8 Concerts, 1 Weekend

I had a music-filled weekends, guys. Who’s surprised? I don’t see any hands. I covered everything from country to EDM to alternative/white boy rap.

Friday night I headed to Mountain View to see the Zac Brown Band perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre. Last time I saw those guys live 3 years ago, I had a horrible ombre in my hair, Florida lost to Georgia at the World’s Largest Cocktail party and a guy almost broke his neck after falling out of his seat and over several rows. Luckily none of those were the case this time, and I felt like my growth as an adult person (and taste in hairstyles) was reflected in their growth as a jam band. They played their new song with Avicii, “Broken Arrows,” and I’m happy to report that their cover-song game is stronger than ever — “Into the Mystic” and “Enter Sandman” were among the mix. There was even an intermission in between the two 80-minute sets (which included a Jekyl to Hyde costume change transformation) and an awesome tribute to the armed forces onstage.

Saturday I attended the Treasure Island Music Festival. I had never been to Treasure Island before, which is strange considering it’s halfway between Oakland and SF and it’s a gorgeous little island with amazing views of the city and, of course, the water. It was the best possible backdrop for a music festival and the fact that there were DIY stations everywhere, a comedy show, delicious food, a ferris wheel and even on-trend second hand clothing booths didn’t suck.

Viceroy: This SF native DJ is all about bright colors and chill, feel good tracks. “Back at the Start” is the jam you’ll probably recognize and I was mesmerized by the graphics swirling and blinking behind him and his band of Lily Pullitzer-clad boys the whole time. The saxophone is my all-time favorite instrument, so the sax solo was the highlight for me. They rocked it out and it was extra fun watching his buddies lose their shit in the audience.

Gorgon City: I’d never heard of these guys before, but the two vocalists were beautiful and had awesome energy. I might’ve been a bit distracted by the sun suddenly coming out to play and my lack of sunscreen at this point, but I still really enjoyed listening and watching the female vocalist dance like a boss in crazy high stilettos.

STS9 & Big Grams: I’ll be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to these guys, but I did get to hear Big Boi and Phantogram mash it up at the Big Grams show.

FKA Twigs: This is who I was really waiting for. This chick is a bad bitch in the best way. She has this sweet, innocent little face and adorable English accent and then takes on this demon-like persona while singing beautifully and dancing like a creepy, spider-like boss. She had a double-jointed backup dancer twisting and disfiguring himself while she danced (which was more performance art and less pop star). If you weren’t paying attention you might not have been able to hear her–her voice is smooth and haunting but not loud. I really enjoyed her performance and if you get a chance (and like to keep it weird) I suggest seeing her live. This song is my favorite, and this one is great too.

DEADMAU5: We only stayed for a few songs before heading home, and while this kind of EDM is not my cup of tea I will say I enjoyed watching fans dance their asses off and the crazy lights/mouse trap-like contraption on stage.

Sunday I saw Twenty One Pilots with openers Finish Ticket and Echosmith at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

Finish Ticket is from the Bay Area, and they had sort of a Young The Giant sound going for them. Lots of energy and lots of love for TOP. Pretty sure I fell asleep during Echosmith’s performance except when I woke to a weird twirling parasol routine and then went back to sleep to prepare for..

Twenty One Pilots.. guys, I can’t even. This duo is incredible. I had no idea their fan base was so strong, but the energy in the crowd made their performance that much more electric. I thought I was a legit fan because I started obsessing over their quirky lyrics back before this festival, but turns out I got nothin’ on these kids who sang every word, even during speedy rap verses, when Tyler put down the mic. A little research (plus an accidental stumble upon this extreme phone pinching video) showed me that these guys are social media champs, growing their fanbase grassroots style with interactive media. Oh, and they’re really good at basketball, Tyler even turned down a b-ball scholarship to pursue music.

Their performance, which opened with “HeavyDirtySoul,” included creepy gas masks, full-face beanies, epilepsy-inducing strobe lights and hypnotizing background graphics in addition to a whole lot of bro love. Josh did a back flip on stage and they both ventured out into the pit on mobile platforms (one equipped with a drum set). They called out a section of the audience for not standing at a sold-out show, “There are a lot of people out there that want to be in here; they’d be pissed to see you sitting down back there. Yea, don’t think I’m not gonna see you if you sit back down either.” At one point Tyler strummed his ukulele and had the audience sing along to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” but only for a few seconds before diving back into their discography. They ended their set with “Car Radio” (much to my happiness) before their long, emotion-filled encore soliloquy, a slow beautiful “Goner” and a confetti, smoke bomb dotted “Trees.”

How was your weekend?