Fan with a fan
05-01-2008, 12:45 PM
Coachella (Sat and Sun)
.ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P{padding:0px;}.ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}Let's see... what was amazing...
In no particular order:
Portishead: It was easy to see why they only do their thing every 17 years. Beth emotes with such intensity, I was concerned for her. They were extraordinary. It put me in mind of what witnessing Billie Holliday perform might've been like ... was second row, praise it!
Prince: Still second row! What a diva! He closed Sat night and kept us weary and cooked hot waiting for about half an hour, as 48 roadies strolled back and forth, smoke drifted, violins played, violet lights beamed and a disembodied voice muttered orders on the mic ... I began to wonder if this was, in fact, his performance.
I amused at least myself by speculating on what he was up to backstage:
Shelia E.? (SHE WAS THERE! And she wailed, btw) Getting waxed? Having champagne poured over, to keep him fresh? Thinking of a new name? What?
His show was the THING. Like a meta Motown review. (Check his cover of Creep! He princed all over it) He was funny, too. Kept asking "what's my name?" (If it's still that symbol on the kick drum, you tell me, buddy.)
P.S. Prince, if you're reading this, please play Erotic City for me.
The heat was amazing.
The general manners of the crowd were amazing.
...Aside from the falling down, fornicating pair to my left ... It wasn't sexy, and it wasn't funny. It was annoying. The guy had an arm in a cast - perhaps this is why he couldn't hold the formation - and the girl kept waving her right arm in my face. They had a second girl with them who texted the night away (face down at the device while Prince preached, thumbs flying, announcing to no one "Prince is my favorite!") who would occasionally let the main female grab the goods. Still not sexy, but kinda funny.
Speaking of love: the date shakes were darn good at Shield's Date Farm, though I didn't see the "Romance and Sex Life of the Date" movie they offered. Next time.
Hot Chip: yes please!
Chromeo gave about 30 percent and closed their set with 100% (the song, the slap in the face, the irony). Seriously - they kept us waiting for 40 minutes and then strolled thorugh 7 songs.
They were wearing suits, though - so maybe that's what took so long and kept it so short...
(They played instruments, too. It's so cute how they're copying the BBoys style and failing to capture the energy.)
Walked away from Love and Rockets and Roger Waters. They did not mind.
(Speaking of Roger: I felt badly for the singers who'd swallowed dust all day and then had to squeak with -5% humidity working against them. In any case, with respect to Dark Side of the Moon, I was there to dance. Also, from the tent I headed to, was able to appreciate the sheer spectacle: fireworks, flying pigs, flames, surround sound, a plane dropping pro-Obama papers over the crowd... Yah. Pretty dick, that last bit, whatever your politics.)
Kraftwerk: if that's old school, no thanks. It sounded like the most boring car alarm, ahem, "going off". Even their visuals were static. "I missed Yo Majesty for THIS?"
MIA in Mexico = volcano. MIA in Coachella = okay.
Cafe Tacuba: yes indeedy!
Gogol Bordello: MUCH prefer them in the small clubs. Their gypsy-orgy-thingy just isn't the same at a huge, outdoor, sunshiney jumbotron venue. My only celeb (in the crowd) sighting was Pink, on what seemed to be ahem, a lady date, during their set.
Sons and Daughters: was excited about them, been loving their first album a while. They were good - more so when the guy sang. The female was drunk (?)
Speaking of drunk: Sean Penn. Drunk, fo sho. Sloppy, anway. His pitch was watered down by his mien. (Have you heard of his Dirty Hands Across America? Trucks leaving Coachella for a homebuild in Louisiana. I'm no debutante. Gotta pay that rent, feed that cat and turn in those forms, sir. Wish I coulda, though. That'd be a thing to remember all one's days.) Still, "I missed Spiritualized for THIS?"
Simian Mobile Disco: Thanks kindly!
Justice: ALSO FUN! Even better then when I saw them in the streets of LA last October. They closed Sun perfectly.
I missed a few bands I would've preferred to see - only they were front loaded, so I'll catch Kid Sister/A Trak, Little Brother, et al and the rest at a local joint sometime.
And that was the Coachella that was...
