If the acts on the first day of the Treasure Island Music Festival seemed diverse, day two's lineup was downright schizophrenic. Sure, they were all nominally rock bands, but a festival that contains both Beirut and Husker Du's Bob Mould can't be said to have any great concern for genre consistency. This was a good thing, because by the end of day a major case of turntable fatigue had started to set in.

A music festival is, of course, only as good as its attendees. You could be seeing a triple bill that contained the reunited, resurrected Beatles, Led Zeppelin's original lineup and Zombie Joe Strummer, and it would still suck if some asshole in the front row kept shouting "freebird." Thankfully, Treasure Island's day-two audience was as close as we're going to get in this fallen world to an ideal festival crowd. There were just enough complete weirdos to keep things interesting, but not enough to make things uncomfortable. Whatever heckling took place was richly deserved. "We should just take over this fuckin' Island, run it ourselves!" said Wayne Coyne, near the end the Flaming Lips' set. With this crowd, it almost seemed like a good idea.

-Zachary Ritter

Thar Be the Booty

The Flaming Lips Ignite the Festival

For the many, many people on Sunday who'd indulged in psychoactive substances, the Flaming Lips' set must have been terrifying. The fog, the streamers, the strobe lights, Wayne Coyne's legendary giant hamster ball-the whole set seemed calculated to shatter fragile minds. The thing is, none of this madness was the least bit excessive. The Flaming Lips are the only band whose music justifies-requires!-the frontman's use of a 12-foot-high gong and a flotilla of confetti-filled balloons. Onstage, Wayne Coyne is like a precocious, sugar-addled kid in a room full of new toys. One who says "fuck" a lot. Over the course of a single song ("The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"), he wailed maniacally on his massive gong, inflated maybe three giant balloons and tried to get the audience to bark like dogs. The crowd was enjoying itself almost as much as he was.

-Zachary Ritter

Yo La Tengo's Got It

Yo La Tengo are three New Jersey sweater-wearers of a certain age. They took to the stage Sunday night as if to school a crowd of youngsters in the art of rock 'n' roll. Countering funky upbeat songs like "Periodically Double or Triple" with darker, heavier rock numbers, their set culminated in an extended guitar solo for the ages. Ira Kaplan swung his guitar in the air, flailed, cringed and convulsed over his instrument, going crazy on a theme for upwards of 10 breathtaking minutes. This was versatility, professionalism and passion. Yo La Tengo are not to be missed live, though the mainstream masses have missed them.

-Hannah Jewell

Beirut Bring Peace

Beirut frontman Zach Condon wears a permanent expression of peaceful thankfulness. This was the theme of his Sunday set-gratitude to be in San Francisco, to be playing their last show of the year, to be a musician, to be alive, etc. Playing new Mexico-inspired songs and old folky favorites, Condon proved himself a mature and capable performer (with a cherubic face). As the sun set behind the stage, the crowd sang and clapped along. Drummer Nick Petree delivered his trademark grimace/grin to the delight of the audience. Even the cold weather was perfect, as Condon said it was be helpful to keep him "alert." Pirate jokes abounded. All is rosy in the world of Beirut.

-Hannah Jewell

Walk the Plank

The Decemberists as Cold as Winter

"I was meant for the stage / I was meant for the curtain," sings Colin Meloy on 2005's Her Majesty. Those lyrics are the key to the Decemberists' appeal. They're shamelessly theatrical, and they don't let a little thing like subtlety get in the way of a good yarn. This is also why they're usually such a fantastic live band. They're not afraid to mug, to clown around. At Treasure Island though, it seemed like they decided they'd rather be a cool band than a fun band. Meloy appeared determined to have his audience take him seriously. There was no banter, no silly dancing-just his last album, The Hazards of Love, played in its entirety without a trace of irony or whimsy. I kept hoping in vain that some hint-a wink, a wry comment-of the old, puckish Meloy might slip out. This new guy is goddamn boring.

-Zachary Ritter

Grizzly Bear in Hibernation

Having seen Grizzly Bear earlier this year in an indoor venue, I was well aware of the live show they are capable of performing. Inside a club, their haunting, reverb-heavy vocals seem to bounce around the room, providing a breathtaking depth to their already ethereal music. And though they still put on a solid performance, that effect didn't translate in the outdoor setting of Treasure Island. They also didn't do much to warm the crowd who was freezing from the chilling wind and fog. Said Ed Droste: "It's kinda cold. Are you guys cold? I'm effing cold."

-Camden Andrews

Tags: BEIRUT, TREASURE ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL, GRIZZLY BEAR, YO LA TENGO, DECEMBERISTS