FYM ON THE LIST: OUTSIDE LANDS DAY 3

Our third day at Outside Lands 2012 was spent watching the incredible talents of Allen Stone, Fun, Regina Spektor, Jack White and Stevie Wonder conquer the Lands End main stage. Below are a few highlights from our final day at this premier art°music°culture festival.

FYM arrived early last Sunday to catch Allen Stone represent Seattle! Over the past few years, minus a publicist or record label, Stone has heavily made a name for himself in the American soul underground. When his 2011 self-titled album was released digitally, it climbed up to the Top 5 on iTunes R&B/Soul charts.

In July 2012, Allen Stone's self-titled debut finally made its national vinyl release, via ATO Records. Allen Stone's music is a perfect paring of love conquers all vocals, socially conscious happy people soul, finished with a touch of MJ pop-prowess.

It's hard to get people moving at noon on a Sunday morning, after two days of ruthless music. But Allen Stone's charisma live, won over the SF crowd quickly—ending in a left vs. right audience dance-off.

NYC pop-chart toppers FUN. were a surprise highlight of our final day at Outside Lands 2012. Fun. frontman Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format, carries a huge voice, and a sincere stage persona that caters to the masses.

What truly won us over was Fun's cover of You Can't Always Get What You Want, by the Rolling Stones. Their version can obviously never top Mick/Keith's version, but it was an impressive addition, to their polished live performance.

Watching Jack White (under any creative sonic moniker) play guitar in person, is always a thrill to see. That day FYM was expecting a long journey through White's 2012 solo-release Blunderbuss, but instead, we were given a career spanning performance of spine-chilling hits.

Jack White played amazing cuts off Blunderbuss, while rotating full-band countrified versions of Raconteurs, The White Stripes and Dead Weather  staples. It was a true pleasure hearing the full gamut of White's songwriting skills, packed into one unforgettable festival setting.

White closed out his performance with a true-to-form Seven Nation Army rendition that unified the audience. After witnessing several mind-blowing guitar solos from his set, FYM hung back, watched the fog roll in, and listened to Stevie Wonder from a far. It was truly a marathon weekend, and FYM couldn't have asked for a better experience covering our third year in a row of Outside Lands 2012 Music Festival.

FYM BONUS PHOTO: Art Director J. Thomas Codling caught our publicist Nick 'The Fresh Maker' Codling in the perfect Mentos  moment this weekend (they were handing them out for free at the gate).

FYM ON THE LIST: OUTSIDE LANDS DAY 2

Massive crowds overtook day two at Outside Lands 2012. Luckily Golden Gate Park is an expansive setting to navigate, lending a mildly comfortable journey from stage to stage on foot.

San Francisco-based Thee Oh Sees dominated a foggy afternoon at the park, with their energetic brand of garage rock psychedelia. Frontman John Dwyer's howling vocals paired with up-tempo spazz-out jams like The Dream, create a commanding presence live.

Passion Pit's leading man Michael Angelakos may have canceled a string of shows this year due to battling depression and bi-polar disorder, but on day two of Outside Lands his performance was aces. New tracks from Passion Pitt's July release Gossamer, went over extremely well with the Twin Peaks stage audience.

The coolest thing FYM saw all day, was the photo taken above. While Passion Pitt rocked out their foot-stomping keyboard electro prowess, fans hoisted a man in a wheelchair up to see better. Possibly the greatest crowd surfing scenario we've ever witnessed.

Dr. Dog's roots-driven sonic eccentricity, is astounding to see LIVE. Their latest record Be The Void (Anti-Records), is an album of the year contender in our book. Dr. Dog continue to tour the U.S. through November, click HERE for tour dates.

Metallica closed out FYM's day two at Outside Lands. It was everything you would expect: pyrotechnics, juiced-up metal, circle pits, and a whole lot of negative energy. But that's what is great about going to festivals, sometimes you get to see bands perform live, that you wouldn't dare pay to see solo. Cheers, FYM.

OUTSIDE LANDS BONUS PHOTOS: 

FYM ON THE LIST: OUTSIDE LANDS 2012 • DAY 1

You can't ask for a better setting than San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to showcase such an expansive offering of art°music°culture. Day one of Outside Lands 2012 played host to a bevy sonic opulence old and new.

