Reports From The Field at Coachella - #5

All right kids here are the Latest reports
from the Fields at Cocahella From the Newspaper blogs of Sothern Califlorida

The L.A.

The ex-Ladytron bassist kicked off Day 2 of Coachella with a set of insistent, glammed-up power pop bent on returning the word "mod" to our vernacular. He can hit the high notes -- so well, in fact, he seemed particularly impressed with himself. With teeth clenched and his slender frame cavorting around the stage, he vamped for every girl in the first 20 rows, and maybe a few in the back of the packed Gobi Tent.

========================================

Woe betide most singers who try to out-weird Bjork while she's onstage. But Eugene Hutz is not most singers. While Matthew Barney's babymomma fended off Earth intruders on the main stage, Hutz and his gang of haggard gypsies in Gogol Bordello ripped through an hour of irresistably freaky folk punk late Friday night in the Mojave Tent. This nouveaux-Balkan revival may have legs after all, particularly if they come dressed in ripped fishnets and harlot's lace a la the Bordello dancing troupe.

==========================================

the British quintet Fields embarked on their psychedelic journey in the Mojave Tent. It could not have been more different.

Delicately layered guitars, the boy-girl harmonies of Nick Peill and Thorunn Antonia and a familial charisma conspired to help Fields' set soar above the shimmering afternoon heat waves.

==========================================

The inside joke (if you're familiar with L.A. nightlife) is that the West Yorkshire trio the Cribs were ending their set with "Hey Scenesters!" just as uber-DJ Steve Aoki was getting rumps shaking in the adjacent Sahara Tent. Not that anybody would have given up on the Cribs for Aoki's brand of mixology.

==========================================

Though positioned opposite more indie cred-tastic acts like Hot Chip and Regina Spektor, Orange County's Jack's Mannequin drew a packed, energetic mob of true believers surrounding the Outdoor Stage. Armed with a full complement of arena-ready arm gestures and manic, piano-pounding enthusiasm from frontman Andrew McMann, the ex-Something Corporate frontman fought the merciless midday heat with a battery of heartfelt pop dusted with a smattering of everything's-gonna-be-all-right emo (and if such a thing doesn't exist, it does now).

==========================================

The Press Enterprise

Watching Regina Spektor rock the main stage in front of thousands with just her voice, a keyboard, a drumstick and a wooden chair reminds me why I love music so much. The simplist arrangements can't deny the greatest talents. Spektor is truly a gifted songwriter and her stage presence is so alluring that you can't help but get enveloped. The best performance of the day thus far, if not the entire festival

==========================================

If anyone asks you what the best song of the last five years is the answer is the Fratellis' "Flathead." You've heard the tune on the Apple iPod commercial and seeing it live and in person at Coachella under the burning sun makes it even more infectious. The energy in the Mojave tent during that tune was like Shaq when the Lakers were still winning titles. The rest of the set wasn't bad either, but didn't compare. Lets hope they don't fall in one-hit-wonder land.

==========================================

Personally, I'm a fan of Fountains of Wayne's brand of quirky power pop but since their mainstream success with "Stacy's Mom" I thought they were an odd choice at Coachella.

However, the band seems to be trying to up their indie cred with hipster vintage T-shirts. Lead singer Chris Collingswood sported a green Miller High Life shirt and the bassist opted for a Huey Lewis one in black. Maybe they mugged some concertgoers before their Coachella mainstage set at 2:35 p.m. Saturday. There are a lot of shirtless people running around.

==========================================

I never quite understood how Irish rockers the Frames didn't make it huge. They're anthemic, their songs have soul and they're great players. Now that I've seen them live here at the Outdoor Stage that feeling is compounded. I'm not saying they're on the level with countrymen U2, but this is a great band. Maybe one day they'll break through.

==========================================