I've always been a fan of former MTV VJ Dave Holmes, who is an encyclopedia of music knowledge. Now he's back in a new web series Indie Across America, obviously sponsored by GEICO (lizard looks much bigger in real life), that just premiered last Tuesday. Holmes travels across the country to hang out with indie bands and showcase their music.
You can watch episode 1 of Indie Across America featuring indie band Stereo Crowd at Blip.com. New episodes (along with music videos) will be released every Tuesday until November 12th.
Future episodes:
Episode 2: Baltimore featuring Sharkweek
Episode 3: Los Angeles featuring A House for Lions
HC, Wing, and I started out with "mimosas in Hermosa" (the theme that inspired us to go to the beach in the first place) at Scotty's on the Strand. Scotty's is a cute diner with a nice view of the beach and was the least fratty place (one pub offered 32oz mimosas! :x ) we could find. Oddly, a waiter started putting down new place settings before we even paid the bill. There were other empty tables around, so I didn't really understand the need to rush us out of there. Maybe it was because we only ordered mimosas and a plate of fried clams, which were decent, but made me wish we had ordered their hash browns instead.
Redondo Beach
We decided to do our own lobsterfest with Quality Seafood's great September Lobster Special. $18 for a 1/4 lb lobster, giant ear of sweet corn, large baked potato, and melted butter. If you're thirsty, you can even add $2 to get a Pabst tallboy! This is way more affordable than the lobsterfests I've been too AND you get bigger sides. This is the last weekend before the special ends, so check it out, especially if you missed all the other lobsterfests. Just make sure to go to the register where they sell the raw seafood. We made the mistake of waiting in the long line for cooked food. We just assumed the longest line would be for the affordable $18 lobster special. I was surprised people were totally unaware of the lobster deal.
After lunch, we quenched our thirst nearby at Naja's Place. With 88 beers on tap, it was hard to decide what to drink. Apparently, it gets rowdy after lunch. The bar was so crowded when we left, I almost ran into a girl dressed up as a cupcake. I didn't ask...
Manhattan Beach
HC introduced us to Fishing with Dynamite. I loved the seaworthy decor and the artwork, as seen behind my refreshing Innocents Abroad cocktail (the sparkling cocktail w/ Starr, passion fruit, lavender & Thai basil reminded me of a passion fruit mimosa). In addition to our afternoon drink, we had a few "snacks"...
Snacks:
1/2 Dozen Peruvian Scallops - some of the best scallops I've ever had
Sampler Platter - each oyster on the bar. Wing and I raved about the Kiwi Cup and Coromandel oysters (both from New Zealand), so we were easily persuaded to order more. Also, loved the ponzu sauce. I want it with all my oysters from now on.
1/2 Dozen Kiwi Cup & Coromandel - I wanted to try the Kiwi Cup oyster as soon as I read the name. It turned out to be my favorite oyster off the sampler. It was crisp and clean. Wing loved the Coromandel, but I found it a bit salty, though not as salty as the Sweet Petite, which made my mouth pucker. It was not sweet, merely petite
Pretzel and Chocolate Bread Pudding - because HC can never leave without dessert. I'm not really a fan of bread pudding, but this dessert changed my mind with it's mixture of hot salted caramel and cold house made ice cream. Plus I love pretzels.
Scallops // Kiwi Cup // Bread Pudding
HC Recommended:
We were too full to try these since we did each have a whole lobster for lunch!
Maryland Blue Crab Cake - in - house dill pickles, whole grain mustard remoulade
Key Lime Pie - graham cracker crust and kaffir lime meringue
I see a lunch or dinner here in my future...
It was a fun beach hop, but due to scarce free parking, next time I would park at Manhattan Beach and then make my way over to the other beaches. However, if we stop at Fishing with Dynamite first, we might never make it to the other beaches.
I thought it'd be fun to try to sum up my FYF experiences with categories. Let's see how this goes.
First FYF:
Yep, even though this was the festival's 10th anniversary, it was my first time. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was kind of like a mini Coachella, with the comforts of home at the end of a long day, the benefits of great local eats, and the convenience of public transit (one of the worst things about Coachella is the mile hike to the entrance and the traffic you get stuck in trying to enter the parking lot).
Best Vegan Food:
The now closed Pure Luck Restaurant made an appearance at FYF in the form of a popup. It was nice to eat something at a festival and still feel somewhat healthy. Highly enjoyed their Jackfruit Burrito (jackfruit carnitas, beans, avocado, rice, salsa in a flour tortilla).
Biggest Merch Disappointment:
All the Ts were unisex. Even though the shirts weren't super expensive, I'm a girl, so it would've been nice to see some girly Ts or a tank top.
Best Bands to Add to a Summer Playlist:
Toro y Moi - smooth voice and silky jams. Loving some of the R&B tendencies on his new album Anything in Return.
Devendra Banhart - I like to add a slow song as an intermission in my mix tapes. Banhart would be it. Simple and soothing.
STRFKR - synthpop that made me want to dance from my blanket in the back even after a long tiring day.
Poolside - pleasurable pool pop you can bounce to. At the end of the show, Filip Nikolic was nice enough to jump down and sign some autographs and take pictures. Unfortunately, I was up front, but not close enough to the middle to get in on that action. :(
!!! - I've loved this band since college, so I was super excited to finally see them live...and they exceeded expectations. It was hard not to dance to their disco dance punk, it was so unbelievably catchy. And I loved the female singer (anyone know her name??) who dueted with him on a few songs. She was a white woman with the soulful voice of a black woman. Also, !!! was the perfect sunset band. By day, the stage was a funky pool party, by night, a discotheque.
Washed Out - I was afraid he would sound washed out and he did on certain songs. The set list was a strange mix of his usual bedroom rock and then some good, sped up, danceable versions of his songs. My favorite live song was Get Up. I mean, look at him, he was probably at his most excited during that song.
I wish he would put out a live album because he definitely sounds better with a full band. And surprise, his song Feel it All Around is the Portlandia theme song. The full length song is actually pretty good.
Holy Ghost! - I had heard one song before FYF and I liked it. I just thought I might check them out and then swing over to My Bloody Valentine. However, I found myself pretty close to the front before the booming bass and caught their electro pop infection that prevented me from standing still. It was an amazing way to end the last day of FYF.
Best Dancer:
Nic Offer of !!! somehow pulled off short shorts and had the moves to go with them. He got the fans riled up by bouncing all over the stage (I like when singers do more than just stand in one place) and jumping into the crowd. Despite the fact that he was dancing nonstop during his entire set (even hanging the mic around his neck to free his hands for some gyrating...and voguing), he never sounded out of breath. And how can anyone not get their groove on when he's dancing his ass off right in front of you? If you don't get motion sickness, check out some of his great moves here.
Best Line:
When photographers started leaving the !!! stage, Nic Offer yelled out, "Where you going? I'm only gonna get cuter!"
Favorite Stage:
I spent most of my weekend at the
Charlotte Stage (the stages were named after Sex and the City
characters. Have they done Ninja Turtles yet?). What? There was a ton
of great music there. Sunday, I was there for almost 8 hours straight,
taking a short break near the end of the night for a soda, then coming
back for more! That day, it was hard to leave the stage because we had
such a good spot right at the front!
