Rage Against the Machine rages at Coachella music festival
By SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer
INDIO, Calif- Thousands of sunburnt fans roared in unison and pumped their fists in the desert air Sunday night as reunited political rockers Rage Against the Machine took the stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Grinning, lead singer-rapper Zack de la Rocha pumped his fist along with them.
Seven years after the quartet broke up following de la Rocha's departure, the band returned with a vengeance to close out the three-day festival east of Palm Springs.
Stomping, shouting into his microphone, grabbing his curly hair and inciting the audience to "keep fighting," de la Rocha powered through songs ranging from the bass heavy "Bulls on Parade" to the anthem "Killing in the Name."
He also railed against the war in Iraq and likened Bush administration officials to Nazi war criminals.
"This current administration is no exception. They should be tried and hung and shot," he said.
Drummer Brad Wilk, bassist Tim Commerford and guitarist Tom Morello, who wore a hat with the word "UNITY" on it, completed the lineup.
"They changed my life. They made me a liberal," said sweat-drenched history teacher Rafael Ramon, 25, who had waited in a crowd packed shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the stage all day.
"All of America needed Rage to come back. They've been missing," he said.
The band last played the festival during its first year in 1999.
An estimated 180,000 people attended the festival over
the three days but police said there were few problems.
Fewer than 100 people were arrested, most of them for investigation of drug or alcohol use, and there were a couple reports of people being treated for drug overdoses, Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said early Monday morning.
Triple-digit temperatures on Saturday also led to some cases of heat exhaustion, he said.
"Overall, the event was beautiful...no significant incidents or challenges," he said.
Local police were aided by those from surrounding departments and by private security, he said.
Anticipation for Rage started building Saturday, when Morello performed a solo act of protest songs as the Nightwatchman.
Morello wore a harmonica and swapped his standard electric guitar for an acoustic with the words "whatever it takes" scrawled on it.
He dedicated tunes to "rebel girls and women," unions, farm workers and the audience.
Other Sunday highlights were country music veteran Willie Nelson, performing a day before his 74th birthday, and reunited rock band Crowded House.
On Saturday, Los Angeles hip-hop fusion ensemble Ozomatli provided one of the most energetic of the festival, with band members calling out to the audience in both English and Spanish.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined Saturday.
Singer Anthony Kiedis, sporting a mustache and wearing a black vest and fingerless gloves, raced around the stage, zipping past bare-chested bassist Flea and guitarist John Frusciante.
"Out of all the bands playing, I wanted to see them the most!" said Nicole McMachen, 21, who danced ferociously to the music with her fiance, Dustin Palmer, 21.
McMachen said she planned to get lyrics for the song "Snow (Hey Oh)" tattooed onto her arm.
Flea, known for his giddy stage outbursts, expressed the opposite of rage to the audience.
"Everything is beautiful," he yelled out. "Love and peace is in all our hearts."
Showing posts with label Coachella '07. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coachella '07. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2007
Report From the Field From Coachella - #10[the last post as well]
And Now the Finaly post from the LA Newspapers blogger who cover Cocahella
The L.A. Times
The Roots branch out into activism too
If a common sentiment emerged from the hip-hop acts that rocked this year's Coachella, it's opposition to the Bush administration, with everyone from well-known political firebrands like the Coup, El-P and Pharoahe Monch to relative newcomers like Brother Ali and Lupe Fiasco. The latter dedicated his anti-imperialist screed, "American Terrorist" to a roaring crowd. But perhaps the highlight of the bunch was the Philadephia hip-hoppers, The Roots, a group less known for their subversive sentiment.
Indeed, the showstopper of the Roots' 50-minute main stage set was a cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," with soul singer Kirk Douglas handling vocals and bursts of psychedelic guitar and funky drums buoying the noise. The rest of the Roots set was less explosive and incendiary, as the band rattled off a series of covers ranging from funk classics like "Jungle Boogie" to "Push It" to "Egyptian Lover" to "Award Tour" to even Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot."
Fiasco's set earlier in the day was similarly captivating, with the Chicago-bred MC displaying an energetic stage presence, flinging water on on-lookers and even sprinting into the crowd during closer, the Beta Band-sampling "Daydream."
Desert dealings, Vol. 5
Officials put the crowd total at 60,000 for each day of Coachella, though the grounds seemed more crowded Sunday. Maybe it was just the bigger-than-usual (for the time slot) main stage crowds for afternoon sets by Explosions in the Sky and the Roots.
Of the 16,000 campers at the festival, 30% were from outside the U.S.
A moment of silence for José González
While the Klaxons were exploring the rhythmic possibilities of an air raid siren in the Mojave Tent, Sweden's José González was, against all odds, performing to a rapt crowd at the Gobi Tent.
Like Cat Stevens without the "Peace Train" homilies, the slight and scruffy González performed atop the stage's drum riser, accompanied at times by conga and a young woman who offered a few gentle pats on a cowbell as well as an occasional vocal harmony. As the sun slowly set behind us, González's breezy renditions of "Heartbeat" and "Stay in the Shade" needed little else beyond his honeyed voice and delicately finger-picked guitar. Until, of course, the bass rumbles from the DJs spinning in the geodesic dome at the tent's mouth elbowed their way to the front of the tent. Every coffeehouse troubadour knows the feeling
Party at CSS's house
Cansei de Ser Sexy, Sub Pop's Brazilian delegates of juicy dance-rock, chased after the rainbow of glam-hipster band fame every second of their performance. Purple unitard on Lovefoxxx? Uh-huh. A preponderance of bandanas and/or glittery scarves on every band member? You know it. Paris Hilton dancing on the side of the stage? Afraid so. And check out this unholy amount of self-referencing: Lovefoxxx told the audience that she'd just met Hilton and then she proceeded to play "Meeting Paris Hilton." And somewhere in Williamsburg, we're pretty sure, an Urban Outfitters went up in flames.
Other stunts of the band's aerobicized set included a souped-up cover of L7's "Pretend We're Dead" and a new song that showcased CSS's sometimes-underrated songwriting chops. They closed with a scintillating trinity of CSS hits, including "Artbitch," their ode to merlot-swilling gallery flies. In her introduction to the last song, "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above," Lovefoxxx said, "After Coachella, let's go to my house. I've got some condoms and we'll make love."
Hmm. ... I'm actually a lot more interested in some air conditioning at this point. You got that?
Crowded House plays to a crowded field
So maybe there should have been more breathing room between the Crowded House reunion show on the main stage and Rage Against the Machine's headlining slot. Like two days.
The New Zealand pop quartet painted lovely pictures in the early dusk, harmonizing their way into the hearts of the throng gathering in anticipation of the festival climax. It might have come off as totally pastoral had not Neil Finn done the courteous thing and name-checked the bands that would follow. That sparked chants of "Rage, Rage, Rage" -- to which Finn could only reply, good-naturedly, "It's gonna be good. Go have a drink in the tent ... There's still time."
The folks up front waving the colors of New Zealand stayed put, of course. They'd waited a decade for their heroes to re-emerge, and they couldn't have been disappointed with the aplomb with which Crowded House delivered their hits. And when Finn's microphone cut out during "Don't Dream It's Over," he didn't have to ask the crowd very hard to help with the vocals. They filled in, very likely as they have been doing for the past 10 years.
Klaxons freak out
Eraserhead hairdos? Shrieking feedback? The notion that a British guitar rock band can be truly dangerous? We got all that Friday with Jesus and Mary Chain, and we got it again today with Klaxons, who absolutely murdered the Mojave tent and announced themselves as the Reid Brothers' most likely heirs. Yes, yes, we know we're feeding the hype machine, but good god Klaxons deserve it this time.
The X'ed out teenagers packing glowsticks and candy bracelets in their native England were replaced by a filthy and rabid crowd pogoing with their jaws on the floor and hands in the air. The trio (with a hired-gun live drummer) tore through the hits off their debut "Myths of the Near Future" with a maniacal brashness equal parts PiL and actual pills. "Atlantis To Interzone" churned with grimy basslines and don't-take-the-brown-acid caterwauling, while Jamie Reynolds and Simon Taylor traded deapan bon mots on the steely, propulsive single "Magick."
Like the JAMC, Klaxons' little secret is that they're actually whip-smart tunesmiths, and shimmering pop turns like "Golden Skans" and an ace cover of old-rave staple "Not Over Yet" suggested they have a long future after this faux-techno kick dies down. "Thank you for making special for us," their swaggering, sweaty bassist Reynolds said. "For that, we give you this," and lunged into another ferocious electro-punk freakout. Say it as loud as an air raid siren -- Klaxons just killed it.
Lily Allen's more than just a girl
Anyone stlll thinking the great, Internet-born Lily Allen craze had crested and been replaced by the Amy Winehouses of the world obviously wasn't anywhere near her set at an overflowing Mojave tent. Backed by a full band and horn section that would've done the Skatalites proud, Allen confidently bounded through material from her MySpace-bred debut album "Alright, Still" with a brash confidence that recalled a smarter, sassier Gwen Stefani -- at least before Gwen became the eeriely airbrushed pop cyborg of today.
Beyond the superficial resemblances in sound and attitude, would the former singer for No Doubt have apologized for forgetting a few lyrics as a result of having a couple of spliffs earlier in the day? Would she so readily incite a tent full of women to scream in support as she bluntly introduced "Not Big," a song about the hardship of living with a man's, um, shortcomings? Not likely.
Dressed in her usual assortment of Lily-ana (hoop earrings, poofy dress, trainers), the London native strolled across both sides of the stage with the occasional cigarette and charisma to burn, not even letting the day's elephant in the room shadow what must've been one of her most successful shows stateside. After the crowd cheered in appreciation at her passing mention of the night's headliners, Allen was unfazed.
"I've never heard of them," she said with a devilish grin. "But apparently they're quite big."
Manu Chao brings the people together
If ripping on Ol' G.W.B. was the weekend's big theme, pan-ethnic punk/funk may have been another. Gogol Bordello threw down for the Eastern Bloc, Konono No 1. repped the Congo, and the Spanish-via-Paris vagabond Manu Chao did his best to prepare the audience for the Rage to come in a half-hour.
Coachella fans heard Chao's handiwork last year, having midwifed Amadou & Mariam's Malian blues on "Dimanche A Bamako." But on the main stage, Chao cherry-picked from countless cultures; English punk, bossa nova and cut-'em-fat reggae were all fair game. It's unfair to stick Chao in the ghetto of the World Music bin, because nothing he does emulates the music of other cultures -- it's the real article. Grinning in a sporty bandanna, Chao sung with a revolutionary energy, and his gangbusters backing band matched him step for step. His bassist, who looked like Henry Rollins after a few trips down a buffet line, laid down deep, vigorous grooves while his guitarist melted faces with a high-wire flamenco solo.
Chao's a born provocatuer as well, which is part of what makes him so beloved in Latin American politico circles. He dedicated one song to the "minor terrorist" we call President, before calling out Guantamo and random spying as part of the problem. But don't worry, he still finished one roiling hardcore tune with the chorus "me gusta marijuana." Back at you, Manu.
Before Rage, a Happy Mondays rave
With bass lines that shook every bowel in the Sahara Tent, the Happy Mondays announced their return with a soulful set that featured guests, a lucky dancer and a surprisingly robust Shaun Ryder. It was 50 minutes for the "24 Hour Party People."
Nailing songs such as "Step On" and "Hallelujah" as if it were the '80s, the Mondays -- whose influence as rock/soul hybridists is undeniable -- showed the half full tent, which included front-row denizens holding aloft ticket stubs from long-ago concerts, that the sound of Madchester still breathed. Guitarist Danny Saber (Black Grape) was among the contributors, as was L.A.'s own motormouth, Mickey Avalon. But it was also a night to remember for a magazine writer, NME's Dan Martin. Absent the staple of Bez's dancing, Martin filled in onstage -- despite a well-meaning security guy's effort to drag him off, thinking Martin was a wayward crowd member. When after a moment's absence he reappeared, throwing down some pretty decent moves. The crowd roared and the spirit of the Hacienda lived on.
It's a shame about Rage
[Guest blogger Chris Barton has never dated Winona Ryder.]
A half circle of 24 cops was taking in the scene just outside the shoulder-to-shoulder mob absorbing all that was Rage, and we're pretty sure they weren't there to make sure Evan Dando got home safely. The back half of the grounds just beyond their perimeter was so deserted all that was missing was a single tumbleweed crossing your path toward a depressingly dramatic light display signifying that, yes, other acts were onstage at that hour, too, and one of them was the reunited Lemonheads.
Seriously, you almost have to feel bad for Evan Dando at this point. He got his act together for taut, focused comeback record, scored a prime closing slot at the biggest rock festival in the country and wound up playing opposite the biggest show in Coachella's history. Dumb luck, that. But those who did turn out at the Outdoor Stage had plenty of elbow room for a set of perfectly fine, jangly power pop that without a doubt would've been crowd pleasing at just about any other hour of the weekend.
If nothing else, Dando can compare his struggles with darkwave staples VNV Nation and Israeli trance favorites Infected Mushroom, both of whom played tents that were barely a third full. Potty-mouthed irony-rap artists Spank Rock fared a little better, but their Gobi Tent was also the smallest. Rage against the schedule-makers, my brothers.
Dead Air for 30 minutes
On Day 3 of this behemoth that's going to close with a whole lotta Rage, the Outdoor Theatre crowd was ready to make out on grass-stained towels to Air's glittery sunset electronica. But the sexy boys of Air delayed their set by 30 minutes before finally taking the stage under hot pink lights. Good thing too because the crowd was about to riot. Ha, not really. A riot before Air? Avant-pop fans don't do that.
The French duo turned it out well enough, getting airport-lounge sedate in the right moments and cranking up the glitchy stadium rock to keep the fabulous quotient high. "Sexy Boy" was trotted out, as well as some bubbly "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack material. But honestly? Coming out that late at some yacht party off of Ibiza is one thing but at Coachella, it's just kind of obnoxious. So I turned in my visa and headed for Teddybears
Spank Rock: What does that mean, anyway?
You want to know how to fill up the Gobi tent when you're one of Coachella's sacrificial lambs? Start off by looking like Pharell if reared by Kurtis Blow in Jamaica. Then add in some potty talk about the bathing suit areas of both genders. Oh, and some bongo players and ladies in braids who will pop and lock with big grins on their faces. And let's not forget the secret sauce: some mostly empty talk about the races rioting on the dance floor that will make you sound intelligent but is pretty much a ruse. But hey, whatever. Spank Rock isn't trying to gather the intelligentsia for a poetry reading.
Some of us like our festival closers blissfully stoopid, thank you very much.
All the rage for all the right reasons
[Guest blogger August Brown rallies 'round the family, with a pocket full of shells.]
It’s hard to think about Rage Against The Machine in 2007 without remembering 1992. Clinton was in office, the economy was about to start sailing, and yet they still found plenty of reasons to be furious at The System. Their headlining set on Sunday was probably the most anticipated set in Coachella history; everything from riots to bona fide revolution seemed possible, judging from the hyperbole about their reunion. How would their serrated funk-metal play in a decade where there’s more legitimate reasons to take to the streets, and when few musicians seems to know how to talk about them?
For the first three songs at least, it played awfully sedate. Nearly every weary body on the grounds champed at the bit for the band to come out (sorry, Evan Dando and Spank Rock). But in one of the year’s biggest anti-climaxes, Rage emerged to a muddy and anemic mix that knocked the wind out of Tim Commerford’s basslines. For a minute there, it seemed that the Machine would win out by cutting off Rage from their best weapon- their skull-cracking riffs.
But the soundboard pulled it together, turning up the master mix three songs in, and the band scorched. As did a few small bonfires near the right guardrails, but outside of a few rogue lighting rig climbers, the only really dangerous explosions were happening onstage. Zach de la Rocha spat venom at consumers, Christians and the shoppers on Rodeo Drive (one his better metaphorical punching bags) but kept the stage banter non-existent. Tom Morello, one of the last real guitar heroes left in America, conjured Hendrix’s solos, Public Enemy’s brittle DJ scratching and squeals of feedback in between Sly Stone-via-Dante’s Inferno funk licks. Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk were as martial as ever, and era-defining hits like “Bulls On Parade” and “Bombtrack” have held up astonishingly well.
The only time de la Rocha broke the fourth wall was to give everyone what they wanted- a deliberate and forthright rebuttal to the last six years of neocon politics. “This administration should be tried, hung and shot,” he said, as if one form of execution wasn't enough. It may have been ham-fisted, but to hear it from the mouth of a rock singer today, de la Rocha may well have set the dam loose for political music at the tail end of the Bush era. Even if he didn’t though, the spectacle of 60,000 fans pounding their fists in unison closer “Killing In The Name Of ” was a reminder of better times for openly political music, or at least more hopeful ones from years past.
Desert dealings, Vol. 6
Buzz emanated from several sets that we didn't have time to take in fully -- especially the remarkable stylings of beatboxer Kid Beyond, who packed an afternoon set in the Gobi Tent.
The Kaiser Chiefs did all they could to prove they belonged, too, promoting their sophomore album -- as well as spontaneous athletic endeavors -- when frontman Ricky Wilson climbed the rigging at the Ourdoor Theatre.
Rodrigo y Gabriela turned in another in a growing line of stunning Southern California appearances when they unleashed their flamenco metal on the Gobi Tent crowd. "Almost evil," somebody called it. And almost instrumental, too -- except when they executed their cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." The crowd sang. Hearing that, we wish we were there.
