Outside Lands: Tom Jones to Pearl Jam without missing a beat

The knighted Brit balladeer shadowboxed and shimmied his way through a set that opened with "I'm Alive," reaching back to 1966 for "Green, Green Grass of Home" before making way for new material.

"Here's a song from my new album, or CD I should say," he said before launching into "Give a Little Love."

It wasn't the best show of Friday's kickoff, instead an unlikely testament to the age-defying and genre-defying variety on display at what has become the behemoth of all Bay Area music festivals.

About 100,000 fans are expected this weekend at the three-day festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, produced by Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly (founder of the Bonnaroo festival).

"We've traveled a lot, and there aren't many places that rival San Francisco, especially today," said Silversun Pickups singer Brian Aubert midway through the band's stellar set Friday afternoon.

Last year's sound snafus, with audio cutting out midway through sets by Radiohead and Tom Petty, seemed to be totally resolved. Amid a recession, $24 for a dozen Hog Island oysters isn't exactly a deal nor is the $7 for imported beers, but the WineHaven tent offers respite in giant oak barrel booths, and a slice of pizza is $5.

To get a feel for the ear-candy overload at play, all you have to do is walk through the sound nexus midway through the Polo Fields where the Barbary tent summons bygone vaudeville cabaret, an amateur singer belts out "Come Together" in The Beatles Rock Band tent, techno music blares from Intel's Today Is So Yesterday tent and a headliner like Incubus holds forth from the Land's End stage -- all going full tilt as a plane pulling an ad for "Vampire Diaries" flies overhead.

It's a virtual time warp and a savvy marketing ploy that also happens to be a perfect spot for a Major League Baseball pitching cage and a Toyota tent that doubles as a photo booth.

Following blistering sets by Built to Spill, The National and Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (who killed it with a cover of James Brown's "I Don't Mind" on a solar-powered stage), Friday night's headliner Pearl Jam tore through "Why Go Home" and "Animal" to kick things off on the Land's End stage at dusk.

"There's a hell of a lot of you out there, at least it looks that way from here," said singer Eddie Vedder. "I'm supposed to tell you not to take the brown acid."

Unlike Woodstock, almost 40 years to the day, it's unlikely anyone needed the advice.

Today's highlights include Dave Matthews, Black Eyed Peas, TV on the Radio, Mars Volta and Connor Oberst (and don't forget Groundation from Sonoma County). On Sunday, unlikely headliner Tenacious D (filling in for The Beastie Boys) closes out the three-day festival along with M.I.A., Ween and Modest Mouse.

Tickets are $89 per day. If you can't afford it, check out live streaming concerts throughout the weekend (including Dave Matthews, Ween, Robert Randolph, Incubus, Jason Mraz and Bettye LaVette) at www.sfoutsidelands.com.

You can reach Staff Writer John Beck at 521-5300 or john.beck@pressdemocrat.com.