Most Unexpected Things I Saw:
I used to listen to Les Savy Fav in college and decided to swing by the Miranda stage to check out a few songs. The songs were good, but the stage show got crazier and crazier. While vocalist Tim Harrington performed, he wore a fluorescent kaftan, removed it, did a belly roll, wet willied his own belly button, put on tube socks as gloves, ripped holes into those tube socks for his fingers, removed them, and then removed his pants. After he put on a silver gimp suit, including the mask (and managed to zip up most of the suit), and finished a song, I figured it was time for me to go.
Two girls dancing with a giant blowup penis wearing a cape during the break between !!! and Washed Out. Later at the Holy Ghost! show, the penis made an appearance on the big screen.
Most Out of Place Band at Charlotte Stage:
The punk rock No Age was oddly sandwiched between !!! and Poolside. They sounded like they should've been at the Miranda Stage instead, but maybe they were at Charlotte because of their surprisingly large fan base. I was at the front, but relieved I didn't get too close to the center where all the high school moshers were crowd surfing towards the front of the stage. Some good songs. I preferred the ones with Dean Spunt on drums.
Band I Regret Not Being in the Crowd for:
STRFKR made me want to dance from all the way in the back. And the next day I saw confetti on the floor that MUST have come from their crazy colorful show.
Shyest Singer:
It was amusing to see Solange grinding and sexy dancing on stage, and then shyly go to the mic and thank everyone for coming to see her instead of MGMT.
Best Food Outside FYF:
We decided to have a big lunch at Chego to last us the day at FYF. I mean, come on, look at that burger. It was so delicious!
Most Relaxing:
I got to enjoy Devendra Banhart's performance from a distance on a blanket.
Only Band I saw at Carrie Stage:
TV on the Radio played faster versions of their songs live. It didn't really sound like their albums, but it was still good.
Bands I Regret Missing:
Sadly, I couldn't make it to Beach House because I had such a good place up front for Washed Out. I'm glad I got to see Washed Out, but this is the second time I've missed Beach House :(
Best Bands of Saturday:
Toro y Moi
TV on the Radio
Best Bands of Sunday:
!!!
Holy Ghost!
Best Backdrop at a Festival:
Downtown LA's skyline
Picnic in the Park was a nice idea and a good way to entice people to arrive to the Rose Bowl early to minimize congestion. Side Note: if Rose Bowl wanted to minimize congestion, why the hell did they charge so much money for offsite parking and shuttle? It practically cost as much as parking onsite! Luckily, the Metro was running later than usual for the concert and had police and employees to direct people to the right platforms. Made it much easier and safer to be in Old Town Pasadena so late at night. And the walk from the stadium to Old Town actually wasn't that bad. There were a ton of people doing the same thing. Cheers to public transit! So, picnic = good idea, beer garden and indirect encouragement of tailgating = bad idea. From the dumb drunk girls sitting behind me (I had to switch seats, they
were so annoying) to the guy I saw being carried to his seat
(did he even see the show?!), I've never seen so many ridiculously drunk people at a concert before (this excludes music festivals). I guess it was to be expected since so many people started drinking early in the afternoon.
I hadn't read any reviews before the concert, so I wasn't sure what to expect, like who was opening for whom. It was a good mix of singing and rapping. The show started out with duets, smoothly transitioned into each others sets, and ended with a few more duets over the course of two hours.
With the release of Justin Timberlake's album 20/20 Experience, I was relieved he finally went back to something he was good at, singing. Unfortunately, this album wasn't one of his best. Although, I must say, the outros on all the tracks are probably the best parts of the album. The lyrics aren't great (check out Spaceship Coupe and Strawberry Bubblegum), but I do admit to the beats growing on me after each listen (example, Pusher Love Girl. Not that well-written, but somehow he made this song catchy and the "ju-ju-ju-ju-junky for your love" lyrics in the outro are ridiculously great, especially live!). Some day I hope he releases an album that just contains outros.
Cheers were definitely louder when Justin performed hits off Justified and FutureSex/LoveSongs (although the screams for the Pusher Love Girl outro were deafening). I'd almost forgotten how many great songs were on his first album. Señorita, with the live audience singalong at the end, was a crowd pleaser. Timbaland was a pleasant surprise on SexyBack, but he seemed so unexcited to be there. He practically ran off the stage as soon as the song was over. And if he was there the whole time, why didn't he show up for the rest of the second album songs? Take Back the Night, a track off his soon to be released 20/20 Experience sequel, was enjoyable. Can't wait to hear the rest of the record. And his duets with Jay-Z were refreshing.
Justin is a man of many talents: dancing, singing, playing piano, rocking out on guitar, but singing a capella isn't one of them. I never noticed how strange and nasally his voice was outside of a studio or a boy band, but it became very apparent during his rendition of New York New York. It was still an interesting transition into Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. I was a little disappointed when Justin didn't stay to sing Alicia Keys' lyrics. That would've been something.
Justin really knew how to cater to his fans and was a ball of charisma, which came off a bit hammy compared to Jay-Z, who exuded effortless cool even by just standing there. Jay-Z gave a great performance, but it seemed toned down compared to his show at Coachella, which I deemed much better even though he was losing his voice. He just seemed to enjoy himself more that time. Surprisingly, he didn't have any special guests.
As a finale, the stadium darkened and thousands of phones began to light up as Jay-Z and Justin made a touching dedication to Trayvon Martin to the tune of Young Forever. You could feel the emotions swelling as everyone sang along with the two Legends of Summer.
After having listened to Xander's previous bands, I feel like he's finally found a musical style that complements his vocals. Alarms After Dark is a good balance between rock and a moodiness that has been a constant influence in his previous bands. Micah's use of reverb adds a dreamy atmosphere to AAD's sound, which is unique and appealing to a larger audience at the same time.
The only down side to the show was not being able to hear all the band members' voices on some of the songs because the sound was too low on all but Xander's mics. The music was still good, but I wonder how different it would've sounded if I could have heard the supplemental harmonies.
If Alarms After Dark had a single, it would have to be the polished and catchy Faults.
I like the direction this band is going in and look forward to hearing more.
The Package Tour felt like a tour of boy bands for the generations, older than tween generations anyways... Last week I got to live out a childhood dream and saw New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men in concert!
Since The Hollywood Reporter already put out a good, thorough review of the concert (even with set lists!), I'll just list some of my reactions to the bands.
Boyz II Men
They still look good for their age
Loved the old dance moves, especially during Motownphilly (doing high five kicks, group dancing, and singing back-to-back), which brought back memories of when I first started loving them in elementary school
Their short half-hour set could have easily been extended by an hour with the incredible amount of hits they've had in their musical career
Wish I could have heard more songs. This definitely makes me want to see them the next time they're headlining
Sad to think that kids in high school now probably have no idea who Boyz II Men are
98 Degrees
They aren't aging too well (except for Drew Lachey), but they're in great shape (except for Justin Jeffre. After all these years, still don't care, huh?)
Jeff Timmons looks like a young, really hot dad
Their dance choreography is, and always was, terrible. Did they come up with these moves on their own?
