Coachella 2013 Lineup

Image via Coachella

It's that time of year again.  Somehow the two-weekend formula was a success and is happening again this year.  I always thought it would be better to go to Coachella the first weekend because you would get to experience everything first and not have the surprises spoiled for you, but Doug makes a good point about how there are different special guests the second weekend, so I guess the surprise element is still there.  And when I think about it, it would be nice to find out which shows are worth seeing after the fact; it would help me narrow down my usual long list of singers / bands to watch.  Still, I feel like all the craziness and hype of the festival pretty much dies down after Weekend 1. 

I dub this year, the Coachella of the early 2000s.  There are some bands that I currently like, but a ton that I used to love back in college and high school, which adds to my excitement because now I finally get to see them live when I missed the opportunity back in the day.

Many people are disappointed by the headliners.  The Stone Roses I'm a bit surprised by, but Blur, YES!  Some don't think Phoenix deserves to be on the big stage yet, but I get it; they've been extremely popular in the past year and have been used in a lot of commercials.  I hear their songs on the radio all the time.  But Red Hot Chili Peppers?  I'm so tired of everything they did off Californication and beyond.

Top picks for Coachella:

Friday

• Band of Horses
• Beach House
• Blur
• Divine Fits - I'm a Spoon fan
• Foals
• Four Tet
• Johnny Marr
• Local Natives - already digging their new album Hummingbird
• Modest Mouse
• Of Monsters and Men
• Stars
• The Stone Roses
• Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra - Japanese ska / jazz goodness
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - I found Fever to Tell kind of annoying, but I didn't mind Show Your Bones.  Karen O has an interesting voice.  I'd be curious to hear her live.

Saturday

• Descendents
• Franz Ferdinand - I've ALWAYS wanted to see them live
• Grizzly Bear
• Hot Chip - one of my favorite electro bands
• Janelle Monáe - adore the The ArchAndroid and Metropolis
• Jason Bentley 
• Major Lazer
• Moby DJ Set - sad how he would have been a headliner at peak of his popularity and now he's been relegated to the third line.  
• New Order
• Phoenix
• Sigur Ros
• The Postal Service - YES!
• The Wombats
• The XX - hopefully, the audio is much better than when they played at the festival 2 years ago.  Also hoping they're in a tent this time
• Two Door Cinema Club
• Vintage Trouble - based off of seeing the lead singer in a plaid suited performance on David Letterman.  Guy who can rock a plaid suit probably rocks live. 
• Violent Femmes

Sunday

• Cloud Nothings
• Grimes
• La Roux
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - MAYBE just to hear some old songs
• Rodriguez
• Social Distortion
• The Airborne Toxic Event
• The Faint
• The Lumineers - ok, so Ho Hey is forever associated with Hawaii in my brain because of the Bing commercial that started airing when I came back from Oahu.  I can't not like them.  The song brings back good memories...
• Vampire Weekend

Anything Goes Musical @ Ahmanson Theatre

Photo via Center Theatre Group

Cole Porter songs.  Check.
Nautical setting.  Check.
Wanting to see Anything Goes because of my love for Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite films of last year), Boardwalk Empire, and the time period in general.  Triple check.

Jennio and I attended the Friday 12/7 performance and sat in the balcony, where a few other younger folks could afford to sit.  I was mostly there for the music, so I didn't mind the distance.  And fortunately, the acting, dancing, and humor made for a wonderful musical. 

Seeing the show for the first time, I imagined Reno Sweeney would have a voice more characteristic of Cole Porter's singing.  Although, Rachel York is very talented, her vocal style didn't quite sit right with me.   I much prefer Sutton Foster's vibrant voice on the Anything Goes 2011 cast album.  In the current run of the musical, Erich Bergen (playing Billy Crocker) does have the perfect voice for Porter's songs, but Alex Finke's (Hope Harcourt) singing was a bit quiet for me, especially during her duets (I could barely hear her voice).  

However absorbing the show was, there was one scene "that really took me out of it" (to quote the girl next to me).  During the couples dance number in It's De-lovely, it was hard to appreciate the lovely choreography when I could hear the abnormally loud "ee er ee er" of the squeaky floorboards.  I had to try hard to stifle my laughter along with a few other people in the audience.  I wonder if anyone sitting closer to the stage had to do the same. 

