A Beautiful Fall

Staff Writer: Colin Gibbons

Wednesday, October 8, 2008. Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco.

Baltimore noise rockers Ponyail have been gaining a lot of attention in the wake of their recent release Ice Cream Spiritual, an experimental celebration of all things wild and raucous. The quartet’s penchant for untethered live performances has earned them a reputation as one of today’s most energetic and exciting young bands. I sat down with guitarists Dustin Wong and Ken Seeno, vocalist Molly Siegel and drummer Jeremy Hyman before their show at the Bottom of the Hill on October 8th to discuss the dangers of touring, their influences, and the difficulty of categorizing the band’s sound.

Whoever Said Justice Couldn’t Be Served?

Chris Crowley

Saturday marked the start of the second annual Treasure Island Music Festival. The festival, which ran Saturday and Sunday, held some big name headliners with Justice on Saturday and Jack White’s side project, The Raconteurs, on Sunday.

When I arrived on Saturday, I was truly awed by the site of the venue. With the whole city of San Francisco in view and a beautiful breeze to match the warm temperature, it was obvious that the festival directors would have no problem keeping people coming back for more each year.

At a festival like Treasure Island where there are popular headliners and some very well known indie acts mixed in with the lesser known, you’re bound to find some surprises in the lineup. After seeing rapper Aesop Rock on the main stage, I wandered over to the second stage to see Nortec Collective. In an age of dying trends, Nortec Collective are more than original. From Tijuana, Mexico, they fuse together electronic beats and traditional Mexican horns and guitars, and produce a sound like a mariachi band on ecstasy—a definite fan favorite on Saturday.

Another highlight of the day was Hot Chip, who took the stage at 4:20, kicking their set into gear with the dark dance track “Shake A Fist.” From the start of their set they controlled the audience, and for the hour they played they didn’t let go. Blasting through hits off their new album “Made In The Dark” and older songs off of “The Warning,” Hot Chip finished their set with a rendition of Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” leading into their love song “In The Privacy Of Our Love.” Hot Chip pulled off O’Connor’s version comfortably; they made a song that would seem unsuitable to end a set with seem like the only one that could have worked.

Some other notable acts of the day included DJs Amon Tobin and Mike Realm, who both kept the crowd dancing during the sunny San Francisco day. CSS also gave an energetic performance at night with their indie electro punk sound. TV On The Radio was somewhat disappointing. Highlights included some new songs from their upcoming album due next week entitled “Dear Science,” and some songs from their acclaimed 2006 release “Return From Cookie Mountain,” but overall they lacked the energy to control the bigger stage.
Through all the DJs and bands that played on Saturday, there was an unspoken anticipation for the headliner. To some outsiders it may have looked like a religious gathering, but to the people who were there, we knew what the six foot light up cross on stage really stood for: Justice.

Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay make up the French Grammy-nominated electronic duo that is Justice. They have become a huge success due to their 2007 album † (“Cross”) and their remix of Simian’s “Never Be Alone” entitled “We Are Your Friends,” taking the stage Saturday night to thousands upon thousands of people ready after a long day of music to be taken to the next level. And they delivered.

With the flashing of lights and the giant cross, Justice opened with the loud deep ringing bells from their song “Genesis.” Once the crowd started moving, Justice continued to play through songs from † including a crowd sing along to “D.A.N.C.E,” “Tthhee Ppaarrttyy” and “Phantom” among others. The duo also debuted some new songs that sounded similar to their familiar style, and the crowd reacted positively. The highlight of Justice’s set came when they cut the noise and about 15,000 fans in unison roared the lyrics, “We are your friends! You’ll never be alone again! So come on! So come on!” Justice had the crowd’s attention the whole way through, and even played about 15-20 minutes after they were scheduled to depart the stage.

When all was said and done, when all the notes were played and words were sung, Saturday of Treasure Island was a giant success. A lot of festivals struggle to maintain intimacy with the fans, the seemingly impossible feat of feeling like you are at a club at a festival. Treasure Island had the right artists, the right variety and the right venue to pull off the show. And in the end, Justice was served.