What's up with Nick covering up the 98 Degrees tattoo? I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. It was a very successful time in their lives. Glad Jeff still wears it proudly
Being the buff men that they are, they made it less weird for grown women to be in love with a boy band
Best part of their set was when they serenaded women pulled from the audience and were practically grinding up against them. There were tears, shock, awe, and jealousy (okay, jealousy was just from me)
New Kids on the Block
Since I usually attend smaller shows, the New Kids on the Block concert at the Staples Center was quite the spectacle with flames, raining fire, neon lights, and a revolving stage
Their set made me remember how much I used to love them as a kid. I had their posters on my wall, I was infatuated with Joey McIntyre, and watched their Pay-Per-View concert over and over again. During Please Don't Go Girl, I could practically picture how Joey sang it in the PPV concert, I watched it so many times. Yep, I was obsessed
Even though Jordan Knight and Donnie Wahlberg have aged a bit, they are in amazing shape and might even look better than their younger selves (Donnie does for sure anyways)
Joey still looks really cute and so does his adorable son (wow, Joey sure does make attractive babies), who was brought on stage to sing a song with him and walk through the crowd
I know Donnie was the "bad boy", but I didn't realize how much of a hype man he was. He got the crowd going, made out with a couple women in the audience, and wasn't shy about his six-pack. I love that he's now a dramatic actor, but doesn't take himself seriously on stage
The Donnie and Jordan cameras were hilarious. At one point, the Donnie Cam zoomed in on Joey's crotch
Due to their fans having grown up, the concert was definitely more sexed up. Hence, Jordan's sensual, shirtless Prince cover, Donnie's constant ab-flashing, and a whole lot of crotch-thrusting all around
Can't believe they've been around for 25 years!
Loved that Paul Scheer was at the same concert. Some of his best tweets:
Donnie Walhberg just made out with an audience member. Not a bit. It was hard and long. #hotpackagetour
— Paul Scheer (@paulscheer) July 6, 2013
If you're keeping track the airhumps are losing slightly to the dickgrabs. #hotpackagetour
— Paul Scheer (@paulscheer) July 6, 2013
The NKOTB guys have just slipped in Bedazzled Red Sox Jerseys. #hotpackagetour
— Paul Scheer (@paulscheer) July 6, 2013
We've finally reached the last day of Coachella with Doug's last guest blog post in purple, Chris in orange, and me in white.
WIN:The Pool. Six Coachellas and I've never taken
advantage of the pool at whatever motel I'm staying at. So some nice
cold pooling to start the day out was the best ever.
FAIL: As hard as Chris and I tried to get to Coachella early, I still ended up missing The Airborne Toxic Event. I got there just in time to hear them yell "Thank you Coachella!" at the end of their set.
WIN: I thought I was going to get to brag to Doug about seeing JEFF the Brotherhood, but halfway through the set, we realized we were at the wrong stage. We were actually listening to Thee Oh Sees (I haven't heard music from either of these bands. Chris pointed it out) and they were actually good. So cheers to accidentally discovering some new music.
WIN: Pedicabs totally rule! I feel foolish for waiting until the last day to take a
ride on one of these things. Me and Hey Hey Scenesters rode one on the
way in and it was luxurious and awesome. Totally worth every penny. But
the end of the day when you’re totally wiped is when these pedicabs are
the greatest. We rode one to the parking lot at the end of the night and
I was really glad not to have to walk in a cloud of dust for what
seemed like almost a mile back to the car. I’m now officially hooked and
will ride pedicabs wherever they’re offered.
WIN: BEST DECISION - Giving Up on the Shuttle. I
haven't commented on this but I didn't care for the shuttle. Seemed to
take just as long to get there and get in through the gate and our $80
White Line shuttle had the least busses going. So leaving the venue on Day 2 took like an extra half hour just waiting in line, plus the half
hour to walk to the line, and I really had to go home and drop some kids
off at the pool if you know what I mean. So Day 3 I decided to just
drive there and back. Felt more in control of the situation. :)
WIN: The Red Bull Speakeasy was air conditioned and looked pretty good for being in a tent out in the desert. Too bad their drinks were all (understandably) made with Red Bull.
WIN:Grimes. She was cute and really down to earth with the audience. She even revealed that she was too self-conscious to ever dance in the daylight, so she was particularly moved by the courage of the crowd dancing to all her songs in the middle of the afternoon. Plus she wears crazy outfits that fall somewhere between Harajuku street style and electro punk so how could anyone not love that? I like that she builds a lot of her own equipment to get the sound she wants. Her musical style is hard to describe but I’d guess her influences are industrial, experimental and new wave pop.
So anyways, we got in kind of late. Half the group was in already. Leading us to:
FAIL: GENTLEST BAND - The Lumineers. Let
me just say, I don't find this old timey, folk/prohibition era music that's
popular with the kids and the hipsters necessarily objectionable to my
ears. Like if they come in the radio I don't change the station like I
do with Linkin Park or any song off the last Muse album, but what I do
object to is that it seems like these bands are the faces of modern ROCK
music to far too many people. What happened to rock with attitude or
severity? Someone I know made the observation that when we were 9 years old The Downward Spiral was a #1 selling album. Could such an album do
that kind of damage in this day and age? No. The last decade or so has
seen a huge pussification of mainstream rock music. And I hate it. And
dubstep. I hate dubstep. Oh and Mumford and Sons, I do hate them.
As for the Lumineers, like I said, the music itself
is fine and often catchy. I like that Stubborn Love song. But oh so
boring. Their set was as energetic as music played with violins and
banjos and washboards can possibly be. For having it in the
background while chilling on the grass, it was fine.
Also, revelation: Their stage setup had some hanging
chandeliers for some reason...chandeliers illuminate
things...illuminating chandeliers...Lumineers...whoa...amirite??? I'll see myself out.
WIN: I, unlike Doug, do like Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers. I definitely agree with him that this type of music is not representative of rock (Dear Grammys, I like rock as much as the next person, but what in hell makes you think Mumford and Sons should be in ANY rock category???), but I'm all for the whole bluegrassy folk movement, anything that strays away from the terribly written pop music topping the charts these days (ahem, all Taylor Swift songs that sound like they came out of her high school diary).
As overplayed as it is, I still like Ho Hey because it was used in a Bing commercial that I kept seeing after I came back from Hawaii, so I associate it with good times. Anyways, The Lumineers are the kind of band you listen to on the grass in the shade, which is what I did. They sounded great and I liked the chandeliers on stage.
After this, it was food time. A word on food...
WIN: BEST FOOD - BaoHaus. Those
little fried chicken bao thingers from BaoHaus in New York were
delicious. I had like 3 each day. They make me want to go to New York.
HONORABLE MENTION - The Lime Truck. The Lime Truck had this delightful ahi ceviche with some sort of edamame hummus. Glorious. Coachella really upped their food
quality this year.
FAIL: BAND I KEEP MISSING - Dinosaur Jr. Second time I missed them due to eating or drinking. Caught two songs. Sounded great. I'll catch them one day...
WIN: BEST OLD GUY WHO ACHIEVED NOTORIETY AFTER HIS FANS IN SOUTH AFRICA SET OUT TO PROVE HE WASN'T DEAD - Rodriguez. I caught a few of his songs. At this point he was
well into his 70s so his voice wasn't great and it didn't carry well all
the way to the back where I was standing.
