My experience on Friday, October 4th, Day 1 of San Francisco’s annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival starts with a harrowing journey, full of twists and turns (literally, physically turning around and walking in the opposite direction on several occasions), mistakes (mostly due to my lack of navigation abilities), and bonding stories. Alma Hasley (our wonderful photographer du jour), Josh Bonivert (our very important “vibe curator”) and I met for the first time in front of Free Speech Cafe and immediately ran to catch our BART train. After brief introductions, we dove into heated discussions concerning the bay area music scene, our contempt for the lack of under 21+ music spaces, and the combination of joy and disappointment one feels when seeing older musicians perform music from 30-40 years earlier in their career–the phrase “don’t see your idols” may have been passed around. After overcoming our urges to get lost in the beautiful vastness of the Golden Gate Park, join one of the many churches we encountered along the way, or doze off on the bus–which almost lulled us to sleep before the long awaited arrival–our pod finally arrived at the venue.
Corin Tucker, Photo by Alma Hasley
Upon entering, I was immediately drawn in by the rhythmic drums and modern synths of Sleater-Kinney. The duo was supported by three additional musicians, all wearing black, allowing them to blend in with the stagehands and photographers. On vocals and guitar, Carrie Brownstein maintained a punk-inflection to her singing: utilizing yelps, screams, and a certain harshness that evoked teenage agony. Corin Tucker’s vocal delivery was much more obviously emotional, with lilts, very strong technique, and exercising of much more of her range. Both were standouts, clearly strong and worthy musicians 30+ years into their careers. We were only there long enough to see Sleater-Kinney and Cat Power, and though I must admit my expectations were low, I was quite impressed with the music witnessed. Through the afternoon, mixing was impeccable, levels were always on point, and every instrument clean as can be. Clearly, I was watching some of the finest musicians perform very well thought-out work.
Despite their incredible musicianship, there was still a certain sparsity to some songs that, though matching their released versions quite well, felt underwhelming to me. Often vocals would be accompanied by only a single guitar and bass, or the drums would lack the ferocity and power the lyrics deserved. A combination of this sparsity, an almost too-polished sound, and a crowd only barely and lack-lusterly dancing along, made me wish for more. I longed for a mistake in their set–a speaker to blow-out, a guitar to go fuzzy. Even the reverb and echoes on certain mics–which did bring a grandness to the backup vocals, feigning the sound of a crowd singing along–felt very contained and held back. I may have been wishing for something unreasonable: as a first-time attendee to the music festival, perhaps the dancing, moshing, screaming, and raucousness which normally accompany punk-rock shows are not appropriate; or perhaps the riot grrrl sound I expected from Sleater-Kinney is no longer the genre they aim for, instead opting for a more general alternative-indie sound. Whatever the root of the problem, something was missing for me.
Photo by Alma Hasley
I want to emphasize that this was a very well done show and my expectations may have been my downfall. I absolutely adore the ways in which artists make a sound their own, even their old music. Sleater-Kinney did this again and again, proving that they are growing with their music and incorporating new sounds, opinions, and stories, while also sharing old fan favorites with their current twist. Their use of synths was a fine example of this, a bit of a departure from their older style, but perhaps my favorite part of their show (though I am also a self-proclaimed synth lover). They clearly were having a lot of fun with it and I really appreciated the departure from their original 1990s sound. At the same time, there is clearly a love for their older music, “Modern Girl” and “Here Today” off their 2005 album The Woods being crowd-pleasers– eliciting dancing, singing-along, and general audience engagement.
My personal favorite song, rounding out their set, was “Jumpers,” which Brownstein described as being “about the Golden Gate Bridge.” In reality, she clarified, it was about her dual experience of being depressed when she lived in San Francisco, but also always feeling happier when she returns. I left the show relating to this sentiment in a lot of ways, feeling grateful for my life in Berkeley, for my ability to visit “back home” often, and for the vast and lively San Francisco nearby. I don’t know the minutiae of Brownstein’s relationship with the city, but I do know that I, too, will always have fond memories of every city I’ve come into contact with. The ephemeral nature of my Berkeley college town feels like half its beauty, and I feel evermore invigorated to try and experience everything I can here.
Cat Power, Photo by Alma Hasley
Every time I visit San Francisco I’m reminded of its deep cultural (and musical) history–Hardly Strictly Bluegrass so impressively reminding me of the hippies that inhabited Golden Gate Park in the 70s–and I feel lucky to get to develop my own challenging, lovely, and exciting relationship with the city. I thank Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and all the challenges me and my pod faced in making it here, for introducing me to new locations, history, experiences, memories, and (most importantly) music.
Our trip back to Berkeley consisted of much the same back and forth decision making that plagued our journey over–calculating the fastest bus and if we could game the system (we couldn’t). This time, however, our entire bus sang “How Does it Feel” by Bob Dylan–performed by Cat Power and accompanied by hundreds in the audience during her ‘66 Bob Dylan cover set at the Festival. The song–the Cat Power rendition–along with previously mentioned “Jumpers” by Sleater-Kinney, were probably my favorites of the night. Both artists did a great job ending their shows on an uplifting note, and that really rang true long after I’d left. The bus, BART, and second bus home were peppered with reviews from friends and strangers we encountered along the way, and my initially somewhat harsh critiques melted away into pure gratitude for the entire experience. I think back on the afternoon now quite sweetly, remembering only its uplifting nature, community focus, and sheer musical beauty.
Article by Peri Zoe Yildirim-Stanley
Photos by Alma Hasley