Be an Insider at Outside Lands Festival

Venus Zine’s official Outside Lands preview

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: August 24th, 2009 | 2:00pm

Are you planning on leaving your heart in San Francisco August 28–30 thanks to one of the country’s most buzzed-about music festivals? Then check out Venus Zine’s insider guide to the 2009 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival! Here are our 10 not-to-be-missed acts (in order of appearance) that will be gracing the stage by the bay all weekend:

1) The Duke Spirit

Sultry and straight-up powerful, the Duke Spirit hails from England but owes much to the California desert for their sound. If Queens of the Stone Age and Jefferson Airplane mated, you’d be blessed with this band. Singer Liela Moss can rock a pair of stiletto boots and still stomp it out like a pro.

The Duke Spirit performs Friday at 1:00 p.m. on the Presidio Stage

2) West Indian Girl

Calming atmospherics with a hint of old Radiohead is what this California-based band is all about. Don’t let the recent departure of singer Mariqueen Maandig dissuade you (she’ll be fine; she’s marrying Trent Reznor). The stunning vocalist Miranda Lee Richards will be subbing during their set.

West Indian Girl performs Friday at 1:00 p.m. on the Twin Peaks Stage

3) Thievery Corporation

You know ‘em from the Garden State soundtrack, but where Thievery Corporation really changes lives is in a live setting. This trip-hop, laidback collective from Washington, D.C., is reliant on stellar guest appearances (Perry Farrell showed up at a recent gig) and transcendent global grooves.

Thievery Corporation performs Friday at 7:40 p.m. on the Twin Peaks Stage

4) Pearl Jam

The perennial papas of grunge are back with their ninth album, and first to be self-released, Backspacer — and the quintet is just as compelling as ever. If you’ve ever seen Pearl Jam live, you know that they’re kings of the fan-pleasing setlist: a thundering sing-along of “Alive” here, a taste of new material there. Eddie Vedder has one of the most reassuring voices in rock, and the deft triple punch of axe men Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Jeff Ament is something you don’t want to miss.

Pearl Jam performs Friday at 7:50 p.m. on the Lands End Stage

5) Dengue Fever

I got a fever, and the only cure is this smooth multicultural group. Fronted by Cambodian Chhom Nimol, the sextet delivers silken lounge songs with a modern edge. (Check out their 2008 album, Venus on Earth from M80 Music, for some prime tunes.) This group is ideal for the groovy San Francisco scene.

Dengue Fever performs Saturday at 3:10 p.m. on the Sutro Stage

6) Bat For Lashes

With her finger on the pulse of universally appealing music, Bat For Lashes singer Natasha Khan melds every genre imaginable on her 2009 album, Two Suns (Astralwerks). She does darkness like Siouxsie Sioux but has the ethereal quality of a wood nymph. Khan is said to relish in that fairy tale in concert — and seeing her is believing.

Bat For Lashes performs Saturday at 4:55 p.m. on the Panhandle Solar Stage

7) Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band

A troubadour since his early teens, Bright Eyes’ Oberst continues his evolution with the second Mystic Valley Band collection, Outer South (Merge). These days, he’s relying on a more country-fried sound that translates to a jolly hoedown in concert. You won’t want to miss Oberst and his gigantic cowboy hat.

Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band perform Saturday at 6:40 p.m. on the Sutro Stage

8) Matt and Kim

This Brooklyn duo have the energy level of a full choir. Their gleeful tunes, such as the quaintly titled “Yea Yeah,” incite parties wherever they play. If you dig Hellogoodbye or Bishop Allen, be sure to see Matt and Kim at Outside Lands.

Matt and Kim perform Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on the Panhandle Solar Stage

9) The Dead Weather

A collaboration between Jack White and the Kills’ Alison Mosshart was bound to be, well, killer — but the Dead Weather may be the ballsiest female-fronted band since Heart. With White’s snaky riffs and Mosshart’s snarling alto, this band is burning up radio with the fiery single, “Treat Me Like Your Mother.” There’ll be a whole lotta shaking going on when they hit the stage.

The Dead Weather performs Sunday at 3:50 p.m. on the Twin Peaks Stage

10) M.I.A.

Politically-driven hip-hop provocateur Maya Arulpragasam is one fierce mama. She performed on this year’s Grammy telecast more than eight months into her pregnancy and still looked and sounded incredible! Expect more of that same tenacity, not to mention a possibility of getting pulled onstage to dance with her.

M.I.A. performs Sunday at 6:05 p.m. on the Lands End Stage