He's starting to get old man voice. He definitely sounds better on his records, but I didn't think he was bad. And his voice wasn't quite as
unique as Bob Dylan, who a couple people compared him to when telling
me to go see him. I left after a few songs but I did put seeing the
documentary about him on my to-do list.
The crowd near the front was pretty rowdy and sang along to all his songs. It was a little strange since his style of music is so mellow, but I think they just wanted to show their love for him.
FAIL: I hate people who spit on me as they’re talking. At Rodriguez, a guy named Josh stopped by for a chat. He offered me some of his half-eaten sausage filled paella, which I politely declined. I offered him mints. He showered spit all over my arm as he talked about his time in Germany visiting concentration camps. So gross! Good thing I had hand sanitizer on me. After alerting Josh to his spitting, I poured the hand sanitizer over my arm and wiped it clean. Someone later commented that it may have been rude of me to do that in front of him, but which is more rude? Spitting on someone with a mouthful of paella or cleaning your arm in front of the spitter? The spitting, of course, duh!
WIN: BIGGEST RELIEF - Tame Impala. In
the months leading up to Coachella I had gotten really into this band
and both their full albums were on heavy rotation in my car. Just a
great psychedelic wall of sound that requires a great audio setup to
fully bring it out. However, I had seen them play on Jimmy Fallon and on
the Coachella webcast for Weekend 1, and they sounded pretty light and
boring. While the band itself doesn't exactly have a dynamic stage presence,
with the full PA setup of a live venue, their music sounded great. They
kinda just stand there like robots whilst playing this crazy music, but
it was cool and they ventured into prolonged improvised jam sessions a
couple of times.
WIN: La Roux's music makes lead singer Elly Jackson sound like such a pop princess that I tend to forget how 80s androgynous her appearance is. Great set for a single singer on stage. I couldn't help but compare her show to Janelle Monáe's lively set, but La Roux was still good in their own way. Their synthpop style of music made me feel like I was in a Euro discotheque.
WIN: BEST BAND I DON'T DISLIKE BUT ALSO DON'T UNDERSTAND THEIR APPEAL - Vampire Weekend. I
honestly don't even know what to call this genre of music. Has some
preppy hipster qualities and their songs can be catchy but at times they
almost give off this tropical Caribbean vibe or the feeling that I'm at
a luau. I listened to them as I drank in the beer garden. Can't comment
much, but if you like their music at home then you'll like it live. It
translates well and comes off just as polished.
WIN: BEST BEER (and only option) - Heineken. I drank a lot on day 3 :)
WIN: After La Roux finished, I was surprised to see so many people leaving
(thank you, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), but happy Chris and I were
able to get close to the front (just a few people away!). I've sadly missed several opportunities to see The Faint live, but this time they were amazing. I had almost forgotten how many of their songs I had committed to memory until they came out and I couldn't stop singing and dancing along. They kicked off the show with The Conductor and continued their high energy set with other favorites, such as Desperate Guys, Glass Danse, I Disappear, Take Me to the Hospital, Worked Up So Sexual, Let the Poison Spill from Your Throat, Agenda Suicide. The Faint sounded even better live than on their already great records.
WIN: MOST OMINOUS SOUNDING - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. Not
too familiar with their work aside from a couple songs. I watched them
from the beer garden. I think they had a full orchestra. And they
sounded dark and heavy. I liked what I heard and it made up slightly for
missing Nick Cave's other band on Friday,
Grinderman, which has many of the same members. On a side note, it
would have been cool if it was Nic Cage and The Bad Seeds instead of
Nick Cave. That's a money idea.
WIN: '80SBAND YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU KNEW (Yay, my first category) - OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). Apparently, they've influenced The Killers, La Roux, Death Cab for Cutie, The xx, and LCD Soundsystem. Most known for If You Leave on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, I had no idea they also sang Electricity, which I've heard many bands cover. I have to say, the original sounds fantastic. I couldn't not jump and dance around to it.
WIN: MOST FUNNEST - Wu Tang Clan. I
don't like much hip hop but I love these guys. The crowd was gigantic
and I don't know why they got put on the side stage. They could've
easily headlined. They ran though a nice medley of their hits and each
member got their turn. They even did a little of Brooklyn Zoo in honor
of ODB. Fun fun set, though not nearly as long as Weekend 1.
Some poor dehydrated white kid made it out of the
pit drenched in sweat and asking me for water. I gave him a bottle I had
just swiped from security. He gave me a dollar and would not take no
for an answer. :)
FAIL: BAND THAT SOUNDED THE WORST AS I WALKED BY THEM WHILE LEAVING - Red Hot Chili Peppers. Caught a couple songs as I left and they sounded like shit. Anthony Kiedis can't sing. Only Flea is giving it his all.
View from Ferris wheel
WIN: A few firsts for me this Coachella. First time I:
caught more acts at the tents than at the two outdoor stages - blogger obligation to see bands I've never seen live before
went to the Sahara Tent - I don't know how I managed to avoid the largest tent all these years of Coachella-going, but I can see how people can stay there all night. I immediately became mesmerized by the lights and all the people as soon as I stood before it. Thanks to Chris for pushing us to check it out
went on the Ferris wheel - Chris really wanted to ride it and it was surprisingly cool. I was amazed by how clear Red Hot Chili Peppers sounded all the way at the top. I was all nerves in anticipation of the height of the damned wheel, then later learned I get motion sickness instead
Aaaaand that's a wrap. As usual, I am in doubt for next year but once the lineup is set I always seem to go. Until next time.
Guest bloggers: Doug writing in purple, Chris in orange, and me in white.
Okay so Day 2, I did a poor job of actually walking around the festival
and mostly stuck to the main stage and the adjacent beer garden. It was
a relaxing day, but a sad day for adventure. As usual, I fail as a Coachella goer.
FAIL:BIGGEST SUPER FAIL ON MY PART - Getting there too late to see Savages. So every year, it seems, someone plays at Coachella who is
about to break big. I miss their set, everyone says they were awesome,
and I don't get that cool hipster feeling of finding a band/singer
before they're famous and pretending like I discovered them. A couple
of examples:
In 2009 I missed Mastodon rocking the Mojave Tent at 11 pm
when they played their latest album at the time, Crack the Skye, in
full because...I don't even remember why. I'm looking at the 2009 set
times right now and have no idea what I was doing at this time. I THINK
me and my ex didn't feel like walking anywhere and sat on some
bleachers to watch f***ing Atmosphere. Atmosphere! Jeez. Luckily, I've
gone to a couple Mastodon shows since then and they're awesome but it's
this kind of breakout performance I never end up catching at Coachella. It's especially rare to have a metal band get to close out at a tent.
Then last year, I missed Frank Ocean (actually I
caught one song). I don't remember who I went to see instead. But this
was three months before Channel Orange would come out and holy shit I
love that album (and I don't even really usually like R&B). Plus he
did a cover of Bob Dylan's Long Time Gone, which I would have just
loved to see. Missing this one was on me, I just make bad choices
sometimes.