Song's Stuck in My Head:

• You're the Top
• Friendship
• It's De-Lovely
• Anything Goes

Sound Bites 2.1: Starry Kitchen Nights @ Tiara Cafe, DTLA

Starry Kitchen Nights is the return of Starry Kitchen in the form of a dinnertime popup (sort of?) at Tiara Cafe. Wing and I went Halloween weekend and, sadly, Nguyen Tran wasn't dressed up in one of his famous costumes, but it was probably for the best because he was crazy busy with customers, but not too busy to enthusiastically greet us (wonder if he ever has an off day because he's always such a ball of energy) and point out his f-ing favorite dish.

Unfortunately, there were only two of us, so we couldn't order the extremely popular (you have to reserve it ahead of time) Singaporean Chili Crab.  Being Wing's first time at Starry Kitchen, I had to have her try the other deliciousness on the menu.

What we ate:

Top: 1 - 2, Bottom: 3 - 4

1. Singaporean Chili Crab sauce over rice - a fiery hello from Chef Thi Tran since we didn't order the crab.  The sauce was so spicy, but so good that I am currently gathering a team of eaters to return and obtain the crab in its entirety. 
2. Pineapple Beer Chicken Wing Soup - my all-time favorite chicken soup.  I pretty much went back to Starry Kitchen every time they had this on the menu.  Just when I didn't think it could get any better, it arrived to our table...in a clay pot!  It's probably their best version I've had so far.  Wing loved the fresh pineapple and oh so tender chicken as much as I did.  Nguyen thought I was coming in the day before when they had run out of soup, but, luckily, they had more that night.  I think I would have cried if they were out.  
3. Claypot Carmelized Striped Bass + Pancetta - Wing has a theory that everything tastes better in a clay pot and I concur.  I'm used to having the catfish version, but Starry Kitchen's striped bass version is definitely better.  It was so delectable with the accompanying white rice.  And I'm so addicted to the sauce that even though we finished all the fish, I wanted to get the white rice packed up with the rest of the sauce poured on top.  What?  I ain't gonna waste no tasty sauce!  Jennio ate my leftovers the next day and agreed upon the savoriness.  Nguyen pointed out that this is his f-ing favorite dish on the menu and it's now definitely one of mine.  
4. House-Cured Roast Pork Belly XO Fried Rice - okay, we probably over-ordered for 2 people by the time we got this, but it was good and, by the way, it tastes f-ing good with the Claypot Bass sauce.  

Song Pairing: 
Hip Hop Hurray - Naughty by Nature
Because I always hear something old school whenever I'm at Starry Kitchen


More Reviews:
LA Times
kevinEats
Marian the Foodie

The Presets, Flight Facilities @ Club Nokia

I was so glad Wing and I paid a bit more for pit tickets because people weren't as crammed in as they were when we saw them at El Rey.  Most people were in the back or seated at the balcony....suckers.  The pit had a great view of the stage and we were standing one person away from the front.   

The crowd was older than expected.  And I was shocked to find out from the guy behind me that most of the people he chatted with actually drove in from cities outside of LA.  Guess techno shows don't happen often in Orange County and San Diego. 

Flight Facilities

Photo by  Andrew Youssef via Stereogum

We had forgotten it was Halloween weekend, so it was cool to see all these people in costume at a show.  Outfitted as pilots from different eras, Flight Facilities, one of The Presets opening acts, fit right in.  We only caught the end of their set, but they seemed like they were having fun and they were an unexpected treat.  I will definitely be checking out their music in the future, especially after reading about all the research they put into making 4 mix tapes for triple j Mix Up Exclusive. Mix tapes are an art form. 

The Presets
I was surprised by their late set time (11:45pm), but it seemed like the whole show was set up to be an all night Halloween dance party, which it was.

The Presets were on tour promoting their new album Pacifica, which is one of those albums that gets better with each listen.  It has more of an 80s slant this time around, but definitely catchy.  

