Coachella was an experience. A two hour drive through the desert to join around 60,000 other people to see way too many great bands. Some of my favorite performances:
LCD Soundsystem: Packed tent full of people rocking to a nice mix of songs new and old. Glad this was a night show. The disco ball in the middle of the room and shown on two screens in the front combined with three lasers throwing crazy lines on the ceiling made for an amazing show. I didn’t think much of the “North American Scum” performance on Letterman but here it was great to be packed in with a crowd shouting the chorus.
Arcade Fire: A very well done performance on the main stage that kept on going with an excellent mix of songs from Neon Bible and Funeral. Kept up with the tradition of hammering on random stuff and rocking hard.
Ratatat: Two dudes on guitars and a guy on a keyboard never rocked out so hard. Trippy patterns and imagery on a screen beside the guys worked really well. “El Pico” especially blew ‘em/me away.
The Jesus and Mary Chain: I’d never listened to these guys much before but I really enjoyed their first show together in however many years. Also: Scarlett Johansson showed up for a backup vocal on “Just Like Honey” and… well, she wasn’t all that good. But still! Scarlett Johansson!
Interpol: Wow. I’ve always loved their music but had no idea the show would be so good. Very dark and moody and these were some incredibly well-dressed guys. Made me wish I could wear that kind of clothing to work except then 1) I wouldn’t be able to afford to eat and 2) I would spontaneously combust in the Southern California heat. Not a lot of banter but great guitaring, occasionally with lit cigarette in mouth, and all the hits. Also a decent song off the just-announced third album.
Other bands I saw: The Fratellis, Hot Chip, Willie Nelson, Amy Winehouse, Rodrigo y Gabriela (including a cool singalong version of “Wish You Were Here” and some Metallica covers), Tokyo Police Club, Tilly and the Wall (three hot girls and catchy tunes? yes please), Peter Bjorn and John, and CSS. I wished I could have seen the New Pornographers and the Decemberists but neither is an infrequent tourer so I think I’ll be okay.
Also: Rage Against The Machine fans don’t much care for Crowded House. All I can say is that some Rage fans tried to put themselves in the running for biggest jackass festivalgoers ever at Coachella. The Rage reunion concert itself was good, both for the performance and the chance to duck out and escape the parking lot before the masses descended.
It was hot. Friday was hot, Saturday felt hotter, and Sunday had a little wind and was a bit cooler. No sunburn on my pasty white skin thanks to oh-so-refreshing spray-on sunscreen. The major casualty was my feet from so many hours of standing. I’ve now got blisters that will give me a slightly more awkward gait than usual for a few days. Food wasn’t great or cheap. Water was $2 a bottle and was downed in great amounts, almost as much as organic fruit smoothies (delicious).
Overall, people were cool. Occasionally a cloud of herbal haze would descend on me while in a tent packed full of people and I’d need to move to avoid desert madness. I bailed out of the Fratellis concert early to get some fresh air and drink some water and otherwise felt fine. I did see one woman faint and get carried off by her man to get medical help and occasionally heard/saw the emergency golfcart speeding away somewhere.
I doubt I’ll be doing the whole three-day thing again anytime soon. I’d consider doing one day for a band I really wanted to see, but if there was a band I really wanted to see I’d much prefer just seeing them in their own concert. This was a great opportunity to see a bunch of bands I like in a very unique setting, though, and I’m glad I went.
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