◊ ◊ ◊
Then there was the requisite end-of-the-night crush to exit the Empire Polo Field. At the "back door" to the VIP area, a wristband-toting crowd had assembled, hoping the leave through the very same gate they left the night before. But things always change from day to day at Coachella. Always.
Beefy but friendly security blocked the gate, until a dude with an entourage made his way through (tapping a man wearing a vintage Motley Crue T-shirt on the shoulder and saying, "Nice shirt"). The dude cracked the gate and yelled, "I'm Tommy Lee, let me the ---- out."
The guards obliged. And Mr. Vintage Motley Crue tried the blend in with Lee's entourage, but that didn't work. "I'm never wearing this damn T-shirt again," he said as he was exiled back to the land of the lesser VIPs.
Thankfully, more exits were open at the end of Coachella 2007 than were open last year, when the crowded was herded into a single walkway.
◊ ◊ ◊
Overheard in the Mojave Tent while the Klaxons plied their Nu-Rave: "I don't want to be here! I want to at Willie (Nelson)!"
◊ ◊ ◊
Final thought: 2007 was the year Coachella bashed Bush. Could 2008 be the year Coachella feeds the world?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Plam Springs Desert Sun
The Roots, The Roots, The Roots are on fire
The Roots are on stage right now, playing a really fun and funky hip-hop set. They even have a tuba player on stage.
They just finished a cover of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend."
But I freaked out most when they played "Apache."
My best friend and I have a choreographed dance to that song, ganked from an old episode of Fresh Prince. I texted her immediately.
Acoustic, instrumental, Mexican heavy metal
You might not think there would be much of a market for that. You'd be wrong.
Rodrigo y Gabriela burned through a fantastic set on the Gobi Stage, making their guitars do double-duty as both string and percussive instruments. Gabriela, in particlar, with her unique playing style and throwing the goat after each song, fired up the audience. The duo also used the clapping and chanting crowd as a third member, including vocals on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."
If you missed these guys today, catch 'em the next time they meander 'round your neighborhood.
Kaiser Chiefs
I wasn't planning on seeing Kaiser Chiefs, but somehow I got sucked into the crowd, and I didn't feel like fighting it.
It was great, though. They put on a really enthusiastic, energetic set, repeatedly encouraging the exhausted crowd to perk up.
"Come on, Coachella! This is a festival, and we're going to get you in a festival spirit!" Wilson said, shouting until he was red in the face.
At the end of their first song, "Everyday I Love You Less and Less," frontman Ricky Wilson tossed his mic stand in the air and just barely caught it again.
"I know it's cold outside, but what can you do?" he joked.
The English band kept the energy moving with "Everything is Average Nowadays" and "Ruby."
The band wrapped up with "I Predict a Riot."
Hmmm. Maybe they know something about the Rage show tonight
Low-key Willie
I had to move three times over te course of Willie Nelson's set in an attempt to hear him better. I was situated on the outdoor stage side of the main stage, and the Kaiser Chiefs kind of drowned him out. I'd been on my feet for 4 straight hours so I was reluctant to haul my butt to the other side of the main stage, but in the end, if I wanted to hear Willie, I decided that was the only course of action.
Lots of Rage t-shirts at Willie's set. I wonder if they were actually there for the country or if they're already positioning themselves for the historic reunion. Only about 3 more hours to go for that...
Someone hand Lily Allen her lyrics
Funky, punky, playful Lily Allen had the crowd energized every second of her 40-plus minute set, but she also made them laugh quite a bit after forgetting the words to not one but two songs.
She fessed up to screwing up the second verse of one song ("To be honest, I'm a little surprised to see so many of you out here."), and within 10 minutes she broke from singing to exclaim to someone offstage, "I'm forgetting all my f@#$ing words now."
I learned a new word from the woman today though.
In apologizing for not remembering her lyrics, Lily Allen said, "I'm not drinking or doing anything bad. But I have had a couple of spliffs today."
Everyone laughed, but somehow I don't think I'm the only person who didn't understand this piece of British humor. So I came back to the press tent to Google it. To keep this family site clean (or cleaner), I will say that some of Allen's fans were enjoying spliffs during her performance -- especially when she sang "Alfie," the song about her brother who never leaves the house because he's always getting high.
Forgetfulness aside, it was a pretty good show. She hit notes at the end of "Littlest Things" that absolutely brought goosebumps to my knees, and she paced and danced around the stage with such abandon that you would have thought she was a lovesick teenager.
She loses points for lighting a cigarette on stage though. Everyone knows you can't smoke indoors in California.
Heart of Glass
Anyone else catch Lily Allen's rendition of Blondie's "Heart of Glass"?
I have to say, that's the best I've heard anyone perform it other than Debbie Harry. Truly, her voice sounded so incredibly right for that song.
It was also fun to hear her turn over the refrain to the crowd.
The Mojave tent warmed up with thousands of ooh-ooh-whoa-ohs.
All of Coachella is gathering
The path from the dance tents to the Coachella Stage is getting increasingly more dense. The VIP section is filling up quickly.
All eyes are turned toward the main stage, where Rage Against the Machine is expected to reunite within minutes.
There's definitely a buzz here. Time for us to head out and catch the show.
getting louder now
a few notes into the third song of rage against the machine's third
song, bombtrack, the sound system at the main stage nearly doubled in
volume, presumably from some technical glitch that was fixed. the
crowd roared in approval. coincidentally, my friend had just said it
wasn't as loud as he expected it to be. rage is back. and with a
vengance. after launching into testify as their opener, the band fell
into full rhythm before playing bulls on parade. I'm in the crowd now
and this has been well worth the wait.
Rage
So many docile-looking folks were wearing Rage Against the Machine clothing today. It's just funny to see these happy and smiling people, sipping lemonade, and waering these shirts that proclaim "RAGE."
It's not like "Bristle Against The Machine." Or "Seethe Against the Machine."
Teddybears
Oh my, did Teddybears ever rock.
The funniest part was when they led everybody in a chant, "When I say 'teddy' you say 'bears' ..." It was hilarious to see everyone getting all hardcore and shouting, "Teddybears! Teddybears! Teddybears!"
The music was fun, part electronic, part rock. I danced my butt off.
No joke. My butt? Gone.
No wonder those guys have chin straps to keep their teddybear heads on.
Lily Allen
I'm just now getting my hands on a computer again, so I need to go back in time and tell you about what happened during the Lily Allen show.
She was much better than I expected. I was worried that her saccharine brand of ska would would get old after a couple songs, but it didn't.
She did two covers: A pepped-up "Heart of Glass" was pretty good. Even better was the fantastic "Window Shopper" from 50 Cent.
I love me some fiddy. Especially when an adorable girl sings it ironically with a smile.
She was admittedly high -- she said she had a couple spliffs earlier -- but she was cute enough that she could get away with forgetting the words.
She also said she was nervous.
"I didn't think so many people would show up!" she said.
The most fun you can have with a teddy bear head on
I was fortunate enough to find myself pressed against the front barricade for Teddy Bears' set. Yep, Teddy Bears, the band with two drummers and three other dudes wearing bear heads throughout the set.
One of them was testing equipment beforehand, sans bear head. I couldn't shake the memory throughout the set that the guy rocking out looked almost exactly like an bearded bespectacled English prof I had in college.
The icing on the cake was the constant movie clips playing behind the Bears. From "Clockwork Orange" to "The Shining" to "The Godfather," all the key characters' faces were replaced by... teddy bear heads.
I expected to feel ridiculous watching grown men wearing bear heads play music, but instead, it was one of my Coachella highlights. And the Bears were even courteous enough to knock off their set in time for us to see Rage open. Thanks, Teddy Bears!
posted by Brian Dearth at 12:33 AM
It's RAGE.
Do these people have that much rage? I wonder what they all do the rest of the time. Bankers, maybe? Insurance salesmen? Pre-med students?
There were so many people migrating to the stage for that show, at one point I wondered if you could see it from space. It looked like one of those dense and spiraling weather systems.
It was also kind of scary. I'm not a huge fan of crowds anyway; I just don't like that stupid and potentially violent crowd mentality.
Plus, I went to the port-a-potty, and by the time I walked back out, at least 30 cops had positioned themselves in a zig-zag line right in front of me. They all had their hands folded across their chests, batons hanging at the ready.
Once I saw them, it was easy to pick out clusters of more and more cops all over the place. It was intimidating, especially considering the relatively low-key police presence the rest of the weekend.
As the crowd became more and more agitated, I thought, "Let's hear it for Spank Rock!"
And I walked over to Gobi Tent to shake it for an hour of booty rock.
--------------------------------------
goodbye coachella
thanks for another great year. i wont repeat the lyrics i hear on the
way out... theyre from the rage song killing in the name... zach just
thanked the crowd.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 12:04 AM 0 comments
-----------------------------------------
back to the beginning
rage is playing the first song of theirs i ever heard, freedom
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:54 PM
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the speech
his speech was near the end of the song wake up. the music has ended
for a minute. not sure what's going on.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:46 PM
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and the political commentary...
lead singer zach de la rocha just said that the current u.s.
administration should be tried, hung, and shot.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:44 PM
------------------------------------------
defiant
zach de la rocha begins the song wake up with a fist held high in the air.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:38 PM
---------------------------------------
and the hits keep on coming...
sleep now in the fire is the next song from rage. the moshing around
me is getting intense. the energy is high, as is the enjoyment level.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:34 PM
--------------------------------------
thick bassline
rage cuts into calm like a bomb
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:29 PM
------------------------------------
and from their last album
on to renegades of funk
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:24 PM
----------------------------------
and for their next song
guerrila radio
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:21 PM
------------------------------------
arial view
a giant crane just rose above the crowd during rage's set.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:16 PM
------------------------------------
down rodeo
and now he's rolling down rodeo with a shotgun...
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:15 PM
------------------------------------
im feeling old now
the guys behind me are moshing and disppointed I'm not joining in.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:14 PM 0
--------------------------------------
know your enemy
another debut album track... know your enemy
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:09 PM
----------------
and the crowd goes wild
I think everyone in the crowd is jumping up and down during bullet in the head.
not leaving yet
im sitting in the car only about 100 ft from the exit, but there are
fifty thousand other cars with the same plan, so we'll be here a
while. im listening to a horrible cd that was handed to me on my way
out the door. might read this political newspaper that was being
given out for free.
Orange Country Register
Coachella: Rodrigo y Gabriela
I'm a newly converted fan of guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, who completely blew me away in the Gobi tent this afternoon.
First, a soundbite from Gabriela: "For those of you who do not know who the (expletive) we are, that's Rodrigo," she said while pointing to him, "and I'm Gabriela."
There were actually a lot of expletives and devil horns thrown out from both during the set, which I wouldn't have expected coming from a duo who coax nothing short of stunningly elegant sounds out of their guitars.
A lot of solos, a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" (during which the audience sang the lyrics, and Rodrigo y Gabriela didn't sing a word), and a flirtatious dueling match made for an energetic and explosive set. The thought of almost nixing them from my schedule makes me hang my head in shame. This performance was quite possibly the highlight of my Coachella weekend.
Coachella: I kick it Roots down
There's an undeniable sense of activism in the air this year - not only has the best shirt I've seen all fest read "Cheney/Satan '08," but a group of people selling anti-Bush headbands have been ubiquitously successful. So it makes sense that the music has followed suit: not only did the Nightwatchmen's "This Land is Your Land" impress yesterday, but the Arcade Fire's reference to 'your' president inspired boos. Neither of those, though, matched the power of the Roots' just-played version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," set to the Star Spangled Banner and Jimi Hendrix's anti-vietnam rant "Machine Gun" (also covered by the very Roots-ish band the Coup earlier in the day.)
It was the best moment in a set full of great ones: ?estlove and Black Thought, accompanied by a band including a tuba-ist (!) gave the crowd a veritable lesson in pop-culture/music history, referencing everything from Black Sabbath to Kool and the Gang to Dr. Dre in their hour. It was a set both serious and butt-shaking - the perfect fit for a day defined by an overwhelming sense of anticipation.
You can feel it everywhere - hey, you can see it everywhere: never before have there been so many one-band shirts as there are for Rage Against the Machine today. For The Roots' set, the crowd extended all the way to the back for the first time this year; for the first time in the festival's history, extra barricades have been put up, extending the wall 100 yards.
What that means: organizers are rightfully expecting a crowd surge during Tom Morello's first note, continuing through Zach De La Rocha's last scream. I'm a bit worried the crowd'll get violent - right now, Rage-heads are raging against Willie Nelson, not exactly a perfect fit; they still have to "endure" Crowded House and Manu Chao.
Here's hoping I'm wrong - mostly because I'm nervous with anticipation of that first note, too. My call for opener? "Guerrilla Radio."
Yes, I'm that excited.
Coachella: Feelin' Fiasco
"The answer," says Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco to the main stage crowd, "is yes I can."
"The question," he says next, "is, 'Can you dig it?'"
Well, yes, Lupe, most of it at least. What I couldn't 'dig' as you put it, was when you opened your set with some rhymed verses over Kanye West's "Diamonds" before spittin' your verse on that Windy City rhymesmith's "Touch the Sky." Everything after that - when you got off the Kanye bus and performed material from your own Food and Liquor - made you look like the shining star I was hoping you would be.
Guest rapper Gemini's speed rapping and the energetic live recreation of the Grammy-nominated "Kick, Push" was great to groove to. Things definitely hit a high point when Fiasco hopped off the stage and ran through the crowd like a madman that's had a bit too much sun out here during the skateboarding-inspired single.
It just proves that Lupe doesn't need to be in Mr. West's shadow - he'll be just fine on his own. And after this lukewarm-turned-impressive Coachella spot, let's hope that's a lesson learned.
... Niyaz
Coachella: Ben checks in
It's early for a Sunday, and the crowd is trickling in, but Mika and Lupe Fiasco are turning in valiant efforts on the main stage. Mika's campy piano pop is a sweet invitation to a day that will eventually turn heavy. His exhortation that, "Big girls, you're beautiful," and his Freddie Mercury-esque vocals - and snippet of "Everybody's Talking" - sounds fine blowing across the sparsely populated field.
Meanwhile, Lupe took 10 minutes to get the drowsy crowd to wake up. Read more on Lupe a little later from Niyaz.
I made my way over to Mando Diao on the Outdoor stage, but their opening fanfare was late and slow, and their power-pop more thrashy than necessary. Besides, only a crowd the size of a full club had sauntered over and I really wanted to see Tapes 'n Tapes - so I split.
Passed by the Arett Brothers on my way, who seemed to be having a good time in Gobi. The band, whose album "The Loon" was one of my top 10 fares last year, is among the new breed of electic unpeggables. Songs will veer quickly from light, long beats to heavy, garage-rock, and the instrumentation is equally quirky - bass/guitar/drums, yeah, but also oddball synths and a bit of baritone brass.
Very intriguing, as with virtually everyone here, they gave their all, peddling new ones as potently as the familiar tunes. And yet something still felt a little indulgent about their set. Maybe it was just the time of day, the heat, I dunno. But Mojave wasn't as electric as it has been at other times this weekend - and for lesser bands. Overall, good, but far from great.
So I went back to the Arett Brothers - who were making like a crazed Violent Femmes. Damn. Only 3 p.m. and I've already made one poor choice. Not a good sign after two days of very few duds.
One last thing: The Feeling covered "Video Killed the Radio Star." That should give you some indication of how usless their set seemed. No wonder no one was at the main stage for 'em.
Notes on the Coup, Explosions in the Sky, and others later.
And Lastly
Press-Enterprise
The Finale
Rage Against the Machine may have been the most important and historic performance in Coachella existence.
It was the first time the politically-charged band played together in nearly seven years and they closed the first three-day installment of the Indio festival.
As soon as Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk played the opening of "Testify" it was like an instant time warp to a time when there was no war in Iraq and before 9-11.
A sea of digital camera screens lit up the crowd and 60,000 fists pumped in the air.
The set hit the best of the band's three original albums, as well as included their cover of "Renegades of Funk."
During "Sleep Now in the Fire," a track from "The Battle of Los Angeles," pieces of fire flew up in the air facing the left side of the stage. However, the sporadic flames were quickly controlled.
The band may have played harder than any other at the festival, with de la Rocha bounding across the stage, jumping higher with each beat. Morello and Commerford followed suit and Wilk wailed on the drums.
However, it seemed to me that the sound wasn't as strong for Rage as it was for all of the other mainstage acts. You could tell the guys were playing ridiculously hard but it seemed toned down in the mix.
The politics the group is famous for didn't come into play until near the end of the main set, when de la Rocha raged against the current administration.
"They should be hung and tried and shot," he said.
"It's a system that we have to break down generation after generation," he continued.
Whenever de la Rocha pointed the microphone to the crowd, the audience gladly filled in the blanks of the well-known songs, as if they were a national anthem for Generation X.
Rage came back for an encore and performed "Freedom."
The band closed the encore with "Killing in the Name," the explosive hit off the band's self-titled debut.
The foursome locked arms and bowed to the packed crowd.
American Idol
While the crowd may not have been into Crowded House, thet did have one fan dancing for a bit in the VIP area--Ryan Seacrest.
Seacrest hung around to watch Crowded House's set and danced a little bit with a woman before chatting with his entourage and sitting down to catch the rest of Crowded House's set.
Then it was Seacrest out.
Not so Crowded House
New Zealand popsters Crowded House played a set on the Coachella Stage Sunday night to a crowd of not-so-enthusiastic people who were merely waiting for Rage Against the Machine.
