We’ve about milked the HSBF for all it’s worth here in post-ville.  So let’s call it a wrap with some remaining videos shot at the event.

First up from Day 1 of HSBF is Bright Eyes (Best Set of Day Winner) and guest M. Ward performing a Monsters of Folk song, Smoke Without Fire.  Bear with the video as it starts out fuzzy, but quickly gets better.  This song provided some of the more memorable moments of HSBF.  The song is great (particularly enjoyable are Mike Mogis’ pedal steel and Nate Walcott’s flugelhorn embellishments), but (sadly?) what will be remembered about this performance is the Conductor of Hands guy who can be seen in a white baseball hat up on a rise behind the band.  He begins waving his hands and carrying on pretty early in the song, and eventually has the entire crowd waving along.  When M. Ward first stepped up to the mike to sing, he could only have been wondering:  what the heck is going on here?  The musicians did their best to ignore the Conductor, but it became laughable.  A classic Hardly Strictly moment in Golden Gate Park.  That’s what you get “for free” sometimes.  Consider it the Conductor’s 15-seconds of fame.

Then check out the poignant This is the First Day of My Life (featuring great, Garth Hudson-esque organ from Nate Walcott), and then Old Soul Song (for the New World Order) (apologies for the sound and the video quality at times, but Conor’s energy is nonetheless infectious).

Next up from Day 2 is Robyn Hitchcock, with guests Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Abigail Washburn. The first song is the long and winding (and so worth it), (A Man Has Got to Know His Limitations) Briggs with it’s haunting chorus:

“We were riding in your car in San Francisco
We were riding through the weather and the rain
Riding in your car in San Francisco
But we’re never gonna ride that way again”

Check out the beautiful harmonies from the guests and guitar playing by both Rawlings and the multi-talented Hitchcock.

And then check out Hitchcock and crew perform his crowd-favorite, Queen Elvis. Nice do-wop-ish vocal effects by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.  If you’re not familiar with Robyn Hitchcock, do yourselves a favor and check out his stirring and fantastical songs.  Check out any and all of his albums, but also Jonathan Demme’s great film, Storefront Hitchcock.

Finally, below are three videos from the Best Set of Day 2, Broken Social Scene (featuring Stars’ Amy Millan). First up in the beautiful Golden Gate Park setting is the all-time World Sick, followed by 7/4 Shoreline (nice harmonies and horns at end) and the languid Shampoo Suicide.  The band was in great form, and Kevin Drew’s vocals were as good as we’ve heard from that good soul.  We wish them well in their current “long hiatus,” but hope they will come around again, renewed and shelling out their scintillating songs.