More than OK Radiohead

Went to the Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park on Friday night to see Beck and Radiohead. The festival that night had thirteen bands performing on six different stages. Our group of four got there about a half hour after it had already started, and we went straight to Lindley Meadow to stake out some ground at the "Sutro" stage in advance of Beck's performance. We spread out a blanket and ate sandwiches we had brought with us from The Yellow Submarine on Irving Street. Good steak and cheese sandwich. Long porta-pottie lines were a nuisance, but more troubling was the chain link fence that surrounded Lindley Meadow and provided only a narrow 12 foot (?) gap to allow passage over to the Polo Field where Manu Chao was performing, and where Radiohead would be performing later. We noticed that it had already become congested as people were trying to go through in both directions, reminiscent of the disaster at the Golden Gate Bridge 50th year anniversary party. No one was getting anywhere fast. The inevitable happened as the chain link fences started getting pushed down, and people forged new ways through to the other side. "Don't fence us in!" their actions seemed to say, "especially since we paid nearly $100 apiece!"

Beck's performance didn't have the punch we expected. The sound system wasn't strong enough. Beck himself, dressed in black, and wearing a black hat, against the black background of the stage, was difficult to see, despite his long blond hair. His performance started to pick up as we moved closer. "Lost Cause" and "Where It's At" were memorable performances for me, the latter being his finale. It got us jumping before heading over the hill to the Polo Field to see Radiohead.

Radiohead was amazing. I have never been a big fan, but I became one that night. Their sound was tight and well-rehearsed, and the complex arrangements were well-synchronized with their video and light show. It had the feeling of being almost a new art form. They obviously have some artistic talent in their group. There were a couple times that the sound went out in the middle of songs, and the sight of them on the video continuing to play in total silence (we couldn't even hear the drums from where we were), was surreal. Strangely, this technical glitch added something to the show. The lead singer, Thom Yorke, commented that somebody "stepped on the plug." It was a needed moment of comic relief in an otherwise serious performance.

Not so human

Last Saturday, I was drugged and dragged to a club in San Francisco called the Mezzanine to see The Human League, a band I thought had taken a permanent vacation in The Land of the Happily Forgotten. Evidently, these tired old 80s bands have regrouped, plugging into the power of nostalgia, and have found new life on tour. The opening act for The Human League was another name from the 80s, Naked Eyes. I actually preferred them to the headliners. The lead singer had the look of someone who had lived a hard life, had a good sense of humor, and engaged the audience in a way that said he didn't take things too seriously. The Human League, on the other hand, left me cold with their sterile electronic and robotic performance. Maybe that's the ironic point of the name of the band, reflecting the dehumanizing influence of technology. Midway through their performance I was fantasizing that Neil Young might unexpectedly show up, crash the stage, and take over with an extended version of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.