Throughout the set, lead singer Alison Mosshart paced from one end of the stage to the other, eyeing the crowd like a tiger. The duo put on an awesome performance, and its inspired and passionate brand of hard rock was an appropriate introduction to headliners Metallica. The Kills played “Baby Says,” “DNA” and their big hit, “Future Starts Slow.”

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

The Kills

Brittany Howard treated the Outside Lands crowd (“Wow, there are so many of you here!”) to her incredible voice. Every song was a crowd favorite, but attendees went especially crazy for “Hold On,” “Rise To the Sun,” and “Be Mine.”

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes

For Hayes’ set, the front row was mostly made up of swooning women wearing feathers and capes, panda hats, tight jeans, and bikini tops, all dancing along.

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes

Todd Sickafoose

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes

Frazey Ford introduced one song with, “I wrote this song for my draft dodging parents.”

The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas

The Be Good Tanyas

A little intense, a little spooky, a little emo, Zola Jesus (a.k.a. Nika Roza Danilova) had a stage presence was reminiscent of Sinead O’Connor.

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus

Zola Jesus

Set highlights included “Breakin’ The Chains of Love,” “Winds of Change” (where Fitz had the crowd wave their hands in the air) and a cover of Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.” The L.A. neo-soulsters ended with “Moneygrabber,” and Noelle Scaggs pumping up the crowd by saying, “All the ladies in the house, make some noise for yourselves!”

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums

The duo of Adam Stephens (guitar/vocals/harmonica) and Tyson Vogel (drums/vocals) played its signature blend of Rod Stewart-meets-The Black Keys, with Stephens’ raspy voice pleasing the crowd on songs like “Nothing To You” and “Steady Rolling.”

Two Gallants

Two Gallants

Two Gallants

Two Gallants

Two Gallants

Two Gallants

The Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park featured many indie rock up-and-comers, as well as established acts like Neil Young, Metallica, and Stevie Wonder.

In addition to music — the publicized lineup plus small pop-up concerts — the August 10-12 festival also featured gourmet food vendors, a “Choco Land” of desserts, free ice-cream from Ben and Jerry’s, and corporate promotions (Intel gave away computers and
Toyota hosted several bands in a small concert/interview forum).

The Texas band, White Denim — which opened for Wilco in San Diego in January — performed its brand of guitar centered jams early on Friday, and could be heard soundchecking as concertgoers arrived. Set highlights included “Street Joy,” from 2011′s D.

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

White Denim

From tweens, to seniors, to Ravi Shankar, a wide range of people came out to see Norah Jones last Wednesday.

Even though Wednesday was technically night two of her tour, the Copley Symphony Hall show still felt somewhat like a first run. Maybe it was her father (Shankar) in the front row — or just because it’s in her quiet nature — but Jones seemed removed throughout the evening.

Fortunately, from set opener “Good Morning” to closer “Come Away With Me,” the Grammy Award winner’s beautiful voice kept the audience enraptured. The talented Ms. Jones also played a variety of instruments throughout the show, from synth, to guitar, to her signature piano. Likewise, she and her band culled the setlist from her entire catalog. After the third song, Jones assured the crowd, “We’ll play some new songs and old songs and make you forget all about the Port-A-Potties.” (The venue bathrooms are being remodeled.)

Jones is known for covering a lot of other artists, and on Wednesday, she did her rendition of “Long Way Home” by Tom Waits. However, instead of performing it on piano (as she did on 2004′s Feels Like Home), Jones picked up a guitar. At the end of the song, she said, “That’s a Tom Waits song. I wish I’d written it.” Jones also covered “Nearness of You,” a jazz standard written by Hoagy Carmichael and performed in the past by greats like Etta James and Nat King Cole. The crowd adored Jones’ interpretation of the song, and it proved to be the highlight of the night.

For her encore, Jones’ performed “Sunrise,” “Creepin’ In,” and “Come Away With Me.” For these songs, the band came onstage with acoustic instruments and surrounded her in a half-circle. It was a resonant and intimate way to end her set.

Folk/Americana songwriter Cory Chisel opened for Norah Jones. On tour to support his latest album, Old Believers, Chisel set the bar high for the headliner. Highlights of his set included “This Is How It Goes,” “I’ve Been Accused,” and, with a nod to the “spirit” of Woody Guthrie, “Tell Me Why the Times Won’t Change.” The crowd ate it up.

For the penultimate song, Chisel’s duet partner Adriel Harris and another band member clapped the rhythm while Chisel sang the soulful, bluesy “These Four Walls.” The audience loved it, and Chisel more than sold himself as a major up-and-comer in the scene. With loud applause and cheering as Chisel closed his set, the crowd basically begged him to come back and play more.