We always, ALWAYS eat at Sloan’s on Highway 111 so we can have a Dutch baby pancake each time. A hearty breakfast and a Bloody Mary is the best way to start off a Coachella day.
How to make sure nobody’s trying to steal your guy at Coachella: hold onto his ass with your fingernails.
Having way too much fun?
Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful!
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Just little moments frozen in time -
Day 1 High Points | #1 Grizzly Bear
The crowd was packed in tight – too tight - in the Mojave tent, a bad venue choice for this band that clearly has a passionate following. This year Goldenvoice sold 15,000 extra tickets, making seeing some of the bands in the tents downright miserable and impossible.
Edward Droste has one of the most beautiful vocals in indie rock today, and seeing this band again was worth sweating it out with the pack.
Day 1 High Points | #2 LCD Soundsystem
This is the 3rd and presumably last time I will see LCD Soundsystem in action as James Murphy has said the band’s most recent album could be their last. The first time I caught their show was at the El Rey, and I remember leaving that night feeling damp all over from the egregious amount of sweaty ass shaking I had just successfully executed. So much cowbell, so much ecstatic feeling – these are the things that issue forth from this band. Murphy also took the time to hilariously rail against a certain segment of the DJ population, shouting “You’re a fucking DJ, and you can’t carry some fucking records?!”
Day 1 High Points | #3 Jay-Z
LISTEN. I’m not a hater, I just was never the world’s most passionate advocate for Jay-Z. I’m West Coast, people. They fed us Dr. Dre and Tupac and Snoop with our Cheerios during our pleasant sun-drenched So-Cal youth! Still, it’s hard not to be converted when Jay-Z just starts tearing through his many, many hits with veteran aplomb, even throwing in some fireworks for good measure. And then, in one of those great magical Coachella moments, Jay-Z starts looking into the crowd and giving people individual shout-outs, including one “to the guy with no shirt on, lookin’ like The Situation” which cracked himself up. There’s something utterly classy about a man that rich, that powerful, telling a rabid fan in a triangle bikini top “I see you, baby girl.” Oh yeah, Beyonce was there too, wearing a little hipster girl fedora. Her image on the big screen TV caused thousands to leap to their feet and start heading toward the stage. Beyonce inspires standing, y’all!
Day 2 High Points | #1 Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
I’ve had some kind of odd life revelation, and it’s because of this band. Am I…a hippie? Did…something happen to me? Either I’ve fallen and hit my head along the way or I’ve eaten some kind of brave new acid, but this was probably the happiest show I’ve seen at any Coachella I’ve attended, including that blissful Belle and Sebastian set from 2003. ES&TMZ has an epic sound that reminds me of Arcade Fire, if Arcade Fire hung out in Joshua Tree a lot more and maybe eschewed every other shower. Their anthems convey pure joy and delight, and often emphasize a sense of home, community, and friendship. You know, hippie stuff. Folk rock that can stand out at a festival boasting hip hop impresarios and guitar gods is truly noteworthy.
Day 2 High Points | #2 DIE ANTWOORD
LISTEN I THINK IT’S SAFE TO SAY THIS ZEF-RAP STUFF IS REALLY GOING TO TAKE OFF. I’M TALKING AN ALL CAPS TAKE OFF. Using less all-caps, I’m glad to report this band really delivers in the hip hop energy department and is destined to be bigger than just another internet viral video phenomenon. Their appearance at Coachella was also their North American debut. Hopefully when we see them next they’ll get something longer than a 20 minute set!
Day 2 High Points | #3 DEVO
This show was as satisfying as last year’s X performance. Seeing an act like Devo just makes all the bands in their tight pants, barely only one or two albums deep, look like real rubes and newbies. And think about how many of today’s indie bands wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for the conceptual and oddball influence of Devo. My beloved Deerhoof probably wouldn’t exist! Devo also gave festival-goers a chance to do the robot. During their entire set.
Day 3 High Points | Planting My Lazy Ass at the Coachella Stage for Most of the Day
Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Pavement! Why bother moving? Oh that’s right, we have to head over to see Thom Yorke. That’s the most we moved this day.
