Day two of the Outside Lands Music Festival was a hot one. Despite the heat we managed to see a number of great bands including the resounding favorite amongst out group, Bat For Lashes.

We started our day with Raphael Saadiq who was great when he got around to playing music. Unfortunately, he filled a third of his set with stage banter and unengaged storytelling. All was forgiven with his cover of Iggy & The Stooges “Search & Destroy.”

Photos proved to be impossible by the time we made it over to see Portugal. The Man. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this band has become one of my favorite live bands this year. I think the festival organizers here and at Lollapalooza earlier this month underestimated the group’s rising popularity because their crowds were massive and packed. Not a bad problem for those guys.

I wasn’t expecting Mastodon to convert me to fandom yesterday, but I definitely did want to give them the opportunity to try. I stayed for about half their set before departing for a an up close spot for Bat For Lashes. My traveling companion joked that he thought the souls of all Mastodon attendees would be sucked into some demonic vortex once the lead singer opened his mouth. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

I haven’t spent enough time with the new Bat For Lashes. In fact, I’ve been racking my brain to wonder if I even own it. Having been a fan of Natasha’s first record, I can’t think of any reason why I’ve let her most recent offering pass me by. That will change when I find a record store. Her set was so fun and the band’s enjoyment was also visible the entire time. It was delicate and electronic in some parts and the drummer was out of this world good. I’m not sure if there are more Bat For Lashes tour dates out there this year, but if they swing through your town do check them out.

A wave of skepticism fell over me as I watched TV On The Radio trot out the horn section at the beginning of their set. After yesterday’s set I don’t know if I could ever enjoy the band without them in the future. It was that great. Seriously. Playing what they described from the stage as “their last show for a long time,” TV On The Radio brought lots of energy as the temperatures began to cool down. I don’t know if I could ever tire of “Staring at the Sun.”

That was it for us yesterday. We wanted to take some of the city and we weren’t really feeling the headliners. About to head back for the third and final day. Follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates on the festival and our last day in town.