AMAZING Saturday Performances at Treasure Island Fest 2010

Yep. It’s settled. Treasure Island Festival, Is still my favorite festival. Hands down.

Overall, all of the live performances at Treasure Island Festival 2010 – were outstanding. The vibe throughout the crowd was great, and despite the super chilliness in the air, tickets for Day one of Treasure Island Festival SOLD OUT and thousands of excited souls were very much alive, present, and giddily shaking it, even during the beginning early hours of the festival. Treasure Island was as positively awesome as I had remembered from the year before, and this year the musical acts matched up precisely with the impeccable caliber of musicians that had played at TIMF in 2009.

Here are a few of the phenomenal performances we think should be highlighted:

HOLY FUCK

An act we were looking forward to, were the experimental yet danceable sounds by Holy Fuck.
Just merely watching them perform live was absolutely fascinating:

Their use of very nontraditional instruments including a 35mm film synchronizer, kitschy plastic keyboards, and even toy phaser guns, alongside live instrumentation, help to create grinding cranks and noisy feedback affects and blends, that develop curiously along a cooing stream of powerful percussion lines and multifaceted waves of rhythmic grooves.

Aside from their profound use of quirky make-shift sounds, with a clusterfuck of DIY instruments, I couldn’t help but cheerfully grin as Holy Fuck performed: There was such a friendly vibe of happy, delighted charisma as they performed within even their own small, intimate circle. And every once in a while, when they caught each others’ eyes as they played onstage, you can see them flashing each other genuinely excited smiles. It was positively heartwarming. I could have watched and listened to those happy kids play all day long.

Pre-order their new album Latin, and get a 4 track EP featuring songs not included on the album as well!

DIE ANTWOORD

And then there was the triumphant arrival of Die Antwoord: who transformed the main stage at the festival into the ZEF side of the island.

Crass, unabashedly crude, and yet, unavoidably captivating Die Antwoord, the trio made up of Ninja at the forefront, Yolandi, the impossibly unmistakable and cool as fuck leading lady, and DJ HI TEK, the unidentifiable creature behind the group’s audio machinery never failed for a minute to keep the Treasure Island crowds in anything less than pure fascination, throughout their 45 minute set.

More Die Antwoord, Videos, Madness, pictures, pirates and MOAR after the jump!!!!!!!

The trio performed their string of heavy hitters and YouTube mega hit takers, Beat Boy, Enter the Ninja, and Wat Pomp all whilst donning ill-fitting and baggy quintessential ZEF attire. Their beyond skinny little punk ‘tude combined with their undeniably seductive appeal, it was impossible not to fall victim to their deviant allure.

I’ve literally never kept my eyes so intensely glued to a male’s package for as long as did to Ninja’s during the performance of their latest release produced by Diplo “Evil Boy” – whom I was almost positively sure was going to join Die Antwoord on stage… And was slightly dejected when no such thing happened. Sigh.

But back to Ninja’s bobbing junk, I’m 100% positive I wasn’t the only one in the crowd with my eyes fixated and with my mind in all kinds of dirty places.

PHANTOGRAM

Phantogram put on an immensely chilling and lusciously melodic performance on Treasure Island’s Tunnel Stage. Amidst the early dusk and cool briskness of the evening, Phantogram mesmerized the crowd with haunting vocals, aurally alluring synths along a smooth percussion stream that acted somewhat inconspicuously as the vehicle that drove the deep state of universally-eye-fluttering awe. Their live performance of “Mouthful of Diamonds” still gives me warm tingles down my spine. I think I could’ve easily listen to Sarah Barthel’s gorgeous voice and wispy coos for hours and hours…

!!!

I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of incredible live performances in my lifetime. However, it is hard for me to remember whether I have EVER witnessed anything like the absolutely vivacious and disco superstar struts of !!!‘s front man, Nic Offer. It was easily one of the most positively exhilarating things I have ever seen. And I would even go as far as saying I am still very very much turned on.

An array of self-inspired dance moves, which Nic has personally titled as anything from the “Running on Ecstacy” to the “The Prance” Nic is certainly one absolutely outstanding booty-shakin’ creature.

The entire ensemble, which is eight members deep, performed and gave the Treasure Island crowds a sensational show — fit to boot with an insuppressibly giddy energy, that kept TIsters on a blissful high for hours… I would 100% absolutely love to see !!! perform live again, anytime.

One of these days hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to interview Nic Offer, so I can ask him personally — how just exactly he became so fucking fantastic.

Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister put on an interesting performance set on an appropriately massive LED platform. Two male vocalists accompanied the set at times, however quite honestly it was when the vocalists left the stage and allowed Kruder & Dorfmeister to throw down entrancing, minimalistic yet danceable tech house tracks that I believe the overall set was at its best.

