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By: Greg Caruso & Jon Claffey
Street Scene :: 09.19.08 & 09.20.08 :: East Village & Petco Park :: San Diego, CA
 Street Scene 2008 :: Street Scene® |
As usual in Southern California at this time of year, the weather could not be more perfect as we stood in line to get into Street Scene 2008. Being herded into the sectioned off quarter of the Gaslamp district in San Diego, the crowd around us was simply abuzz with delightful anticipation of a stellar lineup, which included bands and acts from all genres. This was the first year back to a "street" for the scene since 2003. Since then, it'd been shuffled to the parking lots of Petco Park and Qualcomm Stadium, respectively. Last year, the fest moved 20 miles away from the streets to Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, CA. There, it had poor attendance numbers not only due to the move, but a less than stellar lineup. Thankfully, one year short of Street Scene's 25th Anniversary, the crowd once again gathered in the streets of San Diego with anticipation of rejuvenation.
Friday, 09.19.08
MGMT - 5:45-6:30 - Zarabanda Stage
Directly ahead of us, MGMT was already brining their "Electric Feel" to not only the crowd inside, but to all of us outside. Walking slowly and singing along on our way through the entrance, it was made apparent that the massive crowd that was drawn to Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser's band was the cause of the bottleneck into the fest. Their psychedelically washed indie anthems have been all over the radio this summer, and it's no wonder everyone was eating them up. Seeing their songs live had the mob going nuts up front, all the way to the back outside the gates to the ticket line. MGMT finished up their set with "Kids." (GC)
Michael Franti & Spearhead - 6:40-7:40 - Fulano Stage
The remainder of the afternoon's light began to diminish as Michael Franti & Spearhead hit the Fulano Stage. A crowd immediately began to swell up the area in front. The word Fulano is the mirror to Fulana, both meaning "someone" in Spanish slang (Fulano = "boy" and Fulana = "girl"). To say that Franti is a consummate performer is a given. To say that Spearhead is kick-ass is without question. The thing is, though, is that it seems that their sets don't vary much (word has it that his show at House of Blues that evening was a duplicate to the afternoon). Aside from that, the energy was high as they played "Pass the Dutchie" and "Jamrock" in Spearhead fashion. Others featured within their set were "I Got Love For You," which sounded amazing and had everyone jumping around, and "Yell Fire," which brought his set to a fever pitch. (GC)
Diplo - 7:15-8:15 - Casbah Stage
 Street Scene '08 from myspace.com/streetscene |
Diplo is a DJ's DJ. He simply works his shit into frenetic danceable beats. Spinning off of vinyl, he mashed up his beats with snippets of artists you not only know, but some you would love to find out about. Throughout his non-stop set, recognized artists were Hot Chip, M.I.A., Santogold, Nirvana, Lil' Wayne, Pharcyde, and AC/DC. The crowd was full of maniacally happy people dancing out of control. So much so that it was one of the very few times where the Casbah Stages' crowd spilled out onto the street. The Casbah Stage was directly next to one of the many beer garden areas. Inside, there was a separate crowd going nuts to Diplo, except with their drinks already in hand. (GC)
New Pornographers - 7:15-8:15 - Zarabanda Stage
It was time to catch a few songs from The New Pornographers. Hailing from Vancouver, they're another one of those "super group" type acts that have multiple members who are in other bands. Most notably is Dan Bejar (Destroyer) and Neko Case, who has had quite a successful alt-country solo career. Although Case doesn't tour with them extensively, it doesn't take away from the band's performances too much when she's missing. They all manage their songs in perfect poppy style. "Mass Romantic" was the highlight of our short stay, but as we left Zarabanda back to Diplo, the Porno's launched into E.L.O.'s "Don't Bring Me Down." It had us quickly turn our heels to help them finish up. Nailing it down, it goes to show that you never know what you could be missing at a festival. (GC)
Spoon - 8:35-9:35 - Fulano Stage
Spoon hit the stage to "Cherry Bomb" like they haven't missed a beat since being off the road for a month. With horn players in tow, Britt Daniels and his crew played an excellent mix of new and old to Street Scene's largest crowd of the day, at that point. The addition of horns to their now extended tour has worked wonders for the band; their sound is so much more full and punchy. Newer songs like "Don't You Evah" and "The Underdog" got everyone hopping and singing, while older favorites like "The Beast the Dragon Adored" and "My Mathematical Mind," with all of their distorted panache, rocked our pants off. The diversity in Spoons' sound is really quite engaging. At one moment they could be playing one of their more radio friendly hits such as "I Summon You," only to turn it around and play "The Ghost of You Lingers," replete with extended, shivering guitar sounds drenching the crowd in their dark, sinister vibes. This being their second year in a row at Street Scene, they proved that there really isn't enough Spoon to go around. (GC)
