It's been five full years since Beck has released a studio LP (2008's Modern Guilt), though he reportedly has two new albums in the works (his new 12" release for "I Won't Be Long" offered a taste), and they're due to drop before this year's end. In the meantime, he's been playing a series of both acoustic and electric dates in Europe and the U.S., and that includes a headlining set scheduled for this Sunday night at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival.
The Odelay star has performed several of his new singles so far this year, including the latest, "Wake Up," in Barstow, Calif. last month. Video clip after the jump along with more info about the fest…
As CL's Leilani Polk reported on earlier this year, in the past decade, there has been an explosion of music festivals that have joined the Bonnaroo's, Coachella's and Lollapalooza's in terms of bringing nationally-known bands together for a weekend of music. (Tampa Bay's own addition has been Gasparilla Music Festival, which grew notably from its 2012 debut to next years' third annual two-day event.)
In addition to Beck, other performers on this year's lineup include Thom Yorke's side project, Atoms for Peace, synth rock duo Phantogram (pictured), UK trip hop producer/musician Tricky, experimental electro-sound purveyors Animal Collective and dance punk rockers Sleigh Bells, among others.
The Treasure Island Music Festival was first held in 2007. The location has an interesting back story. For more than 50 years, the general public's access to Treasure Island was extremely limited because it was a Navy base. The U.S. Government leased the island from the City of San Francisco months before it formally entered into World War II, and along with nearby Yerba Buena Island, it became the "Gateway to the Pacific" in the Battle of the Pacific.
But the U.S. Navy left the 404-acre Island in the 1990s, part of the Base Realignment and Closure process that nearly led Tampa to lose MacDill Air Force Base. It's still in the process of being handed over to the city of San Francisco. And it can only be accessed from the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge.
The 2013 edition of the fest takes place this Saturday and Sunday, October 19-20. Tickets are still available for any last-minute travelers. Stay tuned for a post-op on the festival here at CL…
- Joshua J. Withers
- Photo from Treasure Island Music Festival 2012
This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2013.