Treasure Island Music Festival - Day 1

Posted by Landin King
Photography by Brian Waters

Of the numerous festivals I have attended, Treasure Island is the most enjoyable experience I have had. Alongside the fact that everything music wise I have seen has been located directly next to the gorgeous bay of San Francisco, this festival was very organized, had some great vendors and an undeniable lineup. As we were approaching the festival Passion Pit took the stage. A wild previous night and transportation issues led us to missing rapper Murs. We walk up and immediately go to the press check in area. Somehow our name was not on the list of people approved for the festival (slightly going against my previous comment about organization skills). A brief conversation was all it took for us to score our passes.

Unfortunately this delay caused us to miss the majority of the Passion Pit show. What we did catch was incredible. They ended the show with a crowd favorite, “The Reeling.”
After Passion Pit, Dan Deacon took the Tunnel Stage. My favorite part of this festival was the fact that there are only two stages. One artist would finish on one stage and the next would immediately start on the other. Deacon performed an incredible set fusing noise rock with DJ-dance jams. He backed his packed audience out about fifteen feet for a dance party/competition. He illegitimately informed everyone that the winner of the competition won tickets to Treasure Island FOREVER! Then everyone in the crowd was invited to join a huge interpretive dance that was led by one of Deacon’s team members.

After Deacon we went to catch the English rap group, The Streets. The face of this group is Michael Geoffery Skinner although a full band as well as backup rapper “Leo the Lion” perform with him. Skinner is an unbelievable performer in the sense that he is so connected with the audience. In between songs he was constantly talking with individual members of the crowd. Down front about three people from the 6-foot speaker, I could feel my hair literally blowing from thew wind the bass the speakers were putting out. Referring to this town as “San-Fran-disco” Skinner told everyone of how the last time he was in town he performed at the Filmore. He had an interesting story about jumping off a balcony and how much it hurt. This show had more sexual innuendos than a porno. At one point Skinner even told the entire press pit that he was going to make love to them.
After The Streets we caught the Brazilian Girls. Wow. Front-lady Sabina Sciubba is one of the sexiest females in America. She took the stage wearing fishnet tights, a black lace mask and big red heart attached to her shirt. She also had a smaller red heart attached to the ass of her costume. The sun was setting over the amazing sounds of this incredible band and it was completely surreal. The San Franciscan bay and skyline under a vivid pink sunset with a soundtrack provided by an amazing group of musicians was incredible.

At some point during the day I managed to gash open my smallest toe and it was bleeding everywhere. I went to the medical tent and even these workers were great. Really nice staff bandaged up my toe and sent me on my way.

The next act we saw was MSTRKRFT. This show consisted of only two DJ’s and yet was the dance party of Saturday night San Fran. Accompanying the Macintosh laptops and dj equipment was a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. These guys were chugging boos and chain-smoking while playing their set. The two danced as much as anyone in the crowd. This was probably the most energetic show of the entire evening.

From one DJ to another, we left MSTRKRFT and went to Girl Talk. Gregg Michael Gillis is above all a performer. Mixing top-40 hits with cult classics Girl Talk is the most sing-a-long DJ around. Right at the beginning of his set Gillis threw “Stanky Leg” into one of his mixes. Watching 5,000+ indie rock kids trying to do the Stanky Leg is nearly more entertaining than the act itself. Extra little pieces of entertainment included a giant inflated pillow bouncing through the crowd, a series of huge balloons bouncing about and one of Trojan’s free promotional condoms being inflated and thrown throughout the crowd.

As we left Girl Talk we were surprised to see a firework display over the bay. With the San Fran skyline in the foreground a fifteen-minute firework show lit up the night, only further enhancing the power and dance that was Girl Talk.

The final show of the evening was headliner MGMT. This group has been booked at Bonnaroo for the last two years, both of which I attended. I love this group’s album, but both years their live show has not lived up to the caliber of their fame. I thought that maybe the third time would be “the charm.” This was not the case. Every time I have seen this unbelievably popular group they have not been good. These guys know they are famous and therefore maintain the attitude of pretentious rock stars. Lead vocalist, Andrew VanWyngarden, has a voice that sounds nothing like his recorded album. The band plays their songs yet the entire sound is little to nothing like their recordings. The tracks are not tight and the energy that an engineer has obviously sent through their recording is completely absent. We stayed and enjoyed the show because we could sing along to every track performed; however the performance was, as always, weak at best. The worst part about seeing a band that is thoroughly overrated is seeing the massive amount of people that are convinced of how amazing they are. MGMT-ites were everywhere. Painted faces and feather banded headsets occupied one out of five festival attendees. Has this band really infiltrated that much of the music scene? I guess so.
Regardless, this was an incredible day at an incredible festival. Props to everyone who performed and was a part of this event. One more day of this mess to go. Cannot wait.