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Scott Bernstein's Saturday Highlights:
The Mother Hips –
6:05-6:50 p.m. – Panhandle Stage
[Photo by Joe Russo]
Outside Lands organizers made sure the local flavor went beyond the food offerings by
booking Bay Area favorites The Mother Hips. The addition of former Zappa band member Scott
Thunes on bass has boosted this already exceptional live act to a whole new level. Thunes
has an intense stage presence that combined with his otherworldly musicianship makes him a
force to be reckoned with. The Hips attracted a big crowd of festival attendees who all
seemed to know each other to Outside Lands' smallest stage. While old favorites
"Esmerelda," "Rich Little Girl" and "White Falcon Fuzz" were played with aplomb, it was
"Toughie," "Freed From A Prison" and "Song For J.B." off this year's Behind Beyond
LP that showed The Mother Hips still have plenty left in the tank after more than 22 years
together.
The Head And The
Heart –
7:20-8:20 p.m. – Sutro Stage
[Photo by Joe Russo]
Between the long distances from stage-to-stage and lots of high-impact music, there's not
much down time at Outside Lands. By the time The Head And The Heart hit the gorgeous Sutro
Stage on Saturday night I needed a breather. The Sutro Stage is tucked away just below the
main stage and surrounded by trees. There's a bit of a hill to the right of the stage in
which attendees set up blankets to sit down and watch the music. The Head And The Heart's
lush indie-pop was just what I needed at that particular point and I enjoyed every minute
of the hour-long set while sitting on the hill with some friends. The Seattle-based band's
harmonies were like an aural gut-punch that had me hanging on every note. "Down In The
Valley" and "Lost In My Mind" were particular highlights of a set that didn't contain any
lowlights.
Phoenix –
8:40-9:55 p.m. – Twin Peaks Stage
[Photo by Susan Weiand]
2013 has been the year that Phoenix has established themselves as a live act worthy of the
headline slot at major festivals. All you had to do was look at the small size of the
crowd for Nine Inch Nails at the main stage on Day Two of Outside Lands as compared to the
masses who attended Phoenix's set at the same time on the smaller Twin Peaks Stage. If you
tried to catch any of NIN's performance, it was near impossible to get anywhere close to
the stage for Phoenix. The French electro-pop act made a statement with their 16-song set
in Golden Gate Park. Always the show man, Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars engaged the
audience throughout the performance and even showed off his crowd-surfing skills. Many of
the band's sets this year have featured most of the songs from the recently released
Bankrupt! LP, so it was a treat to hear tunes like "Rally" off 2006's It's Never
Been Like That, Alphabetical track "Run Run Run" and "Too Young" and "Funky
Squaredance" (which was mixed with "If I Ever Feel Better") from 2000's United.
However it was still "Lisztomania" and "1901" that made the massive crowd go wild unlike
anything else Phoenix played on this night.
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