SF Outside Lands: Jason Mraz and Bat for Lashes

Hosted on the beautiful grounds of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, last weekend's Outside Lands festival brought great music to the Bay Area for the second year in a row.  While Friday's temperatures were sweltering and Sunday saw a cold fog roll into the city, Saturday--the day I attended-- was picture perfect.  The same could be said about the performances I enjoyed.

I arrived just in time to catch the last of Raphael Saadiq's set, which ended with a joyous round of gospel music that made me wish I'd seen the full performance.

Next up was the irrepressibly cheerful Jason Mraz, who enjoyed a large audience for his set.  Mraz's radio-friendly folk-pop was flavored at times with everything from reggae to a "Copacabana-esque" vibe, which worked well with his entertaining, easy-going stage presence.

I must confess that I've never been a Jason Mraz fan.  I don't mind his music, but his radio singles have always been such light, fluffy lyrical confections that I've never felt the need to delve deeper.  Seeing him in concert didn't change my mind.

There's no doubt that Mraz is fun during live performances.  He's also put together a band of skilled musicians and made a point of putting original twists on his most familiar hits so fans got to enjoy a unique listening experience.  Despite this, there just isn't enough substance in his music for me to connect with it emotionally and nor is there enough of a driving beat for me to connect with it on a visceral level.

While Mraz' set was pleasant, I had no regrets about ducking out halfway through and heading to one of the side stages to check out Bat for Lashes.  My only previous exposure to Bat for Lashes was watching a couple of her music videos online a few months ago.  Since I'd liked what I heard, Outside Lands seemed like an excellent opportunity to find out if I liked enough of her music to shell out for her albums.

Performing on an intimate, sun-dappled side stage (that was completely powered by solar panels, by the way), Bat for Lashes vocals were exquisite.  I tend to have a limit to the amount of time I can listen to female singers who have ethereal, breathy voices, but Bat for Lashes vocal quality never became an affectation. The dreamy quality surrounding her music is also grounded with solid instrumentals that bring it back down to earth.

Did I like Bath for Lashes' music enough to shell out for her albums?  Absolutely.  I had to leave halfway through her set, and if it had been for anyone less than the Black Eyed Peas, I probably couldn't have torn myself away.  Considering the way the audience grew exponentially from the time her set started until the time I left, it's safe to say that Bat for Lashes won herself quite a few new fans at Outside Lands.

Head over to our Pop Wenches You Tube channel at www.youtube.com/popwenches to check out 3 more Jason Mraz clips and 2 additional Bat for Lashes clips, all in high-def!

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Music Notes: Details of Madonna's 'Celebration,' Ellie Greenwich dies

- The tracklisting for Madonna's Celebration has been announced. What can we expect? Thirty-six remastered songs on two CDs, alongside two new songs. The Celebration two-disc DVD package will include 47 music videos, including 18 never-before-seen clips. [SPIN]

- Ellie Greenwich, the girl group songwriter, died today of a heart attack. Greenwich brought us hits like "River Deep, Mountain High" and "(Today I Met) the Boy I'm Going to Marry." [Jezebel]

- Outside Lands, the Golden Gate Park music festival, will be the first-ever music festival webcast on YouTube this coming weekend. The site will stream all three days of the festival (Aug. 28-30). [Paste Magazine]

- Bob Dylan will release Christmas in the Heart, a Christmas album, on Oct. 13. [Rolling Stone]

- Peter Murphy of Bauhaus (yes, Bela Lugosi's dead) joined Nine Inch Nails during their third stop in NYC. This tour is supposed to mark the end of NIN's live shows. [SPIN]

- Them Crooked Vultures made their live UK debut with the Arctic Monkeys, surprising those in attendance. [NME]

- Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump got arrested in California late last night as a result of driving without a valid license. Stump told MTV News the following: "All I really have to say is ignorance of the law isn't innocence. I didn't want to give up my Illinois driver's license and was unaware that was a crime. It is, by the way, in the state of California. Lesson learned. I technically broke a law, so technically I deserve whatever I get. But man, is my mom gonna be pissed." [MTV News]

- Brooklyn-based World's Fair Label Group, a record label administration and PR company, folded yesterday. The group once did promotional work for artists like British Sea Power and Jarvis Cocker. [Pitchfork]

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SF Outside Lands Replaces Beastie Boys with . . . Tenacious D?

SF Outside Lands organizers have announced that Tenacious D will take the headlining spot for the festival's Sunday line up.  The Beastie Boys had originally been announced as Sunday's headliners, but the rappers were forced to cancel after Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed with cancer last month.

Tenacious D isn't really my thing and they sure aren't the Beastie Boys, but I know they've got a lot of fans who are really into them and I'm sure they'll have a big crowd staying to see them on August 30 at Golden Gate Park. [SF Outside Lands]

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Music News: Stop Hitting Each Other, Folks; Gossip Release Date, SF Outside Lands 1-Day Tix On Sale

- Chris Brown pleaded guilty yesterday to assaulting his then-girlfriend Rhianna on the night of the Grammy Awards. As a result of the plea deal, Brown will be sentenced on August 5 to five years probation and six months of community service, along with mandatory domestic violence counseling. The judge also put a stay-away order in place that prohibits both Brown and Rhianna from getting within 50 yards of each other, except at industry events when the buffer zone drops to 10 yards. [Yahoo! Music]

- Black Eyed Peas' manager Polo Molina was arrested by Toronto police on one count of assault after allegedly punching a notorious gossip blogger.  And that sentence was already more space that the story deserves. [E! Online]

- The Gossip will release Music for Men, its first album on a major music label, on October 6. The first single is "Heavy Cross." The full album is streaming online at Spinner. [Paste Magazine]

- The Flaming Lips will offer a free digital EP and a digital download of the concert to ticket buyers for select dates on their upcoming tour. [NME]

- Single-day tickets for San Francisco's Outside Lands Music Festival went on sale June 21. This is the sophomore year for the three-day festival, which takes place at Golden Gate Park. Headliners are Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Beastie Boys.  Additional acts include M.I.A., Black Eyed Peas, Incubus, Thievery Corporation, Autolux, Q-Tip, Lila Downs, Bat for Lashes, Raphael Saadiq, Ween, Modest Mouse, Lucinda Williams and Calexico. [SF Outside Lands]

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