Street Scene | 08.28 – 08.29 | San Diego
By Team JamBase Sep 8, 2009 • 4:18 pm PDT

Street Scene :: 08.28.09 – 08.29.09 :: Downtown San Diego – East Village :: San Diego, CA
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In spite of the unique and visually dazzling atmosphere of Street Scene, it bears asking why the festival should take place in the hottest month in a town where winter weather is actually pretty damn comfortable. Perhaps there’s just something more appealing to the hedonist in all of us about a music festival that happens during the summertime. Clothes come off, dancing comes natural and the beer tastes that much sweeter. And despite each day starting off with a long, slow punishment by a merciless sun, Street Scene provided one big, colorful, rocking way for many of San Diego’s residents and visitors to close out the summer.
Having once attended Street Scene in 2003 to see Wilco, the one image that burned deepest into my memory was that of a longhaired man rocking out with a turkey leg in his hand. This year’s fest seemed a bit more youth oriented, however, as the lineup of talent ranged from local noise punks Wavves to pop superstars the Black Eyed Peas. Tasting flights of micro-brewed beers and falafel sandwiches, girls in naughty schoolgirl outfits and absurd headgear from “The Radd Hatter” all provided their own entertainment to those who dared indulge themselves, and the musical lineup made 2009 one of the best years in the festival’s history. And with so many stages to hit up over two nights trying to hear it all may not have been possible, but the exhausting task of trying to come close sure was fun.
Friday, 08.28
Extra Golden :: 5:00-5:40 p.m. :: Casbah Stage
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Dungen :: 5:30-6:15 p.m. :: Green Stage
Dungen, a group that often sounds colossal on record, came off a bit understated onstage, hidden behind golden locks of hair and sunglasses. Still, once frontman Gustav Ejstes announced, “We are Dungen… Swedish music,” they launched into an energetic set peppered with wild, noisy instrumentals and psychedelic pop tunes from their past three albums. In particular, “Festival” from Ta Det Lugnt sounded magnificent, Ejstes’ acoustic guitar strums providing a clean, crisp counterpart to the effects-laden madness of much of their set. Still, the band seemed to express some mild frustration, as Ejstes lamented, “It’s hard to play quiet when there’s so much music out there,” while the band’s folky rock did battle with booming bass from nearby stages.
Devendra Banhart :: 5:50-6:35 p.m. :: Fulana Stage
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Mastodon :: 7:00-8:00 p.m. :: Zarabanda Stage
The sole metal band performing at this year’s festival, Mastodon brought some much needed fire and muscle to Street Scene. Guitarist Brent Hinds looked considerably more out of it than his three bandmates, possibly due to a green leafy substance (just speculating…), but still managed not to flub a single note during their epic, monstrous hour-long set. Continuing the precedent set on earlier tour dates, Mastodon ripped through the entirety of their new album Crack the Skye. I’ll admit, it would have been cool to hear an older favorite such as “Blood and Thunder” or “March of the Fire Ants,” but that’s no slight against the group’s performance, which was sufficiently badass. In particular, the Southern rock leaning single “Divinations,” which saw the formation of the first mosh pit of the evening. In the interest of self-preservation, I chose not to partake of the chaotic human blender before me, but I can certainly appreciate the enthusiasm, if not the bruises. Just next to the band, on the right side of the stage, sat two young children, no older than five-years-old, watching with giant headphones on, next to what I assume was their mother. Something tells me those kids are going to turn out all right.
Deerhunter :: 8:15-9:00 p.m. :: Casbah Stage
Atlanta, GA’s Deerhunter proved to be one of the most welcome surprises at the fest this year, not because they aren’t an incredible band, but rather that their noisy indie rock seems far better suited to a small, dark club than to a festival stage. And yet, their Street Scene set was much more impressive than the last time I had caught the band. Singer and guitarist Bradford Cox seemed much more at ease onstage, and the group’s musicianship was simultaneously tight and fluid. Poor sound and some unplanned squalls of feedback did keep the set from being perfect, but that didn’t stop Deerhunter from burning through some amazing versions of tracks like rhythmic rocker “Cryptograms” or the bluesy, psychedelic “Saved by Old Times.” During the set, people in the crowd were treated to a visit by what appeared to be some kind of swamp monster. The band didn’t seem to notice, which may be all for the best.
