely enhancing the performance, and even with minimal production, there were some dramatic moments of rock.
Golden Gate Park also had an incredibly thrilling Post Animal, who kicked off the weekend with a blazing set that included songs from their debut When I Think Of You In A Castle as well as Forward Motion Godyssey, their 2020 album. An exceptionally exciting set by Post Animal in my opinion. The members of the group sang, so there were some stacked, billowing full-band harmonies as each member took the lead.
Vampire Weekend lmade sure to have a great time at their only performance of 2021 – their 2019 masterpiece Father of the Bride was on display, and they want you to know that they can jam.It was their most rock-oriented performance in a long time, and the newly invigorated appearance was nice.
Grand Stage highlights
Lizzo played Outside Lands in 2018, and her billing that year was significantly lower than it is now. Since then, she’s grown a large following and scored numerous number-one songs, as well as vastly enhancing her live performance. Saturday’s headlining performance was a victory lap, beginning with the freshly-released “Rumors” and rolling through her 2019 Cuz I Love You hits. Lizzo’s extended interaction with the crowd on TikTok, however, was a highlight. If you have not seen it already, I highly suggest you check it out.
Furthermore, Glass Animals are only a few weeks removed from their biggest hit, “Heat Waves,” which was well deserved. Friday night’s sub-headlining performance by the British group felt like a significant moment for the band, as it was their first appearance at the event on the Sutro stage (when viewership was maybe 20% of what it is today).
Their live performance was missing much of their jungle-laced pop from their debut, but it compensated with a wide range of tracks from 2017’s How To Be A Human Being and last year’s Dreamland, which was inspired by Y2K. The Glass Animals closed their set with “Heat Waves,” which they began to play at the top of the hour. Thousands of fans were singing along, cementing Glass Animals’ induction into Outside Lands 2021’s Hall of Fame.
Unforgettable Costumes
Festival clothing is always a fun time, but this year’s Halloween celebration allowed for costumes that ranged from culturally relevant to straight out strange. Hundreds of men growing mustaches, visors, and aviators to play Ted Lasso; several people dressed up as internet memes and various Marvel superheroes; and numerous Squid Game tracksuits.
On the creative side, one of the most outstanding costume selections during the festival was Caroline Polachek and her band, who donned Marie Antoinette and other French Revolution-era aristocracy costumes. Polachek, with a ghoulish red slash on her neck (from the guillotine), delivered plenty of excitement to her Sunday set. It was quite fortuitous that, for her closing song, “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” she remained alone on stage in front of her keyboard and performed it somberly on a harpsichord.
Polachek’s solo version of “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” was rather iconic, and it refocused the song in a new light. She usually finishes her sets with a dance party, but this time she opted to perform as Marie Antoinette, alone.
Other costumed groups included Tame Impala, who introduced themselves as The Wiggles when they took the stage, and Cannons, who dressed as members of Kiss. There should be more Halloween music festivals, in my opinion — the weather is nice, everyone is in a good mood, and it’s an excellent opportunity to let your personality shine.
EDM
There were some fantastic electronic acts at the event this year, particularly in the new SOMA tent, which featured a diverse range of acts. However, Australian electronic band Rüfüs Du Sol performed on the main stage on Sunday, with one of the largest audiences of the weekend in front of them. Rüfüs have amped up the spectacle of their live performance with the addition of more live instruments, having just released their brand-new studio album Surrender.
Rüfüs are known for their unique approach to live performance, which is mostly characterized by medleys of cover songs. In contrast to many other artists in house and EDM genres who focus on visuals and volume while playing studio-released tracks, Rüfüs are focused on letting their tunes breathe as they go from song to song. It’s genuinely thrilling to witness how their gloomy synth pop translates to their fast, rhythm-centric live performance, and the full-band enthusiasm is contagious.
Sofi Tukker is another independent dance act that thrives on live instrumentation, with a significant focus on guitar. Sofi Tukker’s live performance is a complex, unpredictable, and fantastic mix of EDM, indie pop, and rock. In many ways, today’s dance music is a far cry from the early 2000s. Some people claim that the EDM bubble has burst, and while many “plug-in-the-USB-and-press-play” DJs are still topping bills at large festivals, it’s the acts that very consciously combine live instrumentation with electronic music that show us where the future of the genre is headed.
Cant Forget R&B
Outside Lands has one of the most varied lineups of any music festival, with multiple genres represented. This year has had some great hip-hop, with Rico Nasty and Young Thug both putting on spectacular mid-day sets. Aminé took the place of Young Thug, who dropped out just before the performance. Even Nelly’s 3 p.m. Sunday set was a thrill, and seeing him perform his most popular tunes was unforgettable.
Outside Lands definitely needed more R&B this year — Sunday featured a hometown set from Kehlani and a brilliant performance from Brittany Howard, but there wasn’t enough R&B at the event as a whole. Of course, it’s tough to cover everything when putting together a lineup, but with so many R&B artists releasing excellent albums this year (Leon Bridges, H.E.R., Jon Batiste, Cautious Clay), they would have had even more must-see sets.
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