Singer Neil Finn tried to get the crowd to sing along to "Don't Dream It's Over" without much success. However, as the set went on, more people started filling the field.
The band also played hits such as "Locked Out" and "Something So Strong."
Finn thanked the crowd at the end of the set, telling them he was taking a "mental snapshot."
Willie The Cool
Willie Nelson is oblivious to the outside world and because of that he may just be the coolest man alive. He just chills up there on stage with every hair still in his head, a smile on his face and his beat up guitar around his neck. He is totally carefaree and I am envious. His set began slowly with the Coachella crowd, but once he broke into "Poncho and Lefty" things picked up. Hipsters and hippies alike danced to the classic country crooner. Next week he'll be at Stagecoach playing to a more familiar group, but something tells me he won't be having as much fun.
Celebspotting Day 3
This might be one of the best celeb sightings we've had yet.
I just saw Corbin Bernsen, of "L.A. Law" and Lifetime television movie fame, milling around the hand sanitizer at the port-a-potties.
Roots of Hip-Hop
The Roots are undeniably hip-hop's greatest act, and they are also the genre's greatest ambassadors. Drummer Amir "?uestlove" Thompson commands the stage with his jazz-kissed drumming, cascading afro and relatable presence, but beyond that he's here to say that hip-hop isn't just about disposable MTV heroes and bling, it's a culture and it's vibrant. A highlight was an inventive tuba-driven version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," which served to display the Roots versatility and political awareness. The pop hip-hop world should just watch tapes of this band and learn.
Coup Conquers
Funk hip-hop combo The Coup spit a nasty politically-charged blend energetic songs and down home groovers that seemd to serve as a primer for the impending Rage Against the Machine show. I don't consider myself to be that politically inclined, but music is the perfect vessel to send messages out to the masses. It beats a boring speech from a suit any day.
Best cover award
Nothing says fun like a solid cover song and British guys The Feeling obliged by playing a stellar cover of The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" Sunday afternoon on the Coachella stage.
It looked like about half of the thousand or so people watching them were really into it, clapping, dancing and singing along. The other half stood motionless--either they're too cool for school, drained from the heat or quite possibly born long after that song was popular.
The Feeling's set was peppered with bright and airy pop songs and singer Dan Gillespie said the band had been in the United States for two weeks and are headed back home on Monday. He thanked everyone profusely for welcoming them in the country and included Canada as well.
No Fiasco Here
Lupe Fiasco = a revelation. Who knew this young hip-hopper could control the microphone and the crowd with such deft skill. Last year Kanye West's performance had a lot of buzz but fell flat on landing. Lupe was the opposite, a smooth flow, catchy hooks, crafty rhymes -- I'm sold.
Surprise falls flat to midland
One of the things people talk about at Coachella every year is the surprise guests and performers.
"Lost in Translation" actress Scarlett Johansson already joined the Jesus and Mary Chain on Friday night to sing backup on "Just Like Honey" and today Serj Tankian, singer from platinum metal artists System of a Down, joined rockers Fair to Midland in the Mojave tent early Sunday afternoon.
Tankian signed the Texas band to his label last year.
While the guys in Fair to Midland jumped around and played hard, when Tankian joined them on stage for their second song, he just stood there, singing backup vocals and occasionally bobbing his head.
After he finished the songs, a bunch of people from the already sparse tent left, too.
Disco at Coachella?
The Coachella stage definitely has the most eclectic lineup for Sunday. Rapper Lupe Fiasco is on now, Willie Nelson is playing later and Rage Against the Machine is closing the day. The lineup started off even stranger with next-big-pop-thing Mika taking the stage at 1p.m.
"Good day," Mika greeted the crowd. "This is the first festival of the season for us. I really don't think it gets any posher than this--it's a polo field."
On his album he sounds a lot like the late Freddie Mercury of Queen, so imagine my surprise when he came onstage and sounded a lot more like Andy Gibb with some disco like beats behind him.
Mika must have broken out his Ouija board because when he started the third song he sounded like a reincarnation of Mercury.
Raging in the heat
By noon on Sunday Carmen Zacarias had already staked out her spot for Rage Against the Machine's set, which is slated to start at 10:40 p.m.
Zacarias and friend Omar Castillo traveled from El Paso, Texas to get a spot at the front of the Coachella Stage for the Rage Against the Machine reunion.
"I've waited six-and-a-half years for this," Zacarias said.
Zacarias said she didn't mind waiting another 10-plus hours to keep her vantage point. She's not worried about getting water, either.
"Our plan is to beg the security guards," she said.
They weren't the only ones who already started lining up for Rage. John Puga of Santa Paula, took a spot a couple of rows back and planned to enjoy the acts before the headliners. He said he paid $200 for his single-day ticket.
"I want to see Rage Against the Machine. I want to jump around and go crazy," Puga said.
Day Three Rages
Day three. The day everyone has been waiting for. Some have been waiting seven years for this. Tonight Rage Against the Machine will take the stage for the first time since 2000. Rage is probably the closest living thing to the Clash -- political, stylish, angry and loved. This will be one of those moments where I'll be able to say that I was there. I wonder if Zack de la Rocha is nervous?
That it for all the Blog it you want to see all the blog reports and all the story from Coachella go to the Left of the Menu between P.L.U.G. Awards - 2006 and The Culture City Fesyive 50 - 2006
The L.A. Times
The Roots branch out into activism too
If a common sentiment emerged from the hip-hop acts that rocked this year's Coachella, it's opposition to the Bush administration, with everyone from well-known political firebrands like the Coup, El-P and Pharoahe Monch to relative newcomers like Brother Ali and Lupe Fiasco. The latter dedicated his anti-imperialist screed, "American Terrorist" to a roaring crowd. But perhaps the highlight of the bunch was the Philadephia hip-hoppers, The Roots, a group less known for their subversive sentiment.
Indeed, the showstopper of the Roots' 50-minute main stage set was a cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," with soul singer Kirk Douglas handling vocals and bursts of psychedelic guitar and funky drums buoying the noise. The rest of the Roots set was less explosive and incendiary, as the band rattled off a series of covers ranging from funk classics like "Jungle Boogie" to "Push It" to "Egyptian Lover" to "Award Tour" to even Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot."
Fiasco's set earlier in the day was similarly captivating, with the Chicago-bred MC displaying an energetic stage presence, flinging water on on-lookers and even sprinting into the crowd during closer, the Beta Band-sampling "Daydream."
Desert dealings, Vol. 5
Officials put the crowd total at 60,000 for each day of Coachella, though the grounds seemed more crowded Sunday. Maybe it was just the bigger-than-usual (for the time slot) main stage crowds for afternoon sets by Explosions in the Sky and the Roots.
Of the 16,000 campers at the festival, 30% were from outside the U.S.
A moment of silence for José González
While the Klaxons were exploring the rhythmic possibilities of an air raid siren in the Mojave Tent, Sweden's José González was, against all odds, performing to a rapt crowd at the Gobi Tent.
Like Cat Stevens without the "Peace Train" homilies, the slight and scruffy González performed atop the stage's drum riser, accompanied at times by conga and a young woman who offered a few gentle pats on a cowbell as well as an occasional vocal harmony. As the sun slowly set behind us, González's breezy renditions of "Heartbeat" and "Stay in the Shade" needed little else beyond his honeyed voice and delicately finger-picked guitar. Until, of course, the bass rumbles from the DJs spinning in the geodesic dome at the tent's mouth elbowed their way to the front of the tent. Every coffeehouse troubadour knows the feeling
Party at CSS's house
Cansei de Ser Sexy, Sub Pop's Brazilian delegates of juicy dance-rock, chased after the rainbow of glam-hipster band fame every second of their performance. Purple unitard on Lovefoxxx? Uh-huh. A preponderance of bandanas and/or glittery scarves on every band member? You know it. Paris Hilton dancing on the side of the stage? Afraid so. And check out this unholy amount of self-referencing: Lovefoxxx told the audience that she'd just met Hilton and then she proceeded to play "Meeting Paris Hilton." And somewhere in Williamsburg, we're pretty sure, an Urban Outfitters went up in flames.
Other stunts of the band's aerobicized set included a souped-up cover of L7's "Pretend We're Dead" and a new song that showcased CSS's sometimes-underrated songwriting chops. They closed with a scintillating trinity of CSS hits, including "Artbitch," their ode to merlot-swilling gallery flies. In her introduction to the last song, "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above," Lovefoxxx said, "After Coachella, let's go to my house. I've got some condoms and we'll make love."
Hmm. ... I'm actually a lot more interested in some air conditioning at this point. You got that?
Crowded House plays to a crowded field
So maybe there should have been more breathing room between the Crowded House reunion show on the main stage and Rage Against the Machine's headlining slot. Like two days.
The New Zealand pop quartet painted lovely pictures in the early dusk, harmonizing their way into the hearts of the throng gathering in anticipation of the festival climax. It might have come off as totally pastoral had not Neil Finn done the courteous thing and name-checked the bands that would follow. That sparked chants of "Rage, Rage, Rage" -- to which Finn could only reply, good-naturedly, "It's gonna be good. Go have a drink in the tent ... There's still time."
The folks up front waving the colors of New Zealand stayed put, of course. They'd waited a decade for their heroes to re-emerge, and they couldn't have been disappointed with the aplomb with which Crowded House delivered their hits. And when Finn's microphone cut out during "Don't Dream It's Over," he didn't have to ask the crowd very hard to help with the vocals. They filled in, very likely as they have been doing for the past 10 years.
Klaxons freak out
Eraserhead hairdos? Shrieking feedback? The notion that a British guitar rock band can be truly dangerous? We got all that Friday with Jesus and Mary Chain, and we got it again today with Klaxons, who absolutely murdered the Mojave tent and announced themselves as the Reid Brothers' most likely heirs. Yes, yes, we know we're feeding the hype machine, but good god Klaxons deserve it this time.
The X'ed out teenagers packing glowsticks and candy bracelets in their native England were replaced by a filthy and rabid crowd pogoing with their jaws on the floor and hands in the air. The trio (with a hired-gun live drummer) tore through the hits off their debut "Myths of the Near Future" with a maniacal brashness equal parts PiL and actual pills. "Atlantis To Interzone" churned with grimy basslines and don't-take-the-brown-acid caterwauling, while Jamie Reynolds and Simon Taylor traded deapan bon mots on the steely, propulsive single "Magick."
Like the JAMC, Klaxons' little secret is that they're actually whip-smart tunesmiths, and shimmering pop turns like "Golden Skans" and an ace cover of old-rave staple "Not Over Yet" suggested they have a long future after this faux-techno kick dies down. "Thank you for making special for us," their swaggering, sweaty bassist Reynolds said. "For that, we give you this," and lunged into another ferocious electro-punk freakout. Say it as loud as an air raid siren -- Klaxons just killed it.
Lily Allen's more than just a girl
Anyone stlll thinking the great, Internet-born Lily Allen craze had crested and been replaced by the Amy Winehouses of the world obviously wasn't anywhere near her set at an overflowing Mojave tent. Backed by a full band and horn section that would've done the Skatalites proud, Allen confidently bounded through material from her MySpace-bred debut album "Alright, Still" with a brash confidence that recalled a smarter, sassier Gwen Stefani -- at least before Gwen became the eeriely airbrushed pop cyborg of today.
Beyond the superficial resemblances in sound and attitude, would the former singer for No Doubt have apologized for forgetting a few lyrics as a result of having a couple of spliffs earlier in the day? Would she so readily incite a tent full of women to scream in support as she bluntly introduced "Not Big," a song about the hardship of living with a man's, um, shortcomings? Not likely.
Dressed in her usual assortment of Lily-ana (hoop earrings, poofy dress, trainers), the London native strolled across both sides of the stage with the occasional cigarette and charisma to burn, not even letting the day's elephant in the room shadow what must've been one of her most successful shows stateside. After the crowd cheered in appreciation at her passing mention of the night's headliners, Allen was unfazed.
"I've never heard of them," she said with a devilish grin. "But apparently they're quite big."
Manu Chao brings the people together
If ripping on Ol' G.W.B. was the weekend's big theme, pan-ethnic punk/funk may have been another. Gogol Bordello threw down for the Eastern Bloc, Konono No 1. repped the Congo, and the Spanish-via-Paris vagabond Manu Chao did his best to prepare the audience for the Rage to come in a half-hour.
Coachella fans heard Chao's handiwork last year, having midwifed Amadou & Mariam's Malian blues on "Dimanche A Bamako." But on the main stage, Chao cherry-picked from countless cultures; English punk, bossa nova and cut-'em-fat reggae were all fair game. It's unfair to stick Chao in the ghetto of the World Music bin, because nothing he does emulates the music of other cultures -- it's the real article. Grinning in a sporty bandanna, Chao sung with a revolutionary energy, and his gangbusters backing band matched him step for step. His bassist, who looked like Henry Rollins after a few trips down a buffet line, laid down deep, vigorous grooves while his guitarist melted faces with a high-wire flamenco solo.
Chao's a born provocatuer as well, which is part of what makes him so beloved in Latin American politico circles. He dedicated one song to the "minor terrorist" we call President, before calling out Guantamo and random spying as part of the problem. But don't worry, he still finished one roiling hardcore tune with the chorus "me gusta marijuana." Back at you, Manu.
Before Rage, a Happy Mondays rave
With bass lines that shook every bowel in the Sahara Tent, the Happy Mondays announced their return with a soulful set that featured guests, a lucky dancer and a surprisingly robust Shaun Ryder. It was 50 minutes for the "24 Hour Party People."
Nailing songs such as "Step On" and "Hallelujah" as if it were the '80s, the Mondays -- whose influence as rock/soul hybridists is undeniable -- showed the half full tent, which included front-row denizens holding aloft ticket stubs from long-ago concerts, that the sound of Madchester still breathed. Guitarist Danny Saber (Black Grape) was among the contributors, as was L.A.'s own motormouth, Mickey Avalon. But it was also a night to remember for a magazine writer, NME's Dan Martin. Absent the staple of Bez's dancing, Martin filled in onstage -- despite a well-meaning security guy's effort to drag him off, thinking Martin was a wayward crowd member. When after a moment's absence he reappeared, throwing down some pretty decent moves. The crowd roared and the spirit of the Hacienda lived on.
It's a shame about Rage
[Guest blogger Chris Barton has never dated Winona Ryder.]
A half circle of 24 cops was taking in the scene just outside the shoulder-to-shoulder mob absorbing all that was Rage, and we're pretty sure they weren't there to make sure Evan Dando got home safely. The back half of the grounds just beyond their perimeter was so deserted all that was missing was a single tumbleweed crossing your path toward a depressingly dramatic light display signifying that, yes, other acts were onstage at that hour, too, and one of them was the reunited Lemonheads.
Seriously, you almost have to feel bad for Evan Dando at this point. He got his act together for taut, focused comeback record, scored a prime closing slot at the biggest rock festival in the country and wound up playing opposite the biggest show in Coachella's history. Dumb luck, that. But those who did turn out at the Outdoor Stage had plenty of elbow room for a set of perfectly fine, jangly power pop that without a doubt would've been crowd pleasing at just about any other hour of the weekend.
If nothing else, Dando can compare his struggles with darkwave staples VNV Nation and Israeli trance favorites Infected Mushroom, both of whom played tents that were barely a third full. Potty-mouthed irony-rap artists Spank Rock fared a little better, but their Gobi Tent was also the smallest. Rage against the schedule-makers, my brothers.
Dead Air for 30 minutes
On Day 3 of this behemoth that's going to close with a whole lotta Rage, the Outdoor Theatre crowd was ready to make out on grass-stained towels to Air's glittery sunset electronica. But the sexy boys of Air delayed their set by 30 minutes before finally taking the stage under hot pink lights. Good thing too because the crowd was about to riot. Ha, not really. A riot before Air? Avant-pop fans don't do that.
The French duo turned it out well enough, getting airport-lounge sedate in the right moments and cranking up the glitchy stadium rock to keep the fabulous quotient high. "Sexy Boy" was trotted out, as well as some bubbly "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack material. But honestly? Coming out that late at some yacht party off of Ibiza is one thing but at Coachella, it's just kind of obnoxious. So I turned in my visa and headed for Teddybears
Spank Rock: What does that mean, anyway?
You want to know how to fill up the Gobi tent when you're one of Coachella's sacrificial lambs? Start off by looking like Pharell if reared by Kurtis Blow in Jamaica. Then add in some potty talk about the bathing suit areas of both genders. Oh, and some bongo players and ladies in braids who will pop and lock with big grins on their faces. And let's not forget the secret sauce: some mostly empty talk about the races rioting on the dance floor that will make you sound intelligent but is pretty much a ruse. But hey, whatever. Spank Rock isn't trying to gather the intelligentsia for a poetry reading.
Some of us like our festival closers blissfully stoopid, thank you very much.
All the rage for all the right reasons
[Guest blogger August Brown rallies 'round the family, with a pocket full of shells.]
It’s hard to think about Rage Against The Machine in 2007 without remembering 1992. Clinton was in office, the economy was about to start sailing, and yet they still found plenty of reasons to be furious at The System. Their headlining set on Sunday was probably the most anticipated set in Coachella history; everything from riots to bona fide revolution seemed possible, judging from the hyperbole about their reunion. How would their serrated funk-metal play in a decade where there’s more legitimate reasons to take to the streets, and when few musicians seems to know how to talk about them?
