In depth reviews of Coachella 2008

[bballarl]

When the weekend is done I will post mine. Please post your reviews, pics, thoughts, whatever as well. Friday was a good start.

[Jakewc151]

Tonight was really good and I especially liked it because unlike last year it was really easy to WALK AROUND!! It wasn't nearly as full as last year.. The sahara was cracking all day/night!

[surfphoto]

I agree, one of the smallest crowds ever for Coachella made for a fun easy day. Even the weather was nice for a change. Goldfrappe was the big surprise for me, awesome set. I also liked the band from Iceland, Radiohead meets Bjork lol, the soul singer from Brooklyn, the guy from the Frames, and the breeders. But I think Racontuers were my fav, they killed it as usual. They should have been headliners. Red Kross was good but didnt play long enough. The Black Lips and Pendulum were blowin down their tents. And of course the vibe at Fatboy was the highlight of the night.

[Sushov23]

IF you were at LES SAVY FAV, and you saw a fat guy getting his foot rubbed by TIM, that was me. Just thought I would tell you about it.

[AxYoung]

Our blog's coverage from Day One:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/0...overage-day-1/

[amyzzz]

We liked dan le sac vs. scroobius pip a lot and regretted leaving early to see goldfrapp.

[wstsidela]

Our blog's coverage from Day One:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/0...overage-day-1/

Um, that's not coverage. You guys never left the Sahara Tent.

[algunz]

We just went from beer garden to beer garden. Great day!!

[Cheddar's Cousin]

I wish the Sahara tent was moved to...THE SAHARA!

Redd Kross still rocks.

[scoop49er]

well we got there early. lockers are a great luxury. totally enjoyed the heineken tent great place to cool off. they did add 2 tents for people to cool off. crowd seemed smaller but that was nice to be able to move around also the way they have it setup it seemed a lot easier to get feom where the merchandise is to the tents. more reviews to come.

[bleep]

LOVED the lesser crowds!

who i saw (partial & full): les savy fav, black kids, jens lekman, cut copy (full set), vampire weekend, goldfrapp, santogold (full set), aphex twin, swell season, sharon jones (full set), black lips (full set), fatboy slim

my top 3:
1. cut copy
2. black lips
3. santogold

last 20 minutes of aphex twin was great.

regrets: bummed 'bout not seeing battles again b'cos i arrived late - opted to see les savy fav instead b'cos of this

[bmack86]

the end of black lips slayed

[Suffacated]

We just went from beer garden to beer garden. Great day!!

Was the beer cold?

[Boourns]

prince was the most epic set ever. And it felt much more crowded today, obviously. Mainly at night because the tents were often almost completely empty during downtime. And i just walked up to the front 10 minutes before kraftwerk and was 25 feet from the rail. Too bad some fuck rag stole my camera so i couldnt get any pics of the big 3. Unless someone has a change of heart and finally turns it in. But those pics on that camera were priceless, and what would have been even moreso.

[nationocean]

^ oh man. that sucks Boourns. Sorry that happened. I would be major pissed! I have been taking about 400 pics / 25 videos a day. Prince was awesome, but I didn't stay long into his set.

And yeah, it was really easy to walk up really close to all the bands I wanted to see so far.

Here's to another day!! ROCK ON COACHELLA!

[nationocean]

IF you were at LES SAVY FAV, and you saw a fat guy getting his foot rubbed by TIM, that was me. Just thought I would tell you about it.

Word!

IT'S HOT AS PISS AND I NEED A KISS!

[scoop49er]

I've seen prince 16 times now live and this one was right up there as one of the best. what it made great was it was very guitar driven and he rocked it. amazing santana medley jam. version of creep was pretty cool. classics like 1999 u got the look little red corvette purple rain let's go crazy were all home runs! amazing nite . I'm tired but ready for one more magical night

[amyzzz]

I was right at the fucking rail for kraftwerk and portishead. Portishead was the most amazing performance I have ever seen. The emotion and skill Beth put into each and every song was heartbreaking. AND I fucking shook her hand at the end. The sound for both was astonishingly good--clear as a bell. Loved the videos for Kraftwerk, and the ROBOTS! cool.

