Outside Lands 2010: Gogol Bordello turns the crowd purple, Cat Power makes apologies, and the Strokes invite San Francisco to prom

Day 1, August 14, in San Francisco

By Katherine Hoffert
Published: August 17th, 2010 | 10:00am

By the time Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars took the Land’s End stage on Saturday, the third annual Outside Lands Festival was already in full swing. We’ve all heard stories of salvation through rock ‘n’ roll, but the All Stars’ case for the transformative power of music is one of astounding magnitude. Rising from the ashes of war-torn West Africa, the reggae-infused band was formed in the refugee camps of Guinea and has gained an international audience over the past six years by spreading its uplifting music and hopeful message across the globe—and now to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Dance was an integral part of their set, and the All Stars took turns pulling out moves that would have made Elvis’ jaw drop.

Steering this strong international spirit down a more maniacal and subversive path, Gogol Bordello took the Land’s End stage next and delivered one of the most memorable sets of the weekend. In front of a giant banner with the slogan “Familia Indestructable” and a slingshot that launched a red star, the charismatic gypsy punk band—with its shredding fiddle, accordion, and intense percussionist/hype-people—worked the crowd into a wild frenzy and didn’t let up for an hour. While the Outside Lands promoters made a great effort to incorporate wine into the festival this year, frontman Eugene Hütz did it best as he grabbed a wine bottle mid-set and let it splash all over himself as he danced around, emphatically kicking up his wiry knees. His wine was most aptly paired with crowd-favorite “Start Wearing Purple," as the audience threw purple articles of clothing into the air—those in front baptized by the contents of Hütz’s bottle.

On the opposite side of the festival grounds at the Twin Peaks stage, Ontario’s Tokyo Police Club veered in a more traditional indie rock direction and played songs off their new album, Champ (Mom + Pop). Declaring that they were “honored to play after a legend [the Levon Helm Band] and before two of our favorite bands [Cat Power and the Strokes],” the band of twenty-somethings seemed especially like newbies on the scene. But their young crowd sang—and clapped—along to their songs and their walls of shimmering guitars sounded great.

From the Panhandle stage, Beats Antique ushered in the hordes of people who were making the trek from the Polo Fields to Speedway Meadow with their beat-heavy blend of Middle Eastern–textured dub, brass, and downtempo. But even the seductive belly dancers weren’t enough to sustain the moving crowd’s attention for long.

Positioning oneself up front for Cat Power is generally a bad idea, and such was the case on this evening, as seeing Chan Marshall so preoccupied with the sound and every little detail is distracting. Yet, Marshall's delivery remains so unaffected by whatever is going on in her head that if you were standing up on the hill listening to her set, you’d probably just have enjoyed the way her gorgeous vocals reverberated into the damp wooded backdrop and misty sky of the park. In a ponytail, black hoodie, and jeans, Marshall was at her best when she first took the stage and opened with a slightly twangy version of “Good Woman” from 2003’s You Are Free (Matador). She spent the rest of the set trying to get out of the limelight by descending into the photo pit and facing her band instead of the crowd. Her cover of the Rolling Stone’s “Sway” made up for her disappointing new renditions of originals “I Don’t Blame You” and “Metal Heart,” the latter with a whole new ending, which lost its climactic (and essential) resolution: “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” All criticism aside, it was still an odd surprise when Marshall mouthed an apology to each section of the audience before exiting the stage.

Though Further’s Phil Lesh and Bob Weir hadn’t played together in Golden Gate Park since 1991, it was the Strokes’ reunion that really drew in the crowds. Taking the stage to the opening stomps of Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” the NYC rockers launched right into “New York City Cops,” and plowed through a nostalgic (and actually really wonderful) Is This It–heavy set. Highlights included “Someday,” accompanied by a giant Pac-Man game backdrop, and a drunk Julian Casablancas adding lines from Tom Petty’s "American Girl" to “Last Night” (a hilarious nod to the fact that the Strokes blatantly ripped off the song’s guitar riff). Casablancas also made fun of himself, asking “Will you go to prom with me?” when his voice cracked. He later commented on how surreal it all felt: “Sometimes we play some of these songs, and I remember playing them in front of four people.” While the Strokes’ “best of” performance didn’t give eager fans a peak into any new material, it marked a promising return for the band and a highly satisfying end to the night.

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Read up on the coverage for Day 2!