You guys. I went to Outside Lands this past weekend, and I know it’s now Wednesday but I’m still buzzing from being two rows away from Nate Ruess’s nose on Sunday. Like, WHAT? I’ve mentioned it a time or two, but I’m obsessed with that man. I was obsessed with him when he was the frontman of The Format, I was REALLY obsessed with him when I saw Fun. open for Motion City Soundtrack back in 2010 and I’m still ridiculously obsessed with him now that he’s touring it up solo style. HE’S SO WONDERFUL. Okay, I’m done. Here are the other bands I saw:
Friday:
First Aid Kit — Cutest little ladies straight out of the ’70s I’ve ever seen. The keyboard player looks just like Haley Dunphy from Modern Family. They were damn good, too.
St. Vincent — This band is so, so very badass. I already knew from watching their TV show performances that this was going to be good, but whoa. They look like straight up aliens up there doing all kinds of minimal, on-point choreography and they sounded incredible live.
Chet Faker — At this point, the crowd was huge and I was trying to find my friend (surprise: I never did) but I did get to enjoy this cover that I love oh so much.
Mumford & Sons — Mumford jammed it out as expected. I love the songs I know and feel kind of “meh” about the ones I don’t, so it was a good time but it was no St. Vincent.
Saturday:
Hurray For the Riff Raff — There was a lot of political/social issue talk going on up there, which can be great in the right setting buuuut Outside Lands is not it, in my humble opinion. They were otherwise a fun bluegrassy kind of an act.
Misterwives — So much energy! I loved them live. The lead singer started doing legit pushups onstage in between jumping, dancing and singing like a champ. I’m definitely a bigger fan after this performance.
Langhorne Slim — These guys didn’t play my favorite song, but it’s okay. The lead singer ran out into the crowd and gave that girl in the fancy pants up there a huge hug.
Laura Marling — Laura’s get up was probably the most interesting thing about her performance. She was wearing a full-on trench coat with a giant scarf. I mean, I guess it was overcast but I’m fairly certain that kind of coverage is never necessary in California. She also didn’t sing my favorite song by her. Basically we stuck around so we could see…
Angus & Julia Stone — I love these guys! I’m really into one particular album though, so it was a little strange to not hear each song on it in the order that I listen to it all the time. They’re a brother and sister duo and they’re chill. It’s kind of ironic that we drank vodka/Redbull while listening to the above three bands that are not high energy.
Billy Idol (kind of) — We were getting food while Billy was up there Mony Mony-ing on staged. Look at those pulled pork waffle fries though!
Tame Impala — These guys are trippy and awesome. I loved looking at the lights and weird graphics happening in the background.
The Black Keys — They were pretty incredible. The Black Keys definitely exceeded my expectations. I danced my ass off.
Cold War Kids — We missed their actual set because we went to an after party where we thought they were performing. Turns out they were just DJing the club, but I got a high five with the singer, so it was still a win.
Sunday:
St. Paul and the Broken Bones — To be honest, I had no idea who these guys were but I needed to be up front for Nate, so we were all about it. I learned from my BFF back home that the frontman was originally going to be a Pentecostal preacher in Alabama and instead started this band. He had rhinestones on his shoes, he sweat through his suit and I loved him.
NATE RUESS — I took like 5 minutes of video and forced myself to put my phone away. It actually felt like he finished his set in 10 minutes. He played a Format song, he played two Fun. songs and rocked out with his two female bandmates (!!). I was standing next to a dude who was possibly an even bigger fan than I am, so we sang until our lungs gave out. It was wonderful.
Ryn Weaver — If you don’t know this chick, check her out. She was very entertaining and her voice is ridiculous. She’s sort of Florence + The Machine-ish.
Sam Smith — I wasn’t expecting to feel the feels I felt during this set. I was misty eyed the entire time and he just seemed so humble and happy to be up there. Such a great performer. I’m a way bigger fan now.
Elton John — Elton! I was pumped to hear some of the classics, but I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge Elton fan. I respect him and I will jam to “Crocodile Rock” any day of the week, but we left about halfway through to eat delicious food and see what the hype was about..
Axwell & Ingrosso — I’d never heard of these DJs, and some of the graphics/lights made me feel like I was having a bad acid trip but the energy was interesting. There’s something pretty unique about walking away from “Candle In The Wind” and finding yourself smack dab in the middle of screaming (arguably rolling) 20 year olds. We only stayed for about 20 minutes and went home so I could prepare myself for five days in Vegas..
What have I done?
Five days in Vegas, you're about to be wrecked. Call / text me please <3
I'm jealous that you were there! I'm a little cautious when it comes to music festivals (I had one really bad experience in Canada a couple years ago) but this one seems more my speed.
Langhorne Slim is one of my favorite humans in the entire world – honestly. And he's so nice, too. Anyway, what's your favorite song that he didn't play? I'm curious!
OMG All the jealousy is had over this festival!! There is nothing awesome musically in Charleston, which is soo depressing.
This sounds like such a wonderful festival! I love so many of the acts you've listed that you saw! And Ryn Weaver… yessss! I feel like she's just the next big thing most people haven't heard of yet.