Outside Lands Day Two: What’s Your Bong Made Out Of? Or, Lupe Leads the Pack

Photo: Theo Rigby

Whether it was the cold mist gathering around Golden Gate Park’s edges, or the smoke around the park’s patrons, day two at Outside Lands was a little…slow moving. As one shivering concertgoer remarked, “I could go see what else there is, but I don’t feel like going anywhere.” Even if she had gone on a jaunt, she might not have been that impressed. Across the park—from the medium stages to the biggest—was a whole lot of the same. Same mellow, funky grooves. Same lingering, noodle-y ten minute guitar solos (or twenty minute, as was the case with Primus).

The day started well, at least on the smaller stages—a rousing set from veteran Oakland hip hop outfit the Coup got bodies in motion, and a hypnotically frenzied take by New York’s Liars got hippies, teens and curious types of all ages nodding along. But once the big names started to show up, and the temperatures started dropping, the place became one big sway-along. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but moderation, my friends. Perhaps not so coincidentally, it was around this time that you could spot the Pot-ermelon being lugged around — a hollowed out watermelon living its second life as a massive bong. And so the tone was set.

At the front of the park, a late-arriving Lupe Fiasco tried his best to get the crowd in gear, starting with The Cool’s “Kick Push,” for which his band pulled out the stops, blending rock, soul, blues and hip-hop elements in an awesome extended mash-up. In fitted slick black track suit and a single piece of gold jewelry, Lupe was like a toned-down Kanye: less boastful but just as assured. It was easy then to get the crowd to agree when he asked “Who here loves hip hop? I love hip hop. ‘Cuz hip hop saved my life,” before launching into that title track. Still, people weren’t bouncing as much as he would have liked, so Lupe spent his energy rushing the crowd and beseeching them, with raised arms, to rally. It was a battle he’d continue to fight through the set; at least, when he wasn’t wooing the ladies with tracks like “Sunshine.” It was pretty hard-fought — many folks remained seated on the ground. Perhaps if he’d dedicated “Sunshine” to the Potermelon instead of the women present, he’d have gotten better results. – KAITLIN FONTANA