For the first three songs at least, it played awfully sedate. Nearly every weary body on the grounds champed at the bit for the band to come out (sorry, Evan Dando and Spank Rock). But in one of the year’s biggest anti-climaxes, Rage emerged to a muddy and anemic mix that knocked the wind out of Tim Commerford’s basslines. For a minute there, it seemed that the Machine would win out by cutting off Rage from their best weapon- their skull-cracking riffs.
But the soundboard pulled it together, turning up the master mix three songs in, and the band scorched. As did a few small bonfires near the right guardrails, but outside of a few rogue lighting rig climbers, the only really dangerous explosions were happening onstage. Zach de la Rocha spat venom at consumers, Christians and the shoppers on Rodeo Drive (one his better metaphorical punching bags) but kept the stage banter non-existent. Tom Morello, one of the last real guitar heroes left in America, conjured Hendrix’s solos, Public Enemy’s brittle DJ scratching and squeals of feedback in between Sly Stone-via-Dante’s Inferno funk licks. Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk were as martial as ever, and era-defining hits like “Bulls On Parade” and “Bombtrack” have held up astonishingly well.
The only time de la Rocha broke the fourth wall was to give everyone what they wanted- a deliberate and forthright rebuttal to the last six years of neocon politics. “This administration should be tried, hung and shot,” he said, as if one form of execution wasn't enough. It may have been ham-fisted, but to hear it from the mouth of a rock singer today, de la Rocha may well have set the dam loose for political music at the tail end of the Bush era. Even if he didn’t though, the spectacle of 60,000 fans pounding their fists in unison closer “Killing In The Name Of ” was a reminder of better times for openly political music, or at least more hopeful ones from years past.
Desert dealings, Vol. 6
Buzz emanated from several sets that we didn't have time to take in fully -- especially the remarkable stylings of beatboxer Kid Beyond, who packed an afternoon set in the Gobi Tent.
The Kaiser Chiefs did all they could to prove they belonged, too, promoting their sophomore album -- as well as spontaneous athletic endeavors -- when frontman Ricky Wilson climbed the rigging at the Ourdoor Theatre.
Rodrigo y Gabriela turned in another in a growing line of stunning Southern California appearances when they unleashed their flamenco metal on the Gobi Tent crowd. "Almost evil," somebody called it. And almost instrumental, too -- except when they executed their cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." The crowd sang. Hearing that, we wish we were there.
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Then there was the requisite end-of-the-night crush to exit the Empire Polo Field. At the "back door" to the VIP area, a wristband-toting crowd had assembled, hoping the leave through the very same gate they left the night before. But things always change from day to day at Coachella. Always.
Beefy but friendly security blocked the gate, until a dude with an entourage made his way through (tapping a man wearing a vintage Motley Crue T-shirt on the shoulder and saying, "Nice shirt"). The dude cracked the gate and yelled, "I'm Tommy Lee, let me the ---- out."
The guards obliged. And Mr. Vintage Motley Crue tried the blend in with Lee's entourage, but that didn't work. "I'm never wearing this damn T-shirt again," he said as he was exiled back to the land of the lesser VIPs.
Thankfully, more exits were open at the end of Coachella 2007 than were open last year, when the crowded was herded into a single walkway.
◊ ◊ ◊
Overheard in the Mojave Tent while the Klaxons plied their Nu-Rave: "I don't want to be here! I want to at Willie (Nelson)!"
◊ ◊ ◊
Final thought: 2007 was the year Coachella bashed Bush. Could 2008 be the year Coachella feeds the world?
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The Plam Springs Desert Sun
The Roots, The Roots, The Roots are on fire
The Roots are on stage right now, playing a really fun and funky hip-hop set. They even have a tuba player on stage.
They just finished a cover of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend."
But I freaked out most when they played "Apache."
My best friend and I have a choreographed dance to that song, ganked from an old episode of Fresh Prince. I texted her immediately.
Acoustic, instrumental, Mexican heavy metal
You might not think there would be much of a market for that. You'd be wrong.
Rodrigo y Gabriela burned through a fantastic set on the Gobi Stage, making their guitars do double-duty as both string and percussive instruments. Gabriela, in particlar, with her unique playing style and throwing the goat after each song, fired up the audience. The duo also used the clapping and chanting crowd as a third member, including vocals on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."
If you missed these guys today, catch 'em the next time they meander 'round your neighborhood.
Kaiser Chiefs
I wasn't planning on seeing Kaiser Chiefs, but somehow I got sucked into the crowd, and I didn't feel like fighting it.
It was great, though. They put on a really enthusiastic, energetic set, repeatedly encouraging the exhausted crowd to perk up.
"Come on, Coachella! This is a festival, and we're going to get you in a festival spirit!" Wilson said, shouting until he was red in the face.
At the end of their first song, "Everyday I Love You Less and Less," frontman Ricky Wilson tossed his mic stand in the air and just barely caught it again.
"I know it's cold outside, but what can you do?" he joked.
The English band kept the energy moving with "Everything is Average Nowadays" and "Ruby."
The band wrapped up with "I Predict a Riot."
Hmmm. Maybe they know something about the Rage show tonight
Low-key Willie
I had to move three times over te course of Willie Nelson's set in an attempt to hear him better. I was situated on the outdoor stage side of the main stage, and the Kaiser Chiefs kind of drowned him out. I'd been on my feet for 4 straight hours so I was reluctant to haul my butt to the other side of the main stage, but in the end, if I wanted to hear Willie, I decided that was the only course of action.
Lots of Rage t-shirts at Willie's set. I wonder if they were actually there for the country or if they're already positioning themselves for the historic reunion. Only about 3 more hours to go for that...
Someone hand Lily Allen her lyrics
Funky, punky, playful Lily Allen had the crowd energized every second of her 40-plus minute set, but she also made them laugh quite a bit after forgetting the words to not one but two songs.
She fessed up to screwing up the second verse of one song ("To be honest, I'm a little surprised to see so many of you out here."), and within 10 minutes she broke from singing to exclaim to someone offstage, "I'm forgetting all my f@#$ing words now."
I learned a new word from the woman today though.
In apologizing for not remembering her lyrics, Lily Allen said, "I'm not drinking or doing anything bad. But I have had a couple of spliffs today."
Everyone laughed, but somehow I don't think I'm the only person who didn't understand this piece of British humor. So I came back to the press tent to Google it. To keep this family site clean (or cleaner), I will say that some of Allen's fans were enjoying spliffs during her performance -- especially when she sang "Alfie," the song about her brother who never leaves the house because he's always getting high.
Forgetfulness aside, it was a pretty good show. She hit notes at the end of "Littlest Things" that absolutely brought goosebumps to my knees, and she paced and danced around the stage with such abandon that you would have thought she was a lovesick teenager.
She loses points for lighting a cigarette on stage though. Everyone knows you can't smoke indoors in California.
Heart of Glass
Anyone else catch Lily Allen's rendition of Blondie's "Heart of Glass"?
I have to say, that's the best I've heard anyone perform it other than Debbie Harry. Truly, her voice sounded so incredibly right for that song.
It was also fun to hear her turn over the refrain to the crowd.
The Mojave tent warmed up with thousands of ooh-ooh-whoa-ohs.
All of Coachella is gathering
The path from the dance tents to the Coachella Stage is getting increasingly more dense. The VIP section is filling up quickly.
All eyes are turned toward the main stage, where Rage Against the Machine is expected to reunite within minutes.
There's definitely a buzz here. Time for us to head out and catch the show.
getting louder now
a few notes into the third song of rage against the machine's third
song, bombtrack, the sound system at the main stage nearly doubled in
volume, presumably from some technical glitch that was fixed. the
crowd roared in approval. coincidentally, my friend had just said it
wasn't as loud as he expected it to be. rage is back. and with a
vengance. after launching into testify as their opener, the band fell
into full rhythm before playing bulls on parade. I'm in the crowd now
and this has been well worth the wait.
Rage
So many docile-looking folks were wearing Rage Against the Machine clothing today. It's just funny to see these happy and smiling people, sipping lemonade, and waering these shirts that proclaim "RAGE."
It's not like "Bristle Against The Machine." Or "Seethe Against the Machine."
Teddybears
Oh my, did Teddybears ever rock.
The funniest part was when they led everybody in a chant, "When I say 'teddy' you say 'bears' ..." It was hilarious to see everyone getting all hardcore and shouting, "Teddybears! Teddybears! Teddybears!"
The music was fun, part electronic, part rock. I danced my butt off.
No joke. My butt? Gone.
No wonder those guys have chin straps to keep their teddybear heads on.
Lily Allen
I'm just now getting my hands on a computer again, so I need to go back in time and tell you about what happened during the Lily Allen show.
She was much better than I expected. I was worried that her saccharine brand of ska would would get old after a couple songs, but it didn't.
She did two covers: A pepped-up "Heart of Glass" was pretty good. Even better was the fantastic "Window Shopper" from 50 Cent.
I love me some fiddy. Especially when an adorable girl sings it ironically with a smile.
She was admittedly high -- she said she had a couple spliffs earlier -- but she was cute enough that she could get away with forgetting the words.
She also said she was nervous.
"I didn't think so many people would show up!" she said.
The most fun you can have with a teddy bear head on
I was fortunate enough to find myself pressed against the front barricade for Teddy Bears' set. Yep, Teddy Bears, the band with two drummers and three other dudes wearing bear heads throughout the set.
One of them was testing equipment beforehand, sans bear head. I couldn't shake the memory throughout the set that the guy rocking out looked almost exactly like an bearded bespectacled English prof I had in college.
The icing on the cake was the constant movie clips playing behind the Bears. From "Clockwork Orange" to "The Shining" to "The Godfather," all the key characters' faces were replaced by... teddy bear heads.
I expected to feel ridiculous watching grown men wearing bear heads play music, but instead, it was one of my Coachella highlights. And the Bears were even courteous enough to knock off their set in time for us to see Rage open. Thanks, Teddy Bears!
posted by Brian Dearth at 12:33 AM
It's RAGE.
Do these people have that much rage? I wonder what they all do the rest of the time. Bankers, maybe? Insurance salesmen? Pre-med students?
There were so many people migrating to the stage for that show, at one point I wondered if you could see it from space. It looked like one of those dense and spiraling weather systems.
It was also kind of scary. I'm not a huge fan of crowds anyway; I just don't like that stupid and potentially violent crowd mentality.
Plus, I went to the port-a-potty, and by the time I walked back out, at least 30 cops had positioned themselves in a zig-zag line right in front of me. They all had their hands folded across their chests, batons hanging at the ready.
Once I saw them, it was easy to pick out clusters of more and more cops all over the place. It was intimidating, especially considering the relatively low-key police presence the rest of the weekend.
As the crowd became more and more agitated, I thought, "Let's hear it for Spank Rock!"
And I walked over to Gobi Tent to shake it for an hour of booty rock.
--------------------------------------
goodbye coachella
thanks for another great year. i wont repeat the lyrics i hear on the
way out... theyre from the rage song killing in the name... zach just
thanked the crowd.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 12:04 AM 0 comments
-----------------------------------------
back to the beginning
rage is playing the first song of theirs i ever heard, freedom
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:54 PM
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the speech
his speech was near the end of the song wake up. the music has ended
for a minute. not sure what's going on.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:46 PM
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and the political commentary...
lead singer zach de la rocha just said that the current u.s.
administration should be tried, hung, and shot.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:44 PM
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defiant
zach de la rocha begins the song wake up with a fist held high in the air.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:38 PM
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and the hits keep on coming...
sleep now in the fire is the next song from rage. the moshing around
me is getting intense. the energy is high, as is the enjoyment level.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:34 PM
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thick bassline
rage cuts into calm like a bomb
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:29 PM
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and from their last album
on to renegades of funk
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:24 PM
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and for their next song
guerrila radio
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:21 PM
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arial view
a giant crane just rose above the crowd during rage's set.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:16 PM
------------------------------------
down rodeo
and now he's rolling down rodeo with a shotgun...
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:15 PM
------------------------------------
im feeling old now
the guys behind me are moshing and disppointed I'm not joining in.
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:14 PM 0
--------------------------------------
know your enemy
another debut album track... know your enemy
posted by Matt Wolfe at 11:09 PM
----------------
and the crowd goes wild
I think everyone in the crowd is jumping up and down during bullet in the head.
not leaving yet
im sitting in the car only about 100 ft from the exit, but there are
fifty thousand other cars with the same plan, so we'll be here a
while. im listening to a horrible cd that was handed to me on my way
out the door. might read this political newspaper that was being
given out for free.
Orange Country Register
Coachella: Rodrigo y Gabriela
I'm a newly converted fan of guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, who completely blew me away in the Gobi tent this afternoon.
First, a soundbite from Gabriela: "For those of you who do not know who the (expletive) we are, that's Rodrigo," she said while pointing to him, "and I'm Gabriela."
There were actually a lot of expletives and devil horns thrown out from both during the set, which I wouldn't have expected coming from a duo who coax nothing short of stunningly elegant sounds out of their guitars.
A lot of solos, a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" (during which the audience sang the lyrics, and Rodrigo y Gabriela didn't sing a word), and a flirtatious dueling match made for an energetic and explosive set. The thought of almost nixing them from my schedule makes me hang my head in shame. This performance was quite possibly the highlight of my Coachella weekend.
Coachella: I kick it Roots down
There's an undeniable sense of activism in the air this year - not only has the best shirt I've seen all fest read "Cheney/Satan '08," but a group of people selling anti-Bush headbands have been ubiquitously successful. So it makes sense that the music has followed suit: not only did the Nightwatchmen's "This Land is Your Land" impress yesterday, but the Arcade Fire's reference to 'your' president inspired boos. Neither of those, though, matched the power of the Roots' just-played version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," set to the Star Spangled Banner and Jimi Hendrix's anti-vietnam rant "Machine Gun" (also covered by the very Roots-ish band the Coup earlier in the day.)
It was the best moment in a set full of great ones: ?estlove and Black Thought, accompanied by a band including a tuba-ist (!) gave the crowd a veritable lesson in pop-culture/music history, referencing everything from Black Sabbath to Kool and the Gang to Dr. Dre in their hour. It was a set both serious and butt-shaking - the perfect fit for a day defined by an overwhelming sense of anticipation.
You can feel it everywhere - hey, you can see it everywhere: never before have there been so many one-band shirts as there are for Rage Against the Machine today. For The Roots' set, the crowd extended all the way to the back for the first time this year; for the first time in the festival's history, extra barricades have been put up, extending the wall 100 yards.
What that means: organizers are rightfully expecting a crowd surge during Tom Morello's first note, continuing through Zach De La Rocha's last scream. I'm a bit worried the crowd'll get violent - right now, Rage-heads are raging against Willie Nelson, not exactly a perfect fit; they still have to "endure" Crowded House and Manu Chao.
Here's hoping I'm wrong - mostly because I'm nervous with anticipation of that first note, too. My call for opener? "Guerrilla Radio."
Yes, I'm that excited.
Coachella: Feelin' Fiasco
"The answer," says Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco to the main stage crowd, "is yes I can."
"The question," he says next, "is, 'Can you dig it?'"
Well, yes, Lupe, most of it at least. What I couldn't 'dig' as you put it, was when you opened your set with some rhymed verses over Kanye West's "Diamonds" before spittin' your verse on that Windy City rhymesmith's "Touch the Sky." Everything after that - when you got off the Kanye bus and performed material from your own Food and Liquor - made you look like the shining star I was hoping you would be.
Guest rapper Gemini's speed rapping and the energetic live recreation of the Grammy-nominated "Kick, Push" was great to groove to. Things definitely hit a high point when Fiasco hopped off the stage and ran through the crowd like a madman that's had a bit too much sun out here during the skateboarding-inspired single.
It just proves that Lupe doesn't need to be in Mr. West's shadow - he'll be just fine on his own. And after this lukewarm-turned-impressive Coachella spot, let's hope that's a lesson learned.
... Niyaz
Coachella: Ben checks in
It's early for a Sunday, and the crowd is trickling in, but Mika and Lupe Fiasco are turning in valiant efforts on the main stage. Mika's campy piano pop is a sweet invitation to a day that will eventually turn heavy. His exhortation that, "Big girls, you're beautiful," and his Freddie Mercury-esque vocals - and snippet of "Everybody's Talking" - sounds fine blowing across the sparsely populated field.
Meanwhile, Lupe took 10 minutes to get the drowsy crowd to wake up. Read more on Lupe a little later from Niyaz.
I made my way over to Mando Diao on the Outdoor stage, but their opening fanfare was late and slow, and their power-pop more thrashy than necessary. Besides, only a crowd the size of a full club had sauntered over and I really wanted to see Tapes 'n Tapes - so I split.
Passed by the Arett Brothers on my way, who seemed to be having a good time in Gobi. The band, whose album "The Loon" was one of my top 10 fares last year, is among the new breed of electic unpeggables. Songs will veer quickly from light, long beats to heavy, garage-rock, and the instrumentation is equally quirky - bass/guitar/drums, yeah, but also oddball synths and a bit of baritone brass.
Very intriguing, as with virtually everyone here, they gave their all, peddling new ones as potently as the familiar tunes. And yet something still felt a little indulgent about their set. Maybe it was just the time of day, the heat, I dunno. But Mojave wasn't as electric as it has been at other times this weekend - and for lesser bands. Overall, good, but far from great.
So I went back to the Arett Brothers - who were making like a crazed Violent Femmes. Damn. Only 3 p.m. and I've already made one poor choice. Not a good sign after two days of very few duds.