[joppy-slow]

I've seen prince 16 times now live and this one was right up there as one of the best. what it made great was it was very guitar driven and he rocked it. amazing santana medley jam. version of creep was pretty cool. classics like 1999 u got the look little red corvette purple rain let's go crazy were all home runs! amazing nite . I'm tired but ready for one more magical night

damn.. much jealousy. Did Prince have any special guests come up and perform with him? I can't believe he threw in a radiohead song for shits n giggles.
and fuck everyone who also gets to attend tonight. The entire Dark Side of the Moon performed live under a desert sky.. should make for a tough year to beat, despite Fri. being so underwhelming.

[scoop49er]

I was actually very impressed with kraftwerk and portishead. both had excellent sound and performed them well. amazing tripleheader last night!

[AxYoung]

Day 2 over at CoS:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2008/0...overage-day-2/

[JustSteve]

Did Prince have any special guests come up and perform with him?

morris day and sheila e.

[Boourns]

"Don't you never say an unkind word about the Time! Me and Silent Bob modeled our whole fucking lives around Morris Day and Jerome. I'm a smooth pimp who loves the pussy. And Tubby here is my black man servant. What?"

[Suffacated]

And they still got the moves...

[bballarl]

Friday:

My friend and I got to the festival pretty late by my standards...2:00ish. Redd Kross was my first must-see act of the day. They were just as fun as the last time I saw them, and they played "Lady in the Front Row" to make me extremely happy. It was lame when the annoying girl from Be Your Own Pet came out and yelled and danced for two songs but whatever. She can enjoy herself too, even though her band sucks Le Balls. Also, the guitar player from Redd Kross, who normally would look like the most square dude ever, totally rocks and I love how geeky he is.

From there I went to Battles. I got there maybe five minutes late, and the tent was super packed. So I watched from the back of the Gobi. They were fucking awesome, and the singer barely did the obnoxious Smurf effect, which probably helped me enjoy it more.

I watched the very end of Les Savy Fav and enjoyed whatshisname's climbing and the band photo. The music? Not so much. It wasn't bad but it didn't really do anything for me.

After that I went to the food court and heard part of Architecture in Helsinki, who sounded really 80s. Then I walked over to The Breeders. The sound was TERRIBLE the first few songs. Once that was fixed, they sounded pretty good. Their success in the past seems almost flukeish to me though...their songs are really fucking weird. Even "Cannonball." I left before the last song ended but they were fun. I would give them another chance.

Mum was really good. I would have enjoyed it more if I was sitting down, but the music was really pretty and they were charming and Icelandic. The girls could fucking sing.

Then I saw The National, who impress me waaaaaaay more live than on record. Very big 80s sound to them live (I mean that in an epic way, not a synthy way.) Tom and I were trying to place it and he mentioned Simple Minds, which I think is accurate in describing their bigness. Great sunset band. I liked the horn section. Here is the setlist from the setlist thread:

Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Secret Meeting
Brainy
Baby, We'll Be Fine
Slow Shot
Squalor Victoria
Abel
Ada
Apartment Story
Fake Empire
Mr. November

Then I watched a few minutes of The Raconteurs. Because I worship at the altar of Jack White, I wish I could have seen the whole thing. But I figure they will come around again. Jack was melting faces and the band sounded fucking fantastic. The jam they were having on “Blue Veins” was sick. But I decided to go watch Aphex Twin, because he almost doesn’t exist in real life.

I thought I had missed all of Goldfrapp because I couldn't bring myself to leave The National. She was running over time, becasue as I walked by as she was singing the one song I really wanted to hear (which I guess is called "Ooh La La".) I love how glammy it is. So I was pleased about that. The tent was dancing pretty good, which was fun. Then I watched Aphex Twin for about five minutes. This was during what was evidently the "boring" section of his show, but at least I can say I have seen him now. It was cool enough.

EDIT: She closed with "Strict Machine", not "Ooh La La". That is the song I heard. I like both songs.

I watched the intro/first song from Aesop Rock on my way back, and I am sure he was good. But I had far more important things to do, namely getting as close as possible for The Verve.

I was expecting big things. I fucking love their music. The Verve completely met and then exceeded my expectations. They blew me away. Their sound is tailor made for festivals. I tore my voice to shreds singing (yelling) along with all their tunes. God damn they were good. Bryan made a really great point afterwards, saying that he didn't think he would want to see them in a smaller venue. This was magical. "Bittersweet Symphony" gave me chills. And the last song, "Love Is Noise", was an unbelievable set closer. I cannot wait to see them again. Hopefully in a field with thousands of other people. Hot damn. So good.