This year, I think my missed opportunity will be
Savages, an all-girl British post-punk band whose debut album Silence
Yourself just came out this week and is all sorts of great. They were
playing at the butt crack of 2pm (getting to Coachella at 2pm is the equivalent of getting up at 4am to go to work), so obviously I wasn't going to make it. I'm still mad about it. *cries*
My BIGGEST SUPER FAIL will be a yearly tradition, I think. This depresses me.
FAIL: I don't know what about me screamed drug mule, but a security lady decided to make an example out of me Saturday and held up the line for a good 10 minutes rifling through every single item in my bag. What did she find? Vitamins in my Altoids case along with some mints.
"What are these?"
"Vitamins"
"They don't look like vitamins."
"You can throw them away if you want."
So she throws away the entire case in the trash.
I had no idea what to say about the manufacturing of vitamins to explain why they look the way they do. So what else could I say? BTW, amount of drugs I brought in all weekend: ZERO. And if I were to bring any in, wouldn't that be the WORST place to hide them? Come on! And she didn't have to throw away the entire tin. Now I had no vitamins for the rest of the weekend AND no mints. I was pissed. Chris was behind me and security barely looked in her bag and merely asked "Do you have any drugs?" then let her through. Seriously?! I thought maybe Chris' innocent demeanor would transfer over to me, so at the second security checkpoint, I had her go first. She got through pretty quickly and RIGHT when I got to security, a new grumpy lady came in and made me take everything out of my bag. She even tried to make me toss my reusable water bottle. WTF, I'll pour the water out, but I'm not throwing it away. My day at Coachella was starting out terribly.
FAIL: Thanks to the holdup at security and the Coachella app update from the night before (my iPhone app was displaying Violent Femmes' time change before the weekend started. After the update, it was showing the original set time), I missed the first song (the ONE song I wanted to hear most live) off the Violent Femmes debut album (they played the entire album), Blister in the Sun. My anger and body heat was increasing, so I separated from Chris and Andrew and went straight to the Main Stage to hear the rest of the set and find some shade.
WIN: BEST MUSIC TO LAY DOWN ON THE GRASS IN THE BEER GARDEN WHILST DRINKING BEER AND CHILLING: TIE - The Violent Femmes and Cafe Tacvba. Obviously,
everyone's familiar with the Violent Femmes from such hits as Blister
In The Sun and Gone Daddy Gone, but me being a child of the late 90's
whose first introduction to music was KoRn and Limp Bizkit (I've come
pretty far, huh?) I'm not well-versed in the song catalog of the Femmes,
who came a bit before my time, but they sounded fun and a refreshing
counter to the more modern hipster crap that usually pervades these
festivals. It's nice to see earnest and non-pretentious at these
things. Also cool: they played their whole first album all the way
through. A fine time on a sunny afternoon and despite their age they
still sound great.
Despite missing the first song, I did enjoy the rest of the set. They sound great after all these years even though their looks and lyrics didn't really match up. I still loved them and all the songs. Gawd, I still can't believe the album is as old as I am. And I found a new favorite shady spot: the fence along the VIP beer garden.
As for Cafe Tacvba (I don't know why it's spelled
that way if the V is not pronounced), this energetic Latin rock band
from Mexico were a fine pairing to my Heineken Light that cost $9. I
don't know any of their songs, but they were pleasant and while I laid
on the beer garden grass I found myself bobbing along to their songs.
Go me.
WIN:If you’ve ever been to a Make-Up show, you know how infectious their music is. But it’s not just their music, it’s the way they perform, the way they move on stage and totally suck you in, especially the singer, Ian Svenonius. That guy is crazy. The tent was packed and as soon as the band came out the crowd went wild. Of course, the entire band was dressed in black suits with collared shirts and ties in the heat I now refer to as the desert inferno, but that didn’t stop them from playing one of the best sets I saw all weekend.
WIN: I was able to get right up front for Selecter. Where was everyone? I thought it would be totally packed, but people didn’t really start showing up until the band started playing. Even then, there was still lots of room in the tent which turned out to be great because everyone was dancing. I may have breathed in more dust at that show than at any other, though it’s hard to say now. Everyone at the front was older and the two guys beside me told me a story about seeing Selecter in 1979! I couldn’t believe they could even handle a festival like Coachella at their age, but at the same time it was really encouraging to see some old scenesters still hanging out. Plus those guys could dance! The Selecter show had a super high fun factor because of all the dancing. Even Pauline Black commented on how active a crowd this was compared to the week before. And because of that they played two extra songs! Total awesomeness.
WIN: COOLEST BAND LEAD BY A GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE THE NERDY DUDE FROM THE
OCEAN'S 11 MOVIES (I THINK HIS NAME WAS LIVINGSTON, YOU KNOW, THE GUY
WHO HANDLED ALL THE COMPUTER STUFF) - Hot Chip. I've heard the name Hot Chip but never their music.
To my surprise their singer is not a hot guy named Chip (See what I did
there? ...I'll see myself out...) but their frontman is this little
nerdy British dude and a bunch of his nerdy friends. Their electro
infused dance music made for fun times while the sun went down but after
a while all their songs started sounding kind of same-sy to me. It was
also apparently the main guy's birthday (screw it, I'm calling him
Chip). Happy Birthday, Not-Really-Hot-But-Kind-Of-Average-Looking Chip.
Hot Chip's new songs were good, but I was
disappointed that they didn't play more of my old favorites. They played one or two and the rest were new. I did enjoy the group of guys
next to me bonding over the love of dance music and glowing objects. I
did not enjoy the guy next to me who thought he could dance without
spilling his beer...
FAIL: It was finally dark and I was trying to make my way towards where Hot Chip was playing. It was so crowded around the stage I knew it would not even be worth it for me to try and find anyone so I was just hanging out around the periphery. All of a sudden this guy grabs me by the wrist and starts dancing with me. He spun me around and out and he had such a firm grip on me that I couldn’t get out of the dance, nor could I hear what he was saying. It was particularly bad because he was trying to ballroom dance with me and I’m a terrible ballroom dancer. Finally, he stopped and bowed. It was over. Relief! I stood there for a moment trying to wrap my head around what had just happened when the guy grabbed me again. No! I couldn’t believe I was trapped in the same bizarre dance that I’d just escaped from. After what seemed like an eternity, the guy stopped and bowed again. What was with all this bowing? No time to think about that because I had to get out of there. Fast.
WIN: BEST MUSIC TO PLAY WHILE STAYING HOME ALONE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT TO CRY INTO YOUR SOB JAR BECAUSE SOMEONE JUST BROKE YOUR HEART - The Postal Service. I
never bought or illegally downloaded Give Up, so I really only know Such Great Heights and The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, and really
more so the first song because it was on The Garden State soundtrack and
because KROQ never stops playing it, so I figured their music sounded
all chipper but with kind of depressing themes, and that's pretty much
what happened. I also just realized I had no idea what Ben Gibbard
looked like before I saw him on this day. He was always that bastard
who married my 2009-2010 celebrity crush, Zooey Deschannel. And God
damn it, he had great hair.
I have to say, Ben Gibbard looks really good post-Zooey Deschannel and far better than he looked in the Death Cab for Cutie concerts I had attended back in college.