One last thing: The Feeling covered "Video Killed the Radio Star." That should give you some indication of how usless their set seemed. No wonder no one was at the main stage for 'em.
Notes on the Coup, Explosions in the Sky, and others later.
And Lastly
Press-Enterprise
The Finale
Rage Against the Machine may have been the most important and historic performance in Coachella existence.
It was the first time the politically-charged band played together in nearly seven years and they closed the first three-day installment of the Indio festival.
As soon as Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk played the opening of "Testify" it was like an instant time warp to a time when there was no war in Iraq and before 9-11.
A sea of digital camera screens lit up the crowd and 60,000 fists pumped in the air.
The set hit the best of the band's three original albums, as well as included their cover of "Renegades of Funk."
During "Sleep Now in the Fire," a track from "The Battle of Los Angeles," pieces of fire flew up in the air facing the left side of the stage. However, the sporadic flames were quickly controlled.
The band may have played harder than any other at the festival, with de la Rocha bounding across the stage, jumping higher with each beat. Morello and Commerford followed suit and Wilk wailed on the drums.
However, it seemed to me that the sound wasn't as strong for Rage as it was for all of the other mainstage acts. You could tell the guys were playing ridiculously hard but it seemed toned down in the mix.
The politics the group is famous for didn't come into play until near the end of the main set, when de la Rocha raged against the current administration.
"They should be hung and tried and shot," he said.
"It's a system that we have to break down generation after generation," he continued.
Whenever de la Rocha pointed the microphone to the crowd, the audience gladly filled in the blanks of the well-known songs, as if they were a national anthem for Generation X.
Rage came back for an encore and performed "Freedom."
The band closed the encore with "Killing in the Name," the explosive hit off the band's self-titled debut.
The foursome locked arms and bowed to the packed crowd.
American Idol
While the crowd may not have been into Crowded House, thet did have one fan dancing for a bit in the VIP area--Ryan Seacrest.
Seacrest hung around to watch Crowded House's set and danced a little bit with a woman before chatting with his entourage and sitting down to catch the rest of Crowded House's set.
Then it was Seacrest out.
Not so Crowded House
New Zealand popsters Crowded House played a set on the Coachella Stage Sunday night to a crowd of not-so-enthusiastic people who were merely waiting for Rage Against the Machine.
Singer Neil Finn tried to get the crowd to sing along to "Don't Dream It's Over" without much success. However, as the set went on, more people started filling the field.
The band also played hits such as "Locked Out" and "Something So Strong."
Finn thanked the crowd at the end of the set, telling them he was taking a "mental snapshot."
Willie The Cool
Willie Nelson is oblivious to the outside world and because of that he may just be the coolest man alive. He just chills up there on stage with every hair still in his head, a smile on his face and his beat up guitar around his neck. He is totally carefaree and I am envious. His set began slowly with the Coachella crowd, but once he broke into "Poncho and Lefty" things picked up. Hipsters and hippies alike danced to the classic country crooner. Next week he'll be at Stagecoach playing to a more familiar group, but something tells me he won't be having as much fun.
Celebspotting Day 3
This might be one of the best celeb sightings we've had yet.
I just saw Corbin Bernsen, of "L.A. Law" and Lifetime television movie fame, milling around the hand sanitizer at the port-a-potties.
Roots of Hip-Hop
The Roots are undeniably hip-hop's greatest act, and they are also the genre's greatest ambassadors. Drummer Amir "?uestlove" Thompson commands the stage with his jazz-kissed drumming, cascading afro and relatable presence, but beyond that he's here to say that hip-hop isn't just about disposable MTV heroes and bling, it's a culture and it's vibrant. A highlight was an inventive tuba-driven version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," which served to display the Roots versatility and political awareness. The pop hip-hop world should just watch tapes of this band and learn.
Coup Conquers
Funk hip-hop combo The Coup spit a nasty politically-charged blend energetic songs and down home groovers that seemd to serve as a primer for the impending Rage Against the Machine show. I don't consider myself to be that politically inclined, but music is the perfect vessel to send messages out to the masses. It beats a boring speech from a suit any day.
Best cover award
Nothing says fun like a solid cover song and British guys The Feeling obliged by playing a stellar cover of The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" Sunday afternoon on the Coachella stage.
It looked like about half of the thousand or so people watching them were really into it, clapping, dancing and singing along. The other half stood motionless--either they're too cool for school, drained from the heat or quite possibly born long after that song was popular.
The Feeling's set was peppered with bright and airy pop songs and singer Dan Gillespie said the band had been in the United States for two weeks and are headed back home on Monday. He thanked everyone profusely for welcoming them in the country and included Canada as well.
No Fiasco Here
Lupe Fiasco = a revelation. Who knew this young hip-hopper could control the microphone and the crowd with such deft skill. Last year Kanye West's performance had a lot of buzz but fell flat on landing. Lupe was the opposite, a smooth flow, catchy hooks, crafty rhymes -- I'm sold.
Surprise falls flat to midland
One of the things people talk about at Coachella every year is the surprise guests and performers.
"Lost in Translation" actress Scarlett Johansson already joined the Jesus and Mary Chain on Friday night to sing backup on "Just Like Honey" and today Serj Tankian, singer from platinum metal artists System of a Down, joined rockers Fair to Midland in the Mojave tent early Sunday afternoon.
Tankian signed the Texas band to his label last year.
While the guys in Fair to Midland jumped around and played hard, when Tankian joined them on stage for their second song, he just stood there, singing backup vocals and occasionally bobbing his head.
After he finished the songs, a bunch of people from the already sparse tent left, too.
Disco at Coachella?
The Coachella stage definitely has the most eclectic lineup for Sunday. Rapper Lupe Fiasco is on now, Willie Nelson is playing later and Rage Against the Machine is closing the day. The lineup started off even stranger with next-big-pop-thing Mika taking the stage at 1p.m.
"Good day," Mika greeted the crowd. "This is the first festival of the season for us. I really don't think it gets any posher than this--it's a polo field."
On his album he sounds a lot like the late Freddie Mercury of Queen, so imagine my surprise when he came onstage and sounded a lot more like Andy Gibb with some disco like beats behind him.
Mika must have broken out his Ouija board because when he started the third song he sounded like a reincarnation of Mercury.
Raging in the heat
By noon on Sunday Carmen Zacarias had already staked out her spot for Rage Against the Machine's set, which is slated to start at 10:40 p.m.
Zacarias and friend Omar Castillo traveled from El Paso, Texas to get a spot at the front of the Coachella Stage for the Rage Against the Machine reunion.
"I've waited six-and-a-half years for this," Zacarias said.
Zacarias said she didn't mind waiting another 10-plus hours to keep her vantage point. She's not worried about getting water, either.
"Our plan is to beg the security guards," she said.
They weren't the only ones who already started lining up for Rage. John Puga of Santa Paula, took a spot a couple of rows back and planned to enjoy the acts before the headliners. He said he paid $200 for his single-day ticket.
"I want to see Rage Against the Machine. I want to jump around and go crazy," Puga said.
Day Three Rages
Day three. The day everyone has been waiting for. Some have been waiting seven years for this. Tonight Rage Against the Machine will take the stage for the first time since 2000. Rage is probably the closest living thing to the Clash -- political, stylish, angry and loved. This will be one of those moments where I'll be able to say that I was there. I wonder if Zack de la Rocha is nervous?
That it for all the Blog it you want to see all the blog reports and all the story from Coachella go to the Left of the Menu between P.L.U.G. Awards - 2006 and The Culture City Fesyive 50 - 2006
Webcast review of Coachella - Post #8[The Last Post]
Well it is all over as i type this at
10 minutes before 10 A.M. on Monday
The Day after three days in the hot weather in play spring, CA
or for those who were not lucky to go 2300 West of Detroit, we watch it on the AT&T blueroom.att.com.
Sorry, i did not post reports of the last few act on the web cast Because i was so tried of the Full weekend, may be i was wipe out after seeing the Arcade Fire amazing live set, so i was out of whack yesterday i only did one review [Kaiser Chiefs,CSS. and Klaxons] and did not care for the light stuff after that [Crowded House,Damien Rice, and Amos Lee] the only bad thing about it, it i have the TV stuck on a light rock of the 80's infomercial, Hosted by Air Supply
Lucky i did turn the channel to watch Playmania on GSN for the rest of the show
But i stay until the end of the web cast to see one of my fave singer who i saw a few years ago just because Julianna Hatfield was part of the live touring band
The Lemonsheads
and, No he did not bring the Iconic miss Hatfield and part of the live band, but even with or with out her Evan Dando did a good job leading the band who is turly one of the survier from the 90's atl. rock movement.
he played a lot of his old hits like "It's A Shame About Ray","Great Big No" ,"Into Your Arms"amgon others.
and it fit the vibe of the closing night of the webcast
and with that is end the instant web review of the Coachella webcast
i have a long nights this weekend
one more post for the LA blogger and that it, i have to get back[well, i am home]to your regular Scheualr blog.
let me recover form that and i will give you the best and the worst of the Coachella hopeful on tuesday.
10 minutes before 10 A.M. on Monday
The Day after three days in the hot weather in play spring, CA
or for those who were not lucky to go 2300 West of Detroit, we watch it on the AT&T blueroom.att.com.
Sorry, i did not post reports of the last few act on the web cast Because i was so tried of the Full weekend, may be i was wipe out after seeing the Arcade Fire amazing live set, so i was out of whack yesterday i only did one review [Kaiser Chiefs,CSS. and Klaxons] and did not care for the light stuff after that [Crowded House,Damien Rice, and Amos Lee] the only bad thing about it, it i have the TV stuck on a light rock of the 80's infomercial, Hosted by Air Supply
Lucky i did turn the channel to watch Playmania on GSN for the rest of the show
But i stay until the end of the web cast to see one of my fave singer who i saw a few years ago just because Julianna Hatfield was part of the live touring band
The Lemonsheads
and, No he did not bring the Iconic miss Hatfield and part of the live band, but even with or with out her Evan Dando did a good job leading the band who is turly one of the survier from the 90's atl. rock movement.
he played a lot of his old hits like "It's A Shame About Ray","Great Big No" ,"Into Your Arms"amgon others.
and it fit the vibe of the closing night of the webcast
and with that is end the instant web review of the Coachella webcast
i have a long nights this weekend
one more post for the LA blogger and that it, i have to get back[well, i am home]to your regular Scheualr blog.
let me recover form that and i will give you the best and the worst of the Coachella hopeful on tuesday.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
This Just In - Video From Coachella
Well if you miss the show at coachella or on the AT&T blue room well here are some more gig from last night on you tube.
and if you are wondering did Front man Win Bultue did go into the Crowd
yes he did.look
Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
Regina Spektor - Us
Sonic Youth
Silversun Pickups
jesus & mary chain - never undestand
[Sorry for the Sound]
and if you are wondering did Front man Win Bultue did go into the Crowd
yes he did.look
Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
Regina Spektor - Us
Sonic Youth
Silversun Pickups
jesus & mary chain - never undestand
[Sorry for the Sound]
Report From the Field From Coachella - #9
It a little bit late but here what is going on at Coachella
including Last night at Coachella from all the L.A. Blog
If you whan to read the Full post see Coachella 07 at the right of the menu.
L.A. Times
Desert dealings, Vol. 4
Perry Farrell and Boots Riley of the Coup joined Tom Morello -- doing business as the Nightwatchman -- in the Gobi Tent during his set of social commentary and heated (I know, how could it be otherwise?) Bush-bashing. The Coup's set on Sunday at the Outdoor Theatre is not to be missed.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen
lurched to late start at the Outdoor Theatre in the final set of Saturday, but the British all-star band more than lived up to its members' lineage. ...
Warmest set of the day? One visitor from New Zealand voted for the Fratellis in the breezeless Mojave Tent. The Scottish trio proved that they are every bit as good as the music on their debut, "Costello Music," yet as in their recent club show in Los Angeles, they failed to engage the crowd. ...
The Rapture sizzled in its evening-ending set in the Sahara Tent, with singer Luke Jenner stage-diving and surfing around the proceedings on the outstretched arms a remarkably energetic dance-punk crowd. ...
The Black Keys parlayed their taut blues rock into a killer late set at the Mojave Tent -- there are not a lot of blues at Coachella, unless you count folks complaining about the heat.
Tapes 'N Tapes 'N trying our patience
There's little to say about Tapes 'n Tapes that Clell Tickle hasn't already, but if these guys are the Best New Music, indie rock's in a world of hurt. The self-consciously quirky guitar-pop quartet was one of last year's more random success stories -- its debut "The Loon" was a deeply unremarkable collection of warmed over Isaac Brock-isms and shoutouts to Harvard Square. Live, they replicated such exactly, dipping into their thin catalog of blog fodder to work a sleepy Mojave tent. When they chilled out a bit on "Ten Gallon Ascots" they were more convincing, but like singer Josh Grier's new fashion mullet, they shot for edgy and ended up as kind of sad
LCD Soundsystem: less cowbell
LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy is the anti-frontman's frontman. He owns the stage with cool charisma instead of hyperactive stunts. So even when he stepped out 15 minutes late, the Saturday night crowd in the Sahara Tent, who'd been whipped into a frenzy by Justice's blistering set, howled in a way befitting Murphy's status as the doyen of dance-punk.
Grizzly Bear learns to roar
Grizzly Bear are not an a capella band (well, not usually), but for all the talk of their incantory harmonies, you'd be forgiven if you thought they were a hairy barbershop quartet. But the big story out of their Gobi tent set was that, lo and behold, there's a bit of a loud, nasty rock band buried in there somewhere.
The Kooks: tastes great, less filling
If the Kooks' catchiness were freon, Coachella would be air-conditioned.
The Brighton quartet unleashed their jaunty pop songs on a Mojave Tent overflowing with bodies and adulation, much of the latter conveyed by youthful females who seemed to get a bit glassy-eyed the more singer Luke Pritchard cavorted around the stage. The Brighton quartet may not be critical darlings, but they are darlings.
Coming out in favor of Against Me!
Against Me! are surely the only band to turn the name "Condoleeza" into a throat-shredding call-to-arms chorus. But the band beats all sorts of odds: They're from Florida and they're not Skynyrd ripoffs; they wore all black and didn't pass out on the Outdoor Theatre stage; and they managed to make punk rock sound fresh in 2007.
Keep your eyes on the Skies
One of the more unlikely indie success stories of the last five years, Austin's Explosions in the Sky rose from apocalypse-conjuring masters of quiet-loud-quiet-loud guitar rock dynamics to a film score pedigree and a late afternoon main stage slot. Though their aesthetic is such that the ingredients essentially remain the same from song to slow-burning song, the band is an absolute monster live, offering martial percussion and guitars that can chime like church bells or swell into frozen washes of noise. The end result can sound frightening, sad, hopeful or triumphant, depending on your mood.
The Plam Springs Desert Sun
Kaiser Chiefs
I wasn't planning on seeing Kaiser Chiefs, but somehow I got sucked into the crowd, and I didn't feel like fighting it.
It was great, though. They put on a really enthusiastic, energetic set, repeatedly encouraging the exhausted crowd to perk up.
"Come on, Coachella! This is a festival, and we're going to get you in a festival spirit!" Wilson said, shouting until he was red in the face.
At the end of their first song, "Everyday I Love You Less and Less," frontman Ricky Wilson tossed his mic stand in the air and just barely caught it again.
"I know it's cold outside, but what can you do?" he joked.
The English band kept the energy moving with "Everything is Average Nowadays" and "Ruby."
The band wrapped up with "I Predict a Riot."
Hmmm. Maybe they know something about the Rage show tonight.
Acoustic, instrumental, Mexican heavy metal
You might not think there would be much of a market for that. You'd be wrong.
Rodrigo y Gabriela burned through a fantastic set on the Gobi Stage, making their guitars do double-duty as both string and percussive instruments. Gabriela, in particlar, with her unique playing style and throwing the goat after each song, fired up the audience. The duo also used the clapping and chanting crowd as a third member, including vocals on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."
If you missed these guys today, catch 'em the next time they meander 'round your neighborhood.
The Roots
After a fabulous cover of "Jungle Boogie," the Roots are doing a souped-up, super-fast version of their song, "Seed."
They sound like when you put the record player on ... whatever really fast was.
Hey, remember records?
The Roots, The Roots, The Roots are on fire
The Roots are on stage right now, playing a really fun and funky hip-hop set. They even have a tuba player on stage.
They just finished a cover of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend."
But I freaked out most when they played "Apache."
My best friend and I have a choreographed dance to that song, ganked from an old episode of Fresh Prince. I texted her immediately.
More cowbell (with Feeling)
Brit popsters The Feeling closed their set with a tight "Love It When You Call," which roused the crowd out of their slumber. The five band members were joined by one guy hovering over the drumkit pounding the crap out of a cowbell.
How'd you like to have that guy's job? "Yeah, I play cowbell for part of one song for a rock band."
YAY!
The Feeling is playing a rocking version of "Video Killed the Radio Star" right now. Hooray! Gems like this are why I love Coachella.
Obligatory Chili Peppers post
I have to admit, the last album I bought from RHCP was "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" from '92 or so. Nothing they've done since then has really grabbed me. But damn, do they put on a great live show.
For all the well-deserved praise of the musicianship of guitarist John Frusciante and Flea on bass and the spotlight on Anthony Kiedis for being, well, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith often fades into the background. But for my money, he's probably the top rock drummer out there. I swear the man has an invisible third arm to make the sounds he does.
