Treasure Island Music Festival Round-Up: 10.17.09 - 10.18.09

(Don't forget to click over to view the photo sets.)

Day 1

A sea of fluorescent, neon-wearing teens and twenty-something's took over the island on day one. Heavy on the tribal patterns, feather headdresses, and headbands fashioned in the style of Natasha Khan, it was obvious this crowd was ready to party all night long in anticipation of MSTRKRFT and show closer's MGMT.

Murs hit the stage and kicked the party off early when he busted out with the Crookers remix of a song he did with Busy P ("To Protect and Entertain"). "So that's what you do? Dance like this?" he asked, as he imitated the pogo-ing pit of fans. He got more cheers when he yelled, "Music is free! Steal everything! Fuck it!" Half way through his set he played "Dreadlocks" and people got hyphy. The energy was on point. "Now we're really in the bay area!"

While Passion Pit was a buzz-band last year, this year a surprising number of devoted fans sang along to nearly every song they played. My brother saw them in Boston last summer and "didn't get it." With the singer's high-pitched voice sounding a bit Muppet-y as they took the stage, I scratched my head wondering what I'm supposed to get from them.

A football jersey, thick-rimmed glasses, and wispy hair in the late stage of balding - sounds like a cross between a high-school gym teacher and a football coach. But it's Dan Deacon conducting his band of twelve multi-talented musicians. He threw his hands in the air, facing the band and bobbed his head, as layers and layers of sounds emitted from the Tunnel Stage. He coached the crowd through a dance contest, which started with challenging everyone to create a circle large enough to "match the glory" of pits seen at Norwegian metal fests. Deacon listed off the rules. Rule 1: "Be sassy as fuck the whole time." The contest turned into a wild group dance party, the sass was upped, and Deacon succeeded in showing the fans exactly how to get down to his music.

As the sun set, Brazilian Girls were on-stage teasing their tropical sounds on a surprisingly warm day. Singer Sabina Sciubba wore a heart costume on the front of her and sang out older songs like "Lazy Lover," and "Don't Stop." But it was "Pussy" that was like the Treasure Island karaoke sing-along.

The island got dark, ferris wheel lights glowed brightly, beers spilled, and MSTRKRFT took the stage to a massive audience. As they head-banged away on their turntables, they paused shortly to say, "I hope you like house music. We're gonna play a lot of it." From the looks of it, there wasn't a house music hater in attendance. A Daft Punk song found its way into the mix and everyone erupted at once, a wave of strobe-lit people jumping up, up, up, arms flailing. MSTRKRFT sped through a set list bringing non-stop, unrelenting beats to a highly satisfied audience, ending with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," the perfect pre-game to a Girl Talk set.

Girl Talk, aka Greg "I'm not a DJ" Gillis, seemed like he just jumped out of nowhere, bringing a crowd of eager fans onto the stage with him. A lively, versatile mix of mainstream hits spanning decades proved a recipe for success. Who knows what the hell he played, it was all one, long, glorious mash-up where you want to booty-drop, headbang and mosh all at the same time. Fireworks were lit off, sweaty, jazzercised faces aglow, and gigantic balloons started floating from the stage outward across the audience.

Following the Girl Talk love-fest was MGMT, but honestly the night could've ended there. MGMT played their hit songs early into their set, and as if on cue a mass exodus of people headed home.

DAY 2

Exit the 'tweens and the warm sunshine, enter the educated indie rock crowd under gray, windy skies.

Grizzly Bear was the first bigger band to take the stage. Everyone stood for their set, letting the ethereal sounds embrace them. "Two Weeks" was the obvious crowd-pleaser. For having so much said and written about them, I fail to understand what the big deal is. Sure they're good, but can't we put a vacuum-sealed lid on the hype? After watching half of their set, I took a break to warm up and get a hot coffee.

For those wanting to hear straight-up alternative rock with minimal stage banter, Bob Mould was on hand. He was met with cheers when he announced the show to be his "first local gig," as he has just relocated to San Francisco. Mould and his band (bassist being filled in by David Barbe, formerly of Sugar) rifled through their catchy pop songs, entertaining the audience all the way through.

As Mould was just finishing up on the Tunnel Stage, Beirut took to the Bridge Stage. "It's nice to play for you at sunset," singer Zach Condon said. Beirut incorporate cello, ukelele, tuba, and trumpet-playing, and even leave room for accordion solos. Their sound includes so many styles intermixed among each other, it's hard not to find something appealing about them. Condon sings closing his eyes, while resting his trumpet upside down on his shoulder. A couple nearby waltzed in step as Beirut played "A Sunday Smile," the sun set behind them, and for a minute everyone forgot they had the island chills.

I missed The Walkmen, The Decemberists, Yo La Tengo, and The Flaming Lips. But check back later...our photographer was on hand to snap shots of every band at the fest.