Two Gallants started off our first day at Outside Lands 2012 on a positive note. FYM continues to be impressed with the passionate vocal power of frontman Adam Stephens. This duo based out of San Francisco, played cuts off their 2007 Saddle Creek self-titled gem, and debuted stellar tracks from their long overdue new record The Bloom and the Blight (ATO Records) due out in September.

Oakland California's Eric Ricky Reed Frederick has had an explosive level of success this year with his music project Wallpaper. The unabashed Bay Area party rocker proved his live show night-timing prowess works on a massive scale (even during the day). Rick Reed's on-stage connection with vocalist/hype woman Novena is an incredible treat to see live!

YACHT followed Wallpaper. on the Twin Peeks stage yesterday afternoon. Claire L. Evans is such a charismatic performer. Her sonic partnership with Jona Bechtolt and their tech-savvy mixture of cult°discothèque energy makes for an engaging show. What continually impresses FYM about YACHT is their sincere joy they bring to audiences live (truly looking like they LOVE what they do).

Up next we caught Reggie Watts surrounded by beer, wine, and food vendors being interviewed in the Outside Lands press tent. His comedic blend of soul and hip-hop is a true original.

Beck brought out the whole crew (including Smokey Hormel and Justin Meldal-Johnsen) for Outside Lands 2012. After growing up with his music for so many years, seeing Beck live for the first time was a true pleasure. Beck played popular selections from his 20+ year career, and dedicated Lost Cause off 2002's Sea Change to the memory of Adam Yauch.

It's been a while since FYM last saw the Foo Fighters live, we are so happy Pat Smear is back in the band, playing beside Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters jacked-up radio hits, work perfectly in a large festival setting. You can't deny the history of this group, and the all-out performance Grohl gives every time he sets foot on stage.

We have never been rocked so hard in our lives... Neil Young may be in his mid-60's now, but he still can kick your ass playing guitar. His two hour set with Crazy Horse was on their terms, and they didn't play a full setlist of classic hits, as we are sure most would have liked to have seen.

Instead Young and company made a pack to show all the performers of the day what playing rock n' roll truly means. From the start Neil Young & Crazy Horse opened with a blistering 20-minute version of Love And Only Love. This lengthy theme of building up, and tearing down songs, continued throughout the set. One can only hope, Day two at Outside Lands will be as good this one. Cheers, FYM.

FYM SPOTIFY: OUTSIDE LANDS 2012 PLAYLIST

It's music for Young Moderns. This week's FYM Spotify Playlist is dedicated to Outside Lands 2012. Held on the generously green grounds of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, August 10-12, this festival is an annual hub of premiere art, music, food, comedy and culture. Below FYM has selected 30 different artists (10 from each day of the fest), that we are looking forward to jamming out to live! Click HERE for tickets, and HERE for a direct link to our playlist.



DAY 1:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: This Land Is Your Land
Antibalas: Dirty Money
Wallpaper: T Rex
Tanlines: Yes Way
Beck: Gold Chains
Andrew Bird: Heretics
Two Gallants: Despite What You've Been Told
Papa: Ain't It So
White Denim: Cat City
Yacht: Tripped and Fell in Love

Day 2:
Dr. Dog: These Days
Geographer: Paris
Zola Jesus: Lick the Palm of the Burning Handshake
Father John Misty: Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
The Kills: Pull A U
Grandaddy: Summer Here Kids
Portugal. The Man: When the War Ends
Alabama Shakes: Hang Loose
Honey Island Swamp Band: Honey
Passion Pit: Where We Belong

Day 3:
Fun: Some Nights
Electric Guest: Waves
Allen Stone: Sleep
Stevie Wonder: Joy (Takes Me Over)
Jack White: Freedom at 21
Amadou & Mariam: Dougou Badia
Birdy: Young Blood
Regina Spektor: Sailor Song
Santigold: GO!
Bloc Party: This Modern Love

To view the full list of artists performing at the 2012 Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco USA, click HERE. Cheers, FYM.