I can only hope I have half as much energy as the Chili Peppers do when I'm their age. Hell, I wish I half as much energy as they do today.
including Last night at Coachella from all the L.A. Blog
If you whan to read the Full post see Coachella 07 at the right of the menu.
L.A. Times
Desert dealings, Vol. 4
Perry Farrell and Boots Riley of the Coup joined Tom Morello -- doing business as the Nightwatchman -- in the Gobi Tent during his set of social commentary and heated (I know, how could it be otherwise?) Bush-bashing. The Coup's set on Sunday at the Outdoor Theatre is not to be missed.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen
lurched to late start at the Outdoor Theatre in the final set of Saturday, but the British all-star band more than lived up to its members' lineage. ...
Warmest set of the day? One visitor from New Zealand voted for the Fratellis in the breezeless Mojave Tent. The Scottish trio proved that they are every bit as good as the music on their debut, "Costello Music," yet as in their recent club show in Los Angeles, they failed to engage the crowd. ...
The Rapture sizzled in its evening-ending set in the Sahara Tent, with singer Luke Jenner stage-diving and surfing around the proceedings on the outstretched arms a remarkably energetic dance-punk crowd. ...
The Black Keys parlayed their taut blues rock into a killer late set at the Mojave Tent -- there are not a lot of blues at Coachella, unless you count folks complaining about the heat.
Tapes 'N Tapes 'N trying our patience
There's little to say about Tapes 'n Tapes that Clell Tickle hasn't already, but if these guys are the Best New Music, indie rock's in a world of hurt. The self-consciously quirky guitar-pop quartet was one of last year's more random success stories -- its debut "The Loon" was a deeply unremarkable collection of warmed over Isaac Brock-isms and shoutouts to Harvard Square. Live, they replicated such exactly, dipping into their thin catalog of blog fodder to work a sleepy Mojave tent. When they chilled out a bit on "Ten Gallon Ascots" they were more convincing, but like singer Josh Grier's new fashion mullet, they shot for edgy and ended up as kind of sad
LCD Soundsystem: less cowbell
LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy is the anti-frontman's frontman. He owns the stage with cool charisma instead of hyperactive stunts. So even when he stepped out 15 minutes late, the Saturday night crowd in the Sahara Tent, who'd been whipped into a frenzy by Justice's blistering set, howled in a way befitting Murphy's status as the doyen of dance-punk.
Grizzly Bear learns to roar
Grizzly Bear are not an a capella band (well, not usually), but for all the talk of their incantory harmonies, you'd be forgiven if you thought they were a hairy barbershop quartet. But the big story out of their Gobi tent set was that, lo and behold, there's a bit of a loud, nasty rock band buried in there somewhere.
The Kooks: tastes great, less filling
If the Kooks' catchiness were freon, Coachella would be air-conditioned.
The Brighton quartet unleashed their jaunty pop songs on a Mojave Tent overflowing with bodies and adulation, much of the latter conveyed by youthful females who seemed to get a bit glassy-eyed the more singer Luke Pritchard cavorted around the stage. The Brighton quartet may not be critical darlings, but they are darlings.
Coming out in favor of Against Me!
Against Me! are surely the only band to turn the name "Condoleeza" into a throat-shredding call-to-arms chorus. But the band beats all sorts of odds: They're from Florida and they're not Skynyrd ripoffs; they wore all black and didn't pass out on the Outdoor Theatre stage; and they managed to make punk rock sound fresh in 2007.
Keep your eyes on the Skies
One of the more unlikely indie success stories of the last five years, Austin's Explosions in the Sky rose from apocalypse-conjuring masters of quiet-loud-quiet-loud guitar rock dynamics to a film score pedigree and a late afternoon main stage slot. Though their aesthetic is such that the ingredients essentially remain the same from song to slow-burning song, the band is an absolute monster live, offering martial percussion and guitars that can chime like church bells or swell into frozen washes of noise. The end result can sound frightening, sad, hopeful or triumphant, depending on your mood.
The Plam Springs Desert Sun
Kaiser Chiefs
I wasn't planning on seeing Kaiser Chiefs, but somehow I got sucked into the crowd, and I didn't feel like fighting it.
It was great, though. They put on a really enthusiastic, energetic set, repeatedly encouraging the exhausted crowd to perk up.
"Come on, Coachella! This is a festival, and we're going to get you in a festival spirit!" Wilson said, shouting until he was red in the face.
At the end of their first song, "Everyday I Love You Less and Less," frontman Ricky Wilson tossed his mic stand in the air and just barely caught it again.
"I know it's cold outside, but what can you do?" he joked.
The English band kept the energy moving with "Everything is Average Nowadays" and "Ruby."
The band wrapped up with "I Predict a Riot."
Hmmm. Maybe they know something about the Rage show tonight.
Acoustic, instrumental, Mexican heavy metal
You might not think there would be much of a market for that. You'd be wrong.
Rodrigo y Gabriela burned through a fantastic set on the Gobi Stage, making their guitars do double-duty as both string and percussive instruments. Gabriela, in particlar, with her unique playing style and throwing the goat after each song, fired up the audience. The duo also used the clapping and chanting crowd as a third member, including vocals on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."
If you missed these guys today, catch 'em the next time they meander 'round your neighborhood.
The Roots
After a fabulous cover of "Jungle Boogie," the Roots are doing a souped-up, super-fast version of their song, "Seed."
They sound like when you put the record player on ... whatever really fast was.
Hey, remember records?
The Roots, The Roots, The Roots are on fire
The Roots are on stage right now, playing a really fun and funky hip-hop set. They even have a tuba player on stage.
They just finished a cover of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend."
But I freaked out most when they played "Apache."
My best friend and I have a choreographed dance to that song, ganked from an old episode of Fresh Prince. I texted her immediately.
More cowbell (with Feeling)
Brit popsters The Feeling closed their set with a tight "Love It When You Call," which roused the crowd out of their slumber. The five band members were joined by one guy hovering over the drumkit pounding the crap out of a cowbell.
How'd you like to have that guy's job? "Yeah, I play cowbell for part of one song for a rock band."
YAY!
The Feeling is playing a rocking version of "Video Killed the Radio Star" right now. Hooray! Gems like this are why I love Coachella.
Obligatory Chili Peppers post
I have to admit, the last album I bought from RHCP was "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" from '92 or so. Nothing they've done since then has really grabbed me. But damn, do they put on a great live show.
For all the well-deserved praise of the musicianship of guitarist John Frusciante and Flea on bass and the spotlight on Anthony Kiedis for being, well, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith often fades into the background. But for my money, he's probably the top rock drummer out there. I swear the man has an invisible third arm to make the sounds he does.
I can only hope I have half as much energy as the Chili Peppers do when I'm their age. Hell, I wish I half as much energy as they do today.
Webcast review of Coachella - Post #7
Sorry everybody Stay up late after the Coachella webcast to listen to a Assie Rules Football Game live on the internet, so i woke up late and did some thing outsid ethe computer.
So i am back in the Computer doing the last Night of Coachella via the webcast at the ATT blue room.
i been buzy with the Non-Coachella post past festival so i have not been paying attention, so here are some quick instant reviews so far fro day three of the web cast.
Anathallo
Last Week, Sceneter and and member of the Dead Letters Brandon Frey about this band he digg called "Anathallo" he told me that i would digg this band, after seeing this band i can really digg this band, they have good song but a cool vibe.
And the one Plus there Org. From Centarl Michigan [i.e. Mt. Plseant], but now there liveing in Chicago.
The Feeling
I saw a little bit of the band, but there alright
Junior Boys
They were good as well in the few song i saw
Fair to Midland
well i say one thing about this band, there So-so
mostly sound like a heavy Metal emo band.
So i am back in the Computer doing the last Night of Coachella via the webcast at the ATT blue room.
i been buzy with the Non-Coachella post past festival so i have not been paying attention, so here are some quick instant reviews so far fro day three of the web cast.
Anathallo
Last Week, Sceneter and and member of the Dead Letters Brandon Frey about this band he digg called "Anathallo" he told me that i would digg this band, after seeing this band i can really digg this band, they have good song but a cool vibe.
And the one Plus there Org. From Centarl Michigan [i.e. Mt. Plseant], but now there liveing in Chicago.
The Feeling
I saw a little bit of the band, but there alright
Junior Boys
They were good as well in the few song i saw
Fair to Midland
well i say one thing about this band, there So-so
mostly sound like a heavy Metal emo band.
Report From the Field From Coachella - #8 / The Arcade Fire Report
I know what your asking
what is the reaction to the Arcade Fire
it went some thing like this.
Plam Springs Desert Sun
Arcade Fire
The band started with "Keep the Car Running," followed up by "Black Mirror," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," "Haiti," "Intervention" ... and then I stopped taking notes because I was crying. Seriously.
This is a band that makes you emotional.
The highlight for me was hearing the band perform "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" -- when I get married next spring, that's the song that will be playing when I walk down the aisle.
The lowlight of the performance was the drunk douchebag who lumbered up behind me.
"CHILI PEPPERS! Chilipeppers! Chillipeppaas!!" he screamed, even though the Red Hot Chili Peppers weren't scheduled to play for another hour.
The drunk guy had a really difficult time articulating his thoughts about Regine Chassagne's accordion when he screamed, "You suck! Only (expletives) play that keyboard uh, squeezy box thing ... you know, that thing! That thing you're playing now! Chilipepppaas!!"
I wriggled my way closer to the stage until I was surrounded again by the Arcade Fire's reverent and passionate crowd.
Best show I've ever seen. Hands down.
I've dreamt about watching them play, and they surpassed it. I had goosebumps for an hour straight.
Arcade Fire also played "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" before ending with "No Cars Go."
Amazing.
crowd on fire
in five years of going to coachella, I've never seen such a large
crowd as what arrived for arcade fire. they owned coachella and blew
us away. I don't know of any other band who could pull off what they
just did. highlight moment was when the singer, win butler, came out
to the crowd to belt out one of the band's signature tunes. after
only two albums, this band has mastered their craft, and I'm excited
about where they'll take us next.
L.A. Times
Arcade Fire stokes the flames
Tomorrow, on the Sabbath, you get politics, when Rage Against the Machine figures to turn Coachella into a big, old soapbox. On Saturday night, the glowstick-waving crowd got religion.
The Arcade Fire delivered a set so full of spirituality and verve that the main stage could've doubled as a giant, pyrotechnics-loaded pulpit. Nobody in sight -- especially those who witnessed the band's quick rise -- sensed disappointment was around the corner, not from a polite collective of string-wielding Canadians. But in acknowledging that expectations were met, it is easy to take for granted the artful chaos that is Arcade Fire's music. The only small question was whether their unhinged madness would work on such a huge stage.
It did, from the kitchen-sink percussion -- these folks bang on anything that's handy -- to the majestic, almost funereal organ behind "Intervention." The passion was not lost on sweltering crowd; the crowd's affections were not lost on Butler, who thanked them for their kindness. "Manners," he said, "are the cornerstone of a prosperous society."
Orange Country Register
having just watched Arcade Fire turn into a Coachella history maker on the main stage. One for the books, as they say. Maybe even THE one for the books.
The Press-Enterprise
Arcade Fires up the crowd
It looks like Montreal indie darlings the Arcade Fire have packed the field facing the Coachella stage Saturday evening with more people than Bjork attracted as a headliner on Friday night.
The band opened with "Keep the Car Running" from new album "Neon Bible" and practically had a symphony on the stage with them--including a strings section and a French horn.
But the common people weren't the only ones trying to see the Arcade Fire. At the end of The Decemberists' set, singer Colin Meloy announced the band was heading to watch the band and urged the crowd to do the same.
And Carl Newman, lead singer of the New Pornographers, rushed through the crowd in the VIP area to find a spot to watch the band.
what is the reaction to the Arcade Fire
it went some thing like this.
Plam Springs Desert Sun
Arcade Fire
The band started with "Keep the Car Running," followed up by "Black Mirror," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," "Haiti," "Intervention" ... and then I stopped taking notes because I was crying. Seriously.
This is a band that makes you emotional.
The highlight for me was hearing the band perform "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" -- when I get married next spring, that's the song that will be playing when I walk down the aisle.
The lowlight of the performance was the drunk douchebag who lumbered up behind me.
"CHILI PEPPERS! Chilipeppers! Chillipeppaas!!" he screamed, even though the Red Hot Chili Peppers weren't scheduled to play for another hour.
The drunk guy had a really difficult time articulating his thoughts about Regine Chassagne's accordion when he screamed, "You suck! Only (expletives) play that keyboard uh, squeezy box thing ... you know, that thing! That thing you're playing now! Chilipepppaas!!"
I wriggled my way closer to the stage until I was surrounded again by the Arcade Fire's reverent and passionate crowd.
Best show I've ever seen. Hands down.
I've dreamt about watching them play, and they surpassed it. I had goosebumps for an hour straight.
Arcade Fire also played "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" before ending with "No Cars Go."
Amazing.
crowd on fire
in five years of going to coachella, I've never seen such a large
crowd as what arrived for arcade fire. they owned coachella and blew
us away. I don't know of any other band who could pull off what they
just did. highlight moment was when the singer, win butler, came out
to the crowd to belt out one of the band's signature tunes. after
only two albums, this band has mastered their craft, and I'm excited
about where they'll take us next.
L.A. Times
Arcade Fire stokes the flames
Tomorrow, on the Sabbath, you get politics, when Rage Against the Machine figures to turn Coachella into a big, old soapbox. On Saturday night, the glowstick-waving crowd got religion.
The Arcade Fire delivered a set so full of spirituality and verve that the main stage could've doubled as a giant, pyrotechnics-loaded pulpit. Nobody in sight -- especially those who witnessed the band's quick rise -- sensed disappointment was around the corner, not from a polite collective of string-wielding Canadians. But in acknowledging that expectations were met, it is easy to take for granted the artful chaos that is Arcade Fire's music. The only small question was whether their unhinged madness would work on such a huge stage.
It did, from the kitchen-sink percussion -- these folks bang on anything that's handy -- to the majestic, almost funereal organ behind "Intervention." The passion was not lost on sweltering crowd; the crowd's affections were not lost on Butler, who thanked them for their kindness. "Manners," he said, "are the cornerstone of a prosperous society."
Orange Country Register
having just watched Arcade Fire turn into a Coachella history maker on the main stage. One for the books, as they say. Maybe even THE one for the books.
The Press-Enterprise
Arcade Fires up the crowd
It looks like Montreal indie darlings the Arcade Fire have packed the field facing the Coachella stage Saturday evening with more people than Bjork attracted as a headliner on Friday night.
The band opened with "Keep the Car Running" from new album "Neon Bible" and practically had a symphony on the stage with them--including a strings section and a French horn.
But the common people weren't the only ones trying to see the Arcade Fire. At the end of The Decemberists' set, singer Colin Meloy announced the band was heading to watch the band and urged the crowd to do the same.
And Carl Newman, lead singer of the New Pornographers, rushed through the crowd in the VIP area to find a spot to watch the band.
Reports From The Field at Coachella - #7
The Last of the Reports for Day Two
From the L.A. Newspaper Blogs
=========================================
L.A. Times
!!!
When you name your band after a trio of emphatic punctuation marks (and don't think there wasn't some intra-band discussion as to just how many of those would be sufficient on their first playbill), understatement is not one of your strong suits. At any given time the Sacramento dance-funk-whatever ensemble embodied the more-is-more theory of dance music, with its nine-members at times boasting four percussionists, two guitarists, a horn section and three singers -- not that they needed the extra help with lead '!' Nic Offer serving as master of ceremonies
==========================================
Kings of Leon
You see some bands live, and you can just imagine their demise. Not for lack of talent, but because they just don't want it enough. But Kings of Leon, a family band with an evangelical preacher in the lineage, want it bad. Their radiant set proved that the Nashville crew are following the North Star of fame with keening ambition and an unshakeable faith in the powers of transcendent Southern rock. Although their self-seriousness can get a little much sometimes (really, Caleb, you can wear that black vest and huge cross without giggling at yourself?), there's no denying that Kings of Leon have rock-star glory in their sights.
==========================================
Girl Talk
There's probably no two songs with less in common that Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945" and Khia's "My Neck, My Back." One is a stream-of-consciousness retelling of Anne Frank's sexual awakening, and the other is, well, a bit more straightforward on the latter topic. But Greg Gillis, the erstwhile DJ/button pusher/super-stoked hypeman behind Girl Talk, somehow found a place in mash-up land where they can co-exist peacefully. Greg Gillis is the ur-hipster
==========================================
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
In a parallel universe somewhere, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are taking the Coachella 2007 stage after 15 years of inactivity, embarking on a much-anticipated and triumphant reunion appearance on one of the country's biggest stages.
Ours is not that universe.
==========================================
From the L.A. Newspaper Blogs
=========================================
L.A. Times
!!!
When you name your band after a trio of emphatic punctuation marks (and don't think there wasn't some intra-band discussion as to just how many of those would be sufficient on their first playbill), understatement is not one of your strong suits. At any given time the Sacramento dance-funk-whatever ensemble embodied the more-is-more theory of dance music, with its nine-members at times boasting four percussionists, two guitarists, a horn section and three singers -- not that they needed the extra help with lead '!' Nic Offer serving as master of ceremonies
==========================================
Kings of Leon
You see some bands live, and you can just imagine their demise. Not for lack of talent, but because they just don't want it enough. But Kings of Leon, a family band with an evangelical preacher in the lineage, want it bad. Their radiant set proved that the Nashville crew are following the North Star of fame with keening ambition and an unshakeable faith in the powers of transcendent Southern rock. Although their self-seriousness can get a little much sometimes (really, Caleb, you can wear that black vest and huge cross without giggling at yourself?), there's no denying that Kings of Leon have rock-star glory in their sights.