Yo La Tengo performs this one song that goes on for nearly 12 minutes or so, with the same drum pattern and bass line repeating throughout, like a meditation. You can’t quite call it jam rock, although Ira Kaplan is improvising through out. It’s a masterpiece performance and a study in concentration, that also manages to look effortless. Solid stuff.
Spoon came on right afterward and brought back the pop. All those *short* yet memorable little ditties from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga are so good live when they have their entire horn section. Everytime I see Spoon I’m mostly reminded by the fact that they have a very female-centric fan base. What can I say? We chicks like an opportunity to do a little dancing.
I skipped Phoenix, who I had already greatly enjoyed at the Wiltern last year, to stick around for the reunited Pavement show. As Malkmus himself said after playing a string of old songs, “that was the 90s in a nutshell”. Pavement was the perfect antidote to the overblown rock theatrics of Muse the night before – they still sound so lo-fi and outsider-y.
Those are big memories from this fest. This year was a tough year to enjoy. Goldenvoice did not plan accordingly for the swell in attendance, so trash piled up everywhere and smaller venues were easily and quickly swamped and overly packed. By day 3, the ground was so littered with food refuse that sitting down on the grass became a rather sticky and disgusting enterprise. I am hoping they hear the feedback and do better next year. Although I have this terrible dark feeling inside that Lady Gaga will be there next year. Shudder. We’ll need 1,000 Pavements to cope with that nonsense.
As always, my Coachella wishlist still includes: Snoop Dog, David Bowie, Neil Young, Talking Heads reunion, and the B52s. See you next year.
Coachella might be America’s premier desert music fest, but often I find myself so distracted from whatever MGMT thought they were doing (jeeze they were shockingly boring) because the people watching is top notch. Here are some of the most memorable looks I captured at Coachella this year. It looks like Coachella 2011 is going to be the year of the costume, since the trend seems to have started this year.
Behold, a guy dressed as a taco and a guy dressed as Pinocchio:
Pinocchio got a LOT of shout outs walking through the beer gardens. I saw that stuff in action.
We also have “serious guys wearing jumpsuits and ties” and a dude half-wearing a bear costume with a captain’s hat:
Now that I’ve confounded you, let’s go a few steps further?
SORRY! I should have warned you, I know. This man was very proud of his underpants.
Just one more on the confounding front and we can move on:
You guys make the call on this guy, I can’t tell if he’s being ironic or not. I’m dead on the inside.
Alright, how about a few t-shirt palette cleansers? I chased this guy down for a picture:
Turns out he’s the man who makes these t-shirts! You can get this classic Sophia Loren/Jayne Mansfield moment on a shirt from shopelectrictangerine.com. Good business acumen, dude!
I also liked this rather serious hipster fellow:
More from the dude fashion front…I think this next fellow is the Tom’s Shoes entrepreneur guy? At least the women in the crowd around me thought so too (sorry I cut off his shoes – he was wearing a pair of red Tom’s shoes for sure). He was there to check out Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
A nice combo of preppy with just a touch of hippie.
As usual though, the hipsters outnumbered the hippies and preppies. I didn’t want to dedicate so much picture time to stuff you can laugh at over at the stellar latfh.com, so how about this guy instead.
Jeans, sneakers, white t shirt, classic. It looks great without any taxing effort. Kind of like Mr. Statham in the VIP tent.
On to the lady looks. I think Jade Castrinos of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros was one of the top ten most fashionable women at Coachella for sure.
Only the chicks from The Dirty Projectors could give her a run for her money.
Once again, simplicity is best:
You could try the sequin thing, sure. It’s eye-catching, but are you comfortable? Sequins from head to toe seems rather heavy for the desert:
White is graceful and classic – although do you basically spend all of Coachella standing? I wouldn’t want to get grass stains on my lovely white dress:
This next girl in her little printed dress really stood out from the rest of the pack on the side of the Outdoor stage VIP area:
This next lass’ look embodies the laid back spirit of Coachella. But I am SICK TO DEATH of these little straw hats everyone, and I mean, everyone, was wearing:
LOOK, even a baby was wearing one.
