It’s Not Unusual

Tom Jones

Probably owing to his more than forty years in show business, Welsh crooner Tom Jones’ set on the Sutro stage was one of the most successful in working up the crowd, with members of both sexes dancing and shouting along as he belted out hits such as “What’s New Pussycat?” “She’s A Lady,” and “Delilah.” A wide variety of people cheered on Sir Tom (he was knighted in 2006 by Queen Elizabeth), ranging from kids in their early twenties to original fans near his own age—and the singer says he still loves connecting with an audience, be it at a Vegas nightclub, or an outdoor festival such as Outside Lands.

“If there are people out there, and they’ve come to see me, I’m going to give it the best I can whether it be five thousand people, or ten thousand, or a hundred thousand,” Jones said during a phone interview a couple of weeks before Outside Lands. “I don’t change the show from Las Vegas to a festival, because I don’t do a ‘Vegas’ act anyways. I don’t use any dancing girls, it’s a concert that I’m doing, my show is basically the same—I maybe make sure I cover the stage a little bit more.”

That broad cross section of fans that come to see him is inspiring, but Jones said it can also lead to some differences when it comes to the layout and seating set up of a venue.

“The only thing is if you’re doing a large concert sometimes, like at an arena, a lot of the older fans get those front row seats, and they want to sit down and listen, and a lot of the younger people want to turn it into a rock concert, they start coming forward.”

“So we try to hold younger people back a bit, for a while at least, to give the older fans a little bit of respect and let them sit and enjoy, but then about halfway through the show we tell the security if people want to start coming up, it’s up to them, and then it’s every person for themselves,” Jones laughed.

“It all depends on the venue, sometimes there’s a strict thing on it, where people can’t dance and jump up and down in the aisles, which I love, so these festivals are great because it’s a looser situation, you don’t have those restrictions.”

Jones’ latest album, last year’s “24 Hours,” was produced by British drum and bass artists Future Cut, the most recent in a successful string of collaborations with younger performers and songwriters, which Jones credits with keeping his approach fresh and vital—and he is already gearing up to work on a new record at the end of the year, after he completes another tour through the U.K. and Europe, where he’ll team up with another young singer for a good cause.

“When I go back to England I’m going to do a charity show in London, a duet with Joss Stone, probably on a song I did with Dusty Springfield in the late sixties, ‘Baby You’ve Got What It Takes.’”

By the end of Jones’ set, the stage around him was covered with panties that female fans had flung at him, continuing a long standing tradition that “The Voice” looks at in a couple of different ways.

“It depends on what song I’m singing at the time; if I’m singing a serious ballad, it can break the mood,” Jones said. “But I don’t think it’s for an entertainer to dictate to an audience what to do—the entertainer does what he or she does, and hopefully the people get it.”

Party Like It’s 1992

As Jones’ set ended and darkness began to descend on the park, grunge godfathers Pearl Jam took to the main stage, ripping through newer tunes along with early favorites of the Alternative Nation, including “Animal,” “Even Flow,” and “Alive.” “Corduroy” seemed to be attacked with particular gusto; during the bittersweet refrains of “Black,” Vedder traded off vocalizing the main melody with the band while several thirty-something couples on the edges of the crowd gingerly slow-danced, probably reliving their junior high school dances for the early ‘90s.

Though he complained of throat problems several times, Vedder didn’t sound bad; if anything, the gruffness of his voice probably added a welcome edginess to the band’s sound compared to recent stops in the Bay Area. The audience was happy to comply with his requests for help singing, especially for “Better Man” and “Daughter.” At one point, Vedder thanked Neil Young for stepping in on vocals at one of Pearl Jam’s Bay Area shows about 15 years ago, causing some in the audience to start cheering wildly, expecting a repeat of Young’s many not-so-surprising guest appearances at Pearl Jam’s shows over the years. The local rock legend did not materialize, but the band did end their second and final encore with an inspired cover of “Rockin’ In The Free World,” changing the verse lyrics to “We got a kinder, gentler, president” which drew a round of appreciative, relieved applause, not unexpected at a show here in the liberal Bay Area, but it felt good nonetheless.

The Pick of Destiny?

Lucinda Williams

Sunday’s lineup got going with Betty LaVette and Robert Randolph and the Family band, though it again appeared that the majority of the crowd chose to either spend the early portion of the afternoon checking out the other acts, or to arrive at the park late to solely see the headliners for the evening.

Modest Mouse sounded much stronger than they have in past Bay Area appearances; perhaps the band is more comfortable with their success, or maybe they have given up some of their hard partying ways, but either way Isaac Brock and cohorts were a welcome bright spot.

Bluesy folk rock darling Lucinda Williams drew an appreciative crowd to the Sutro stage at the tail end of Modest Mouse’s forays on the main stage; the 50-something singer continues to prove that her twangy and soulful voice is a force to be reckoned with, no matter who she is sharing the bill with. Performing tunes ranging from “Essence” and “Righteously” to “Honey Bee” and the set-closing “It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N’ Roll),” Williams lit up the stage with her band, Buick 6, which featured new guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, who has played with everyone from Iggy Pop to They Might Be Giants.

The crowd at the Sutro stage continued to grow after Williams’ set, and eventually filled the small valley and the surrounding berms for Band of Horses, who did not disappoint, from the tender, reverb-drenched “No One’s Gonna Love You” to an outstanding cover of Gram Parsons’ “A Song For You.”

For starting out life as a joke band, Tenacious D proved to be an entertaining act, but not necessarily one that should have closed out a world class event such as Outside Lands—granted, the festival had booked the Beastie Boys originally, and they had to pull out 5 weeks before the festival because of Adam Yauch’s cancer diagnosis—but one would think that the organizers could have booked another high-profile act to fill the headliner slot.

Still, Jack Black’s comedic talents served him well, as he spoke of turning 40 two days before and bragged how he had never felt better—then had a stunt double run across the stage in his place, doing somersaults and flips. Appearances from “The Metal” and a rock-off with the Devil himself were among the highlights from the D, who did have a tight band backing them up, and seemed to genuinely enjoy their chance to shine in the live rock n’ roll limelight.

Band of Horses also played

All in all, this year’s Outside Lands festival was a fun romp, but it somehow felt like it lacked some of the excitement that one would expect from such a huge deal. It was no Tibetan Freedom Concert circa 1996, but as far as a weekend in Golden Gate Park goes, it was thoroughly enjoyable.