==========================================
Girl Talk
There's probably no two songs with less in common that Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945" and Khia's "My Neck, My Back." One is a stream-of-consciousness retelling of Anne Frank's sexual awakening, and the other is, well, a bit more straightforward on the latter topic. But Greg Gillis, the erstwhile DJ/button pusher/super-stoked hypeman behind Girl Talk, somehow found a place in mash-up land where they can co-exist peacefully. Greg Gillis is the ur-hipster
==========================================
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
In a parallel universe somewhere, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are taking the Coachella 2007 stage after 15 years of inactivity, embarking on a much-anticipated and triumphant reunion appearance on one of the country's biggest stages.
Ours is not that universe.
==========================================
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Web Review From the Coachella Webcast -#6
the Fratellis
Now i been hearing about the this UK band For a Wield on the BBC on-line and they have been hype a a very good band, wellm after seeing there set today on the web cast they have the stuff to be a very goo live band going Thur there set like a Buzz saw as they play like it was there last gig [which is not]they was awesome to see live, so if they answer the called, pleased do me a favor og see them live, you wont be disappointed.
Regina Spektor
It is great to see a wonderful performer playing to the crowd in the hot Desert Sun as the Moscow born spektor is playing a Great set so far ranging from cacthy pop to her rocking style her piano playing is so good and she is Dress nice as well, she did play a few song on the Guitar as here Piano was briefly repair but she played most of the song From here two major album "Soviet Kitsch" and Begin to Hope and she was very good.
The Arcade Fire
to Quite the legdait rock band K.I.S.S, you wanted the best you go the best as the Sun was setting in the beautifully gray sky in the Clear Desert sun, one of this years indie knocker [think the Shins, think Modest Mouse, think Bright Eyes} took the stage on the main stage.
It was Montreal indie Hero's "The Arcade Fire" began what everybody in the real press and the blogging press would be a good show, and From the First song ""Keep the Car Running" to there last song which is my fave from the Neon Bible "No Cars Go" the Crowd was into the Fire and Win Bulter and Company feed off the energy as the band played a very exciting set that was to behold as win and the crowd pour there heart out as they play the set of the Night maybe the entire Festival.
Near the end of the set as the band was playing "Rebellion (Lies)" win went into the big Crowd so he can hear him singing along, they may have taking over 2007 big time and this gig in front 60,000 made put it over the top.
Now i been hearing about the this UK band For a Wield on the BBC on-line and they have been hype a a very good band, wellm after seeing there set today on the web cast they have the stuff to be a very goo live band going Thur there set like a Buzz saw as they play like it was there last gig [which is not]they was awesome to see live, so if they answer the called, pleased do me a favor og see them live, you wont be disappointed.
Regina Spektor
It is great to see a wonderful performer playing to the crowd in the hot Desert Sun as the Moscow born spektor is playing a Great set so far ranging from cacthy pop to her rocking style her piano playing is so good and she is Dress nice as well, she did play a few song on the Guitar as here Piano was briefly repair but she played most of the song From here two major album "Soviet Kitsch" and Begin to Hope and she was very good.
The Arcade Fire
to Quite the legdait rock band K.I.S.S, you wanted the best you go the best as the Sun was setting in the beautifully gray sky in the Clear Desert sun, one of this years indie knocker [think the Shins, think Modest Mouse, think Bright Eyes} took the stage on the main stage.
It was Montreal indie Hero's "The Arcade Fire" began what everybody in the real press and the blogging press would be a good show, and From the First song ""Keep the Car Running" to there last song which is my fave from the Neon Bible "No Cars Go" the Crowd was into the Fire and Win Bulter and Company feed off the energy as the band played a very exciting set that was to behold as win and the crowd pour there heart out as they play the set of the Night maybe the entire Festival.
Near the end of the set as the band was playing "Rebellion (Lies)" win went into the big Crowd so he can hear him singing along, they may have taking over 2007 big time and this gig in front 60,000 made put it over the top.
A Little Sneak Perview of The Arcade Fire at Coachella[by the Way of Doc]
Well as of this time were almost less than Two Hours until the Arcade Fire take the stage via taped, and i know you are asking this question how well they will do.
Well to give you a sneak preview here is from the film Coachella the Movie, which is out on DVD
here are the Arcade Fire playing at Coachella 2005.
From Coachella the Movie out Now.
Well to give you a sneak preview here is from the film Coachella the Movie, which is out on DVD
here are the Arcade Fire playing at Coachella 2005.
From Coachella the Movie out Now.
Reports From The Field at Coachella - #6
Now here are More Reports from the Field
From Coachella from the So Cal Newspaper Blog
LA Times
Hot Chip
Is there a yet whiter version of blue-eyed soul? Perpetually sunburned soul? If it exists, English techno-poppers Hot Chip have it nailed. Everything about their sound, from the three-way conga solos to self-referential boasts that "Hot Chip will break your legs," should add up to a perfect storm of aggressive tweeness. But it all works in a schizophrenic and hip-shaking way that's witty but not ironic, affecting without becoming cloying.
==========================================
the New Pornographers
Raising chills on one's arms in 100-degree heat is no easy task, but that's exactly what the New Pornographers did during their Outdoor Stage set with one of the irresistably catchy tracks from their latest album "Twin Cinema." Maybe it's the power of judiciously placed "hey-la" boy-girl harmonies, but the air seemed a little cooler around the Outdoor Stage during their set, enough so there was probably more audience hand-claps per hour than anywhere else at this year's Coachella. Not that lead singer AC Newman felt any cooler.
==========================================
Regina Spektor
As the only singer-songwriter type to grace Coachella's main stage, anti-folk Russian Regina Spektor knew exactly how to capture the audience's attention. She announced this was a singer's show by kicking off with an a cappella number, tapping out bare-bones percussion with her finger on the mic. "I will love him till the day I die," she sang, her rich voice cutting through the staggering heat. The crowd was rendered spellbound, or at least as spellbound as you can be while pouring Gatorade down your gullet.
==========================================
Travis
A friend had a quick word when I answered his what's-your-hurry query by saying I was dashing off to see Travis. "Wimpy."
Wrong. Melodies have muscles too, and the Scottish band flexed them to an adoring, arm-waving crowd who treated gray-round-the-edges frontman Fran Healy as if he were a teen idol. Healy coaxed some beautiful chords out his guitar, practiced his American accent and told the masses assembled at the main stage they were "lovely" -- which they were, after workers dashed down the pathways tossing water bottles and dousing them with wet stuff.
==========================================
Andrew Bird
Now that Patrick Wolf is apparently quitting music (or is he?), there's a void in the field of completely bonkers violin-wielding pop savants. Andrew Bird is easily the best, and probably only, man up for the job.
==========================================
Plam Springs Desert Sun
Decemberists = awesome
As the Arcade Fire start their set, I have to say a few words about the Decemberists. Or at least one word. Awesome. That is all.
==========================================
Celebs checking out Coachella
Nicky and Paris Hilton, Cameron Diaz, Danny DeVito, Kelly Osbourne, Drew Barrymore, to name a few of the luminaries who have poked their heads into the desert this year.
==========================================
Orange Country Register
Coachella: Desert Jeff's overalls
Now that we're mid-way through the longest Coachella ever, some random, overall thoughts:
• Red Hot Chili Peppers still seem like the weakest headliner in Coachella history: if you live in Southern California and you're a fan, you've had so many chances to catch them in the past year it can't even be counted on one hand. I'm looking forward to missing them, so I can see LCD Soundsystem and Girl Talk, but still: I should at least be interested. And I'm not. At all.
• A plus: Organizer Paul Tollett said one of the reasons for the expansion was so he could space bands out so fans could see more of more artists. Guess what, Paul: it worked. This year seems far more organized than ever before so that you're not choosing between two similar artists: other than the debate between Kings of Leon and the Decemberists in 20 minutes, that point's been near moot. That said, I still haven't been to the Sahara tent, which -- come to think of it -- doesn't seem nearly as loud as it has in years past. You ask 'em to turn the volume down?
• A minus: Of course, that also means more slots filled by secondary bands -- like right now, when Travis, New Pornographers, Peter Bjorn & John, and the Nightwatchman played against each other -- all decent bands, but also all better in theory than in practice.
• This year, it also seems that each band's treating Coachella as a "special" event -- surprising, as festivals proliferate even further (I just heard about two more.) Between Bjork's indescribable band, Of Montreals costume changes, The Fratellis playing as if their lives depended on it and -- this just in -- Nightwatchman's collaboration between Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, and Boots Rilley of the Coup, there's a lot of special moments, many more of which I'm sure I've missed.
• It's hot. Could someone please turn down the heat? And while you're at it, slide over some more water, wouldja?
• Three words, coming soon: The. Arcade. Fire. I'll keep you posted in that department.
==========================================
Coachella: MSTRKRFT, Peter Bjorn & John
Caught some of MSTRKRFT in the Sahara tent, which I can still here from where I'm sitting in the Blueroom. The Canadian duo operating under the vowel-challenged moniker drew a bigger crowd than David Guetta did yesterday around this time.
Transitions from track to track weren't as seamless as Guetta's, but MSTRKRFT isn't as repetitive, which is what the French deejay lacked. I listened for a few tracked, then headed over to the Mojave tent where Peter Bjorn & John were already 10 minutes into its set.
As MSTRKRFT's music faded into the background, I found that I liked the duo's sound better from tens of yards away. If anything, MSTRKRFT is great background music.
Over in PB&J land, there was an overflow so I had some trouble squeezing my way under the tent. I had come for just one song, "Young Folk," the one with that catchy whistling tune. The band saved the song for near the end of it's set, which was a smart move considering after the song was over, much of the crowd wandered elsewhere
==========================================
Coachella: Hot Chip, the New Pornographers
• The exuberant fun of the Fratellis may have gotten the party started in Mojave, but the inventive electro rush of Hot Chip truly set the tent off.
Five guys from England on an unusual set up: keyboards, drum programmers, bass synths, Fender Strat, congas. Pure groove enchantment, thanks much to floaty vocals and clever intros, like the one leading into the winsome "And I Was a Boy From School," with a few lines of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes."
There were some absolutely zap-gun stinging grooves from this lot, including one hard hitter, "No Fit State." Each energizing track gets a steady girding from the group's team of vocalists, all working octaves apart and potently so, forming a wall of anthemic roar -- even on a new one, "Ready For a Fall."
• "That's our new album cover," A.C. Newman announced as the New Pornographers, that wonderful power-pop outfit, came on the Outdoor Stage as the last of the really intense heat of the day was about to start fading. A fine time for a Pornographic scene with Newman, Neico Case, Dan Behar and the rest of this Canadian troupe.
Anyway, "We're not gonna play anything from it," Newman added. "But there it is. Bow down before our new album cover."
Best promotion ever of the New Pornos: Play their best old stuff, and very well, too, despite the heat.
But I'm with Newman: I want to be at Peter, Bjorn & John too. Sounds great guys, but I'm outta here.
==========================================
The [dont have the city]Press-Enterprise
The Watcher Is Here
Tom Morello's Nightwatchman performance was indeed a one man revolution! That is until he capped his set of angry folk-inflected protest songs with a resounding version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land I s Your Land," which featured help from Perry Farrell and The Coup's Boots Riley. Morello will be back tomorrow with Rage Against the Machine, but his solo performance was fueled with enough passion to last a week.
==========================================
Night Time Is The Right Time
As the sun began to set on day two of Coachella Kings of Leon played its brand of dirty Southern rock to usher in the evening. Dusk is great at Coachella because it serves to transition the sweaty hot Southern California desert into a nocturnal wonderland of lights, sounds and people. People especially -- it's hard too navigate as the masses grow and the sunlight fades, but it turns this place into a dreamscape. More coming soon ...
===========================================
Pornographers of Comedy?
We're heading down the stretch of day two at Coachella and I think we have a winner for the "best stage banter" category.
Drumroll, please.
The New Pornographers!
This Canadian supergroup with artists from other indie bands played the Outdoor Theatre at 5 p.m. and a video image of the cover of the band's forthcoming album, "Challengers," graced the screen behind the drum set.
"That's our new album cover behind us," singer Carl Newman noted. "We're not going to play anything from it."
Nearby, in the Mojave Tent, Scandinavian group Peter, Bjorn and John played. Newman asked if they could hear the band from the Outdoor Theatre.
"No? I was hoping to catch part of their set and make you wait," he joked.
The band couldn't hear Peter, Bjorn and John, but Travis, which was playing on the Coachella Stage, could be heard loud and clear as the band played the hit "Why Does It Always Rain On Me."
"Hey Travis, keep it down," Newman called into the microphone before cajoling the crowd into singing the chorus of the Travis song.
However, the New Pornographers played a number of songs from their most recent album, "Twin Cinema," layering pretty harmonies over their indie power pop, crafting a solid set that kept the sun-drenched crowd laughing.
From Coachella from the So Cal Newspaper Blog
LA Times
Hot Chip
Is there a yet whiter version of blue-eyed soul? Perpetually sunburned soul? If it exists, English techno-poppers Hot Chip have it nailed. Everything about their sound, from the three-way conga solos to self-referential boasts that "Hot Chip will break your legs," should add up to a perfect storm of aggressive tweeness. But it all works in a schizophrenic and hip-shaking way that's witty but not ironic, affecting without becoming cloying.
==========================================
the New Pornographers
Raising chills on one's arms in 100-degree heat is no easy task, but that's exactly what the New Pornographers did during their Outdoor Stage set with one of the irresistably catchy tracks from their latest album "Twin Cinema." Maybe it's the power of judiciously placed "hey-la" boy-girl harmonies, but the air seemed a little cooler around the Outdoor Stage during their set, enough so there was probably more audience hand-claps per hour than anywhere else at this year's Coachella. Not that lead singer AC Newman felt any cooler.
==========================================
Regina Spektor
As the only singer-songwriter type to grace Coachella's main stage, anti-folk Russian Regina Spektor knew exactly how to capture the audience's attention. She announced this was a singer's show by kicking off with an a cappella number, tapping out bare-bones percussion with her finger on the mic. "I will love him till the day I die," she sang, her rich voice cutting through the staggering heat. The crowd was rendered spellbound, or at least as spellbound as you can be while pouring Gatorade down your gullet.
==========================================
Travis
A friend had a quick word when I answered his what's-your-hurry query by saying I was dashing off to see Travis. "Wimpy."
Wrong. Melodies have muscles too, and the Scottish band flexed them to an adoring, arm-waving crowd who treated gray-round-the-edges frontman Fran Healy as if he were a teen idol. Healy coaxed some beautiful chords out his guitar, practiced his American accent and told the masses assembled at the main stage they were "lovely" -- which they were, after workers dashed down the pathways tossing water bottles and dousing them with wet stuff.
==========================================
Andrew Bird
Now that Patrick Wolf is apparently quitting music (or is he?), there's a void in the field of completely bonkers violin-wielding pop savants. Andrew Bird is easily the best, and probably only, man up for the job.
==========================================
Plam Springs Desert Sun
Decemberists = awesome
As the Arcade Fire start their set, I have to say a few words about the Decemberists. Or at least one word. Awesome. That is all.
==========================================
Celebs checking out Coachella
Nicky and Paris Hilton, Cameron Diaz, Danny DeVito, Kelly Osbourne, Drew Barrymore, to name a few of the luminaries who have poked their heads into the desert this year.
==========================================
Orange Country Register
Coachella: Desert Jeff's overalls
Now that we're mid-way through the longest Coachella ever, some random, overall thoughts:
• Red Hot Chili Peppers still seem like the weakest headliner in Coachella history: if you live in Southern California and you're a fan, you've had so many chances to catch them in the past year it can't even be counted on one hand. I'm looking forward to missing them, so I can see LCD Soundsystem and Girl Talk, but still: I should at least be interested. And I'm not. At all.
• A plus: Organizer Paul Tollett said one of the reasons for the expansion was so he could space bands out so fans could see more of more artists. Guess what, Paul: it worked. This year seems far more organized than ever before so that you're not choosing between two similar artists: other than the debate between Kings of Leon and the Decemberists in 20 minutes, that point's been near moot. That said, I still haven't been to the Sahara tent, which -- come to think of it -- doesn't seem nearly as loud as it has in years past. You ask 'em to turn the volume down?
• A minus: Of course, that also means more slots filled by secondary bands -- like right now, when Travis, New Pornographers, Peter Bjorn & John, and the Nightwatchman played against each other -- all decent bands, but also all better in theory than in practice.
• This year, it also seems that each band's treating Coachella as a "special" event -- surprising, as festivals proliferate even further (I just heard about two more.) Between Bjork's indescribable band, Of Montreals costume changes, The Fratellis playing as if their lives depended on it and -- this just in -- Nightwatchman's collaboration between Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, and Boots Rilley of the Coup, there's a lot of special moments, many more of which I'm sure I've missed.
• It's hot. Could someone please turn down the heat? And while you're at it, slide over some more water, wouldja?
• Three words, coming soon: The. Arcade. Fire. I'll keep you posted in that department.