(Awww, a Coachella baby! There’s always one or two you spot every year, going deaf in their infancy).
And here it is, one of my favorite fashion snaps at Coachella 2010, this vintage vision:
Amongst the hos with their hip-bones a poppin’, bikini strings burning bad suntans into bronzed flesh – this girl was truly a stand out.
Stay frosty, folks. See you next year! Ooof, there’s that hat again.
Took me a week to write this. Getting old? Takes days to get over the intense amounts of Vitamin D and Vitamin H (Heineken).
We lose our car on night one. We see Audrina Patridge, Aziz Ansari, Scott Speedman and Chloe Sevigny. Nobody saw the tasering of the naked wizard. We had our minds blown by the triple whammy of Public Enemy, X, and then My Bloody Valentine. The day after Coachella is the worst day all year because it’s the longest time you have to wait until the next Coachella.
Day 1:
Airborne Toxic Event — sounds like Arcade Fire (the lead vocalist Mikel Jolett sings like Win Butler and they even have a chick violinist!) but poppier and less arty. We don’t see what all the fuss is about but stick around until they play their modest radio hit “Sometime Around Midnight” (again! sounds like Arcade Fire!) before we skedaddled for the beer garden.
Black Keys (1/2 of them at least) — my guitar mentor Eric informs me there’s not much going on with this band. All the songs sound the same! Why do I like them so much? It’s just basic bluesy stuff in that White Stripes-esque-duo style. We sit through their entire set despite dissension in the ranks.
Franz Ferdinand — Written off by many due to “good looking lead singer” factor, but it’s undeserved (although Alex Kapranos is quite cute). This band is a solid live performer, no gaffes, technical difficulties or pauses as they tear through their poppy and danceable hits. Kapranos has some fun with the crowd in the very front rows, teasing the Beatles girls in the front row “Oh, are they playing?” and pointing out some well-coiffed Morrissey folks – “Look at his hair, you know he’s here for Morrissey!”
Leonard Cohen — His levels are so low we initially think we’re listening to a Leonard Cohen recording playing over the PA! But we’re not, it’s HIM. We all lean in to listen. Standing near us was a man shouting in classic frat boy style “LEONARD! CO!!!! HENNNN!” but he wasn’t teasing, the guy was a huge fan. A girl cries during Hallelujah. His back up band and vocalists are solid. For a man in his 70s the heat nor the venue did not bother him in the least. A great magical Coachella moment.
We stuck around for Silversun Pickups. I must say that Brian Aubert’s screaming doesn’t always sound so great live…but can you blame Leonard Cohen for this? To go from a low and experienced baritone to indie rock yelping isn’t the smoothest transition for the human ear…I am proud that this little LA band has played Coachella twice now. Perhaps they sound best indoors.
Macca! — Sir Paul was sad tonight, it was the 11 year anniversary of Linda’s passing and a motif of sadness wove through his set despite nearly 20 rather upbeat Beatles songs. Macca had two great moments: the first was a tribute to John, during which he sang “Here Today” which has such heartbreaking lyrics. He also came out with George Harrison’s ukulele and sang “Something”, with his top-notch band coming in for half the song. Genuinely goose-bump inducing. Have you ever heard thousands upon thousands of people singing “Drive My Car” at the top of their lungs together? Doot-doot-a-doot-doot-yeah!
Paul McCartney fireworks during LIVE AND LET DIE! *splosions!*
Day 2:
The Liars — We arrived early on Day 2 to see the band that everyone forgot to see open up for Radiohead last year. And Thom Yorke has done nothing but gush about these guys. The verdict? They are an odd bunch. Odd sounding. Odd feeling. Genuinely rocking in places. Clearly for the arty set. Best song goes “WHY’D YOU SHOOT THE MAN WITH THE GUN? — CAUSE WE WANTED TO!” This is the kind of strange stuff that kind of sinks into your subconsciousness.