This Is Music
Space and Time
Sonnet
Life’s An Ocean
Weeping Willow
Sit and Wonder
Rolling People
The Drugs Don’t Work
Lucky Man
Bittersweet Symphony
Love Is Noise

After The Verve thoroughly destroyed my face, I caught the last part of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ show. She ruled, as usual. I saw maybe five minutes of it and it was still amazing. There is no excuse to miss her live. Ever.

I walked by the Gobi to check out Spank Rock but they were doing something lame and some chick was on the mic and I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted to hear “Backyard Betty” or “Touch Me.” So I left and hung out in the Sahara tent, waiting for Fatboy Slim’s lazy British ass to come out and play some records.

I didn’t get to hear any derivation of “Star 69” but he was still cool. I really liked his set-up and the introduction music/video (hooray for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.) I watched until maybe 11:50 then left.

I caught the last song from Professor Murder, who sounded like they would have been a good time. I will check them out in the future. Then I left.

Saturday:

We got to the fest around 1:45 on Saturday. Carbon/Silicon started a bit late, which was convenient, because I wanted to catch part of their performance. They were pretty good, but the entire time I was thinking I could have done what they were doing and that I could write songs that were at least as good. Which may be obnoxious considering Mick Jones was in The Clash, but this certainly was not his best work. Still good though.

I promised Bryan that I would give Man Man a chance, so I did. And I enjoyed it. I still don’t think they are the greatest thing ever, but they were certainly fun and I can see why people dig it. Part of the fun was listening to Bryan chant all the songs and groove. Because he was feeling it, big time. Bryan knows his Man Man, make no mistake.

Then I watched 120 Days, who went on late and played extremely druggy, shoegazey dance music. I was surprised at the lack of guitars, but they sounded really Primal Scream/Suicide, so I was really digging it. They played until the sound guy shut off the speakers. I want to see them again.

I had nothing to do for awhile, so I screwed around until Boyz Noize. He completely fucking destroyed it. Completely exceeded my expectations. I would have loved to stay for the whole thing, but Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks were going to be starting at the Outdoor Theater.

On the way over, I heard a song from Bonde Do Role, and they sounded fun. Maybe I will try them sometime.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks were fucking great. They were extremely loose, psychedelic, fuzzy and jammy, without noodling like a bunch of hippies. The drummer from Sleater-Kinney really held shit together. They were reminiscent of The Doors at times, the way they would bring songs down and back up. Their performance had a really heavy 60s vibe. I was definitely feeling it and would like to see them again.

Then I made my way to the Sahara tent for Hot Chip, who got the whole place dancing and really sounded great. I was waaaaaay at the back, but from what I could see they were really into it and feeding off the crowd. I could have kept a setlist but I was too lazy.

I screwed around for a bit after that and caught the last Death Cab for Cutie song as I was getting food. They continue to do nothing for me. Although I did like their new eight minute long single. Kraftwerk, however, were fan-fucking-tastic. I was glad to have the opportunity to atone for one of my most egregious Coachella errors: missing most of their performance in 04 (I caught Tour De France 03 and that was it…I was worn out from being in the heat since 10:30 AM, but it is no excuse.) I love the presentation of their shows…visuals and sound complement each other perfectly. And I am fascinated by the perfect textures of their music. To say the textures are mechanical is too easy, but there is something about them that really interests me.

Portishead were fucking unreal. I am so glad I finally got the chance to see them. “We Carry On” is fucking badass. The whole thing was, really. Perfect vibe, and they didn’t just play the songs like the record, although that would have been okay too. I wish they had a longer set time, but I will take what I can get. One of the best sets I have seen at Coachella. Brilliant.

Silence
Mysterons
The Rip
Glory Box
Wandering Star
Machine Gun
Over
Sour Times
Cowboys
Threads
Roads
We Carry On


Prince melted my face. There is nothing more to say. His guitar playing and posturing and everything was so fucking badass that it wasn’t even fair. Even in a set that was (relatively) short on the hits, he destroyed. And the drummer was ridiculous. That chick could play. The environment was awesome, and it was fun watching some dude climb one of the speakers near me and get nailed by security when he finally got down. Here is the setlist that I stole from the setlist thread:

Morris Day - The Bird
Morris Day - Jungle Love
Sheila E - Glamorous Life

1999
I Feel For You
Controversy
Little Red Corvette
Cream
U Got the Look
Shh
Another Lover Holden your Head
Creep (Radiohead cover)

Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover, backup singer solo)

7
Come Together (Beatles cover)

Encore:
Purple Rain
Lets Go Crazy

Sunday:

Austin TV sounded really good as I walked in around 1:20 on Sunday, but they weren’t really on my list. I got to the Gobi at 1:25 for Linton Kwesi Johnson and was surprised that there were no amps around. It turns out that he was doing a spoken word tour of the USA. I thought I would be bored, but his poetry was read in a really lyrical, musical way and was really good on top of that. He is an extremely intelligent guy and I think I will buy his poetry collection. I was bummed when I had to take my obligatory one bathroom trip per year at Coachella in the middle of his set, but I came back and caught the end.

