We didn't get Radiohead magic in the fog, but we also didn't have "trying to get into Beck" bottlenecks. It was a well-run festival full of polite music aimed at an older, mellower crowd. The roughest situations I saw in the park came from the cops--who would swarm in on some unsuspecting kid and drag him out of the crowd for doing god knows what. Oh, and one dude was throwing up some bright yellow substance in the trash cans outside Tom Jones. But otherwise, the event was just as tame as a family day in the park--down to the parents at Pearl Jam dancing with their pre-adolescent kids on the lawn.
Lineup-wise, opening day at Outside Lands was a strange one. There were a number of popular indie acts on the bill (Autolux, The Duke Spirit, Built to Spill) but they were all pretty early in the day. By the time I arrived in the late afternoon, the good stuff was nearly over. I was, however, able to check out Austin's Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, who were excellent performers perfect for an outdoor summer fest. The band went well with the random heat turning the park into a giant sunbathing belt. Under hazy, humid skies, Lewis belted out Otis Redding-worthy rock 'n' soul songs in long shorts, a t-shirt, and baseball cap, playing the guitar as he sang about doing his woman wrong--but trying to do her right by bringing home some chicken. He was backed by a dress shirt 'n tie horn section, whose enthusiasm was evident not only in the constant grins but in the energy the guys gave their late afternoon set. Around the stage, Black Joe Lewis fans did their little hippie dances in bikini tops and low-slung summer shorts, showing lots of skin--and bare feet--a look that continued late into the night, the big winds never kicking in.
