Guide: TREASURE ISLAND FESTIVAL (SF) October 16th & 17th

ARRGGHHHHHHHHH it’s that time that time of the year again mateys!!!

TREASURE ISLAND FESTIVAL, TREASURE ISLAND, SAN FRANCISCO. OCTOBER 16th & 17th, 2010.

Yo ho MIXSTERS, we’re off to the BAYYYYY ARREEEEAAAAHHHHHH this weekend, for a fun filled weekend of electronic music, boozin, and yes, of course, pirate-related antics.

Last year at Treasure Island Festival, simply put: I had an unbelievablyyyyyyy good time. It’s an event where I can sincerely claim: The organizers certainly put in their time and a whole lot of booty into making a Shiver me timber-good time for all.

OK, you’re right. Easing off the pirate humor but nevertheless still give you the FULL Festival rundown as always, fit to ensure an easy, safe, and of course, straight-up sensational time for all on-board for the weekend-long adventure!

Transportation: FREE

Coinciding with the TI Fest’s grandest initiative, to reduce the carbon festival goer footprint as much as humanly possible, there is NO parking on Treasure Island (Unless of course you bought yourself a nice fancy VIP pass). HOWEVER, instead of battling the looming pre- and post-island raging traffic, the organizers have ever so smartly provided FREE transportation, to and from Treasure Island, via the delightfully centralized AT & T park, which also happens to conveniently have a great abundance of free all-day/night parking as well!  (MAP)

MIX TIP: Get to the bus stop EARLY. Last year, my fanciful crew arrived fashionably late around 1:00pm, hoping to swiftly catch a ride to the island; and unfortunately the reality of the situation was far and away from what we had hoped. After waiting in the blazing sun for nearly two and a half hours we were able to board the bus lines but take it from me: A festival with an attendance of tens of thousands of people, will ALL NEED to board buses at the same location to the island. No matter how many buses there are for transporting the masses, standing behind thousands of people in line is nonetheless still thousands of spots away from a seat on a bus. Get to AT&T park early. If you want to catch Maus Haus at noon, get to the lines at 10:30/11am to be safe. There are thousands of anxious, festive pirates just as excited as you and your mateys are so cut brunch early and plan accordingly. Perhaps water bottle it…

LINE-UP: RAD.

What I love about Treasure Island Fest’s line-ups and schedules, is the fact that NO acts/sets overlap one another for more than five minutes. There are two stages, each astonishingly close to one another, so it is easy to dart back and forth from stage to stage. And because there is almost no overlap you can actually see the value in your ticket, because you have opportunity to catch nearly the entire performance of each artist!

ALSO, the line-ups boast HUGE names, including LCD Soundsystem, Deadmau5, and Miike Snow, however, the Treasure Island coordinators also thoughtfully include a few under the radar & rare acts as well, including Die Antwoord, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and !!!. Last year’s line-up boasted The Streets and The Brazilian Girls, both well known names, yet two acts that you rarely see performing live these days, with headliners MGMT, Girl Talk and MSTRKRFT. It’s that sense of uniqueness that the Treasure Island Fest-Makers seems to implement in scheduling their line-ups really adds a significant stand-out quality about the event. It’s like combining those special (and personally, sacred) early hours for discovering new music of Coachella, and merely saving the best off the top Coachella lines for the finale. This is all without having to worry about skipping back and forth between tents like a ship caught in that typical festival Bermuda triangle and bummy hipsters asleep in the most inconvenient places.

**CHECK out our full article to learn more about each of the artists playing on Day 1 at Treasure Island and for tons of free downloads click here!!**

Vibe: REALLY eclectic, but very laid-back.

The vibe matches the crowd — pretty eclectic. Some choose to go as they are, in everyday human clothes. However, the raver presence also, does not go unnoticed. Or if you’re like me, many decide to go all out and dressed as PIRATES — because personally, I don’t see why you wouldn’t?! However, whichever get-up you decide the general atmosphere of Treasure Island cannot be defined by simply one characterization. It remains to be just simply very relaxed in terms of dress, with a universal sense of all that saved up enthusiasm — beaming and being predominantly about the music itself. Sure, there is a Ferris wheel for those who delight in thrill, gigantic pirate clowns on stilts that are fucking creepy, and public trampoline usage, however, overall the general vibe is comfortable for all. Don’t feel obligated to go all-out wild, unless you feel personally inclined to do so. Particularly this year, I sense that there will be plenty of deadmau5 heads bobbing around in the crowd…

FESTIVITIES/ATTRACTIONS

NEW STUFF AT TREASURE ISLAND FESTIVAL 2010.

Workshop @ the Treasure Trove — The TIFest take on all things DIY and Craftastic!
Hosted in association with Workshop, Etsy, GoGo Craft and Six-Word Memoirs, the Treasure Trove will be a place to create, learn, recycle, and build. Stop by the tent to get the full schedule of events or to just chill in the SF Zine Fest Library.

Other Fun Festival Features.

Treasure Chest is the exclusive vendor village that will be offering an eclectic mix of the best Bay Area crafters, poster artists, designers and tastemakers sharing and selling their fantastic creations.

Madu Salon,will be giving complimentary hair-dos and trims, and also each day near sunset, TIfesters will pay homage to the great city of New Orleans with Second Line performances from The San Francisco Bourbon Kings and Brass Mafia. The 30-foot live mural wall, presented by Pacific Art Collective, will be featuring the finest Bay Area graffiti artists.

“Ferris Wheel Confessions.” – LOL

Have an embarrassing musical or personal secret you’d like to share while rotating through the air? Tell them your story and a glorious 60-foot high Ferris wheel ride is free.

Also, be sure to be on the lookout for Roaming Hunger, a well-known food truck blog, near the Ferris wheel, as they will be bringing with them an array of the best of the Bay Area Street Food to the festival.

There’s A LOT more wacky and weird stuff going on, in and around the festival grounds as well so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a plethora of looming curiosities…

SILENT DISCO PRESENTED BY VITAMINWATER

Don’t miss the Silent Disco at The Cove for your chance to bust a move to the latest dance beats—broadcast directly into your ears! Be sure to check out the live DJs spinning for the headphoned masses, keeping it quiet for the tired and the beats blasting for the dancers. Stay energized on the Silent Disco dance floor thanks to refreshing drinks courtesy of vitaminwater.

And here is a lineup of all the DJs who will be spinning at this year’s Silent Disco:

SATURDAY
Mochipet
Motion Potion
2Cents feat. Mal & Aye-n
Zach Moore
Anthony Mansfield
J Boogie

SUNDAY
Nisus
Richie Panic
Random Rab
Moldover
Tom Thump

Check out the full schedule here.

AFTER PARTIES!!!

For more info about all the awesome after-parties the TI crew has planned and to buy tickets click here!!!!!

If you’re not interested in the nightly line-ups so diligently organized by the TIFest Cap’ns, then make any and all efforts to at least duck into my very favorite hidden speakeasy 15 Romolo for a splendid crafty classic concoction and their absolutely divine bit of doughy nostalgia in the form of their housemade funnel cake, topped with a perfectly sweetened dollop of maple, apricot bourbon cream. Swoon.

Get excited for San Fran this weekend mis Mixsters!

By: TD