gaypalmsprings
01-20-2011, 06:59 AM
Coachella music fest lineup seems oddly familiar
11:17 PM, Jan. 19, 2011 The Desert Sun
Written by Bruce Fessier
At first glance, the 2011 Coachella lineup looks familiar.
Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Ozomatli, Paul Van Dyk, the New Pornographers
Is it 2007 all over again?
All that's missing is the 2007 headliners: Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a reunion of Rage Against the Machine.
The digital world is buzzing over Tuesday's announcement of the April 15-17 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. There are threads on the Coachella website titled, “Line up (sic) sucks, guys,” and “Coachella has officially sold out.”
But there are also threads titled, “OMGZ Coachellaz linez upz rulez” and “Your top 10 must see acts of '11,” which includes more than 10 acts scheduled to play Coachella.
A writer for Esquire magazine gripes that “Every single one of this year's headliners (all three) has already played Coachella. So have most of the sub-headliners.”
Breaking the lineup down, he notes that this will be the sixth time The Chemical Brothers have played since helping to launch the festival in 1999.
It will be the fourth time The Black Keys, Ozomatli and Conor Oberst have performed, including Oberst's appearances as Bright Eyes and his one set with the Mystic Valley Band.
This will be the third appearance by Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Gogol Bordello and Interpol.
Even so, 2007 was one of the best events in Coachella's 11-year history.
Arcade Fire, whose 2004 Coachella set was ranked as one of the 50 greatest concerts of all time by Rolling Stone, moved to the main stage in 2007 and arguably gave an even more spectacular performance.
Its rendition of “Funeral” rivaled Paul McCartney's “Hey Jude” as a massive audience participation moment.
West performed just before sundown in 2007 and got his wilted audience dancing in triple-digit heat.
Kings of Leon was just beginning its maturation into a super group in 2007 and by last year even its members were tired of hearing songs from their 2008 monster album, “Only By the Night.”
The group took a different, less dynamic direction with its 2010 CD, “Come Around Sundown,” but the single, “Pyro,” should be another crowd pleaser.
Blues-rock act The Black Keys have grown so significantly, the duo is approaching the Kings of Leon's 2008 appeal with four Grammy nominations for their 2010 CD, “Brothers.”
There also are many less obvious gems in the lineup.
The National, which has been around since 1999, performed in one of the tents at the 2008 Coachella.
The group is an example of how Goldenvoice nurtures artists and motivates them to return as they get bigger.
The National's last CD, “High Violet,” received a Q award for Best Album of 2010.
Brandon Flowers is another example.
The vocalist began singing in a tent with The Killers in 2004.
Goldenvoice elevated them to headline status in 2009 and Flowers will do a solo set on opening night of this festival.
The lineup also features acclaimed new artists.
The English folk rock band Mumford & Sons, the third- billed artist on Saturday after Arcade Fire and Animal Collective, received Grammy nominations last year for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song for “Little Lion Man.”
Freelance Whales, a band from Queens, N.Y., featuring a glockenspiel, was named an NPR Band to Watch.
The UK band Shpongle was at the top of a wish list of neo-psychedelic fans even though the name wasn't familiar to the leader of Los Angeles' popular neo-psychedelic group Spindrift.
Ratatat, a guitar and keyboard duo that plays mostly instrumental music, is another band that will attract a coterie of devoted fans to the tents.
Meanwhile, the urban or contemporary R&B lineup may be stronger than ever with the presence of Grammy Award winners Ms. Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
This is the first lineup in several years that hasn't featured a baby boomer star, although MTV pioneers Duran Duran have been around since 1978.
The lineup doesn't include a desert rock band, but PJ Harvey has recorded in Joshua Tree on Josh Homme's “Desert Sessions” CDs and Homme says Harvey has an appreciation of the desert sound.
Desert rock leader Mario Lalli, executive producer of the Desert Rock at the Indio Performing Arts Series, said he was happy to see DJ Alf Alpha on the lineup.
Alpha is a leader of the Coachella Valley art scene that frequently gathers at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.
He also performed in October at the Indio Performing Arts Center.
“The line up is very much based in modern pop (with) a strong presence of R&B and neo soul,” Lalli said. “I am happy to see PJ Harvey on the bill and our local rep DJ Alf Alpha. The Black Keys will be great!”
