Sunday, August 14, 2011

Teen Beat

Posted By on Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 6:10 PM

Kaylee Savage-Wright is one half of a teenaged sister-brother team covering San Francisco's Outside Lands fest on behalf of the North Coast Journal -- because we believe the youth are our future. Kaylee submitted the following report:

Friday highlights:

Joy Formidable kicked things off with tons of energy, especially impressive considering they were playing an early afternoon slot. The Wales-based band has catapulted into fame over recent months -- Humboldt radio listeners will recognize their song "Whirring" as a current staple on KSLG 94.1 FM. It's a track about which Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters Tweeted, "I would like to personally thank The Joy Formidable for writing song of
the year 'Whirring.' Dave xxx." By the end of the set, the joy was really was formidable -- singer Ritzy Bryan's guitar strings busted after bearing the brunt of her enthusiasm.

Phish started off fun, but were a little too jammy and long for my taste, and I moved along to the more energetic MGMT. Best moment of their set was when they broke into their hit "Electric Feel" and the whole crowd sang along. Classic wonderful festival moment!

Saturday bright spots:

I entered the festival early to snag a good spot for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Smart move on my part, as they started Saturday off so good, so funny and with great beats to dance to. OK Go followed up with brightly colored suits and just as much brilliant personality, ramping up the energy level of an already excited crowd.

Arctic Monkeys took it to an even higher level, all badass and greaserish -- the crowd went nuts. So crazy that I was pushed back from the front, where I'd been holding my ground, into the wildness of people shoving and moshing. Total monkey madness.

Things grew even more fabulously out-of-control when The Black Keys took the stage. People screamed! People jumped! People squashed together so hard that I lost all my friends and found myself surrounded by large men, everyone sweaty and unable to move. Or rather, unable to move except as one singular Black-Keys-worshipping organism.

Then, when it seemed as if the performances couldn't possibly get any more brilliant, I somehow fought my way up to the front for Muse. They were AMAZING. The crowd turned into a wave of people. I literally couldn't so much as shift my weight unless other people were, too. Everyone sang along. Energy like we'd stuck our collective fingers into a giant light socket. The band played the crowd, too, keeping us pumped up with faster songs, then bringing it down for a mellow moment. After the encore, all I could think was, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen.

-- Kaylee Savage-Wright

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Ryan Burns

Ryan Burns

Bio:
Ryan Burns worked for the Journal from 2008 to 2013, covering a diverse mix of North Coast subjects, from education, politics and marijuana to human suspension, sex parties and amateur fight contests. He won awards for investigative reporting, feature stories and news coverage.

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