San Francisco – Ah, Treasure Island Music Festival. It’s such a glorious event: beautiful weather, no overlapping sets, minimal panic-inducing crowd swarms. The annual two-day event is a great festival for locals, due to its conveniently close-to-everything location smack dab in the middle of the bay between San Francisco and Oakland, and the price is usually pretty agreeable. Treasure Island is a great festival for both people who are interested in one type of music and people who are interested in many types of music, as the festival is (usually) divided over each day by genre: the first day is always mostly dance music, while the second is focused more on analog-driven indie rock, creating an interesting atmosphere that is specific to each day. This year’s festival is hardly different, though given the caliber of today’s performances—some very surprising, some reliably awesome—here’s hoping the vitality presented today will carry over into the festival’s second day. Regardless, among the many amazing acts that performed on the Island for the first day of the festival’s 9th year, here are some newer acts that were particularly remarkable:
Skylar Spence
Treasure Island kicked off their festival with a highly energetic set by Skylar Spence—formerly known as Saint Pepsi—the project helmed by vaporwave mastermind Ryan DeRobertis. After receiving a cease-and-desist from PepsiCo, DeRobertis had to change the name of his act (opting for a name that is shared with the title of one of his earlier songs), yet it seems that his name wasn’t the only thing that changed. He has since traded slowed-down samples for funky guitar riffs and charming lyrics, creating a nu-disco sound that is both nostalgic and refreshing. Most of what Skylar Spence played was lifted from his debut LP Prom King (released last month), including the charmingly cheeky “Can’t You See,” textural dance jam “I Can’t Be Your Superman,” and instrumental “Ridiculous!” He also showed us a more tender side with performances of “Fall Harder” and “Affairs,” and even broke out an old favorite from his Saint Pepsi days, “Mr. Wonderful.” DeRobertis and his crew of backing musicians closed their set with the ever effervescent “Fiona Coyne,” which had the devoted early crowd dancing joyfully. Too often is the case that earlier sets at festivals fall by the wayside in terms of energy and quality, so it is a joy to report that for Skylar Spence, this was nowhere near the case.
Baio
Chris Baio—perhaps known best for his role as bassist in the band Vampire Weekend—took to the Tunnel Stage around midday, eager to pump up the growing crowd of attendees with his exciting blend of electronic production, spot-on vocals, and a healthy dose of electric guitar. Baio and his guitar player tore through a slew of tracks featured on Baio’s first LP as a solo artist, The Names. He started things off with the infectious beats of the album’s opener, “Brainwash yyrr Face,” going straight into lead single “Sister of Pearl.” Bubblier tracks “Needs,” “Matter,” and “Endless Rhythm” were close to follow, as well as the LP’s title track, which features some very interesting vocal work that translated well to the stage. Baio topped things off with an amazing cover of Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again,” proving once and for all that not only is Baio a gifted bassist, his range and talent transcend his role as a band member into the realm of true artistry.
Shamir
Las Vegas’s delightfully idiosyncratic Shamir Bailey also played the smaller Tunnel Stage, commanding a very excited crowd for the fifty or so minutes he was given to play. Shamir’s high-octane dance pop flooded the audience, driving them into a frenzied celebration. All but one song performed are taken from his debut LP, Ratchet, which was released earlier this past spring, starting things off right with the brass-tinged sounds of “In For The Kill” and going right into the ‘autobiographical’ “Hot Mess.” Instant hit classics “On the Regular” and “Call it Off”—which saw Bailey journeying into the crowd a little bit for some impromptu audience karaoke—were also featured, and were probably the two songs that got the crowd the most excited, as did “Make A Scene,” the album’s pulsing second track. Shamir also treated the crowd to a thoughtful cover of the Joyce Manor song “Christmas Card” and the equally provocative “Youth,” before closing his set with the album’s final track “Head in the Clouds.” Shamir is such an exciting new talent, and has such an authoritative stage presence, which are ideal factors in the equation of longevity. It won’t be long until Shamir is a festival mainstay.
Hudson Mohawke
Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke (real name Ross Birchard; he took his moniker from a name he saw engraved in a hallway) blasted through a flurry of booming electronic material as he helmed the Tunnel Stage in the early hours of night. He and his unnamed cohort played several songs from his most recent release Lantern (his second studio album), as well as a few other treats. Highlights included Lantern tracks “System,” “Ryderz,” and “Shadows,” and he also included some tracks he recorded with Canadian producer Lunice when they released an EP as TNGHT: the snappy, roaring “Higher Ground,” and the glitched-out sounds of “Goooo.” For most of the set, Mohawke was shrouded in darkness, but his boisterous collection of songs definitely helped illuminate the enthusiastic audience’s delight.
FKA twigs
Tahliah Barnett—also known as FKA Twigs (formerly known simply as Twigs; that’s what the fka stands for)—has become almost a household name due to her dramatic increase in fame and familiarity, and for good reason. FKA twigs has released some of the most unique and interesting music in recent history, and she has released a lot of it—three EPs and a full-length LP, all over the course of three years, her most recent being M3LL15X, a five track EP that was released just two months ago. Barnett’s set as FKA twigs offered several songs from every stage of the artist’s young career, including tracks from LP1—“Preface,” “Pendulum,” “Numbers”—and songs from her various EPs, such as “Water Me” and “In Time.” Toward the end of her time she treated the audience with a startling live rendition of perhaps her most famous song, “Two Weeks,” and throughout much of the set she performed a ballet of sorts with various partners, including one man who appeared to have no joints at all. Each song performed was engaging and distinctive in its own way, yet a couple things remained constant: Barnett’s powerful vocal styling and her devotion to her craft. As FKA twigs’ music is perhaps not the easiest kind to get into (quickly, that is), the entire audience was rapt with her performance, giving hope to all sorts of avant-garde producers/musicians around the globe.
Once again the first day of Treasure Island proved to be wildly entertaining, as is always the case. The energy of the audience was matched—sometimes exceeded—by that of the various artists, and while the festival’s second day usually brings a more contemplative, almost morose tone to the table, I have a good feeling that this year might be a little different. It’s hard to say: because of the vivid divide of genres that tend to separate one day from the other, it’s simpler to assume that this year will be like every other year, because that’s just the way it is (plus, pretty much everyone who goes to the festival both days is quite hungover on the second day). But, given the overall energy and positive vibe felt today, hopefully that kind of bright optimism will be carried over. Nonetheless, day two is stacked with an impressive roster of acts—mostly relative newcomers—so it will be a good time no matter what. Stay tuned.
Photos and video by Corey Bell – Video By Potion
Corey Bell
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