OUTSIDE LANDS FESTIVAL: SATURDAY WITH RADIOHEAD & SUFJAN STEVENS

The musical menagerie continued Saturday as festival-goers battled hangovers and the dreaded San Francisco fog. Fantastic Negrito started day two on the Twin Peaks Stage with a soulful set filled with songs off his most recent album, The Last Days of Oakland. The Oakland singer, whose real name is Xavier Dphrepaulezz, is known for his raw sound and his ability to convey an authentic narrative through his music.

Fantastic Negrito

Rap was king on Saturday. The Long Beach native, Vince Staples destroyed the Twin Peaks Stage with a calmness only seen in the eye of a storm. His lengthy struts and air jumps accentuated his hard truths and wordy rhymes. Perhaps one of the most anticipated performances was E-40 and Warren G’s “surprise” set at Heineken House. The crowd surrounded the stage and flowed into the market stalls and Lands End Stage area. E-40 performed “yay area” hits like “Tell Me When To Go,” while Warren G followed with some classics.

Vince Staples

fans at Vince Staples

DJ for E-40

E-40

E-40

E-40

Fans at Warren G

The Phantogram and Big Boi side project “Big Grams” came about after the trio connected at Outside Lands in 2011. Josh Carter, rocking a Steph Curry jersey, entered the stage with a cigarette in mouth and orchestrated an indie mix of hip-hop and electro-pop music. Big Boi and Sarah Barthel combined their commanding lyrical prowess and evocative vocals to bring a unique performance to the Lands End Stage.

Big Grams

No band garnered more cheers on the Sutro Stage than The Last Shadow Puppets. The English heartthrob Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys leads the group that has been collaborating since 2007. In between cheers of “I love you” and “Marry Me” the band opened with “Dracula Teeth” and covered David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.”

The Last Shadow Puppets

Sufjan Stevens performances are more theatrics than music, which really is a nod to his presentation, not a knock on his sound. There are large angel wings, neon backup dancers, large psychedelic monsters and the infamous decimation of a banjo. Stevens played “Vesuvius” and “Chicago” before heading to Los Angeles for a show at the Hollywood Bowl.

Sufjan Stevens

Outside Lands fans

Sufjan Stevens

Even in a crowd of thousands, Radiohead makes you feel like you are the only person listening to them play. The stage lights up and Thom Yorke looks right at you and sings “stay in the shadows.” The first three songs of their set were from their most recent album A Moon Shaped Pool. The English band closed with a five-song encore complete with “Nude,” “Paranoid Android” and “Karma Police.”