Yes, I realize it’s Thursday and yes, I realize that means Outside Lands has been over for a while. But even UCLARadio DJs have lives and when you spend your whole weekend being blown away by music in Golden Gate Park, responsibilities build up. But here I am, one last time, to give you the best-of everything of Outside Lands 2011. Here goes.

Best Act: Muse

I said in my initial analysis that you would be hearing about this show for a while. Allow me to prove myself right by telling you about it right now. I would try to describe how good Muse was, but English-speaking people haven’t invented a word yet that could possibly capture the perfection that was on the main stage Saturday night. Every piece of Muse’s sound is crafted by an incredibly talented musician who goes beyond being merely a performer and becomes an innovator. Matthew Bellamy’s operatic singing style is absolutely perfect. I remember before the first time I saw them live I was worried about his vocals, because they are so difficult yet perfect on Muse’s albums and I knew there was no way he would be able to execute them live. Of course, I was completely wrong. If anything his vocal performance is better live because he spends a great deal more energy emoting, assisting the already epic nature of Muse’s tunes with extremely expressive vocals.

Moral of the story: if you haven’t seen Muse before, GO! It’s probably gonna be expensive. But can you really put a price on having your brain melted? Just sayin…

Best Food: Maverick Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Melt in your mouth meat goop between two pieces of bread. I could try to describe these unbelievably tasty sandwiches more eloquently but a soul food like pulled pork deserves a down-to-Earth writing style. Check out their website here. It’s great that Outside Lands endeavors to bring in some really high-class eateries to cook food that is both affordable and extremely tasty for the masses of music-fiends venturing to Golden Gate Park for a weekend of fun.

Best Business Installation: StubHub Sports Tent

Getting to the festival early every day left me with a lot of time to kill. Even after visiting every booth there was still enough time in the day that I found myself needing to spend a few hours doing free stuff while waiting for acts to start. There was no better place to do this than the StubHub sports tent, where visitors can play a number of games for free. I played pool, ping-pong, virtual golf, tabletop shuffleboard, and Pop-a-Shot. If you performed well enough in these games there were giveaways every hour in which top scorers would win Giants merchandise. Here’s me on the leaderboard for that competition. I didn’t win. It’s alright though, still got to see my name in chalk.

Best Costume: This Guy

Pink bunny suit wins. Plus he was a good sport when it came to having his picture taken

Honorable mention to This Guy

The bear suit from Workaholics! “Bitch better have mah honey!” Check out Workaholics. You’ll like it.

Surprise Act: !!!

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) is definitely alternative, but with a massive amount of integration of funk and electronic music. Basically it’s just all-around great dance music. The whole crowd was rocking out for their entire set. They also get the award for best front-man of the weekend. That guy’s got some seriously awesome dance moves and he knows how to please a crowd for sure.

Best Early Act: Foster the People

Oh man, did Foster the People draw huge. They played an amazing set for a huge crowd and really had the jams kicking. It took this live show for me to realize that their music is in fact dance music. Of course everyone left immediately after Pumped Up Kicks, but not me. This was one of those acts where you really wanted to catch every minute.

Running Joke of the Weekend: Phish

Pretty sure they’re still playing.

Biggest Disappointment: Big Boi

Never played. Never came back later in the weekend. I hate you Big Boi.

Best Light Show: Muse

BEST LASERS OF ALL TIME!? Pictures can’t do it justice, but you should still go look up some shots of Muse’s light show on Saturday. They pulled off some really amazing effects that blew all other acts’ light shows completely out of the water. Definitely the best use of lasers I’ve ever seen.