Even thinner-voiced than Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder the night before, Matthews' upper register was shot from recording with Herbie Hancock the day before.
But there was much more to make it rank amongst DMB's most unusual shows. Black Eyed Peas' Fergie and Apl.de.Ap appeared out of nowhere during the closing minutes of "Jimi Thing," launching an impromptu dance contest between themselves and the band's namesake. Matthews conceded defeat by laying down on the stage.
Later, in the encore, it was the guest appearance of Sunday afternoon main stage performer Robert Randolph who elevated things on covers of "All Along the Watchtower," which incorporated a lengthy "Stairway to Heaven" interpolation, and local favorites Sly and the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."
Matthews appeared frustrated several times, perhaps by his voice, kicking over a fan and yelling "Get me the f--- out of here!" during his impromptu lyrics for "Two Step," on which drummer Carter Beauford went ballistic.
Though I missed them, a friend reported Black Eyed Peas' set was fun and brought the festival crowd to its feet, hipping and hopping its way through a stream of hits including "Let's Get it Started," "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling."
I missed BEP so I could catch Brooklyn's TV on the Radio, which was tight and funky in its hour-long stay on the Twin Peaks Stage. One of the weekend's bigger crowds was on hand to see "Wolf Like Me" spit and kick to justify its title, while "Dancing Choose" was fast and furious as Tunde Adebimpe yelled the closing lines. The sun was toasty Saturday, but a stiff breeze from the ocean kept things cool, so TV's decision to close with "Staring at the Sun" seemed all too fitting for a band watching the star on its western descent.
Mastodon (right) was a snarling, feral dog, playing this year's stellar Crack the Skye in its entirety. Putting a metal band into the same festival as a pixie folk group such as Friday's Blind Pilot shows the great diversity of the lineup — it's hard to imagine the same stage where Mastodon pummeled away and started mosh pits (an Outside Lands first, perhaps) was the same where Q-Tip and West Indian Girl performed a day earlier. Mastodon showed commanding stage presence as it smoked through its opener, "Oblivion," and unleashed "The Czar" with fist-pounding fury. The joke is that for all their sonic bluster, metal hair and beards, they look like they'd be fun guys to have a beer with.
Before that, on the Panhandle Solar Stage, Alaska's Portugal. The Man worked through a woozy, psychedelic set. "Church Mouth" saw a bit of Three Dog Night's "One" in its bridge, while "People Say" showed off the poppier, streamlined songwriting on the recently released The Satanic Satanist.
Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello and The Coup's Boots Riley from Oakland are the premier members of Street Sweeper Social Club "we're not a band, we're a social club," Riley kept reminded fans. The group rocked through a 50-minute set with all its members clad in black shirts with blocky orange lettering saying "SSSC." It's always a treat to see Morello, but this experiment neither gives him the creative luxury Audioslave afforded or feels as comfortable as Rage. The biggest reaction came to a pair of covers a thoroughly rockin' reading of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" as well as LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out" making it hard to escape the reality that A) With a rap/rock sound and a political bent, this group is way too similar to Rage and B) Rap/rock hasn't been fashionable in at least five years.
As reported live from the festival, my Saturday began with Zion I, the Oakland hip hop outfit who got things jumping on the main stage. I think there was an extended "Money for Nothing" tease in there.
That's it for me for Outside Lands 2009. Look for coverage from myself and Daily Republic photographer Mike Greener from all three days in an upcoming edition of the paper.