We lay around on the grass while one of our contingent went to have high school era flashbacks at Superchunk. Wait, Supergrass? They’re good right, brit-rockers? No no. SuperCHUNK. Confusing. Sounds like “take a nap in the sun” time.
Calexico – a crowd quickly forms for this band, and with good reason – they sound AMAZING live with those sad Latin-tinged trumpets blaring out into the desert sunset. For some reason, I notice all the female fans at Calexico are classier than at the other shows. No tit slips at Calexico! We should stay longer but…
TV on the Radio — sounding much better than they did at the Wiltern a few months ago, where they came off a little rushed and a little muddled in places. Here at Coachella, they seemed more relaxed in an outdoor setting in front of an enthusiastic crowd that could sing along with favorites like ‘Staring at the Sun’ and ‘Wolf Like Me’. Their sound totally can scale UP. These fuckers could play the Staples Center for sure, but they reserve that venue for the likes of NKOTB and Beyonce. Hmph.
Another rather abrupt tonal change – we head from TVotR to Fleet Foxes who are playing at the prettiest time of day, switching from dusk to nightfall. Again, like Leonard Cohen, they don’t seem loud enough, but that allows them a cleaner, crisper sound that is necessary for their gorgeous harmonies and pastoral sound. As soon as Thievery Corporation begins, they lose the battle of the bands. Thievery Corp was simply much louder. Sorry, my shaggy country friends! Fleet Foxes are more deserving of a nice sit-down venue like the Greek or the Orpheum.
We break for dinner and brews between Thievery Corp and M.I.A. – who looks fabulous for a lady who just landed a baby two months ago! She takes to the stage behind a bank of microphones, as though she were a head of state talking to the media, flanked by dancers outlined in strips of neon – especially impressive when the lights turn off. Her DJ is incredibly annoying though – he kept playing the same rising bullhorn sound during her set between songs. Later I heard an ocean of complaints about his performance that drove some fans away. If you had the tolerance level, you were rewarded with many more tunes than she made it through at her previous Coachella appearance (only 6 songs!) and her high-energy political dance screeds are much more suited to the big stage.
After M.I.A. we loll around listlessly waiting for the Killers – not my favorite band in ANY regard. They have a slick stage show, their equipment and guitar stands covered by facades, a marquee K in the middle of the stage as though it had fallen from the sky, and Brandon Flowers in his feathery jacket. They start out with the song that makes me want to claw at my eyes “Are We Human, or Are We Dancer” and I notice that most of their fans are college-age girls in jersey knit dresses and big sunglasses, whose frat boy paramours also bop along to the music happily. I feel queasy. Eric suggests we try a palate cleanser…
So we head to MASTODON. I had no idea to what to expect, having read recently that the lead singer was extremely intoxicated during the entirety of his Rolling Stone interview – that seems like a good sign! It’s heavy metal but also quite proggy. I thought they sounded like Black Sabbath in places, E thought more Motorhead. Still, I feel deeply privileged to have seen a band who wrote the opening song to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie, although by this time of night, the crowd seemed burnt out and exhausted. What matters is I had all traces of the Killers wiped from my psyche…until we get home and see the TV commercial for the film The Soloist and they use that ridiculous Killers song Human/Dancer in the background. THX, TV.
Day 3:
We are late for Vivian Girls, No Age, and Lykke Li. Whoops. We manage to catch some of -
Antony & the Johnsons — This act definitely ought to be seen in a different environment. Something about the relentless sun did not go along with Anthony’s torch songs and love dirges. He was low key and almost shy with the crowd. He had a great moment though when a long stretch of feedback would not end, but he did not lose his place in his song nor let it bother him in the least. I want to see Anthony and the Johnsons at a venue like the Hotel Cafe. Yeah, that small, that intimate. I think his music deserves it.
We wait around a little too long for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to begin. They unfortunately start their set with a slower song off their newest effort, It’s Blitz – we lose interest immediately. Why not start off with a BANG, guys? How about that song “Bang” from your early “we only have guitars and drums” days? Oh well. Time for X!
