Bakotopia

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Street Scene San Diego 2008

By: Chase Brockett

Got to love it here in sunny San Diego.   Even on warm days you know you can bear the heat for a couple hours and a coolness will come take over and calm your irritable soul. 



But what am I waiting for?  Street Scene!  People! Music! Booths!  Hippies!  It had it all.  Four stages with bands ranging from post-pop, rock, to what I can only describe as latin/samba/electronica - an endeavor that was Nortec Collective Bostich + Fusible. Returning after a departure from its roots, Street Scene San Diego was back nestled into the downtown area with Petco Park towering in the near distance. 

It was a musical variety pack for those hipsters who broke out the ecstasy before (or after, I’m not sure of the order) the alcohol and potentially marijuana combination led to at least one known incident of vomiting in the middle of a growing crowd.  Luckily, I was able to meander my way over far enough to avoid any unpleasantness that would result from any sporadic crowd movements during TV on the Radio’s set.  I did, however, receive an impromptu back scratching from a lady whom I hadn't met but who felt as though I was part of her family (and also one of the aformentioned connoisseurs of more 'alternative' forms of recreation).

Which brings me to an unabashed, shameless promotion of what has grown to be on of my favorite musical acts, and now favorite performances, to date. 

TV on the Radio took their already eclectic and conglomerate musical style and brought it beyond life for one of the best 45 I’ve spent in any recent memory.  Performing with a live brass section accompaniment, the show was reminiscent at times of old soul music videos I would catch here and there, performed flawlessly by an amazingly talent group of musicians.  If you have not heard them yet, look them up now.  You will no doubt find something you like between the Young Liars EP through the just recently released Dear Science. 


 

But the rest of the festival was not a disappointment.  There was a clear fanbase present for the electronica/techno repetitions of Justice, and MGMT certainly saw its share of zealous supporters. Beck, Friday’s headliner, kicked off the end of the night with “Loser” and did not fail to deliver on an hour and a half worth of music, but not without grabbing many concertgoers from the other respective bands who were mid-set when he took the stage.  It did free up room near the rest of the stages for the clean-up crew to get a head start.