But they're divorced now so I guess she's
back in play...ANYWAY, Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley was also there to
sing things. She looks like an older more mann-ish looking Zooey
Deschannel to me.
Maybe it's because I've seen Lewis live back in the day, but I thought Zooey Deschannel was trying to be a brunette, less talented Jenny Lewis. BTW Jenny Lewis looked and sounded fantastic.
Anyway, I can't say I'm a HUGE fan of their music,
this sort of computer pop isn't really my thing, but it was definitely a
highlight of the night. Being among a crowd of thousands who had
obviously been waiting the better part of a decade to sing along to
these songs being played live was very fun and since they only had one
album I'm pretty sure they squeezed in every song they ever made, so you
get that cool feeling where you somehow heard every possible song you
liked.
Jenny Lewis and Ben Gibbard had great stage chemistry. The set really brought back memories. I practically cried singing along to two of my favorite songs: the playful Nothing Better and Clark Gable.
The show was amazing. My grumpy streak was slowly coming to an end...
BEST NUDITY - This drugged out dude who walked into
the crowd after the Postal Service, who just took off all his clothes
except for his socks and then just walked around like this was normal
behavior and then later wandered off. I would post a picture, but this is a family blog.
FAIL:BEST BAND YOU NEVER EVER NEED TO SEE LIVE - The xx. Ok
so I started listening to The xx a few weeks before Coachella. I
really like their music - it's very minimal and atmospheric and moody,
but I also thought that minimalism wouldn't translate well live. I was
mostly right - seeing them live pointed out how much more layered their
music is, but the singers are two depressing stiffs who are not fun to
watch. The guy looked kind of creepy, and the girl was wearing a large
sport coat which was distracting to me. Costume choices are always
important. It was nice to see them play bass and guitar live but the
bulk of the sound was all Jaime xx in the back doing work on a large rig
with various keyboards and computers and electronic percussion
instruments. Other than some fog and some lighting, they're not worth
actually seeing. I like their music, but man I needed a nap. Also, I
just saw the Postal Service sing about depressing shit while still
managing to sound happy about it, so The xx just continued my Saturday downward spiral of depression and really need to work on their showmanship and stage presence.
WIN:Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Krapanos, rocked a leather jacket and the Mojave Tent. The band played the tent as if it were a stadium. How they didn't end up on one of the outdoor stages, I'll never know, but they absolutely killed it with such danceable tracks as Michael, The Dark of the Matinée, No You Girls, Do You Want to, The Fallen, Can't Stop Feeling, Outsiders, and the hit Take Me Out (which I've always wanted to sing along to live. It was magnificent!). It was hard for me to pull myself away from the music and miss the rest of the set, but I had to run over to the next tent to catch Janelle Monáe. Thank you setlist.fm for helping me decide when to leave (they had last weekend's set list posted).
WIN: The Gobi Tent could hardly contain the powerhouse that is Janelle Monáe. Great singer, great dancer, great theatrics. I loved that it felt like a party on stage with her and her band. Everyone was dancing. I was impressed by the amazing sound that came out of this small, energetic woman. Her voice was perfect for I Want You Back (even though that Jackson 5 song is a bit over-covered, she did a great job). I really wanted to hear Wondaland live, but it probably wouldn't have fit well with the rest of her high energy set. Lucky for her fans, she went over the allotted set time and closed the night by singing Come Alive, in which she got the crowd to sing along, lower themselves to the ground, rush to the front when she jumped off the stage, running back and forth (she brushed past my fingers. I turned into a squealing fangirl). She then SWAM over the audience to the back. My heart was racing afterwards. Amazing. This was the highlight of my night. I would've been happy if she was the last performer I saw that day, which is probably why...
WIN: I was too exhausted to get back into a crowd for Phoenix. That and Chris and I kept barely missing each other several times until I finally gave into Baohaus, which Doug kept recommending. I wasn't going to NYC any time soon, so why not try it at Coachella of all places. I had their version of chicken and waffles, Coffin Bao Fried Chicken (a large fried bao stuffed with their fried chicken and topped with chili
condensed milk syrup, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar, and
cilantro). It sounded like a weird combo, but taste-wise made complete sense. I don't know how Eddie Huang comes up with these flavors, but it was delicious (besides the bao being a bit dense). I picnicked at the fringe of the Main Stage and enjoyed my late night snack to the soundtrack of Phoenix. I didn't mind not being in the crowd since I had already experienced a pretty much perfect performance a few years back at Coachella.
WIN: AND LASTLY, I COULDN'T THINK OF ANOTHER FAKE CATEGORY, SO HERE'S WHAT I THOUGHT OF...Phoenix. My Saturday
night ended with Phoenix and me finally having to use one of the Porta
Potties. Phoenix was pretty good. I only know their most recent
singles. I liked their new songs "Entertainment" and that one about
being cool. Can't really say much here. They were crowd pleasers.
Alas, neither R Kelly nor Daft Punk showed up, so us Weekend 2 kids got the
short end of the stick there. My friends were super impressed that the
singer crowd surfed at the end. They thought it was the most awesome
thing ever. I thought that was cute. They need to go
to more concerts...
So that's my Saturday. I did a poor job of adventuring, but I had fun. It was definitely a day of hearing a lot of computer music though.
FAIL: We had to walk through a Disneyland-like maze to get to our shuttle and wait in a line that also felt like we were at the theme park. The delay felt like forever compared to yesterday when we immediately boarded the shuttle.
This year I have not just one, but TWO guest bloggers! 6-year Coachella
veteran Doug, who helped out with blogging duties last year, will be returning in all his snarky glory inpurple. Chris, 1st-time (and probably last-time) Coachella attendee, will be drawing up her new experiences in orange. I will be chiming in here and there.
Another year, another exhausting weekend in the desert. Why do I do
this to myself? This year's lineup did not get me very excited. While
there were plenty of acts I would be happy to see, none of them screamed
out CAN'T MISS for me. As far as headliners go, this was the worst in
all the years I've gone in terms of selling me on going. I like/own one Blur
album (13), I know one Stone Roses song (one more than most people
apparently), I kind of like Phoenix but don't know much of their stuff,
and Red Hot Chilli Peppers just screamed of last minute desperation
for a name after they couldn't get someone better (and I'm not a fan of
their post-1999 work). So the intent for me this year was checking out
some smaller acts and hanging out with fun people. As usual, I got lazy
and didn't feel like walking around too much. Meant to see way more than
I ended up seeing, and for this I am displeased with myself. Anyway,
let's get to steppin'.
It
was my first time at Coachella. I had already mentally prepared for the
heat, the crowds, and security. But what I soon discovered was that you
can never be totally prepared for a festival of this scope, so when I
got there the first day, I didn’t exactly hit the ground running. It
turned out ok though, and as the days wore on, I got more into the swing
of things.
WIN: Digging the postcards of past Coachella posters that came with the wristband. Brings back memories...
FAIL: The hotter than expected .7-mile walk to the shuttle.
We all tried the shuttle this year. Doug's friend set the trend by
accidentally purchasing them along with their Coachella passes.
