The Rapture almost came for me before I even set foot on the Portola Music Festival grounds at Pier 80 on Saturday. A bike screeched within millimeters of eliminating your reporter across the street from the box office that held the precious press credentials. The Rapture did eventually come to the Goldenvoice-produced mega-event on Sunday, but that was to perform “House of Jealous Lovers” and other highlights from the NYC band’s three-album catalog.
A strange time to immerse oneself in a two-day party bubble, considering everything going on in the world, but a most welcome one, nonetheless. For its fourth year, the multi-generational electronic music-forward festival booked a Saturday night set with pop queen and new Grindr collaborator Christina Aguilera. From Sept. 15-22, the notorious hookup app’s notification sound was Xtina singing, “Come on over, baby.”
Xtina was Mother in her assless chaps, and people ate it up. There was pyro, but she really didn’t need it.
“You guys look so fabulous!” she said, as her band started playing her 2000 hit “Come On Over.” “Speaking of ‘Come On Over,’ let me know if any Grindr signals go off tonight so I know who’s coming on over, who’s cumming all over.” She didn’t say anything political during her fun and pitch-perfect 40-minute set, which was introduced by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, but that was one hell of a product placement.
LCD Soundsystem performed to a rapt audience on Saturday night, and a special tent was dedicated to Despacio, frontman James Murphy and 2ManyDJs’ analog sound system, all weekend long. Seven McIntosh speaker stacks bump out 50,000 watts of power and 4.5 tons of amplification in what the manufacturer indicates has double the power of the Grateful Dead’s infamous Wall of Sound. I know more than a few people who made it their entire weekend agenda to stay in that tent to absorb the gently moving selections on that gorgeous system. The line to get in the relatively small area stretched far across the pier, and it was worth the wait every time.
The comparably cavernous Warehouse DJ area is a real warehouse where revelers could get in the thick of it or hang back and enjoy clear sound and more space. The Warehouse was programmed brilliantly, and each time I stopped by, DJs were mixing tight, high energy sets that merged nostalgia with current anthems. Most impressive were Japan’s shirtless Yousuke Yukimatsu, Belgium’s aforementioned 2ManyDJs, England’s Anti Up (Chris Lake and Chris Lorenzo), and OGs the Chemical Brothers.
Sunday brought the joy of watching Millennial and Gen Z partygoers react to big stage performances from UK rave elders Underworld and Prodigy. It’s been a true privilege to follow and write about these acts for the past 30 years and to see audiences fall just as in love with them now as in the Nineties.
Two beautiful, sunny weekend days meant that a jacket wasn’t necessary until it got a little windy on Sunday evening. All the people who covered their skivvies in full body lace alone probably didn’t get as cold as I worried they would, so that was a bit of a relief.
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There haven’t been too many obvious style trends in the two years that I have attended Portola, but I was reminded this weekend that one of them is wearing sequins. Portola’s mascot is a raccoon, and this year they sold a big number of cute, plush raccoon backpacks. They had spiralized eyeballs. Sprouts are still a popular clip-on to hats and hair. The official merch tent had chicken-themed sprouts to match the large fake chicken-topped shipping container that served as a central meeting point.
Our video reporter Andrew Brobst remarked on a spike in sports jersey sightings this year. And, when we shared a snack on Sunday, SFGATE’s Senior Culture Editor Dan Gentile pointed out the prevalence of people wearing orange food service stickers that say, “HOT!”
It was easy to get food at peak times—even after Xtina finished her set. I devoured, and felt most gratitude for, QQ chewy noodles with youtiao (Chinese donut) from Liang’s Village, the Cupertino restaurant that deliciously delivered to the whole Bay Area during the early pandemic; mushroom lo mein from Tenderloin Vietnamese restaurant Bodega SF; lao sausages and mango sticky rice with sago from Laomazing Eats, a catering company from Southern California; and an astonishingly good double smash burger by the MeSo Hungry truck that’s now all over the state.
Lines for food vendors and bars, including the “secret,” Xtina-themed Dirrrty Barr by Bodega offshoot The Felix that I shared with readers earlier in the week, were short and fast or nonexistent throughout the weekend.
“Food is very important, but I also want people to get back in front of the stage and keep their group and their party moving forward,” said Adrian Garcia, Goldenvoice’s food and beverage director and culinary director, in an interview earlier in the week. “The goal is no lines, even with beverages,” he added. “There’s going to be these rushes as people move from stage to stage, depending on programming, but the goal is still to not have to be sitting in line waiting for too long for anything.”
After four years of hosting the festival at Pier 80, it is too bad that a solution for poor phone service or wifi wasn’t found this year. If I ran into friends and got separated from them, I never saw them again for the rest of the day. (Maybe that’s what the sequins are for, actually: friend-spotting)
On the first day, having to break from my crew brought an unexpected feeling of loneliness in the evening, which is odd to experience when there are tens of thousands of people around. I didn’t see many overtly unhappy or angry people over the weekend except for the man and woman who chased a thief through the crowd who had gathered to watch Underworld.
In a funny twist of fate, my friend interacted with said burglar moments before, who dropped a phone mid-run. He thought the phone belonged to the guy, but now we are not so sure. I was shooting a video of Underworld performing “Dark & Long,” the track that PinkPantheress recently sampled in her song “Illegal,” and you can see the three people bolting past us. It was unsettling!
Overall, Portola is a positive force for bringing visitors to San Francisco, and for giving residents something to look forward to in the fall: People let loose on an escapist level that I haven’t seen at other festivals this year. Someone tried to sell me a DMT pen on the way in on Saturday. The weekend has earned a place on the international techno tourist itinerary, drawing business for locals. That’s especially appreciated for all of the new cafes, bakeries, restaurants, and pop-ups in the vicinity, as well as the seasoned mom and pop businesses all along Third Street.
It’s a pleasure to attend to enjoy the music and communing, even as there remains room to bring more art—more than a giant chicken atop a shipping container, at least—and amenities to the concrete and asphalt grounds. More local flavor in the musical lineup would also be of interest, transforming another international booking trump into a local showcase as well.
Since tickets didn’t sell out (and a discount promotion with Waymo generated a fair share of complaints from ticketholders who paid full price), Sunday attendance was noticeably smaller than on Saturday, yet still massive. I was asked numerous times if I think Portola will return next year. I hope so, and will start prepping my sequin look.
Tamara has been joyfully reporting on (and DJing at) raves and festivals since the early Nineties.