==========================================
Coachella: MSTRKRFT, Peter Bjorn & John
Caught some of MSTRKRFT in the Sahara tent, which I can still here from where I'm sitting in the Blueroom. The Canadian duo operating under the vowel-challenged moniker drew a bigger crowd than David Guetta did yesterday around this time.
Transitions from track to track weren't as seamless as Guetta's, but MSTRKRFT isn't as repetitive, which is what the French deejay lacked. I listened for a few tracked, then headed over to the Mojave tent where Peter Bjorn & John were already 10 minutes into its set.
As MSTRKRFT's music faded into the background, I found that I liked the duo's sound better from tens of yards away. If anything, MSTRKRFT is great background music.
Over in PB&J land, there was an overflow so I had some trouble squeezing my way under the tent. I had come for just one song, "Young Folk," the one with that catchy whistling tune. The band saved the song for near the end of it's set, which was a smart move considering after the song was over, much of the crowd wandered elsewhere
==========================================
Coachella: Hot Chip, the New Pornographers
• The exuberant fun of the Fratellis may have gotten the party started in Mojave, but the inventive electro rush of Hot Chip truly set the tent off.
Five guys from England on an unusual set up: keyboards, drum programmers, bass synths, Fender Strat, congas. Pure groove enchantment, thanks much to floaty vocals and clever intros, like the one leading into the winsome "And I Was a Boy From School," with a few lines of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes."
There were some absolutely zap-gun stinging grooves from this lot, including one hard hitter, "No Fit State." Each energizing track gets a steady girding from the group's team of vocalists, all working octaves apart and potently so, forming a wall of anthemic roar -- even on a new one, "Ready For a Fall."
• "That's our new album cover," A.C. Newman announced as the New Pornographers, that wonderful power-pop outfit, came on the Outdoor Stage as the last of the really intense heat of the day was about to start fading. A fine time for a Pornographic scene with Newman, Neico Case, Dan Behar and the rest of this Canadian troupe.
Anyway, "We're not gonna play anything from it," Newman added. "But there it is. Bow down before our new album cover."
Best promotion ever of the New Pornos: Play their best old stuff, and very well, too, despite the heat.
But I'm with Newman: I want to be at Peter, Bjorn & John too. Sounds great guys, but I'm outta here.
==========================================
The [dont have the city]Press-Enterprise
The Watcher Is Here
Tom Morello's Nightwatchman performance was indeed a one man revolution! That is until he capped his set of angry folk-inflected protest songs with a resounding version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land I s Your Land," which featured help from Perry Farrell and The Coup's Boots Riley. Morello will be back tomorrow with Rage Against the Machine, but his solo performance was fueled with enough passion to last a week.
==========================================
Night Time Is The Right Time
As the sun began to set on day two of Coachella Kings of Leon played its brand of dirty Southern rock to usher in the evening. Dusk is great at Coachella because it serves to transition the sweaty hot Southern California desert into a nocturnal wonderland of lights, sounds and people. People especially -- it's hard too navigate as the masses grow and the sunlight fades, but it turns this place into a dreamscape. More coming soon ...
===========================================
Pornographers of Comedy?
We're heading down the stretch of day two at Coachella and I think we have a winner for the "best stage banter" category.
Drumroll, please.
The New Pornographers!
This Canadian supergroup with artists from other indie bands played the Outdoor Theatre at 5 p.m. and a video image of the cover of the band's forthcoming album, "Challengers," graced the screen behind the drum set.
"That's our new album cover behind us," singer Carl Newman noted. "We're not going to play anything from it."
Nearby, in the Mojave Tent, Scandinavian group Peter, Bjorn and John played. Newman asked if they could hear the band from the Outdoor Theatre.
"No? I was hoping to catch part of their set and make you wait," he joked.
The band couldn't hear Peter, Bjorn and John, but Travis, which was playing on the Coachella Stage, could be heard loud and clear as the band played the hit "Why Does It Always Rain On Me."
"Hey Travis, keep it down," Newman called into the microphone before cajoling the crowd into singing the chorus of the Travis song.
However, the New Pornographers played a number of songs from their most recent album, "Twin Cinema," layering pretty harmonies over their indie power pop, crafting a solid set that kept the sun-drenched crowd laughing.
And Now Here you what have Been all Waiting for - The all important AP wire story on Coachella
HeadLine:
Bjork sizzles in California desert
Dateline:
Indio, CA
By SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer
INDIO, Calif. (AP) -- With a lineup of performers as hot as the triple-digit weather, tens of thousands of music fans descended on the California desert Saturday for the second of three days of performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Peaches and scores of others.
The bikini-clad women and bare-chested men who arrived early for the festival's second day battled the intense heat by guzzling water while they milled around the Empire Polo Fields, checking out the towering steel sculptures that dotted the grounds.
Hours before, during the festival's first day, they had swayed happily to stellar performances by Bjork, music's eclectic chanteuse, and raunchy rapper Peaches. On tap for Saturday were, among others, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arcade Fire.
"I went to Coachella three years ago. It's the pit of hell, but every year there's something stunning," said 18-year-old musician Jordan Deherrera, who was wearing a trucker's hat over a bandanna.
More than 50,000 concertgoers braved the scorching temperatures, traffic jams and long entrance lines to see 37 bands and DJs on Friday. There were 25 arrests, mostly for alcohol, drugs or unruly conduct, Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron said.
Bjork kicked off a world tour with a colorful, headlining performance Friday night on the main stage.
Joined by an all-female brass band dressed in Day-Glo green, orange and blue, the Icelandic singer wore a multicolored headdress with floor-length cape. She soon threw it off, revealing a black and white bone bodice with green and orange hula skirt that rivaled the attention-grabbing swan outfit she wore to the 2001 Academy Awards.
Swaying, barefoot and skipping in the night breeze, facing a field of screaming fans, she launched into the bombastic "Earth Intruders," the first single from her upcoming album, "Volta."
An energetic set of old and new songs followed, from operatic '90s hit "Army of Me" to the Timbaland-produced new tune "Innocence" and politically charged "Declare Independence."
"Raise your flag!" she sang with an ironic growl, while her chorus of brass players chimed in "higher, higher!," shaking flags attached to their outfits.
"She's amazing," said singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, who played earlier that night. "As usual, I'm jealous of Bjork. I have only one French horn player, she has many more."
Bjork's rallying cry reflected the socially conscious sentiment of other performers at the festival, where '90s politicos Rage Against the Machine will reunite on Sunday.
"There's still a war going on, no matter that there's a fest," rocker-rapper Peaches (real name Merrill Nisker) told The Associated Press before her set, adding that she didn't think enough women played the event.
"It's still pretty white, guitar rock," she said.
But to sweaty, smiling 19-year-old friends Kristina Babayans and Jenna Munoz, Peaches was a top draw.
"She's rad and she's bold," said Babayans, squished to the front of the crowd.
Appropriately, porn star Ron Jeremy introduced the black leather catsuit-clad Canadian musician, who ran onstage wearing a gold mask and carrying a light saber.
Singing the opening track of her new newest album, "Impeach My Bush," Peaches yelled out "impeach Bush, impeach Bush!" to roars from the packed audience.
Across the fairgrounds, at the smaller Gobi tent, British singer Amy Winehouse brought on a more sedate dash of steamy sassiness.
Backed by eight-piece funk band the Dap-Kings, the bouffant-haired Winehouse crooned and joked, showing off her new engagement ring and hoisting up her tank top in the heat.
"Between the shoes and the hair, I'm not that big. I just met Danny DeVito. I'm his size," she told the crowd, which spilled past the tent's confines.
Other celebrity fans in attendance included Kelly Osbourne and Cameron Diaz.
Additional highlights included L.A. indie rock troupe the Silversun Pickups, rapper Busdriver and newly reunited Scottish band the Jesus and Mary Chain, who played a flawless set of '90s hits, including the hypnotic "Just Like Honey" with guest Scarlett Johansson.
Buzz artists at the festival include pop-reggae newcomer Lily Allen and Brazil's CSS.
Bjork sizzles in California desert
Dateline:
Indio, CA
By SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer
INDIO, Calif. (AP) -- With a lineup of performers as hot as the triple-digit weather, tens of thousands of music fans descended on the California desert Saturday for the second of three days of performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Peaches and scores of others.
The bikini-clad women and bare-chested men who arrived early for the festival's second day battled the intense heat by guzzling water while they milled around the Empire Polo Fields, checking out the towering steel sculptures that dotted the grounds.
Hours before, during the festival's first day, they had swayed happily to stellar performances by Bjork, music's eclectic chanteuse, and raunchy rapper Peaches. On tap for Saturday were, among others, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Arcade Fire.
"I went to Coachella three years ago. It's the pit of hell, but every year there's something stunning," said 18-year-old musician Jordan Deherrera, who was wearing a trucker's hat over a bandanna.
More than 50,000 concertgoers braved the scorching temperatures, traffic jams and long entrance lines to see 37 bands and DJs on Friday. There were 25 arrests, mostly for alcohol, drugs or unruly conduct, Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron said.
Bjork kicked off a world tour with a colorful, headlining performance Friday night on the main stage.
Joined by an all-female brass band dressed in Day-Glo green, orange and blue, the Icelandic singer wore a multicolored headdress with floor-length cape. She soon threw it off, revealing a black and white bone bodice with green and orange hula skirt that rivaled the attention-grabbing swan outfit she wore to the 2001 Academy Awards.
Swaying, barefoot and skipping in the night breeze, facing a field of screaming fans, she launched into the bombastic "Earth Intruders," the first single from her upcoming album, "Volta."
An energetic set of old and new songs followed, from operatic '90s hit "Army of Me" to the Timbaland-produced new tune "Innocence" and politically charged "Declare Independence."
"Raise your flag!" she sang with an ironic growl, while her chorus of brass players chimed in "higher, higher!," shaking flags attached to their outfits.
"She's amazing," said singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, who played earlier that night. "As usual, I'm jealous of Bjork. I have only one French horn player, she has many more."
Bjork's rallying cry reflected the socially conscious sentiment of other performers at the festival, where '90s politicos Rage Against the Machine will reunite on Sunday.
"There's still a war going on, no matter that there's a fest," rocker-rapper Peaches (real name Merrill Nisker) told The Associated Press before her set, adding that she didn't think enough women played the event.
"It's still pretty white, guitar rock," she said.
But to sweaty, smiling 19-year-old friends Kristina Babayans and Jenna Munoz, Peaches was a top draw.
"She's rad and she's bold," said Babayans, squished to the front of the crowd.
Appropriately, porn star Ron Jeremy introduced the black leather catsuit-clad Canadian musician, who ran onstage wearing a gold mask and carrying a light saber.
Singing the opening track of her new newest album, "Impeach My Bush," Peaches yelled out "impeach Bush, impeach Bush!" to roars from the packed audience.
Across the fairgrounds, at the smaller Gobi tent, British singer Amy Winehouse brought on a more sedate dash of steamy sassiness.
Backed by eight-piece funk band the Dap-Kings, the bouffant-haired Winehouse crooned and joked, showing off her new engagement ring and hoisting up her tank top in the heat.
"Between the shoes and the hair, I'm not that big. I just met Danny DeVito. I'm his size," she told the crowd, which spilled past the tent's confines.
Other celebrity fans in attendance included Kelly Osbourne and Cameron Diaz.
Additional highlights included L.A. indie rock troupe the Silversun Pickups, rapper Busdriver and newly reunited Scottish band the Jesus and Mary Chain, who played a flawless set of '90s hits, including the hypnotic "Just Like Honey" with guest Scarlett Johansson.
Buzz artists at the festival include pop-reggae newcomer Lily Allen and Brazil's CSS.
This Just In - Video From Coachella
Well you knew this will happened
Some video from Coachella have hit you tube
here are some of the Performer from last night at Coachella.
[Editor Note: it up now but we don't know it going to be taken Down so if you see the Message "this Video is No Longer Availed" May be the Video was taken Down and on this blog sight i will no put dead Links on the main page.]
Bjork
Arctic Monkeys
Some video from Coachella have hit you tube
here are some of the Performer from last night at Coachella.
[Editor Note: it up now but we don't know it going to be taken Down so if you see the Message "this Video is No Longer Availed" May be the Video was taken Down and on this blog sight i will no put dead Links on the main page.]
Bjork
Arctic Monkeys
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
==========================================
More Web Cast review From Coachella #5
Well it past 10 P.M in Detroit Rock City
and if your are Wondering
Indio, CA[7PM/The Weather Channel]92°
San Diego [7PM/KSDN}62°F
LA [7PM/KCBS}61°
Detroit[10PM/WDIV]58°
Oh by the way can somebody tell why is about 30* cooler in So Cal then in the Desert
Let Me know at Culturecitynewstips[at]yahoo[dot]com
Well when the full Coachella Line Up i knew there would be some gig that was not My likeing and Seeing a long Sterch of bands Ranging from OK to so-so
the Frames
the Dublin base Band We Alright did not get there Melow pop.
Jack's Mannequin
there is a real good reason i don't like Panic at the Disco and My Chemail Romanced, Jack's Mannequin is some kind of Dramatic Like the other Emo band i presume the Hot Chip was better than this.
[Pleased Note: Regina Spektor played at the Same time as Jack's Mannequin and will be show on the Webcast at Midnight.]
Andrew Bird
He was the Better of the three, OK Music, But he a good Wisheler.
and if your are Wondering
Indio, CA[7PM/The Weather Channel]92°
San Diego [7PM/KSDN}62°F
LA [7PM/KCBS}61°
Detroit[10PM/WDIV]58°
Oh by the way can somebody tell why is about 30* cooler in So Cal then in the Desert
Let Me know at Culturecitynewstips[at]yahoo[dot]com
Well when the full Coachella Line Up i knew there would be some gig that was not My likeing and Seeing a long Sterch of bands Ranging from OK to so-so
the Frames
the Dublin base Band We Alright did not get there Melow pop.
Jack's Mannequin
there is a real good reason i don't like Panic at the Disco and My Chemail Romanced, Jack's Mannequin is some kind of Dramatic Like the other Emo band i presume the Hot Chip was better than this.
[Pleased Note: Regina Spektor played at the Same time as Jack's Mannequin and will be show on the Webcast at Midnight.]
Andrew Bird
He was the Better of the three, OK Music, But he a good Wisheler.
Review From the Web Cast -#4
Instance review From the Coachella
and before i do any thing if you want to know
the Pistion Sweep the Magic 4-0 by beating Orlando 97-93.
Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Richard Hamilton added 19.
Red Wings did tie it up with San Jose by winning Game 2, 3-2
Pavel Datsyuk scored with 1:24 left to win it.
and the Lions is Keeping there First round Draft pick
it Calvin Johnson WR from Georgia Tech
Now that you in the Know here so far from the Coachella Web cast from the AT&T Buleroom.
Gogol Bordello
they began the web cast with a left over from last night because they were playing at the same time as the Electfing Bjork, and they have rock the tent during there live set which was really rock with there punk-fuse gypsy cabaret sound, I look like there have a good time up there in the set [Which was taped last night]and they show how much of a rucest they have during there live set.
Now Wonder aot of my Detroit friends who have seen them in there two gig loved this band.
Fields
This is for all the Shoegazer out there the band From Fields Warwickshire, England.
Fields played to a light but early Crowd but they build the Crowd up with Noisy brand of showgazing and the wonderful vocals by pretty Keyboard Thorunn Antonia and Guitarist Nick Peill, there sound is sort of like Sweet but Tripp Not thing much on style but much on substance, there was a good band to look at.
And if you want to know there are playing the Lager House in Corktown on Mat the 15th.
The Cribs
The Next Band on the Web Cast is the Brother Jarman[Gary, Ryan, and Ross]A.K.A. "The Cribs and they bring there A-Game to the table as they Blister out good set as the Crowd like the Engery of the band as they burn the tent with there set which they played new stuff from there album "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever'" which will be released on May 21th.
they did really rock when they played on of my fave song from the band "Hey Scenesters!".
and before i do any thing if you want to know
the Pistion Sweep the Magic 4-0 by beating Orlando 97-93.
Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Richard Hamilton added 19.
Red Wings did tie it up with San Jose by winning Game 2, 3-2
Pavel Datsyuk scored with 1:24 left to win it.
and the Lions is Keeping there First round Draft pick
it Calvin Johnson WR from Georgia Tech
Now that you in the Know here so far from the Coachella Web cast from the AT&T Buleroom.
Gogol Bordello
they began the web cast with a left over from last night because they were playing at the same time as the Electfing Bjork, and they have rock the tent during there live set which was really rock with there punk-fuse gypsy cabaret sound, I look like there have a good time up there in the set [Which was taped last night]and they show how much of a rucest they have during there live set.
Now Wonder aot of my Detroit friends who have seen them in there two gig loved this band.
Fields
This is for all the Shoegazer out there the band From Fields Warwickshire, England.
Fields played to a light but early Crowd but they build the Crowd up with Noisy brand of showgazing and the wonderful vocals by pretty Keyboard Thorunn Antonia and Guitarist Nick Peill, there sound is sort of like Sweet but Tripp Not thing much on style but much on substance, there was a good band to look at.
And if you want to know there are playing the Lager House in Corktown on Mat the 15th.
The Cribs
The Next Band on the Web Cast is the Brother Jarman[Gary, Ryan, and Ross]A.K.A. "The Cribs and they bring there A-Game to the table as they Blister out good set as the Crowd like the Engery of the band as they burn the tent with there set which they played new stuff from there album "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever'" which will be released on May 21th.
they did really rock when they played on of my fave song from the band "Hey Scenesters!".
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