11:17 PM, Jan. 19, 2011 The Desert Sun
Written by Bruce Fessier
At first glance, the 2011 Coachella lineup looks familiar.
Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Ozomatli, Paul Van Dyk, the New Pornographers
Is it 2007 all over again?
All that's missing is the 2007 headliners: Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a reunion of Rage Against the Machine.
The digital world is buzzing over Tuesday's announcement of the April 15-17 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. There are threads on the Coachella website titled, “Line up (sic) sucks, guys,” and “Coachella has officially sold out.”
But there are also threads titled, “OMGZ Coachellaz linez upz rulez” and “Your top 10 must see acts of '11,” which includes more than 10 acts scheduled to play Coachella.
A writer for Esquire magazine gripes that “Every single one of this year's headliners (all three) has already played Coachella. So have most of the sub-headliners.”
Breaking the lineup down, he notes that this will be the sixth time The Chemical Brothers have played since helping to launch the festival in 1999.
It will be the fourth time The Black Keys, Ozomatli and Conor Oberst have performed, including Oberst's appearances as Bright Eyes and his one set with the Mystic Valley Band.
This will be the third appearance by Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Gogol Bordello and Interpol.
Even so, 2007 was one of the best events in Coachella's 11-year history.
Arcade Fire, whose 2004 Coachella set was ranked as one of the 50 greatest concerts of all time by Rolling Stone, moved to the main stage in 2007 and arguably gave an even more spectacular performance.
Its rendition of “Funeral” rivaled Paul McCartney's “Hey Jude” as a massive audience participation moment.
West performed just before sundown in 2007 and got his wilted audience dancing in triple-digit heat.
Kings of Leon was just beginning its maturation into a super group in 2007 and by last year even its members were tired of hearing songs from their 2008 monster album, “Only By the Night.”
The group took a different, less dynamic direction with its 2010 CD, “Come Around Sundown,” but the single, “Pyro,” should be another crowd pleaser.
Blues-rock act The Black Keys have grown so significantly, the duo is approaching the Kings of Leon's 2008 appeal with four Grammy nominations for their 2010 CD, “Brothers.”
There also are many less obvious gems in the lineup.
The National, which has been around since 1999, performed in one of the tents at the 2008 Coachella.
The group is an example of how Goldenvoice nurtures artists and motivates them to return as they get bigger.
The National's last CD, “High Violet,” received a Q award for Best Album of 2010.
Brandon Flowers is another example.
The vocalist began singing in a tent with The Killers in 2004.
Goldenvoice elevated them to headline status in 2009 and Flowers will do a solo set on opening night of this festival.
The lineup also features acclaimed new artists.
The English folk rock band Mumford & Sons, the third- billed artist on Saturday after Arcade Fire and Animal Collective, received Grammy nominations last year for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song for “Little Lion Man.”
Freelance Whales, a band from Queens, N.Y., featuring a glockenspiel, was named an NPR Band to Watch.
The UK band Shpongle was at the top of a wish list of neo-psychedelic fans even though the name wasn't familiar to the leader of Los Angeles' popular neo-psychedelic group Spindrift.
Ratatat, a guitar and keyboard duo that plays mostly instrumental music, is another band that will attract a coterie of devoted fans to the tents.
Meanwhile, the urban or contemporary R&B lineup may be stronger than ever with the presence of Grammy Award winners Ms. Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
This is the first lineup in several years that hasn't featured a baby boomer star, although MTV pioneers Duran Duran have been around since 1978.
The lineup doesn't include a desert rock band, but PJ Harvey has recorded in Joshua Tree on Josh Homme's “Desert Sessions” CDs and Homme says Harvey has an appreciation of the desert sound.
Desert rock leader Mario Lalli, executive producer of the Desert Rock at the Indio Performing Arts Series, said he was happy to see DJ Alf Alpha on the lineup.
Alpha is a leader of the Coachella Valley art scene that frequently gathers at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs.
He also performed in October at the Indio Performing Arts Center.
“The line up is very much based in modern pop (with) a strong presence of R&B and neo soul,” Lalli said. “I am happy to see PJ Harvey on the bill and our local rep DJ Alf Alpha. The Black Keys will be great!”