Of course we didn't run into each other there - but how was your time? Who'd you see?
.ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P{padding:0px;}.ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}Let's see... what was amazing...
In no particular order:
Portishead: It was easy to see why they only do their thing every 17 years. Beth emotes with such intensity, I was concerned for her. They were extraordinary. It put me in mind of what witnessing Billie Holliday perform might've been like ... was second row, praise it!
Prince: Still second row! What a diva! He closed Sat night and kept us weary and cooked hot waiting for about half an hour, as 48 roadies strolled back and forth, smoke drifted, violins played, violet lights beamed and a disembodied voice muttered orders on the mic ... I began to wonder if this was, in fact, his performance.
I amused at least myself by speculating on what he was up to backstage:
Shelia E.? (SHE WAS THERE! And she wailed, btw) Getting waxed? Having champagne poured over, to keep him fresh? Thinking of a new name? What?
His show was the THING. Like a meta Motown review. (Check his cover of Creep! He princed all over it) He was funny, too. Kept asking "what's my name?" (If it's still that symbol on the kick drum, you tell me, buddy.)
P.S. Prince, if you're reading this, please play Erotic City for me.
The heat was amazing.
The general manners of the crowd were amazing.
...Aside from the falling down, fornicating pair to my left ... It wasn't sexy, and it wasn't funny. It was annoying. The guy had an arm in a cast - perhaps this is why he couldn't hold the formation - and the girl kept waving her right arm in my face. They had a second girl with them who texted the night away (face down at the device while Prince preached, thumbs flying, announcing to no one "Prince is my favorite!") who would occasionally let the main female grab the goods. Still not sexy, but kinda funny.
Speaking of love: the date shakes were darn good at Shield's Date Farm, though I didn't see the "Romance and Sex Life of the Date" movie they offered. Next time.
Hot Chip: yes please!
Chromeo gave about 30 percent and closed their set with 100% (the song, the slap in the face, the irony). Seriously - they kept us waiting for 40 minutes and then strolled thorugh 7 songs.
They were wearing suits, though - so maybe that's what took so long and kept it so short...
(They played instruments, too. It's so cute how they're copying the BBoys style and failing to capture the energy.)
Walked away from Love and Rockets and Roger Waters. They did not mind.
(Speaking of Roger: I felt badly for the singers who'd swallowed dust all day and then had to squeak with -5% humidity working against them. In any case, with respect to Dark Side of the Moon, I was there to dance. Also, from the tent I headed to, was able to appreciate the sheer spectacle: fireworks, flying pigs, flames, surround sound, a plane dropping pro-Obama papers over the crowd... Yah. Pretty dick, that last bit, whatever your politics.)
Kraftwerk: if that's old school, no thanks. It sounded like the most boring car alarm, ahem, "going off". Even their visuals were static. "I missed Yo Majesty for THIS?"
MIA in Mexico = volcano. MIA in Coachella = okay.
Cafe Tacuba: yes indeedy!
Gogol Bordello: MUCH prefer them in the small clubs. Their gypsy-orgy-thingy just isn't the same at a huge, outdoor, sunshiney jumbotron venue. My only celeb (in the crowd) sighting was Pink, on what seemed to be ahem, a lady date, during their set.
Sons and Daughters: was excited about them, been loving their first album a while. They were good - more so when the guy sang. The female was drunk (?)
Speaking of drunk: Sean Penn. Drunk, fo sho. Sloppy, anway. His pitch was watered down by his mien. (Have you heard of his Dirty Hands Across America? Trucks leaving Coachella for a homebuild in Louisiana. I'm no debutante. Gotta pay that rent, feed that cat and turn in those forms, sir. Wish I coulda, though. That'd be a thing to remember all one's days.) Still, "I missed Spiritualized for THIS?"
Simian Mobile Disco: Thanks kindly!
Justice: ALSO FUN! Even better then when I saw them in the streets of LA last October. They closed Sun perfectly.
I missed a few bands I would've preferred to see - only they were front loaded, so I'll catch Kid Sister/A Trak, Little Brother, et al and the rest at a local joint sometime.
And that was the Coachella that was...
Of course we didn't run into each other there - but how was your time? Who'd you see?