I got to The Cool Kids at the Coachella stage about five minutes after they started. I really like them…they were a lot of fun and rapped about bikes and shit. They also sprayed people with squirt guns they purchased before the show, and gave shout-outs to their moms, who were watching from the crowd. I would like to see them in a smaller room where it is less hot.

Then I watched Holy Fuck. They played the exact same set that I saw when they opened for Super Furry Animals. This did not make it any less enjoyable…I still had a lot of fun. But I was just bummed they did not mix it up a bit. And my back was killing me. I am getting old.

Afterwards I watched Duffy play in the Mojave. Her band was good, and her voice sounded really good. It was a little weak at times, but I don’t know whether that was more the volume from the Sahara or in the tent or if it was her. I like her sound a lot though. She will only get better unless she picks up some Amy Winehouse-esque self-destructive habits along the way. Let us hope she can avoid all that shit.

Then I ate and talked to people because The Field could not enter the country. Then I went to the Mojave tent, where Swervedriver played a really loud, really awesome set. Despite this awesomeness, I almost fell asleep because the humidity was kicking my ass and the rest of the weekend was catching up to me. People should see Swervedriver on their upcoming tour. Here is the setlist, stolen from another thread:

Sandblasted
Birds
Duel
These Times
Sunset
Satansville
Rave Down
Son of Mustang Ford
Duress

Spiritualized would have been awesome if they were not right next to the thumping bass of the Sahara tent and if the sound had been working properly. Fortunately, I had seen Acoustic Mainlines before, so I was not bummed out, but I felt kind of bad for them and I hope that people realized the band did not suck. I only caught the first few songs, but I enjoyed singing along and hanging out with friends. And they still sounded good. Jason Pierce is a genius. I have a minor man-crush on him. Here is what I saw:

Sitting On Fire
Let It Rain On Me
True Love Will Find You in the End
Amen
Going Down Slow
Soul On Fire
Walking with Jesus

I watched the first fifteen minutes of My Morning Jacket from the beer garden, another five outside in the crowd, and then had to pull myself away. They sounded really, really good. I will definitely be checking them out on their tour. Although I feel like they are the kind of band that needs to be seen outside like that, with a lot of other people. Keriann assures me that they rule no matter what, so I will take her word for it.

Whoever missed Love and Rockets to do something else is stupid. They were probably the second best set I saw at the festival. I was really close and they were really psychedelic and awesome. I hope they tour behind their potential new record. They only played songs from the first four records, which was a huge plus, and they sounded great. They also stole my band’s intro music in the future, the theme from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” I was so pissed when that came on. But they are sick enough to pull it off, so I guess I can find something new. During the last song, the Bubblemen came out and danced around while Daniel Ash made noise with his guitar and everyone rocked the fuck out. Then they hit the Bubblemen with pillows and feathers flew everywhere. Then they threw the pillows into the crowd. I wish they had played longer. Also, Kevin Haskins has all these drum sounds digitized and would change things on each song, which was cool. It added another angle to their live sound. Love and Rockets are fantastic. The songs from the first record sound a lot better live, because they are distorted and rocking rather than mired in 80s production values. Setlist:

Ball of Confusion
No Big Deal
It Could Be Sunshine
Dog-End of a Day Gone By
Haunted When the Minutes Drag
No New Tale to Tell
Motorcycle (slow version)
An American Dream
Holiday on the Moon
Kundalini Express
Mirror People
Yin and Yang the Flower Pot Man

I caught the first few minutes of Roger Waters, got bored, and went to see Simian Mobile Disco. They were brilliant, and had the Sahara tent going insane. I need to see them again. I had this weird impression that they were dropping back into songs a beat or two off, but I could be wrong. Even if they did, it fucking worked. I will see them again in a heartbeat.

