Day three of Outside Lands brought along with it a familiar bittersweet feeling. The artists spanned such an eclectic genre, it felt hard to pinpoint a coherent theme of the artists of the day, but in a way, that felt entirely symbolic of everything the city of San Francisco should stand for. The day brought music from every imaginable genre from hip hop, to hard rock, artists whose music has almost been dwarfed by their political movements, and even a well-welcomed Grateful Dead cover in Golden Gate Park.
Russian-born activists and musical movement Pussy Riot packed the Panhandle stage Sunday afternoon as frontwoman Nadya Tolokonnikova put on a stimulating show that utilized her platform to promote a plethora of causes to a city whose political climate aligns so well with her message. As Tolokonnikova approached the stage, she held up a “Free Brittney Griner” shirt and wore it for much of her show. Midway through the set, Tolokonnikova pulled her phone out to read a carefully crafted and impassioned speech defending abortion rights, stating “The bible does not say anything about abortion, it just says not to fuck sheep. If you’re guided by that book, good luck, fuck you” before punctuating the speech with her song “Hangerz.” Friend of Outside Lands Boyfriend got up on the Pandle stage for the first time since her 2019 performance at the festival to join Tolokonnikova for a few songs. In support of Ukraine, Tolokonnikova had some choice words for her native land’s leader exclaiming “The only thing Ukraine needs is for Putin to die” appropriately followed with their new single “HATEFUCK.” Tolokonnikova ended the show with some words we can all agree with: “Thank you so much, have a great day, get laid.”
A band with decades of experience and the fanbase to show for it, 90’s rock icons Weezer took the stage late in the day to open for the mainstage headliner. Clearly not having gotten the memo that barbershops have been reopened for some time, lead singer Rivers Cuomo took to the stage sporting a new beard with long hair, a clear distinction from his usual clean-shaven look as the band opened with their early heavy-hitting single “Hash Pipe.” Midway through their set, the group paid homage to one of the great bands to call the Bay Area home, Metallica, as they covered “Enter Sandman.” The covers were not limited to one genre, as they decided to bless the rains and cover Toto’s “Africa” as well. Ending their show with a familiar favorite from their Blue Album, the group finished with “Buddy Holly.”
Friends of the Hippie Community Mt. Joy proved that no matter how successful one becomes, there will always be dreams left to accomplish. Paying homage to Jerry Garcia and the Dead, not just in their hometown, but inches away from the Haight-Ashbury, the band took most of the second half of their set to improvise and jam to a cover of Grateful Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain.” After the long rendition, lead singer Matt Quinn, almost in shock, announced “Thank you guys for letting us fulfill the dream of playing a Grateful Dead song in San Francisco.” Their set was otherwise full of mellow hits, bookended by two of their biggest singles, opening with “Strangers” and closing with “Silver Lining.”
Headlining and closing out the festival, a star with as many chart-topping singles as face tattoos, Post Malone lit the stage up one final time. Walking on to start the show with “Wow” he proudly announced himself with his full name, Austin Richard Post. Midway through his show, Post was handed a guitar and joked to the audience “If you guys need to piss, now is the time to go because this is the most boring part of the show” before lighting a cigarette and playing “Stay” and “Go Flex” acoustically, later smashing his guitar onstage and passing the wood out to members of the audience. Expressing his gratitude to the audience, he made his appreciation clear as he stated “I’m the luckiest man and the most grateful man in the whole fucking universe.” before playing “White Iverson” Afterwhich, he joked “Someone just threw gum onstage. That’s a sign right there.” The show and night ended with a bang as fireworks ignited from the stage during the last song of the festival “Congratulations.” Post proceeded to send the festival off with some wise words about himself after his recent forced hiatus stating “It’s been a weird time for all of us… but beyond being a little chubbier, nothing's changed.”
Check out more photos from Outside Lands here.
