Last year’s Treasure Island Music Festival was somewhere between meh and ehh. While the lineup was decent (Built to Spill, Spoon, Modest Mouse, etc.) something wasn’t clicking for me. Was it the bus ride? The windy nights? No. It was something else. Something much more offensive than the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah live set (love the album, but the live experience was seriously lacking).

It was those damn smug jerks in the VIP area.

You and your private bar, ATM machine and port-a-potties. Who do you think you are dancing with your own troupe of costumed monsters? Black leather couches? Martinis?

No, you’d never catch me sitting in the VIP section. I’m a man of the people, one who knows the importance of standing shoulder to shoulder with other rabid fans as you piss your pants because you don’t want to give up your spot. I would never, never, ever…

Ok, fine. I admit it. This year Stranger Dance scored VIP tickets and I was there. Don’t hate – I’m weak and fragile. I wear earplugs. Mass gatherings of people frighten me. Can you forgive me? I mean come on people – massage tables! Chicken tenders! Free USB keychains! Et tu Brute? I mean it can only make my review that much better. God, what have I done!?

While I do regret not being able to see Saturday’s TV on the Radio, Hot Chip and Justice sets (perhaps the Stranger will elaborate later), Sunday was not without its highlights.

Tokyo Police Club was pretty catchy as was Vampire Weekend, but nothing compared to the Fleet Foxes who had by far the best performance of the day. Vocally, I’ve never seen anything like it. They must have been in an a capella group or something because they were spot on even with wind howling in the mics. Not to mention that their banter in between songs was like having a chat with a high, philosophical friend. In fact, if you guys are reading this, please drop me a line the next time you’re in San Francisco.

Dr. Dog was my next favorite performance – a band I’ve gotten very into recently. They rocked hard live, with no lack of dueling guitar solos, jumping and in-the-pocket drums. In fact, it was great enough to forgive them for about fifteen minutes of set up/sound problems that delayed the beginning of the set. If you haven’t picked up their latest album, Fate, you’re missing out big time.

Spiritualized comes in third, but I don’t think I was really in the right frame of mind to watch them if you catch my drift. But I did get chills when they played “Ladies and Gentleman We are Floating in Space,” which may have been my favorite song of the day. I even snuck off at the end of their set to ride the ferris wheel – does that make me a bad person?

Okkervil River and The Dodos were perhaps the most “OK” performances of the day. And by that I mean they were good, but I probably would not have gone out of my way to see them if they were not in a festival setting. Don’t get me wrong, they both had their moments. Okkervil River sounded more upbeat then they do on their albums (“Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” was flawless) and The Dodos’ set was the perfect backdrop to a lie down in the grass. But when you’re a blogger trying to rank performances based on some sort of logic that usually ends up being subjective, you have to make tough decisions.

Overall, I’d give this year’s Treasure Island Festival a 7 out of 10 (not counting VIP perks). If I didn’t mention a band it was because of one of two reasons – my mom told me if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all (Tegan & Sara) or because you get enough coverage already (The Raconteurs). Until next time Treasure Island…

Special thanks to our friends at imeem for the kick ass photos and ear plugs!