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.

We braved a level 3 hipster clusterwank to get into last week’s American Cinematheque screening of the White Stripes rockumentary, Under the Great White Northern Lights.  I’d say it was well worth having to sit through the general skinny-guy whining and feathered-haircut chaos of a long line-up of a free movie screening.  Jack and Meg are in great form in the live concert footage in this doc.  They seem legitimately content to be touring their neighbors to the north (”We grew up across the street”, Jack says early in the film). In a genuine touch of respect for their fans, they put on a number of free shows between their venue shows, playing bowling alleys, pool halls, town squares and even inside a Winnipeg bus (you may have seen this footage on YouTube).  They meet with Native Canadian tribal elders in Nova Scotia, march around with kilted Highland soldiers in Halifax, and generally dazzle the locals with their well-dressed roadies and camera crew.

The documentary relies heavily on the live footage, which is shot in a very arty style, making the red, white and black of their stage performances really pop and sizzle your retinas.  The minutiae of their performances (the back of Meg’s drummer stool has her name on it, Jack’s picks are lined up in a row on top of a speaker) are captured lovingly.  I  wanted a bit more interview time with J & M, especially since Meg never says much.  In a few of those interview snippets, Jack reveals their recording style (fast and quick, to capitalize on inspiration) and how they feel about how the music press feels about them.  One of Jack’s favorite quotes about the band goes something like: “They are simultaneously the most fake and most REAL band you will ever hear.”  Jack underlines for us – nothing that they do on stage is fake, they don’t even have a set list, and what can be construed as “fake” is artistic thoughtfulness – the power of colors, the power of their two-some.

Meg floats throughout this doc like a bit of a lost, pale soul.  Jack always looks like a rock star, talks like a rock star. He exudes confidence even if it is a front for a more sensitive soul.  Meg follows him from gig to gig, smoking quietly, grinning to herself, looking out the window.  As much as we think we may know – or not know – about this band, they are still quite enigmatic to us.  On the one hand you have the schoolyard sweetness of “I Can Tell That We Are Going to Be Friends” and the electric spazzmatic bravado of “Icky Thump”. Who are these people?  The documentary doesn’t tell us, it just shows us.  It’s a must see for Stripes fans.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at Club Nokia

TV on the Radio, Coachella 2009

My Bloody Valentine, Coachella 2009

Black Moth Super Rainbow at the Troubadour

School of Seven Bells at the Troubadour

Dean and Britta and Andy Warhol’s screen tests at the John Anson Ford

Worst photo ever, I know Bat for Lashes at the El Rey

Phoenix at the Wiltern

Deerhoof at the Echoplex

Built to Spill, Sunset Junction 2009

Devendra Banhart, Soho Restaurant (Santa Barbara, CA)

The Thermals, F Yeah Fest

Tenacious D, Winston Calling benefit show at the Echoplex

Black Francis, Winston Calling benefit at the Echoplex

Sadly, I did not take any photos at the Grizzly Bear show at the Wiltern. We were in the second to last row!

Last night at the Wiltern, Phoenix put on one of the best shows I’ve seen all year. And I know what you’re thinking, really? Could a band with such a studio-produced sound really rock out the Wiltern?  The usually-jaded-LA crowd not only danced the entire time, but also screamed themselves hoarse and executed the slightly more tricky double-claps.Something in the air just seemed perfect for this Phoenix performance.

Were we all hurting from the sudden departure of the King of Pop? As the sweaty and satisfied audience filed out after the second encore, they began playing Michael Jackson (”Rock With You”) over the PA – and a good half of the audience stayed to dance.  That in itself was an amazing thing I’ve never seen before.  We rushed down to the floor to boogie to “The Way You Make Me Feel” but then the Wiltern management saw that the crowd wasn’t leaving, so they turned it off gently.  Wow.

I am a child, I have fallen, and I can’t get up…and I’m at Michael Jackson’s  ranch. This is probably the most  frightening statue we saw during this entire exhibit and we spent a lot of time grouped around it, staring at that intense cry on his face.  Why would someone buy this? – a question asked over and over again as we trolled through the Beverly Hills Hilton display of Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch collection.