Do you know how GOOD this band sounds still? They ran through their set with such aplomb while the audience lept and pumped fists and hollered along to “Los Angeles”, “Johnny Hit and Run Pauline”, “Soul Kitchen”. Absolutely amazing. Rob remarks as we walk away from the X show: “Exene could EAT Karen O – why are people so into her?”
After that show, we are clearly on a Coachella high. Why not top it off with seeing Chuck D and Flavor Flav and a stage flanked with menacing soldiers!? Rob makes a political point – 20 years ago white folks didn’t – or couldn’t – go to a Public Enemy show. Today, I had to avoid being punched in the face by a frat boy named Doug dancing a LITTLE too aggressively. (Flavor comes out with his little son, Karma, in his arms. We are forced to chant “Go Karma! Go Karma! Go Karma!” to him, possibly scarring him for life, either turning him into someone who has no identity of his own, or someone who thinks he’s king of the universe.)
This. This is the reason you buy a 3 day pass. My. Bloody. Valentine. You don’t buy it for the Cure. You don’t buy it for Karen O. You do it to come hear the loudest, most experimental band man has ever seen. So loud it shakes you internal organs, gives your eye twitches, shakes loose your very thoughts until you are actually mindless, unable to think about anything else – helpless in the face of an ever-building-wall-of-sound. Phil Spector started it, My Bloody Valentine ended it.
I had been told by a music historian/writer to go see this band. They scared me. I ended Coachella 2009 feeling weird and alienated thanks to Throbbing Gristle. That’s kind of cool though? You shouldn’t just go to Coachella to see stuff you love. You should also go to discover new sounds. New sounds that might give you bad dreams.
See you next year.
People watching is second best to band watching at Coachella. You spend most of the time waiting for the diva bands to set up (Killers, I’m looking at you) so all you can do in between is play with your iPhone – which won’t work – and stare at people. Here’s a nice selection for you.
A very popular bathing suit style this year.
A typical Coachella girl. I call her, Stacy.
Hipsterspotting. Pretty easy, actually.
Avelene totally spotted these two blokes. There are two kinds of people at Coachella – people who planned out their outfits with comfort in the heat in mind, and then the city dwellers who refused to acknowledge the heat whatsoever. These two are clearly in the latter category.
A classic: the older douche with the hot young lady. What do they talk about? My guess: new cell phones and hand jobs.
Girls are still rocking the high-waisted stuff. How do you not get a colossal wedgie both in the front AND the back? This is why I wear my pants at normal height, but some girls can pull it off.
Are these punks or are these Burning Man people or are they both mixed together? Spotted at the Liars set.
I’m sure this guy’s name is Doug. And all his female friends’ names are Stacy.
Good gravy. I saw this from 10 miles away. I can spot yellow crazy leggings from 10 miles away.
Big ass crazy purple boots and a demure umbrella to protect the pale visage underneath.
I want these socks? These guys were heading to the Sahara tent to dance and jump and sweat all day.
Buttocks alert! I can see your butt. And for a second, I thought your boyfriend was a girlfriend. But he turns out to be just a wee boyfriend.
Another look this year, the poofy skirt.
And this stupid hat was on EVERYONE. Boys & girls.
Look, I got two of them in one shot. If you have one of these hats, I suggest you return it to the robot store you purchased it from (probably Urban Outfitters).
Uh, this is what Perry Farrell was wearing. You provide your own joke.
More poofy skirts. And more asses.
Tablecloth? Curtain? Whatever it is, apparently you just add an old bathing suit to it and kazam! You’re ready to rock.
But amongst it all, you see little islands of cool and confident style. A red-headed perfect bob in 93 degree weather.
Saved the best for last – this is THE BEST photo I took at Coachella. Two out of three of them were wearing HIGH HEELS. Who wears high heels to Coachella? Someone who’s just there to offer “succor” to the bands? These “girls” were attempting to get backstage at the end of the Black Keys set. We watched with relish as they were DENIED. Then they walked past us like it was Sex in the City: Totally Denied Desert Edition. God exists. And at that moment, he was the big burly security guard turning them away from the gate.
