Does Outside Lands Actually Suck? [Another Outlands Post]
OK, we’ve given a lot of attention to the Outside Lands Festival in this here part of West Blogistan – The Stranger and Vague Panther have drooled over it several times – but I’m going to play devil’s advocate. What if the lineup is too narrow, too indie-rock intensive without enough goodies for those of us who like to branch out. Yeah, it’s got Radiohead, but it’s also got Jack Johnson and Tom Petty. Good artists, but if I’m paying nearly $300 after fees for a show, I want those two nowhere near it.
We recently had a conversation about it:
Uncle Corey: That’s it – I’m boycotting Outside Lands. Fuck that thing.
Vague Panther: Really? It’s going to be awesome.
Uncle Corey: There’s two things: It’s really expensive; and that haven’t announced the daily lineup or sold daily tickets. I’ll happily go for the Radiohead day, but I really don’t want to have a smattering of bands I like on each day, or end up with a $262 Radiohead ticket. Because they really are the only must-see band for me on there. There’s others I’d like to see, but …
The Stranger: Uhhh, remember, Uncle Corey likes to hate things that are obviously cool. It’s kind of his thing.
Uncle Corey: No, seriously. There’s nobody on that list that inspires anything beyond, “Yeah, they’d be cool to see.” The Coup and Radiohead are the two must-see bands.
The rest are OK, but there’s so many mellow bands there – it needs to lively up itself. And seriously, there is a massive lack of hip-hop considering we live in the middle of an amazing scene. Even if you don’t have the obvious like E-40 or Keak Da Sneak, there’s still Zion I and Mista F.A.B. that fit in perfectly. Like I said, I’ll go, but it doesn’t mean I can’t give the bastards a piece of my mind.
The Stranger: Dude, festivals already have sub-standard sound, and you want them to add more hip-hop? (Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by Rock the Bells)
Uncle Corey: Actually, I some of the best rap shows I’ve seen have been outside: A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde and Beastie Boys at Lollapalooza ‘94; Eminem at the Warped Tour in ‘96 … It can translate.
And you all fucking suck for having gone to Rock The Bells. Rage Against The Machine is my second-favorite live band of all time. Wow, one of these kids has a mid-’90s obsession. … Shit, it’s me!
First things first – it’s an amazing festival and a coup for the city of San Francisco, BUT … It seems like the organizers went to two bars at 16th and Mission, asked everyone with thick-rimmed glasses and over-tight, too-short jeans who they’d like to see – then got some of them … and Jack Johnson and Tom Petty. And, I can’t stress enough the severe lack of hip-hop at this show.
This is a great festival and if nothing else, seeing Radiohead and hanging out in the park for two days will be amazing, but I question if it’s really worth it.
OK, now start throwing eggs in 3, 2, 1 …
I’m going to the fest and already have tickets, but part of me agrees with Uncle Corey…3-hundo is a LOT of scrilla.
I can’t help but feel as though they threw Jack Johnson and Tom Petty into the mix just to get some of the Marina kids there – from the East Coast and willing to pay $300 to see Jack Johnson, wearing windshield-sized sunglasses and all. If they’re going to throw these mainstream, top-40s type musicians into the mix, why not make the show diverse and add more hip-hop, reggae, among others??
Hip hop festivals are the worst. Rock the Bells fell way short for me – the only performance that I thought worth the price of admission was Rage. I even thought the Roots were lackluster and they have more than turntables and a mic.
VP – you’re a marginal hip-hop fan at best, so it’s really tough to say. I’ve seen The Roots twice – once at a large festival and once in a club – and both were AMAZING. That would be like me saying a shoe-gazer show was boring. I don’t like the genre, so of course I couldn’t appreciate the nuances of a good live show.
[...] named as “Best Festival Band” – As we may have mentioned before, Radiohead’s playing a festival in our little city in August, so, um [...]
[...] and stuck Rock The Bells in its place, I’d be a happy man. I’m still debating about whether seeing Radiohead is worth $300, and if these artists were included, I’d pay [...]
[...] Well, I have a dirty little secret – I’m only going Friday. Yeah, kinda lame, but honestly, there’s no other real draws for me. If I was going Saturday or Sunday, I’d be pumped to see The Coup and [...]
For 85 bucks a ticket….I would have expected the bathrooms to be pumped…but instead, each hut looked like an ant hill inside…….bad promoter!!!!
Yes, it sucked. Missed half of Radiohead because transportation was awful and the Will-Call line was a festival in itself? Why the ticket drama? I bought tickets before they announced one day passes, so I was stuck going to the rest because I didn’t want to feel like I wasted $. I did.
So, a question: Are these complaints born mostly from Friday or the whole weekend? Just wondering, because Friday was a clusterfuck, but I’ve heard good stuff about Sunday.
After Friday and a lackluster Saturday, I skipped Sunday.
For what it’s worth, Sunday was easily my favorite day of the three.
My big gripe with the whole event was the price tag – it would have been an easier pill to swallow if I actually got to see more of the bands I wanted to.
I think next year (if there is a next year) would benefit from fewer bands/stages, which should allow for fewer overlaps and easily mobility between stages.
[...] Outside Lands, take a long hard look at this show – mainly the diversity of the lineup, which was so sorely lacking last year – and piece together this year’s version in a more friendly-for-everyone [...]