Modest Mouse :: 9:40-10:40 p.m. :: Fulana Stage
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Calexico :: 10:30-11:45 p.m. :: Casbah Stage
Faced with the choice of the spectacle of the Black Eyed Peas or the Southwestern sonic bliss of Calexico, I opted, without hesitation, for the latter. Getting retarded and lovely lady lumps are all fine and good, but Calexico’s brand of dusty, spaghetti western Americana is something special and altogether unique. Their performance, much like their consistently broad and consistently good albums, ran a wide gamut, from energetic and cinematic single “Crystal Frontier” to Morricone-meets-mariachi instrumental “Minas de Cobre” to the vibrant, brassy “Across the Wire.” The true standouts, however, were the pair of songs they performed with fellow Tucsonian, flamenco singer Salvador Duran, whose Spanish vocals were so operatic and powerful they brought the group’s music to a dramatic new level. Though it may not have been the most bombastic or flashy performance of the day, it was clearly one of the best, and a great close to a long and sweltering first day.
Continue reading for Saturday’s coverage of Street Scene…
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears:: 4:30-5:05 p.m. :: Fulana Stage
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Ra Ra Riot:: 5:10-5:45 p.m. :: Fulano Stage
Syracuse, NY chamber pop outfit Ra Ra Riot ran the risk of being swallowed whole by the overwhelming size of the Fulano Stage, but pulled off a hell of a performance regardless, churning out their catchy, elegant pop tunes with passion and a smile. Kicking off the show by declaring, “We’re here to pahhhh-tayyy,” the sextet played a half-hour set comprising songs from 2008’s The Rhumb Line, maintaining their exuberance throughout. Their cellist, of all people, appeared to be grooving the whole time, which is probably just as hard as it sounds.
Los Campesinos! :: 5:40-6:30 p.m. :: Casbah Stage
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Of Montreal:: 7:00-8:00 p.m. :: Fulano Stage
Thanks to Public Enemy, whose set ran long (not that Flavor Flav’s crowd encouragement chants weren’t entertaining), Of Montreal’s set started a good 20 minutes late, and not without some major technical difficulties. At first the band’s sound was way too quiet, then they became plagued by a horrendous buzzing noise, but sure enough, by their third song, “Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider,” the flamboyant Athens, GA glam-psych-pop outfit finally overcame their digital grievances and followed through with 45 minutes of stunning rock theatrics. Musically, the group was jubilant and heavy on danceable beats, with electro-pop tracks like “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse,” “The Party’s Crashing Us” and “A Sentence of Sorts In Kongsvinger” making up the bulk of the set. Yet the group’s sensory stimulation wasn’t merely limited to screeching synthesizers and costume changes; much of their set included strange performance art that included, among other things, a gas mask gift exchange, dressing Death in papal garb and a man in a tiger mask beckoning for applause. One gentleman walking away after the end of the performance said it best: “Well, that was a mindfuck.”
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists:: 8:00-8:45 p.m. :: Green Stage
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No Age :: 9:15-10:00 p.m. :: Casbah Stage
With one of the quickest set-up times at Street Scene, Los Angeles noise-punk duo No Age effectively made up for any lateness on the part of the artists that preceded them. During their brief soundcheck, guitarist Randy Randall asked, “Is everyone drunk yet? You’ve got four minutes to get there before we start.” Once they did roar into Nouns standout “Sleeper Hold,” liquid inebriation certainly would have been replaced by the euphoria felt after hearing their woozy, yet intense set. Like many of their peers, No Age played a few new songs, but singles like “Eraser” and “Every Artist Needs a Tragedy” were the highlights that really brought the house down.
M.I.A. :: 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. :: Fulano Stage
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Continue reading for more images of Street Scene 2009…
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