The last time I went to coachella was 2004 for what I still consider the best festival lineup ever. Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, The Pixies, Kraftwerk, to name a few. At that time Coachella was the only game in town. The destination festival was still an unproven venture in the US. Then, the journey out to the desert of California was not just an undertaking, but a leap of faith. Now, the festival circuit is big business in the the US, with every major city boasting a large concert in their back yard. Regardless, something about the journey, the desert, and the memories of past moments drew me back. Can’t say I left disappointed.
In 2010 the fest was larger than my previous encounter. Back in ’04, Coachella was just two days. Now three, with an extra full day of bands and heat stroke. The three day festival is a marathon, you have to pace both your bands and your alcohol, overdoing either will likely lead to a third day of wishing you were somewhere else. Neither is too big an issue at Coachella, the well laid out festival grounds keeps your legs fresh and the heat keeps you thirsting for water rather than beer. In fact, all alcohol was kept in well patrolled areas this year, made for less desire to drink and less cups strewn across the lawn, I was all for it. Of course, if you’re either smoking crack or free-basing cocaine (both of which I witnessed for the first time at the fest), who needs alcohol? (stay classy LA).
The sound was impressive, kept very narrow to prevent too much bleed, but loud enough to really enjoy the bands if you were in the sound field. Of course people can prevent you from being in that zone. 75,000 people attended each day of the festival, a record. In my opinion, 15,000 too many. Not that I don’t enjoy large crowds, but the crowds made the peaks of the festival nearly impossible to maneuver. It was impossible to get anywhere near certain tents or stages. In fact it was so crowded on Friday I was stuck in the parking lot for 4 hours trying to leave. We literally shut off the car and slept for two hours until the line of cars began moving. When you can’t physically exit a parking lot, that’s too many people. Otherwise, one of the best run festivals I’ve ever attended.
The music was superb as well. After years of festival going they tend to blur together, with only a few moments standing out. I can’t say this was different, but a few bands stood above the rest. The Specials, reunited for their first American tour in 20 years were absolutely pitch perfect. I was somewhat expecting a sloppy in-it-for-the-money set but each song had as much vibrancy as if they first played it, only with much less hair. King Khan and the Shrines brought out the Yo Gabba Gabba characters and did their best James Brown, Big Band Soul impression. Major Lazer took the crowd by the throat and didn’t let go. Chinese dragons, inappropriate dancing, and some amazing acrobatics had the entire tent in a frenzy. Die Antwoord, the South African meta-joke did a late-addition twenty minute set which brought everyone out. It blurred the line between satire and reality, as an entire stage was packed to hear their Ali-G style inside joke.
The musical peak, was for reasons beyond my comprehension a match up between Jay-Z, the reunited Public Image Limited and Johnny Rotten, Deadmau5 (and his incredibly Daft Punk Light Show), the surreal and frightening set of Fever Ray, and the indie pop of my favorite nerd, Erlend Oye and the Whitest Boy Alive. Five shows I was desperate to see and was forced to run between and catch 10 minutes of each. The rundown: PiL – Johnny is still a giant bitch; but he was in The Sex Pistols so who the hell am I to criticize, Deadmau5 was fun to watch; needed some LSD to enjoy it, Fever Ray was amazing in a Seventh Seal/Scandinavian Four-Horsemen of the Apocalypse sort of way; glad I wasn’t on LSD, The Whitest Boy Alive were good for only their second show in America, Ever, and Jay-Z was kinda hoarse. He was trying to bring the energy and put on a great show, and at times he did, but from my short experience, he couldn’t put it all out on stage because his voice was on the verge of breaking. Disappointing to say the least.
With that said, the two shows I’ll remember most were The Sleigh Bells and Jonsi. Two very different bands. The Sleigh Bells, a duo out of Brooklyn tore down their packed tent. The guitar and vocals ripped through the crowd from an album that has yet to be released. Truly impressive when a band with not a single to their name can pack a festival stage. On a different trip, Jonsi, AKA the lead singer of Sigur Ros, was absolutely surreal. He mixes ethereal sounds with a strong pop backbone to make some of the best live music I’ve ever seen. I caught the last half of his set and was floored. The closer, “Grow Til Tall” is a slow build of vocal harmonies and eventually drum and guitar. On a stage, in the middle of desert, as the sun sets over the mountains and lets off this orange glow throughout the ground, to hear the 8 minutes of building climax was simply put, one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced at a show, anywhere. It was transcendent. Bravo Coachella, maybe we’ll see each other again in 6 more years.
