Coachella
So, I'm finally getting a chance to post about Coachella, after a couple days of climbing out from under missed e-mails at work.
First, I have to thank djmattconsola for buying tickets and then not being able to go. Otherwise, I would not have gone. And, I'm so glad that I did. But, I hope Matt likes his t-shirt.
expurgate and I left on Thursday evening (with his friend from Boston, Keith), to spend the night in Fresno (with another of his friends, Chris). We got to Indio on Friday afternoon, in plenty of time to get decent parking and set up our "campsite" before dark (and before the mass of people arrived). Unfortunately, despite our timely arrival, we picked a site that seems convenient to absolutely nothing. Oh, well... there's always next time.
They played the Coachella film on Friday night, which recapped previous years. It was an awesome segue into the festival for someone who'd not attended before. It really got my psyched.
The rest of the weekend was pretty much non-stop. Here are the acts I got to see (at least partially):
Saturday
Infusion (good for openers)
The New Amsterdams (fair)
Nine Black Alps (fair)
Joey Beltram (good)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (good)
Kanye West (really good, and more entertaining than expected)
Carl Cox (awesome)
Franz Ferdinand (fucking awesome, and easily my favorite of the festival)
Depeche Mode (bad for DM is still great)
Biggest Regrets for Saturday
(1) We didn't stay for Daft Punk, who, by all reports, were incredible.
(2) I forgot to put sunscreen on my calves.
Sunday
Gabriel & Dresden (poor)
Louie Vega (good)
Kaskade (fair)
Paul Oakenfold (sucked dirty ass)
Madonna (too fucking late; poor song choice and sound; fair performance)
Massive Attack (really enjoyable)
Tool (disappointing)
Scissor Sisters (fake-ish and redundant, but an entertaining close)
Biggest Regrets for Sunday
(1) We spent the better part of the day in the dance tent, waiting for Madonna to be late, perform five songs (the majority of which were poor choices) and see her spastically play two chords on her guitar. Madonna: put down the axe! If we want to see a great guitar band, we're not coming to see you. We do come to see you shake your little coochy and touch yourself on stage. Stick to what you do best.
(2) I had to listen to Paul Oakenfold massacre good dance music just so that I could have a decent spot to "see" Madonna (see above). Paul: watching the cute lighting technician scamper up and down the fly ladder was more entertaining than listening to your decrepit ass spin.
(3) I missed Editors and most of Massive Attack so that I could "hear" Madonna (see above).
I was also pleased to see and meet the following LJers over the weekend (in addition to plenty of non-LJers):
beg1n
bearringsd
heypyro
kevin_v5
pharmbear
arthole
funkybearmartin
kingfuraday
trapezebear
Overall, I had an incredible weekend. And, spending it with expurgate made it not only incredible, but also unforgettable. Thanks, sport!
First, I have to thank djmattconsola for buying tickets and then not being able to go. Otherwise, I would not have gone. And, I'm so glad that I did. But, I hope Matt likes his t-shirt.
expurgate and I left on Thursday evening (with his friend from Boston, Keith), to spend the night in Fresno (with another of his friends, Chris). We got to Indio on Friday afternoon, in plenty of time to get decent parking and set up our "campsite" before dark (and before the mass of people arrived). Unfortunately, despite our timely arrival, we picked a site that seems convenient to absolutely nothing. Oh, well... there's always next time.
They played the Coachella film on Friday night, which recapped previous years. It was an awesome segue into the festival for someone who'd not attended before. It really got my psyched.
The rest of the weekend was pretty much non-stop. Here are the acts I got to see (at least partially):
Saturday
Infusion (good for openers)
The New Amsterdams (fair)
Nine Black Alps (fair)
Joey Beltram (good)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (good)
Kanye West (really good, and more entertaining than expected)
Carl Cox (awesome)
Franz Ferdinand (fucking awesome, and easily my favorite of the festival)
Depeche Mode (bad for DM is still great)
Biggest Regrets for Saturday
(1) We didn't stay for Daft Punk, who, by all reports, were incredible.
(2) I forgot to put sunscreen on my calves.
Sunday
Gabriel & Dresden (poor)
Louie Vega (good)
Kaskade (fair)
Paul Oakenfold (sucked dirty ass)
Madonna (too fucking late; poor song choice and sound; fair performance)
Massive Attack (really enjoyable)
Tool (disappointing)
Scissor Sisters (fake-ish and redundant, but an entertaining close)
Biggest Regrets for Sunday
(1) We spent the better part of the day in the dance tent, waiting for Madonna to be late, perform five songs (the majority of which were poor choices) and see her spastically play two chords on her guitar. Madonna: put down the axe! If we want to see a great guitar band, we're not coming to see you. We do come to see you shake your little coochy and touch yourself on stage. Stick to what you do best.
(2) I had to listen to Paul Oakenfold massacre good dance music just so that I could have a decent spot to "see" Madonna (see above). Paul: watching the cute lighting technician scamper up and down the fly ladder was more entertaining than listening to your decrepit ass spin.
(3) I missed Editors and most of Massive Attack so that I could "hear" Madonna (see above).
I was also pleased to see and meet the following LJers over the weekend (in addition to plenty of non-LJers):
beg1n
bearringsd
heypyro
kevin_v5
pharmbear
arthole
funkybearmartin
kingfuraday
trapezebear
Overall, I had an incredible weekend. And, spending it with expurgate made it not only incredible, but also unforgettable. Thanks, sport!