Anyways, I once did an insane 3-mile walk to Coachella thanks to
terrible car traffic trying to get in the first day, so I thought less
than a mile would be nothing. We were all caught off guard. This
stretch felt like a 5-mile walk in the shadeless 90-degree heat. We
seriously considered driving to the shuttle the next day.
WIN: The shuttle was nice and air conditioned. It even had bathrooms in the back! The
shuttle bus was clean, but atmospherically it was like an absurd
comedy. Coachella had issued the driver mix CDs to play during the ride,
and from the look on his face, it was clear it wasn’t exactly his cup
of tea. The riders for the most part were loud and pumped for the fest.
Everyone seemed so hyped and I was already starting to feel my 5am wake
up call. I needed lunch. I ate a mint instead. It was a pattern that
would repeat itself throughout the weekend. Why am I here? Oh yeah,
Stone Roses.
FAIL: The walk from the shuttle drop off was a
terrible dusty maze, which I understand is helpful to separate and
direct the crowds to their shuttles at the end of the night, but
extremely unhelpful in the day when there is a shuttle full of people
every so often. It's even worse to walk through all that dust knowing
that the shuttle entrance is a few feet away from the first security
checkpoint. Also they tried to disperse the crowds with colored roads.
Sorry Coachella, still crowded and on top of that, very dusty. Thank
goodness I was paranoid about the dust storm from Weekend 1 and brought a
handkerchief. It was a lifesaver all weekend. I don't know if I was
spoiled by cooler weather last year Weekend 1, but I don't remember
Coachella ever being THIS dusty.
FAIL: Due to the Boston Marathon bombing right after Weekend 1, we saw that security was not messing
around. They were searching people much more thoroughly than I had
expected and this caused a long wait in line in the hot sun. From there
it was another long, dusty walk to the second security check point where
there was a second search. We saw bike taxis along the way, but it
hadn’t hit me yet what a valuable service they provided. Two security
checks and we’re finally in. I was delirious from hunger and the heat.
I
know Coachella was just trying to keep people safe, but it seemed a bit
disorganized. I was told people entering from self-parking got through
pretty quickly. Maybe I was just getting grumpy from the heat and
waking up so early.
FAIL: Thanks to the long security lines, we missed Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. At least I caught some of their set streaming from Weekend 1. They would've been good.
WIN: Doug decided to come up with his own categories. Enjoy!
BEST FELLOW MORRISSEY HATER - Johnny Marr. Just
for reference, we got to Palm Springs around noon, somehow didn't get
into the venue until 3, and didn't really see anyone until 4. That
first act was some guy from The Smiths named Johnny Marr. I don't
listen to The Smiths. Not that I think they suck, they just never
did it for me. BUT I really really really hate Morrissey , like as a
human being. I can't stand militant vegetarians. I saw him at Coachella
2009. He really seemed to hate being there and twice stopped his set
because he had to say something about the smell of cooked meat and leave
the stage because he had to compose himself. F THAT GUY. So anyway,
Johnny Marr was in The Smiths or something and I guess they all hate
each other and Morrissey doesn't like when they play Smiths songs
without him. So of course Johnny Marr plays Smiths songs. If it gets
Morrissey upset, I fully support this. As for his set, I stuck
around for about 5 songs. He had a respectable turnout (with a much
older crowd than I'm used to seeing) and seemed to be enjoying himself.
Good for the old guy. He came out with a rose in his mouth and then
strapped it to his guitar. British people...Anyway, this was a nice
appetizer to start the day. Where
am I? The festival grounds are massive. It made the map I’d been
studying online look like a joke. After a little rest and hydration, it
was time for Johnny Marr. Johnny Marr hit the stage strong with The Right Thing Right.
It was a great opener and the crowd responded in a sea of undulating
bodies and bobbing heads. I was right there with them. He’s an awesome
live performer, a real showman with the kind of natural charisma that
always made me wonder why he was never a front man. His talent as a
guitarist is unquestionable as he’s proven time and time again in all
the bands he’s played in (The Smiths, The Pretenders, TheThe,
Electronic, Modest Mouse...) and now with his solo work finally out after
all these years, I was overjoyed to see just how truly great he was on
his own. Unfortunately, that song was followed by a gratuitous Smiths
song, Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before. Luckily, after that, I was rewarded with Upstarts.
Energetic and catchy, it was a real pick-me-up and I soon forgot about
how hot it was and remembered why I love going to shows in the first
place. But too soon again, he played another Smiths song and not knowing
how much more of that there’d be, I decided to get out of there with
Hey Hey Scenesters and headed to Divine Fits.
Johnny Marr's songs were good. He's very talented, so I don't
understand why he needed to play songs that made him sound like a bad
Smiths cover band. It was weird. It's not like last year's
Coachella performer, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, who definitely
needed to play Oasis songs to keep people around. Their original songs
sounded kind of like bad Oasis songs.
FAIL:Morrissey. Did i mention I hate him? He wasn't there, but he somehow still bothered me.
WIN: Divine Fits was already playing when we got to the Outdoor Stage. They sounded really good, though I thought Like Ice Cream was a ridiculous song. It’s summery sounding, but lacks substance lyric wise. Baby Get Worse was
better with heavier guitar and a more appealing bass line. The keyboard
and synth backing this song really picked it up for me and I found
their performance on this one to be dramatic. It turned out to be a real
crowd-pleaser and for good reason. They’re a good live band and I’d
gladly see them again, though maybe not as a headliner. That said, I did
enjoy the rest of their set and did not leave disappointed. This was a good start to my Coachella weekend. Divine Fits sounded great live, as good as their album A Thing Called Divine Fits.
Their songs are catchy even if most of the time they sound like either
Spoon or Wolf Parade (I haven't listened to them, but I'm guessing they
are heavy on the synthesizers). My Love is Real and Baby Get Worse are some of the few songs that sound like they actually collaborated.
WIN:BEST BAND THAT HAD A SONG OR TWO ON THE SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD SOUNDTRACK - Metric. I
have a genuine like for Metric's indie electro-y pop music and Emily
Haines' voice. They played at like 4:45 at the main stage and I had
time to catch just three songs - and they were all songs I knew! The
main stage audience bounced along nicely and seemed into it. And Emily
brought the swag with a gold mic. They sounded good and I heard them
play a couple of their hits right off the bat - Help I'm Alive and Youth Without Youth. Wished I could have heard Black Sheep but I
had to leave to go see...
WIN:BEST CANADIAN BAND WITH THE NAME OF ANOTHER COUNTRY IN THEIR NAME - Japandroids. I
was very eager to see The Japandroids. I have their latest album, and
while it has a fun spunkiness to it, it has this very strange sense of
polish that seemingly robs it of the full blast of raw punk-infused
energy I feel is trying to burst through. As I suspected, their live
show is the best way to experience them. The energetic duo, playing only
guitar and drums, just tore through their songs (and guitar strings and
broken drum sticks) and really got the Gobi Tent rocking. They were
genuinely happy to be there and it showed in their performance. Their
songs were very catchy and fun to sing along to. The crowd doing the
"OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OHHHH" refrain during The House That Heaven
Built was a joy.
