For those seeking a more authentic rave experience, Outside Lands does not have much to offer. Fortunately, over the past several years, a cottage industry of Outside Lands afterparties has sprung up, providing the opportunity to continue the party into the wee hours, long after the festival stages close up shop.
If you're going to pick just one such afterparty, make it Friday night's affair, hosted by Lights Down Low at Mezzanine. Headlining the party are Breach and Shit Robot — two very different artists who share the common goal of making dance music that's easily accessible without being mindless.
Breach hails from Bristol, the capital of Britain's "bass music" scene, so-called for its embrace of big, wobbly, impossible-to-ignore bass rhythms, which borrow without prejudice from dubstep, UK garage, drum'n'bass and grime. (It's no surprise, then, that one of Breach's latest EPs is on San Francisco's own Dirtybird, Claude VonStroke's label, itself a progenitor of seriously big-time basslines.)
Sharing the stage is Shit Robot, an Irishman who happened to make the acquaintance of a certain Mr. James Murphy some ten-odd years ago, right as LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records were getting started. Since then he's released numerous singles and EPs on DFA, combining the rollicking groove of classic disco with the brash guitars of indie rock, exposing a whole generation of kids who grew up listening to The Flaming Lips and Yo La Tengo to the joys of dance music.
Lights Down Low resident partymonsters Richie Panic and Sleazemore will be providing DJ support all night long. If you're planning on hitting Outside Lands this year — and even if you're not, since this party's $15 admission sure beats a $250 wristband — make sure you make this your Friday evening entertainment.
415-625-8880