The Australian duo built up excitement with Push and kept the party going with my other new favorites Ghosts (sounds Native American), Youth in Trouble (crowd hit), Promises (if you see 2 glow sticks in the video -or any youTube from the show, for that matter- it's me and Wing!)


mixed in with some old favorites My People, clap-happy Are You the One, A New Sky, If I Know You, This Boy's in Love, and ending with über catchy Talk Like That.  It was a great show, I just missed some of my other loves Down Down Down, Girl (You Chew My Mind Up), Together. 


High Notes:

• Kim Moyes' awesome dancing with a straight face made my night.  

Is it just me or does Moyes look like (Photo by Leslie Kalohi)

David O'Hara? (Photo via Harry Potter Wiki)

• I find that people will usually let you stand in front of them if you ask politely (and you're shorter than they are).  So thanks to the nice guy who let me stand in front of him (I returned his kindness with the gift of one of my many glow sticks). 

Low Note:
Dear Girls with Long Hair:  PLEASE tie it back in a bun.  All that whipping back and forth is scary, especially when it hits me in the face!


More:
Flight Facilities music videos
The Presets

• Setlist
• Review and photos - Stereogum

EMP Museum @ Seattle, WA

Andy is not impressed by the architecture

EMP (formerly known as Experience Music Project) Museum, designed by Frank Gehry (it's supposed to resemble the vibrancy of music, but to me it looks like the Disney Concert Hall threw up on it), is what the Grammy Museum would like to grow up to be.  It features an amazing stage for concerts and impressive, interactive displays on music and pop culture.

If I lived in Seattle, I would definitely become a member of this museum.  Hell, I'd probably even volunteer there.  Hm, looking for job openings...

Favorite Exhibits:

• Can't Look Away:  The Lure of Horror Film
  
• Scream Booth



HC, Fiona, Sin, Andy's tongue

• Philip Worthington's interactive shadow monster installation.  Monster parts grew and changed with our movements.  

  

  Me on the right

• Old movie posters
• Movie and TV props  



Rubert Giles' spell book in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Photo via EMP

• Commentaries on Michael Jackson's Thriller and Evil Dead 2 (one of my fave scary movies).  Learned that Evil Dead 2 was one of the most successful horror sequels, which I found amusing because it's pretty much a remake of the first Evil Dead (commentary even admitted this right when I was thinking it!) 
• Icons of Science Fiction
• Putting on costumes to pose in the compositing special effects installation
• So, this is how much of a nerd I am.  The Dalek (major recurring enemies in Doctor Who) was the first thing I rushed over to see.  I got super excited about it, and naturally no one knew what I was talking about. Looked much less threatening in person.
  

  

  Dalek from 1988 ep of Remembrance of the Daleks. Photo via EMP

• Command Chair from Star Trek:  The Original Series
• Neo's coat from The Matrix.  Didn't realize how tall Keanu Reeves is.  He's like a foot taller than I am!
• Rifle from Men in Black
• Superman suit.  So much spandex...
• Concept sketches of Darth Vader's helmet
  
• Displays of science fiction books that actually got me curious to read them.  Putting The Forever War on my To Read List. 
• Nirvana:  Taking Punk to the Masses



Kurt Cobain during soundcheck 1992

• An abundance of information on Nirvana and the Washington music scene.  
• Personal photos, handwritten lyrics and letters, demo tapes, album covers gave insight into Nirvana.  There were remnants of a guitar smashed by Kurt Cobain that were reunited for the first time in years that gave me chills.  
• Had no idea Death Cab for Cutie was from Bellingham, WA.  We were there the day before! 
• The listening stations allowed me to check out bands I had always heard about.  And even though I'm behind the times, I think I could get into The Posies and The Young Fresh Fellows.
• Guitar Gallery:  The Quest for Volume
• Is a must for anyone who plays or loves guitars 
  
• Jimi Hendrix:  An Evolution of Sound
• Had no idea he used to play with Little Richard
• The Rolling Stones
• Because of my age, I've only ever known them as old, wrinkly rockers.  It's hard to remember they were actually young and attractive once.  

  

  Keith Richards before he was an old pirate

• Sound Lab
• Where I listened to Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) over and over again and learned how to mix