So I land in San Francisco late Friday. My friend Jono – who will be my roomie and festival partner – meets me on the Mission. We decide to catch dinner, and over sweet potato fries and Sangria, we discuss Treasure Island. I’m excited about the lineup. Both days are pretty well segregated in musical styles: Saturday has a lot of indie related, buzz-worthy groups like Die Antwoord, LCD Soundsystem, and Miike Snow, and Sunday’s lineup reads like a collection of festival favorites, such as Belle and Sebastian, The National, Broken Social Scene, etc. “It allows both days to feel different,” I tell my buddy, “That will make things seem more memorable. Plus the area is so small and the acts can only go on one at a time, so we won’t miss out on one act to see another.” We agree, pay our bill, and head out.
The next morning, the weather is fantastic, so we decided to walk (we were unsure if there would be bike parking – surprise, there was!).
After a quick journey across the bridge, we find ourselves surrounded by a crowd of people singing along with Die Antwoord. We manage to catch the last three songs in their set – they were surprisingly good. Riding the crowd’s feel-good vibes, we float through the festival and check out the vendors, ferris wheel, giant light up pink flamingo, pirate cove, and Silent Disco. Chk Chk Chk (or !!!) strolls onto the main stage as we wander over. All around us, people are hopping in place and snapping photos. All at once the guitars pick up, filling the air with snappy body moving riffs. Right as the crowd reaches a fevered pitch, singer Nic Offer appears on stage and kicks off the set. The next fifty minutes fly by in a haze of dancing, high fives, and funky basslines.
I need a moment to catch my breath, so I head over to the Silent Disco. Before I enter, I come across a giant revolving disco ball pirate skull – eye patch and red bandana included. I don’t hear anything coming from the Silent Disco area, so I almost turn around and leave. But then I realize the appropriate name of the mini-party; the DJ’s are broadcasting their beats to the audience through synchronized, wireless headphones. Sliding on a pair, I wedge into a group of kids all dancing to Zach Moore’s remixes. When the beat slows, I return my headphones and head over to catch the last part of Four Tet’s trippy set. His spacey arpeggios seem to hide underlying subliminal messages telling me to ‘Relax’ and ‘Buy garlic crab fries.’ I buy garlic crab fries, they are delicious.
Kruder & Dorfmeister sound like a lot of fun, but I need a break. I head over to the craft tent and make friends with Larry Smith of Six Word Memoirs. I write my own memoir, as does my buddy, who had left earlier, and now has wondered back over with more garlic crab fries.
As I consider buying another round of garlic crab fries, Kruder & Dorfmeister close to a great response, as Little Dragon takes the stage. Little Dragon marks the first of two popular Swedish performers representing Scandinavia at Treasure Island. Yukimi Nagano’s voice seems impossible clear and delightfully soulful, carrying through the late afternoon air. We dance as atmospheric electronics drone under Nagano’s voice as keyboard tones rise leisurely above it. Great set.
Deadmau5 is next – the crowd had been building for his show since the beginning of Little Dragon’s set. Deadmau5’ (aka Joel Zimmerman) set is fast and fun, backed up by an awesome light show. The crowd’s energy never falters as Joel moves between energetic stitches and strangely dark vocal instrumentations that strangely remind me of Sigur Ros and Hopelandic. I duck out a few songs early to catch a good spot in the Miike Snow crowd.
Wiggling my way up to the stage, I duck underneath this seven foot tall guy. (Side note: people have been secretly sneaking up behind and snapping photos of themselves beside him all day.) After a few technical difficulties, Miiike Snow opens with a cavalcade of lights, fog, masks and awesomeness. The crowd gets bathed in synths flowing from the stage as the band barrels through “Black and Blue” and “Silvia.” As the last note slips from the speakers, me and my buddy sneak out of the crowd and proceed to dig ourselves as deep as we can into the waiting LCD crowd.
Along our way we pass groups of hipster teenagers strung out on sugar, sound, garlic crab fries, and who knows what else. Behind us chains of people are struggling to penetrate the crowd’s density. We find a spot, and then settle back as Mr. Murphy takes the stage looking rather dapper in an all-white suit. LCD Soundsystem opens with “Dance Yrself Clean,” letting the song’s slow but persuasive build-up bottle the crowd’s energy. Murphy gives that bottle a good shake, and releases it halfway through “Drunk Girls,” as the audience roared so loud it were reported to have been heard all the way across the bridge. LCD Soundsystem closes to a long drawn out round of applause, successfully bringing an end to day one of Treasure Island.