BEST STAGE CRASHER - This man-lady in a dress (I
couldn't tell, he/she was very androgynous) somehow rushed the stage
during the Japandroids set and lasted a good 30 seconds of ridiculous
dancing before one of the band techs got 3 security guys to grab her and
take her to the back. Rock 'N' Roll.
WIN:WORST BLACKOUT - I don't remember what I did for the next hour...and no I didn't take any drugs.
Doug
seems to have forgotten that this was when he and friends double fisted cups
of beer and had dinner. I must say, there has been a huge improvement
in food offerings this year. I was never so relieved in my life
to see a Kogi truck. At that moment, I felt like I was eating the best
tacos in the world. This was also when Doug began his love affair with Lime Truck's
Ahi Tuna Poke Nachos (fresh tuna, pickled veggies, and edamame hummus
served with fresh chips). Later,
I found myself at theGreen Truck. This was sadly one of the best parts
of the evening for me. I had a fantastic vegan burger from Green Truck.
It had a flavorful homemade patty topped with fresh vegetables and a
terrific focaccia bun. They also make their own ketchup which I used
liberally. I sat down on myorange mat(it folds up really small and
turned out to be a great accessory to have at the fest) and had the best
burger I’d ever had at a show. Plus finally being able to sit down was
awesome. I could hear Stone Roses playing in the background. They
sounded great and I really wanted to see them, but hunger and fatigue
took precedence and I was content to just scarf that delicious burger
while listening to them in the distance. At the time, it all seemed just
perfect, but in retrospect I wish I’d planned better.
WIN:BEST BAND WITH A JOSH HOMME FROM QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE LOOKALIKE - Modest Mouse. I've never gotten super into Modest Mouse but the
songs I do know I have always liked. I thought they put on a pretty
good show. They had a pretty huge band with all sorts of instruments up
there. A fine start to the evening hours and made me make a mental
note to get more of their stuff on my iDevice to listen to at my
leisure.
I was so excited to see Modest Mouse live, but a little disappointed that they didn't play more songs from The Moon & Antarctica (reminds me of college). They played one song from that era. It was good. I did love hearing This Devil's Workday
live. Otherwise, they sounded like what I thought they would sound
like. Not a band I would HAVE to see again. Hm, I don't know if this
was a WIN after all... I don't think Chris was a fan. I can see how
their singing style could be hit or miss for people.
WIN:BEST USE OF CHEERLEADER POM POM MATERIALS TO MAKE A SCARF/BOA THINGY - Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I've
seen her wear crazier outfits, but I thought this one was a success
because when she bounced on stage some of the pom pom stuff got in her
mouth before she started singing and she had to pull it out as if it
were hair. I laughed. Rock 'N' Roll. Side note: I don't care for her
new blonde hair.
Everyone kept telling me I HAD to see Yeah
Yeah Yeahs for Karen O's outfits. Her outfit was crazy alright. Kind
of reminded me of when I saw Björk at Coachella. She definitely has stage presence.
FAIL:BEST BAND WITH WORST NEW SONGS OFF DISAPPOINTING NEW ALBUM - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Ok
so I hadn't gotten Mosquito yet before I saw them play on Friday, but
the new songs off the album that they did play were very hit or miss.
The use of the choir for Sacrilege was cool and I liked her crazy
vocals on title track Mosquito, but the other songs slowed their
usually energetic set list to a crawl. I've since gotten the CD and
given it a few listens. It's definitely my least favorite of their
albums, and I really enjoyed their other 3 (and the EPs). These new
songs just didn't click for me live, and they haven't really clicked for
me yet listening in the car. It felt like half their set was new stuff
and I was missing some of their crowd-pleasers like Date With The
Night or Phenomena. But regardless, I'm still a huge fan of theirs
and Karen O is like a crazy girl version of Iggy Pop. Just a great
frontwoman. And you can tell she still loves the hell out of singing Maps.
WORST NEW CATEGORY I MADE UP (The last one, about
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I'm not even sure it makes grammatical sense. But I'm
committing to it.)
I tried really hard to like The Yeah
Yeah Yeahs, but I just don't. Karen O's voice is a bit screechy for me
sometimes. I still think she's talented and a great live performer.
Their music is just not my thing. Also, I couldn't really see anything, so I zoned out a bit. Makes me kind of regret not going off on my own to see Beach House and Band of Horses. I was a little scared to separate from the group on the first day. By
the time Yeah Yeah Yeahs went on, a wave of fatigue had washed over me.
This was partly from having not eaten and also from having been in the
sun and on my feet for way too long. I learned a valuable lesson here.
Eating and resting somewhere between bands is a must. You’d think this
would be a no-brainer, but with all the action going on and running from
one place to another, it’s easy to forget or just not have time. They
were probably great, but I was so tired I couldn’t really tell.
FAIL:I think at this point we were pretty tired and totally lazed about
and missed the Stone Roses. Whatever, I don't think anyone cared. I'm also sad I missed Grinderman because I didn't
want to walk from the beer garden all the way to the Mojave tent. I
also missed a potential high school flashback by not going to the
Outdoor stage to see Jurassic 5. So....
WORST COACHELLA GOER - Me. In my defense, Friday is
always the longest day between getting up early to make the two-hour
drive and just being there for like 9-10 hours. I'm old, okay??
Could
also be me. Halfway through Blur I was starting to get grumpy from
being cold and tired from being on my feet all day and being awake for
18 hours (I didn't even get a chance to nap!).
WIN: MOST FUN I HAD SINGING ALONG TO SONGS I KNEW - Blur. Despite
the thin crowd at the main stage that turned out to see them
(Seriously, if I had more interest I could've waltzed right up to the
stage), Blur put on a fun set.
If I hadn't been so tired I would have gotten a little closer to the stage too...at least to keep myself warm.. I loved singing along to Coffee and TV
and Tender and Girls & Boys and also made my own fun by going
"WOO HOO!" after every song until they performed Song 2 (a song I'm
sure we're all pretty sick of, but hey I've never heard it live). However,
I got this sense like they really were just dragging along by the end
and they didn't even do an encore. Hmph! >_< Again, to reiterate,
I like Blur, but I don't think most people know them past "that band
that does the WOO HOO song." I don't think they OR the Stone Roses were
very strong choices for co-headliners. Fueled and slightly rested, I was ready for the final band of the night, Blur. They opened with Girls & Boys,
one of their classic hits. The sound of the keyboard followed by the
bass line starting the song was exciting and that energy could be felt
through the crowd. There’s No Other Way was next up and is one of
my favorite songs from their first album. They played this song a little
faster live, but it was still great and Damon Albarn was in full force,
belting out the lyrics like a man possessed. I like that they played a
lot of slower songs in the middle like Coffee & TV, Beetlebum, and Tender. Perfect songs for the last set of the night and the end of a long day. They closed with Song 2
and a dazzling light show that zoomed off the stage. It was a sight to
see even in my spent state. A totally amazing performance and a super
way to end the day.
I think people know more Blur songs than they realize, especially once they hear them. I loved Coffee & TV, Beetlebum, Girls & Boys, and even Song 2
was great (I actually haven't heard it in a long time since I stopped
listening to the radio awhile back, so it was awesome! They rocked it
live).
WIN: Finally napping in the soft, comfortable seats on the shuttle after a long day at the fest... and free water.