TV On The Radio - 7:45-8:30 - Fulana Stage
Cat Power - 8:45-9:45 - Zarabanda Stage
Devotchka - 9:20-10:00 - Casbah Stage
 Street Scene 2008 :: Street Scene® |
Catching only bits of each, Devotchka was the most impressive of the three acts. Their different brand of "gypsy" melodies truly works well together. Aside from their sound, it was extremely cool to see the inside of a tuba decorated with lights on the inside made to look like a rose. TV On The Radio sounded extremely good. They even had some Antibalas horns up there with them on some songs, but they just couldn't rip us away from Diplo. Cat Power has the most amazing voice, but having seen her perform before we weren't too broken up about missing her. The one song we did catch, however, was drowned out within the mix and you couldn't hear her vocals. (GC)
Justice - 9:40-10:40 - Fulana Stage
At first no one knew what to do, nor did they really know what to expect. As the first sounds of "Genesis" boomed over the crowd it was simply "ON." Street Scene was about to turn into a dance party whether it liked it or not. Justices' cross was illuminated; kids started running, jumping and grooving - all and all, losing their shit. The French DJ auteurs mix-mashed through their repertoire non-stop. When the out of place lyrics of "D.A.N.C.E." started being mixed in with "Phantom," there was a deafening roar. Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay know exactly how to mess with a crowd by dissecting their own tracks. To say that Justice could be a bit much for the uninitiated might just be true, especially given the nature of a track like "Stress," which very much deserves its name. It's a barrage of sounds and lights with such furious speed and changes that it's almost like an explosion going off in your head. They did bring it down, though, with the track "We Are Your Friends" remixed by themselves via Simian Mobile Disco. Starting off slow and building speed, with the crowd chanting along to the name, the boys built it up to a frenzy of sounds. After some brief waves and bows, Justice got back behind the decks one last time to send us off with a quick encore of sounds. To say that they were the high point of the day would be a gross understatement. (GC)
Beck - 10:45-12:00 - Fulano Stage
 Street Scene 2008 by Douglas Heine |
Still reeling from Justices' hot set, and sweaty as all get out, most of the crowd started heading over to Fulano to get a good spot for Beck. It was the perfect time to get a beer and just sit in the garden close to the stage screen and wait. All of a sudden we heard, emanating from Fulana, the opening chords of "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. Practically everyone was singing along to the "hands touching hands" and "bum bum bums." It was a real treat.
Beck took the stage to "Loser," a fitting choice seeing how wild the crowd got for it. Dressed in a grunge look that was too reminiscent of the '90s, Beck wasn't really playing it up as he has in the past. His band seemed pretty into it, but for him it seemed like he was really just going through the motions. "Nausea" and "Girl" were up next, and it was nice to see that he was keeping his set on such an even keel. It was no surprise to see him run through a bunch of his newer tracks next, which really are quite good live. Forgoing the puppets this year, the stage backdrop was a mixture of older looking images that were somehow manipulated. For "Devil's Haircut" there was a man fixing up his suit sporadically. During "Chemtrails" it was a bunch of people shuffling about and looking outwards towards us. Other songs had the usual tripped-out fare interspersed with crowd shots that were all pretty cool but nothing too special, particularly coming from a visionary like Beck. (GC)
Antibalas - 10:30-11:45 - Casbah Stage
Before the evening's end, and definitely getting bored of making fun of Beck looking like he got Botox, we headed to Antibalas as the perfect way to end the evening. Strolling up to the half packed Casbah Stage, we were greeted to the smooth sounds of Afrobeat. The band was right in the middle of "Rat Race" and was purely tearing it up. After dedicating the next song to John McCain and Sarah Palin, the band launched into "War Hero," a horn and conga drenched morsel that hammered away at the state of our government. It was the perfect way to send the crowd off not only dancing but also thinking. (GC)
Continue reading for Saturday coverage...
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