This was spotted inside MJ’s tour bus, parked outside the exhibition.  We were all allowed to take a quick walk through.  Inside were two resting fire fighters (why, do they believe people will want to set fire to these precious items?), and…a stack of magazines about child-rearing.  Not child’s rears, you idiots. Child-rearing.  Is this a joke?

This is a painting completed my Macaulay Culkin. It needs to be sent to an analyst right away.  In those vicious strokes and tenative paint drippings, was Mac calling for help?  

Wow. This is just plain sad. When did Michael Jackson ever think of himself as a black man?  Did he need the book for reference?

I have no idea what this is about but I’m sure there’s a story behind it – seems like it would be for a music video. It just seems intensely creepy, especially the expression of him making faces like a child.

This exhibit was full of plenty of these life size statues.  Imagine that big house in Santa Barbara, full of these old English-seeming white people.  They brought him solace, made him feel like people were home.  But how did he not startle himself each time coming into a room?  They are literally life size and fairly real looking when you spot one out of the corner of your eye.

Of COURSE Reagan loved him.  OF COURSE.  The phrase “young people searching for something to believe in” gives me the shudders.

This photo needs to be viewed in a larger size to get the full THRUST of it. It is Michael Jackson, leading all the children of the world, down verdant hillsides.  Orthodox Jewish kids, Tibetan kids, Guatemalan kids, all of them.

Okay, maybe this isn’t very disturbing. I just looked at it and automatically saw “the family jewels”.  MJ had a LOT of kids sized furniture, tiny tricycles, rocking chairs, etc.  He seemed hell bent on buying things for the world’s largest nursery room.

And this for some reason, is one of the saddest and most disturbing images from this show – but it’s a little personal for me.  When I was in grade school, I had a birthday party during which we gave away little bags full of Michael Jackson trading cards and party favors. This was the image most used on those items and it represents for me an era of childlike worship and pop frenzy.  Whenever MJ was on TV, I knew it.  I was barely 8 years old and I owned his records.  And now, it’s all gone – or up for auction.See the entire set here

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.

Alright.  A couple-a things. First of all, I feel like it’s worth the price of admission to see a real living Beatle.  A BEATLE, people.  I’ve heard from so many folks that you go to a Paul McCartney show expecting to have a good time…only to have a sobbing, singing Hey Jude at the top of your lungs excellent time. I hope he lives up to everything I’ve heard. I also hope Ringo comes?  Too much to ask for?

Coachella feels British-y this year.  Macka, Morrissey, Paul Weller and the Cure.  In all the uproar over David Bowie, people aren’t focusing on those other awesome names.  Leonard Cohen?  Really?  All that poetry amongst all that noise!  My Bloody Valentine will definitely out-power whatever band playing on the stage nearest them.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs are always a great show.  I can’t wait to see TV on the Radio again.  I wouldn’t mind catching a little of the mellow mellows at the Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses sets.  Ting Tings will bring the cute. Would love to see Amy Winehouse actually vomit on stage.  Girl Talk and Felix Da Housecat are guaranteed dance parties!  And…Jebus.  Public Enemy is going to be there?  Note to self: pack huge clock necklace.

My goal this year.  To find Henry Rollins and force him to let me ride around on his shoulders.  This has been a dream of mine for years.

Yeah…I guess this is like our The Bucket List.  Except without two old farts and more booty-shaking experiences!  100% more booty.

We caught Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the new Club Nokia, tickets courtesy of our internut pals at Losanjealous.com.  We’d never been to this venue and that whole new complex in downtown LA is a big architectural nightmare.  It’s straight out of Back to the Future 2!  But without Deloreans and self-drying Nikes (have they invented those yet?)

The biggest let down of the night was realizing we weren’t going to get very close to the stage.  At Club Nokia they dole out a set amount of wristbands for the pit area directly near the stage, just like at the Wiltern.  We had to settle for being farther away.  And why was this kind of a sucky idea?  Because Sharon brings people up on stage!  And it don’t matter if you can dance.  She looks down into the stage and right into your heart and plucks you from obscurity.

