street scene 2008: review

it sure was a good feeling to have street scene back downtown, and it was a bonus that it featured independent and electronic acts over its two nights. the smaller size of the festival was convenient in many ways. parking was a breeze, although we did arrive fairly early both days (tip for future years: park early and hit the bars before heading in). lines weren't an issue for the most part - getting in, porta-potties, etc. while the beer lines were pretty outrageous on the first night, you could enjoy the music and watch the video screens as you waited for your $6 10-ounce dos equis. and much like coachella the vibe was remarkably attitude-free, with people focusing on the music and having a good time.

attendance was decent for the first day, with large crowds for the main stage acts. but saturday had to be a disappointment for the promoters, including what seemed to be just a few hundred turning out for x's main stage set. while that could be explained by the young-skewing audience, other main stage acts we caught, such as the national and tegan and sara, couldn't have drawn more than a few thousand. instead, some of the tightest crowds (due to the smallish blocks their stages were on) and hottest sets for day 2 were found on the second-tier act casbah and zarabanda stages.

highlights and lowlights for street scene 2008, highlights first:

- spoon's solid set friday night, including powerful versions of "i turn my camera on", "don't make me a target", and "rhythm and soul", all of which benefited from a clear mix.
- does it offend you, yeah?'s "we are rockstars", which closed their saturday set on the casbah stage, had the biggest crowd energy of the festival - not an easy feat given the low-key nature of san diego music-goers.
- diplo, also at casbah, meshing everything from ac dc's "thunderstruck" to mia's "paper planes" with some lil' wayne tossed in. the crowd ate this set up too, plenty of folks dancing here.
- "wolf like me" made an early appearance in tv on the radio's set, which was a good thing since lead singer tunde adibimpe's voice soon devolved into a ragged howl.
- tokyo police club's tight set and creative song structures provided some of the most interesting music of the festival.
- beck throwing the crowd off balance by opening with "loser" and delivering a mellowed version of "devil's haircut", unrecognizable to many until the chorus hit. and does this guy look more like tom petty every year or what?
- ghostland observatory's tripped-out set - tons of dry ice and not a spotlight to be found, all the better for lead singer aaron behrens to belt out every track like it was his last, showing off an incredible range.
- others: vampire weekend was the big hit among the young-un's, and their sunny pop was hard not to like; hot chip's upbeat set; del tha funkee homosapien adding some more hip hop to the mix; and the quiet power of the national's set.

lowlights:

- the aforementioned tiny crowd for x, witnessing whatever medicated state vocalist exene cervenka is in. props to the band for their tight playing however.
- conversely, an absolutely ragged set by the hives - how can a drummer be that bad for a major touring act? - that was partially offset by frontman per almqvist's stage presence and banter.
- the bad sound mix for devo's set, where it was impossible to hear anything other than mark mothersbaugh's voice within a one mile radius of their stage.


while i was disappointed in the saturday lineup going in, it actually featured a lot of high-quality music and surprisingly good sets by artists i hadn't heard (much) of - including those by del and atmosphere described above, while sts 9 hypnotized a cloudy crowd with their intense set at zarabanda.

there's something to be said for this smaller-scale festival back on the streets of san diego where it belongs. the petco tailgate lot was perfect for the main stage acts (and it's not going anywhere soon since that god-awful marriott hotel is kaput for now), and the side stages, while tight, were intimate and fun, tucked among the warehouses and slow-motion gentrification of the area. while the attendance figures will probably disappoint, so did the first coachella in 1999 - and we all know how successful that festival is today. looking at street scene's lineup, you could even argue it's been reborn as the child of coachella.

pics: tokyo police club:


hot women only for the hand-print tree, please:


new pornographers on the intimate zarabanda stage:


hot chip:



sts9 rolls on:


and the studio version of does it offend you yeah?'s high-energy point of the festival: