Well we did it! California's Coachella, or maybe rather, it did us! 3 full days of music, sun, rain, heat, cold, and awesomeness. The grounds have to be seen to be believed, huge sprawling fields usually reserved for Polo games, rocky mountains climbing into the sky off in the distance in all directions, and an endless supply of huge palm trees. After spending 45 minutes in 2 lots of pointless security we finally got in, got our bearings, and headed off to the Mojave stage to see Givers.
DAY 1
Givers
I was really looking forward to seeing Givers, and they were already playing as we entered the huge tent. The first thing I noticed was Tiffany Lamson at the front of the stage bashing on a set of Drums, I always find that quite dynamic to watch, when singers multi-task and go all out on a drum kit of some description. Seems like they played the entire latest album in full. In Light is a fantastic piece of up beat, indie happiness which is a true joy to listen to and blew me away live. These young guys from Lafayette, Louisiana are going places, and their hit Up Up Up was a huge crowd pleaser and had everyone dancing. The only down side to the set was a fair bit of feedback that the mics kept giving. I know they were one of the first acts up on the first day so I figured the sound guys were just having a few teething issues.
Sebastian
I never was a huge Sebastian fan and after seeing him last year at Parklife I felt like this performance was a bit same ol, same ol. Actually to be honest this guy creeps me out. His old school Nazi propaganda style video display never fails to put me off, there is something not quite right with Sebastian, and if that's what he's going for well, mission accomplished. I always go to see him even though I'm not a fan of his music and I think he's completely off, so he must be doing something right. The Sahara stage was really well set up, it became obvious that this was to be the dance stage for the festival. 4 huge LED lighting panels went right the way along the entire roof from the stage to the back of the huge tent, along with an epic amount of speakers and other lighting structures. I cant really comment on anything other than that, if you like French Electro music, or you like that feeling where you think you shouldn't look anymore cos you're feeling a bit disturbed, but you cant look away, check out Sebastian.
At this point in the day I truly felt the cold. It was raining and the wind was blowing so hard. The fashion was similar to Australian festivals HOWEVER there was only 1 or 2 pairs of inappropriate short shorts! And I found it interesting that a really strong 70's vibe seemed popular, huge flares, fluffy vests, flowers painted on cheeks, flowing messy hair with feathery headbands, I wonder how long it will take to hit Aussie shores. Of course all the guys still look the same, singlets, denim shorts, the occasion rock dude in a leather jacket with long hair, no obvious crazy men's fashion trends to look out for in Australia any time soon.
Grouplove
Grouplove got my attention last year when they released Ichin' on a Photograph, and after procuring the whole album I was really impressed with these guys. The crowd seemed super excited to see them which always feels infectious and the band came out with just as much enthusiasm. The stage was set up with reeds and really long grasses and it felt like we were all on a field somewhere..oh wait...we were. I was lucky enough to be standing right in the middle quite close to the front and there was a bit of a speed bump- cable cover thing which I was standing on like a step, couldn't believe how much little old me could see, really wish I was taller like this all the time. Playing all their hits from their latest album Never Trust a Happy Song, like Tongue Tied, Naked Kids, Spun and of course Itchin' On a Photograph, Grouplove were busting with energy and seemed completely wrapped to be there. It was a quick set, which packed a really fun punch, super high energy and was gone what seemed all too soon. I was so glad to have seen these guys, and if you ever get the chance to see them, do it.
Arctic Monkeys
After freezing out in the open trying to eat dinner I decided this would now be called Cold-chella and wrapped my scarf around my head and neck to try to stop my teeth chattering. Then we headed towards the main stage to get warmer amongst the crowd. I have always loved Arctic Monkeys, sure their last album Suck It And See basically just sucked and was filled with quiet boredom, but when it comes to performing live, these guys just cant be faulted. Seems as though someone might have told them that their last album both sucks and blows because they really only played about 3 tracks off it. Loads coming from their first album and my favourite Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. These guys now have 4 albums out and they have definitely come a long way, no longer the grubby lads from Sheffield, these men are now styled well groomed sexy rock gods! The transformation is truly spectacular, and I found myself with a new crush on frontman Alex Turner. No longer Cold-chella, now OMG Amazing-Chella. They slammed onstage with their opening track Brianstorm and plowed through other old indie-punk classics like Teddy Picker and also played their latest offering and my current favourite song of right now R U Mine? I recorded it on my iphone and have since watched it about 15 times, reveling in how much I fricken love that song! I found it interesting to note they had 3 songs off a supposed new album yet to be released and I was floored by how amazing these 3 tracks were, one being R U Mine? and the other 2 were just as awesome, one having the most amazing drum beat I've heard in a really long time. I'm super pumped for their next album which seems to be a return to their old gems and a break from the crap of Suck It and See. These guys made my day! They were so fantastic to see, and although it was so cold that Arctic Monkeys seemed the perfect band name, we were all toasty by the end of the set, it's a shame that stopped as soon as the band did.
The Rapture
After the Arctic Monkeys cooled things off, we headed to The Rapture purely to get warm from toasty dancing bodies and hot funky grooves. Didn't manage to hear my favourite Rapture track 'No Sex for Ben' but we were lucky enough to bop along to 'Gotta Get Myself Into It'. I remember thinking 'Honestly, how good can The Black Keys really be... maybe we should just stay here!' In my defense, 1) we didn't stay there and miss The Black Keys, and 2) it was about 10'c outside the tent, stupidly windy and starting to rain. But off we headed after The Rapture finished and all the warm people started vanishing.
The Black Keys
We got a decent spot for The Black Keys, however I quickly discovered we were next to annoying group of drunk girls, I knew there had to be some here among the 95,000 people. The 2 guys look a lot cleaner than I remember, Guitarist Dan Auerback was kind of cute without his huge gross long beard. I was so glad they played Gold On The Ceiling, one of my favourite songs off their cracking new album El Camino, the crowd certainly enjoyed it! We headed a bit further back to see more and get away from the annoying girls and found a great spot with room for me to boogie along to Money Maker. I was a little bummed they didn't play my fav Black Keys track of all time 10AM Automatic which was the first song I ever heard from these guys back in 2004 but they've had 9 albums, cant expect all their tracks. We decided at the last minute to miss the last few songs of The Black Keys to race over to catch the last few from M83.
M83
It's a shame M83 was so crowded, we couldn't actually even get into the tent, we had to lurk outside with a million other people busting to get closer to hearing and seeing M83. We thought about staying there but I couldn't even hear it properly and I didn't want to have left The Black Keys for nothing. So I grabbed Daniel and headed into the tightly packed crowd, not to get to the front but at least to get inside the tent. SO glad we did, we caught the last 2 songs, the best of M83, Reunion and Midnight City. Unfortunately being so small and so far back in the tightly packed tent I couldn't actually see anything on stage but that Saxophone solo at the end of Midnight City was truly fantastic, when done right, a sax solo is the bomb! When done wrong, you end up with Kenny G's greatest shits.
Day 1 was cold, wet and very exciting! Saw some amazing bands and fashion. Cant believe how close I was for Grouplove, and Arctic Monkeys rocked my world. Not a fan for the 2 pointless security points, sure they'd stop guns, but if it's drugs your looking for, get some sniffer dogs, otherwise the old lesbian that gave me a 3 minute boob grope was just pointless, and a little disturbing! The 45 minute walk to the shuttle buses also seemed excessive but we were all nice and warm by the time we got there and we slept all the way home to the hotel. Hoping day 2 and 3 would be warmer!
DAY 2
Vaccines
Starting off with the Vaccines was the beginning of Day 2. We almost missed them because the shuttles were apparently skipping our hotel for about 30 minutes, oh and I seemed to have picked up Daniel's cold, not a great start to day 2. The weather still chilly but beautifully sunny which was a great sign and apart from a small domestic which was eventually resolved I was determined to enjoy myself and have a great day! I've always loved The Vaccines, I know a lot of people think they're a little over rated but I just love them. They played a similar but slightly shorter set list to what they played in Sydney when they supported Kasabian a few months ago. They played all the catchy tracks like Norgaard, If you Wanna and one of the most cracking pop rock gems Wreckin' Bar (ra ra ra). They had the crowd, which looked a little younger in this tent, dancing and moshing and having a ball. I'm not sure, maybe it's the mop of hair but for some reason, front man Justin Young reminds me of belligerent Irish comedian Dylan Moran, that just makes watching these guys even more entertaining to me.
The Kaiser Chiefs
Not much has changed with the Kaiser Chiefs, they are still rocking out at festivals and still playing loads of their golden oldies. I didn't actually count but I'm pretty sure their first 2 albums (the popular ones) Employment and Yours Truly, Angry Mob were featured much more heavily than the 2 latest albums, Off with Their Heads and The Future is Medieval. I felt like the lead singer was a bit douchy though, he found a camera man who was filming and proceeded to accost the camera for the next 3 songs, all I could see on the big screen was his giant extreme close up head singing angrily back at me. It was worse when they'd cut to another camera showing him grabbing the other lens and abusing it, he actually just looked quite silly... like he forgot we were all there, I ended up feeling like I was interrupting something. However, it was still entertaining, and they still have loads of skill as musicians and entertainers and it's safe to say we all enjoyed bopping along to all the hits including, I Predict a Riot, Ruby, and Never Miss a Beat.
Taking advantage of the sunshine we decided to have lunch then ride the huge Coachella Ferris wheel and got some amazing pictures of the grand scale of the camping grounds and parking lots. This first shot is one car-park of about 5 lots. It was so epic in size! Here's a few photos I took on the second day from my little ol iPhone.
Noel Gallagher and the High Flying Birds
I'd heard from a friend of a friend that when they saw Noel Gallagher play with his High Flying Birds, they actually played 30% Oasis gear. Now I'm not sure what mathematical equation was used to come up with this percentage but I was impressed and for that reason alone decided to check him out. Turns out they have like 7 albums, who knew! I figured the friend of a friend was a mathematical retard when I didn't recognize any of the songs! Turns out I'm the retard who only knows the album What's The Story Morning Glory. It was still entertaining, Noel has some really nice soft rock tunes, and he is still a very enjoyable entertainer to watch, but as song after song went by with what I thought was no Oasis, I was beginning to hate him. With those standard words "Thank you this is our last song" ringing out I was elated to hear the unmistakable beginning rift to Don't Look Back in Anger. Bout stinken time I say! I found out later that there were a few extra Oasis tracks but none of them sounded familiar to me. They were really enjoyable to watch I was just desperate for a little Wonderwall or some Champagne Supernova.
The Shins
I actually managed to not pee myself, I was so excited to see my most favourite band of all time The Shins. I've never seen them live before and when I heard rumours they'd be playing Coachella I couldn't believe it! We got a great spot to see them, and we discovered the crowd was always smaller on the far left side of the main stage so we got quite close but could still see. They opened with Kissing The Lipless then went straight into the great track Australia which they wrote when they were hear last for Splendour in The Grass back in 2007 I think. James Mercer is my absolute idol, he is a poet who creates such vivid imagery with his lyrics. And while he's kinda old and maybe a losing his hair, I still think he's certainly amazing, however, he did remind me slightly of my father-in-law, which threw me off a bit. I got a piggy back from Daniel so I could see everything and fell in love with their female guitarist, who looked shockingly like Amy Winehouse, complete with head scarf and everything! I was completely overwhelmed when my favourite song of all time from my favourite band of all time, Phantom Limb came on, Daniel offered to put me on his shoulders (for the first time ever) and I almost became a crying fan girl. Managed to keep it together and I will never forget that moment! I cant wait to see these guys when they tour Australia again in a few months.
Feist
We caught the last few uninteresting tracks by Feist. I do know a decent chunk of her stuff, but I didn't recognise a single song and they all a little boring after my mind was just blown by The Shins. I had a thought that maybe all live music would be crap from now on, maybe all music full stop. I was wrong, it was just that Feist was crap. The most interesting and to be honest alarming, part of this portion of the night was seeing my first punter heavily affected by drugs. You get it far too much at Aussie festivals, people who cant handle and just shouldn't bother with drugs, but this was the first instance and last, I saw at Coachella. A girl passed out, was slapped back in to consciousness by her friend, Daniel (Knight in shining armour) went to see if security could help, they couldn't (be bothered) and a few minutes later she was up and "dancing". Problem solved...for now. We asked if we could help...water...Peanut M& M's... apparently she was just 'tired'. That old chestnut.
Bon Iver
We decided at the last minute to wander over and see Bon Iver and I'm so glad we did, I was blown away. I really only know a few of his/their tracks due to the fact that I have kind of avoided him because he's a bit of a downer. Obviously Skinny Love was always a track I adored, unless you're deaf I'm pretty sure you have to like it, that's what my brain tells me anyway. So sitting, shivering in the cold, we watched. The interesting lighting sculptures on stage were something I've never seen before and they lit up in different colours (shown above, not lit) and they matched the ethereal sound coming from the band. I didn't recognise too many songs and wasn't expecting to but when Skinny Love began, I got goosebumps (was probably the cold, but maybe not) it was so amazing. I was glad to be sitting next to my beautiful husband who was doing his best to keep me warm, and it was a bit of a special moment (he probably had no idea it was a special moment, and was thinking of hot chocolates and the warm bus ride later, most likely, but it was special to me). I was really impressed with Bon Iver and would definitely recommend checking him out if you ever get the chance.
Radiohead
Well what can I say, totally worth the wait doesn't cover it. I'm not a huge fan of Radiohead, I've always found them a little too sombre for me to get into, however I've always recognised their greatness and Thom York's genius and passion. A few more annoying people around in spots and after a few more piggy backs from Dan I was a little grossed out to see Thom Yorke is really tiny and has a pony tail, I'm not a man pony tail fan. The set was amazing, all blue and green and aqua with huge screens strung up constantly changing formation. These guys had such amazing stage presents, obvious seasoned performing veterans. Was stoked they played my 2 favourite Radiohead tracks 15 Steps, and Karma Police. Singing my heart out to Karma Police watching Radiohead onstage with the biggest crowd I've ever seen all around me me was completely surreal. I feel so fortunate to have been there to experience that! Although we were totally exhausted we stayed as long as we could and we decided to miss the last few songs so we wouldn't have to wait for a bus home, but could hear Codex playing as we made our way along the side of the festival grounds to the bus area. I totally loved Radiohead and for anyone who has tickets to see them when they tour Australia soon, you're in for a huge treat.
DAY 3
Exhausted but determined to push our way through the third and final day, we were very excited to see that the temperate had finally hit the high 20's for the first time since we landed on the continent and knew today would be loads warmer! It turned out to be maybe slightly too warm but there was loads of shade. It was really quite amusing to see bodies sleeping everywhere, everyone tuckered out from their 2 big days, trying to muster up some enthusiasm to squeeze as much memory gold from the Coachella experience, secretly wishing it was just a 2 day festival, maybe that was just me. We'd gotten better at judging the time taken to get through the 2 lots of security and arrive perfectly about 2 minutes before Band of Skulls started.
Band of Skulls
I'm convinced these guys will one day take over the world, mark my words! They have such a great old school rock sound, really gritty. They opened with a stinken great track of their new album, current hit single Sweet Sour, and I have here on my note pad from the day 'loving Skulls, so tired, way too old for this shit' haha. They rocked through 12 songs and I noticed the crowd was generally a lot older and covered in leather, I fitted in perfectly with my leather jacket. They finished with Death by Diamonds and Pearls and I was really happy with them, Band of Skulls are so talented and the music they are putting out is fantastic and always gets stuck in my head. Daniel said they were his favourite performance of the weekend.
Santigold
I always love watching Santigold live, she's such a maiden of entertainment, so skilled in her craft of slightly odd, indie, pop, dancehall, goodness. This time she had some amazing backup dancers, dancing like true dancehall dancers (too many dance words) extremely sexual, and (for lack a better description) African jungle style. They danced in a way that no white chick ever could, and it was completely fantastic to watch. She got a group of people out of the crowd and up onstage to dance with her which is always interesting to watch and she just seemed like she was having a great time. There was a wardrobe change and the crowd was entertained by a Horse (2 people dressing in a horse costume) which was odd but added to the spectacle and she came back to play my favourite Satigold track Hold The Line which features Major Lazer. She also played Jay Z's version of Brooklyn Go Hard before launching into her original Shove It which was where Jay Z sampled her from and that was probably the highlight of her amazing set.
The Hives
God these guys are obnoxious! I guess, in a good way, but mainly just in an obnoxious way. Dressed in suits with top hats and tails these guys were like a punch in the face as soon as they stepped on stage. I spent most of the time wondering why lead singer Pelle Almqvist has a southern American accent but figured he was just putting it on, but it lasted for the entire show. These guys are Swedish right? Shouldn't he sing like Nikola Sarcevic from Millencolin? Anyway, this perplexed me for far too long and I decided he was putting the accent on, which added to the obnoxiousness. They were however thoroughly entertaining and I was surprised I knew so many songs, they even played one of their old ones Main Offender, Which I haven't heard in years and was gold to hear! At one point in the middle of the last track of their set Tick Tick Boom Pelle got the whole audience to sit down, he said "even the VIP area, just cos you know someone in mid level management doesn't make you a VIP. All the VIP's even you Tom Hanks, sit down!" When everyone was seated (except for myself and a few others filming this and hoping not to be singled out to sit down) he headed towards the chorus where everyone jumped up and rocked out. It was much cooler to see in real life, it looks a little lame on my iPhone but I've watched it a bunch of times and still laugh. After the set was finished he proceeded to crap on about how no other band was as good as the Hives and that we should give it up for The Hives and blah blah The Hives blah blah.... I was waiting for the hook to come out and drag him off but he eventually decided to leave the mic alone and swagger offstage. Nothing if not entertaining.
Gotye
Gotye's crowd was huge, and there was an alarming amount of Aussies present as well. People seemed distracted and not really into it which was a little annoying because he was playing a great set list of hits from all of his albums. The Aussies were keen on all of them of course but everyone else just seemed to be hanging around. Even Hearts a Mess didn't help any extras to focus. It was horrifically apparent why everyone was there when those unmistakable first notes of Somebody That I Used to Know began. Everyone truly lost their shit, it was easily the biggest reaction I'd seen so far for the weekend, putting it out there, most popular song of Coachella 2012. Everyone was on shoulders and what was left to view was a sea of camera screens recording away. So up I got, when in Rome, and I was more in awe of the crowd, singing so loud you couldn't even hear poor Wally Debacker singing his Triple J hottest 100 number 1 track. And my god, who expected him to bring Kimbra to the other side of the world for 1 verse and a couple of choruses, not me! Looks like I was wrong and I thought everyone was going to have a conniption when she strutted out! Song blaring, everyone singing, a good time had by all. But then alarmingly, everyone cleared out as soon as the song was over, I Feel Better began to my delight and off everyone strolled!! It's great that the Yanks are now aware of his genius but it was a bit embarrassing to see how little they cared or knew of any of his other material and it seemed like the tent was then almost empty but containing 100% Aussies absolutely loving it! I suddenly had a great amount of dancing space for Learnalilgivinanlovin and I walked away wondering if maybe he should change his set list for Coachella weekend 2 to finish with Somebody That I Used to Know.
Justice/Girltalk
Sitting down and having a wine or 2 to warm up we were between the 2 major stages. On one stage, Justice were cranking out some huge tracks and on the other stage Girltalk was doing what he does best...rip off other peoples songs and cram them awkwardly into a new beat. I flipped between listening to the 2 of them while I ate a slice of pizza that must have come from a pizza 1 meter in diameter and drank my god awful over priced cheap house white, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I feel, as someone who only knows a few tracks from each of these guys, I got the best of both worlds. When I didn't know a song being played by Justice I'd tune in to Girltalk and nod away, and vice-vesa, it was actually really entertaining. one ear for Justice and the other for Girltalk.
At The Drive In
Sorry to say, At The Drive In were crap...with The Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala back in his old spot fronting ATDI they were kind of like Rage Against The Machine, only really shit. I could tell, usually they are probably really good, the beats were dynamic, the melodies were interesting but Cedric had the mic so far down his throat I could not make out a single lyric he was singing. Apart from his lack of annunciation, he also didn't waver from the excessively high monotone note that every line of every song seemed to be sung in. Like a cat being murdered. We stayed as long as we could, then left early. Don't hate me for this review, I'm sorry to their fans.... ATDI should be too. if you're going to Splendour in the Grass this year, don't say you weren't warned!
Florence and the Machine
Florence will always be Florence, bare footed, decked out in some flowing sparkly costume and dancing by herself in her own world onstage in front of thousands. She is a genius, and most of the time, watching her perform feels like I've stumbled across her dancing around in her bedroom, like we don't exist. She is so genuine and sincere and heartfelt and talented and emotive, gush gush. She played loads of her latest album Ceremonials including the amazing Never Let Me Go and had her signature harp onstage, it wouldn't be a Florence and the Machine show without it. Her voice is just flawless and she spent most of the gig standing so far away from the mic due to her massively powerful set of lungs. If you get the chance to see her live you wont regret it!
Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg
Last act of the festival! We made it! Well we missed the Tupac hologram, I think! We couldn't see much until we decided to head out of the crowd and towards the buses (which was so freaken far away) but when we saw the good view from a little further back we stayed for a few songs more until we were dead on legs and couldn't stay another moment. But it was amazing to see Snoop get 95,000 people to Drop It Like It's Hot, I was dancing like there was no tomorrow, as were most other around me, with the last ounce of energy I had. They played a large amount of songs from artists that I'm guessing are under Dre and Snoops label (or whoever owns it) like House of Pain's Jump around, 50 Cents's In The Club and Tupac's California Love. Looking at the set list I found online, I don't know exactly when we left, but I'm pretty sure I don't remember Eminem onstage (hmmm...I probably should have hung around) oh well, like I said we were dead-on-legs by this stage and a little relieved it was over!
It was the most mind blowing experience and I loved almost every moment of it. I saw bands I've always wanted to see and saw bands I've seen loads and love. I was so impressed by the venue and above that, the crowd, mature and interested in music and enjoying the festival experience. I'm not sure I can go back to Aussie festivals that make me appalled at the youth of today and make me feel glad to be old(er) and way more sensible! The weather was crazy and the music was unforgettable, and the artsy sculptures were surreal, I feel so lucky to have been able to go and would say, if you ever feel like visiting the US around April GO TO COACHELLA! It has to be experienced to be believed!!
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I also want to say thanks so much to everyone who read the blog and supported me along the way. It was a fun little project to work on and I've really enjoyed myself. I've documented memories of some of my favourite gigs and I know I'll be back to walk down memory lane and re-read these posts. I've decided this will be my last post for a while, maybe not ever, but most likely for a while until I get inspired again. In the mean time the next crazy project I've decided to take on is to learn how to play the piano! I've got myself a free old school pianola off Gumtree, well free except for the $400 delivery charge, and I've got my Piano for Dummies book so I'll see how I go. Like I said, thanks so much again, it's been a blast.
Kylie
xoxo
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