This guy had great moves.  He was the first one up!

 
This bloke was determined to not look like a goofball.  He was a little goofy.  Good energy though!

Hell, even incredulous, nervous little kids get called up on stage.  This is ridiculous. Next time, I’m gonna be front and center and screaming at the top of my lungs.

See more of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at Club Nokia

One of my favorite shots of the year, The National @ Coachella 08

Every Show I Saw in 2008
2/1/2008 – HEALTH, Autolux @ the El Rey
2/22/08 – Liars, No Age @ the El Rey
3/8/08 – Old Tyme Relijun, the Mae Shi @ the Smell
4/25, 4/26, 4/27 – aka the “Portishead Coachella” 2008
4/29/08 – Lavendar Diamond, She & Him @ the Vista
5/21/08 – The Kills @ the El Rey
5/24/08 – Japanther @ the Smell
5/29/08 – Modest Mouse, R.E.M. @ the Hollywood Bowl
6/22/08 – Thievery Corporation @ the Hollywood Bowl
6/29/08 – Devendra Banhart, Gilberto Gil @ the Hollywood Bowl
7/20/08 – Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Feist @ the Hollywood Bowl
8/3/08 – Reggae Night @ the Hollywood Bowl
8/11/08 – Mogwai @ the Wiltern
8/24/08 – Radiohead @ the Hollywood Bowl
9/20/08 – MGMT, Spoon, Beck @ the Hollywood Bowl
9/21/08 – Hot Chip @ the Wiltern
9/22/08 – The Kills, The Raconteurs @ the Greek
10/1/08 – My Bloody Valentine @ the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
10/2/08 – Neil Diamond @ the Hollywood Bowl
10/3/08 – Deerhoof @ the Avalon
10/4/08 – Eagle Rock Music Festival
11/6/08 – TV on the Radio @ the Wiltern

Compiled because my epic year of rock in 2007 went undocumented and I had a serious 7 show run in that September…but I kept no record and now my grandchildren will never know the exact date of that great show I went to that was Black Moth Super Rainbow and Aesop Rock at the Henry Fonda.

Two Specific Shows I Wish I Had Went To: The Ting Tings/Santogold/Matt & Kim @ the Wiltern and GIRL TALK at the Henry Fonda.  JUST LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS FROM THAT SHOW.

Best Performances: Portishead at Coachella, night 2. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings opening for Feist at the Hollywood Bowl.  Radiohead at the Bowl.  But the real standout was My Bloody Valentine at the Santa Monica Civic.  Everything else pales in comparison to how EPIC & HUGE MBV felt that night.  I’m talking Richard Serra scuplture here.  Hokusai’s The Great Wave.  Mario Batali’s gut.  MBV is big business.

Guilty (but it shouldn’ t have been guilty!) Addiction of 2008: Vampire Weekend.  Maligned by preening hipsters…who were all tapping along with their bony little toes when you weren’t looking. If you don’t bop along to their self-titled album, the bop center of your brain must be imbalanced.  This album triggered countless “if it’s poppy, does it mean that’s BAD?” conversations with many, many friends to which we concluded, “If it’s poppy and it’s Weezer’s last album then it’s bad.”

Most Hated: Coldplay.  They win this award every year.  They won it before the group was formed.  They won it before all their parents spawned.  They will win it even though the Eagles try so hard to snatch it away at every opportunity.

Top Ten of 2008 Albums in No Order Whatsoever
randomly set qualification: I listened to this album at least 10 times during the 2008 musical season

The Last Shadow Puppets – Age of the Understatement
The Kills – Midnight Boom
Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Beach House – Devotion
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
Deerhoof – Offend Maggie
Santogold – S/T
Vampire Weekend- S/T
Portishead – Third

almost but not quite: MGMT- Oracular Spectacular, Vivian Girls – S/T, The Black Keys – Attack & Release, The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

Lovely Lady Discoveries
Vivian Girls, Mika Miko, exactly one half of She & Him

And Finally…Know Your History