Four Tet

Four Tet just seems like a regular dude with laptop and a mixer. Yet Four Tet‘s absolute love shared by both his fans and himself for his music, could not have been more apparent. From the very first couple riffs into his set, there was little to no restraint amidst the crowd from going just positively ape-shit over Four Tet. Crowd surfing and other antics commenced as soon as the first key was struck. And it was clear from the ear to ear smile that appeared on Four Tet’s face following each and every shout and cheer from the crowd, that Four Tet could not be more thrilled by the positive response. And that delighted little grin could not have tickled me pink any more.

Four Tet makes just great dance music, that people obviously love. The sound is deeper, housier, and is absent of any obvious pop rings. But when Four Tet made noise, the crowd went nuts. They love it. I loved it. Simply it was just really exciting, tasteful dance music.

LITTLE DRAGON

Like a little music nymph, Little Dragon’s enchanting presence was certainly recognized the minute she took the stage. A sound that paired with heavy, crisp beats, intermingled distinguishable yet not overly triumphant synth leads, and layered with probably the most amazing voice this side of Sweden — Little Dragon is an absolute hipster diva. SO good. Her ultra sexy sways as she strut around the stage playing an array of hanging electronic cymbals made of glass, added an even deeper layer of whimsy to her already quite mesmerizing production.

deadmau5

The drone of hour long screams and excited chants commenced the very moment deadmau5 ever-so-nonchalantly popped his mousey ears out of nowhere from behind his big and beautiful hunk of cheese stage. deadmau5, born Joel Zimmerman, donned his almighty and somewhat mystical robomau5 mask, a 30 lb + prototype and self-controlled mechanism of pure aesthetic enlightenment, and without fail began his hour long set to a crowd of countless tens of thousands of adoring mau5-ettes. An energy that can only be described as effervescent infatuation existed universally throughout the crowd, as deadmau5 rose to the occasion — and that occasion was throwing one fucking unbelievable dance party.

Beginning his set with his newish release of “Some Chords” a deep, reverberating, and immensely powerful anthem, he instigated the beginnings of a magical night ahead. The mere dim green glow of his lit up ears was like a sugar rush to all of the right senses. Hearts fluttered collectively in anticipation, and nearly exploded upon the very first drop.

Treasure Island also happens to make one of the first live performances of deadmau5′s currently unreleased track “SOFI Needs a Ladder” alongside the sassy vocals and ever-so-stylishly attuned SOFI – who performed the track live with deadmau5 and put on an engaging show for the insuppressibly excited masses.

Another highlight of deadmau5′s Treasure Island set was when Zimmerman took a much needed break from the heavy robomau5 head, and slid on a cartoonish white sheet donning two Sharpied black eyes, during his latest visual rendition of his performance of his track “Ghosts n’ Stuff” featuring Rob Swire. His goofy, ghostly get-up helped to demonstrate precisely that ageless charm and mass-appealing theatrical charisma that no doubt explains why deadmau5 is a wildly addictive persona within the EDM sphere.

Aside from just the costume changes and the fancy light installations, do not try and begin to doubt Zimmerman’s impeccable production mastery. Beneath that magnificent mouse head and amidst the spectacular display of visuals, Zimmerman is in fact one of the world’s most recognized sonic and audio production geniuses, who has also happened to become one of the EDM’s most enthusiastically celebrated and personas as well. And his performance at Treasure Island Festival 2010 demonstrated nothing short of his esteemed presence and reputation.

Miike Snow

Miike Snow’s Treasure Island Festival set was exactly as expected: Hauntingly melodic and beneath chillingly ominous clouds of fog, Miike Snow performed their universally praised set list, containing no shortage of highly recognizable and equally loved tracks by the notorious group of momentarily masked men.

Despite the San Fran chill, the atmosphere became hot and heavy as jiving bodies swayed to Mike Snow’s catchy glo-pop hits “Animal” and “Black and Blue” and their wildly catchy “chillectro” hit “Silvia” – which you could barely hear them play above the audience as they gleefully chanted along. Performed live, “Burial” is without a doubt one of my favorite Miike Snow tracks: Slowly reverberating xylophone keys each played in a perfectly cheerful pitch, invokes a state of hypnosis that spreads wide across the crowd and wall to wall with each chilling echo — gorgeous.

Although nothing surprised me about Miike Snow’s performance, it was nonetheless an enjoyable and a powerful, yet mellowing sonic nightcap to slowly close out the evening.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

Upon the first emotionally powerful echo of James Murphy’s voice, I was personally enthralled. Although impeccable in audio form, when heard live, I truly believed that each time James Murphy sings, a tiny kitten is born. Between apologies to the audience for the cold weather and calls to snuggle up with someone close, in my head I negotiated and begged “O James. Please don’t stop. Please, just keep singing. And please don’t EVER stop.”

Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting such a captivating and universally engaging performance from LCD Soundsystem. No one warned me about James Murphy’s spell-binding ability to enchant thousands upon thousands of people with one, single gorgeous note. However it is the band’s capability to bring together a highly danceable vehicle of infectious hooks and sounds that accompany Murphy’s vocals, resulting in the very magic that is LCD Soundsystem ability to captivate the masses.

By: Taylor Doms
Photos by Dylan Ousley of Home-ec.com