Rather than wait for Chromeo, I began to feel like I should take advantage of Roger Waters. I got back to the main stage in time to see the pig and hear him say he would come back in a few minutes for “Dark Side of the Moon.” So I waited and watched “Dark Side.” I am admittedly not a huge Pink Floyd fan. I think they are good but not the bee’s knees. I was a little bored by the performance musically, but the visuals were fantastic and kind of made the show for me. When they started playing the album, the guy next to me had tears running down his face. He wasn’t bawling or anything, but this was evidently a big deal to him. I would never pay to see this on its own, but was glad I caught it here.

To close out the night, I went to the Sahara tent. Whoever was playing the songs between acts did a great job, because I sang along to a song I can’t remember, “Superstition”, “The Immigrant Song” “Breaking the Law”, and then joined in the awesome tentwide sing-along of “Sweet Caroline.” That was one of my favorite moments of the festival, or any Coachella I have attended.

Nate wanted to see Justice, so I humored him. I like them, don’t get me wrong. Their music is fun and catchy or whatever. “Genesis” is a badass opening track. But please, people: let’s lose the Justice boner. They are good and nothing more. I grew tired of their set after ten minutes and walked outside, where I ran into Brad. We discussed at length the formula for Justice’s live show and how we could eventually do the same thing. Here is that formula, in case you guys want to be the life of the fucking party:

1. Look dirty.
2. Look bored.
3. Light cigarette. Put cigarette in mouth. Bob head while twisting knobs with lit cigarette in mouth.
4. Occasionally take a swig from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Ideally while still smoking a cigarette.
5. Look busy.
6. Turn the music down at a logical place, and then build it back up without really changing it in any way.
7. Find catchy, mindless vocal samples and utilize them.

Brad and I expect a cut of your earnings when you use this formula to become the next Justice. I don’t want them to go away, but I would like them to either do something new and exciting or not be the flavor of the year.

Nate got bored ten minutes later and then we left. And drove home at 1:30. We got home at 3:30 and I woke up five hours later to take him to the airport. I lasted two classes today, but realized I was going to sleep through the third one and came home to nap. I have spent the rest of the day thinking about Coachella. I am still buzzing over it. I think this may have been the best one yet. Only one year.

Random thoughts:

-The combination of a bigger field and less crowds was awesome.

-The Brazilian BBQ Chicken sandwich was the shit. Thanks Greg.

-The weather ended up being nice. Probably the nicest I can remember. Except the humidity on Sunday knocked me the fuck out.

-I can’t believe this was my fifth Coachella. I started going as a sophomore in high school. That seems like a long time ago.

-The art was cool.

-I have never once been in the Do Lab area since they have been at Coachella.

-Posters = $20? Really?

-People can be really fucking obnoxious pushing their way through the crowd. At least say excuse me. But do you really need to push towards the front for The Verve when they are loud as fuck and all you are going to do is make out with your girlfriend? The answer is no.

-Speaking of The Verve, Richard Ashcroft was so awesome that he could pull off the unzipped shirt look. And he fucking put the mic up to his beating heart during “Bittersweet Symphony.” You couldn’t hear it, but it was badass. Brilliant frontman (not like that was in question or anything.)

What a great weekend. I hope everyone had as great of a time as I did. It is really the highlight of my year.

And I really enjoyed meeting new people and seeing friends I don't really get to see the rest of the year. I would mention everyone but I don't want to forget anyone. But I have yet to meet someone from the board who sucks in real life.

[PassiveTheory]

Andrew's post reminds me that I uh... was the asshole waving the flower during Spiritualized... Sorry if that distracted anything from the show for anyone, I just wanted to give Jason the flower I got during Stars... And I decided at the end not to be a total douchebag and toss it at him, so I just gave it to the chick standing next to me... >>;

[microlovebeat]

passive i saw you during shout out louds. you looked ridiculous.

[full on idle]

IF you were at LES SAVY FAV, and you saw a fat guy getting his foot rubbed by TIM, that was me. Just thought I would tell you about it.

I was right there. That was AWESOME. Did you see him feel me up? I'm basically famous now.

[full on idle]

I was right at the fucking rail for kraftwerk and portishead. Portishead was the most amazing performance I have ever seen. The emotion and skill Beth put into each and every song was heartbreaking. AND I fucking shook her hand at the end. The sound for both was astonishingly good--clear as a bell. Loved the videos for Kraftwerk, and the ROBOTS! cool.

I was about four rows back, on the right. Kraftwerk were amazing. They amazed me.

Also Amy, I looked for you at Metric but did not see your shirt.

[bballarl]

Hahahahaha re: Sushov/Valarie at Les Savy Fav