Sly Stone was a no show at Gobi

[captncrzy]

I dont know how people didn't know Sly was going on at 10:45. The SECOND Thom Yorke ended a voice came on and announced that Sly was here, and would be starting at 10:45 in the Mojave.

I was all set to go home after Thom, but only Sly could make me stay. It was insane and I have no idea what was going on, but I'm glad I saw it in person.

Not everybody was at Thom Yorke, genius.

[Ardentbiscuit]

I want that guy who created chuckie cheese to create a tent featuring sly stone and a cast of wacky characters. So sly can just come and go all weekend and perform when he feels like it.

[Keo345]

PLEASE...I NEED VIDEO!!

This was one of the most bizarre concerts I’ve ever witnessed. I can’t say Sly was high for sure… maybe he was high on life. He came on 30 minutes late, launching into a 10-minute diatribe against former manager Jerry Goldstein, also mentioning something about living in $30 hotels and now having the ability to buy new shoes.

Sly came down and sat on the edge of the stage, continuing his rant, then he laid down on the stage for a while. Meanwhile, other members of the original Family Stone looked hurt and confused. The crowd grew restless.

After a few attempts to sing a few songs to recorded tracks as the band stood and watched (at times trying to play along), Sly tried his hand at old favorites like “Stand” and “Sing A Simple Song.” But soundboard troubles, feedback and forgotten lyrics made each attempt sputter.

The show started to get on track with “Dance to the Music,” but mid-song Sly got up, jumped into the photo pit and promptly walked backstage. The band soldiered on, giving the crowd a little more. The whole thing was funny like a David Lynch movie and as fascinating as a trainwreck.



Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-04...#ixzz0lZHgBWUx

[WhyTheLongFace]

lol man I wish I had of seen some of that

[mindcradle]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...sly-stone.html

[pachucasunrise]

Apparently it turned into a Sly + The Family Stone show but was a huge distaster. Glad I stayed at Gorillaz. (Who killed it)

[a3s1g1]

I have a couple videos of Sly's "performance", including when he first comes out, stops the music and begins ranting about his shoes and lawsuit or whatever. I"ll upload it later today and give y'all the heads up.

it was a mindfuck

[kroqken]

I feel bad for Sly Stone. He has had a hard life.

[gaypalmsprings]

I feel bad for Sly Stone. He has had a hard life.

[kroqken]

Dude, he is in a wheelchair and has had health problems. I feel bad for the guy.

[TheClares]

Sly was a hot mess. Wow. Glad I went, just to say I've seen his act (of barely performing) live. Still got to see all of Atoms for Peace and even Gorillaz play "Feel Good Inc.", so it was ultimately worth it, because I suspect this memory will be one of the most lasting. If he wasn't super doped up, then he should be locked up in a mental institution.

[kroqken]

Sly was a hot mess. Wow. Glad I went, just to say I've seen his act (of barely performing) live. Still got to see all of Atoms for Peace and even Gorillaz play "Feel Good Inc.", so it was ultimately worth it, because I suspect this memory will be one of the most lasting. If he wasn't super doped up, then he should be locked up in a mental institution.

Maybe Sly Stone belongs at Shutter Island.

[gaypalmsprings]

In The Desert Sun...


Sly & the Family Stone, RIP 1966-2010.
Posted by mfelci at 4/19/2010 2:08 AM PDT on MyDesert.com
I take no joy in writing this. But if you saw what I saw tonight, you'd know that it's true.

Scheduled to perform at 7 p.m. in the Gobi Tent Sunday, Sly didn't make it on stage until 11. And by then, the venue had changed to the Mojave Tent. Only the curious and diehards were told of this through word of mouth.

Some said Sly was at a local hotel. Others said he was en route to the festival. When he did arrive, it quickly became apparent that he was in no shape to perform.

At first I didn't believe it was really Sly, this hunched-over man in a a fake police uniform and strange wig, saying even stranger things to the crowd. He's having fun with the Sly myth, I thought. Any minute the real Sly will emerge and launch into "If You Want Me To Stay" or something from "There's A Riot Goin' On."

Eventually I came to the realization that it in fact was Sly repeatedly missing vocal cues and pretending to play keyboards. I knew for sure because I could see it in the faces of original Family Stone members Jerry Martini, Cynthia Robinson and Greg Errico. They had come all this way, dropped everything, only to have Sly let them down.

"How long we been on?" Sly asked at one point, wondering how much longer he had to stick around.

What I had hoped, perhaps naively, would be Sly Stone's big comeback performance at Coachella turned out to be the death of the Family Stone.

[DeadSkin]

OH I was the guy that started the fake clap that caught on just as the hype man came out to let us all down and told us that Little Boots would be next... What a joke

[Courtney]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...sly-stone.html

Ha! Thanks posting this. There's some sweet irony that someone who wasn't even at the show has managed to eloquently sum up the experience better than anyone who actually was.

[gaypalmsprings]

There's the wheel chair, and Sly on the floor. Ha.

[LongshotJoe]

There's the wheel chair, and Sly on the floor. Ha.

Wow Dennis Rodman looks like shit.

[JelloPuddingChat]

Wow. What the fuck did I miss?

[JustSteve]

Damn, that sucks balls GPS.

isn't that a good thing in gps' world?

[gaypalmsprings]

Not sure if this has been posted from LA Times yet...

It was a mistake, then, to wander off to catch a bit of Sly Stone, the funk-soul legend who was originally slated to perform earlier in the day but then was pushed to a later start time. I didn't see much -- about two songs -- but it's hard to really classify anything that went down in the Coachella tent as a song. Sly, dressed in a cop outfit, whizzed around the front of the stage in a wheelchair before his band kicked into "Higher."

He jumped up, and it appeared he would attempt to sing the song, but his vocals, if there were any, weren't audible, and Sly stumbled off the stage not more than a verse or two in. He tried to make his way out into the audience, which was a small crowd of maybe 100 people, before security had to direct him backstage. It was a depressing moment, and fest-goers rushed to take pictures. I was told Sly was ranting and berating his band and the audience before I arrived, so it's possible I didn't even witness the worst of it.

Yet Sly was a questionable booking from the start. The days when the reclusive and eccentric artist was a dependable performer are long gone, and promoters never should have allowed Sly to take the stage in this instance. It was nothing anyone needed to witness, and putting the artist on stage only to have audience members laugh was downright shameful.

Afraid my Coachella experience would end on such a buzzkill, I tried to catch the Gorillaz encore. It didn't happen, as I arrived when Albarn was waving goodbye with Womack, but even that sight was a welcome one -- a brief reminder of how Coachella, at its best, can knock down genre borders and respectfully connect the past to the present.

-- Todd Martens

[gaypalmsprings]

[Courtney]

Those photos actually make me feel really sad. Poor dude.

[gmoneyak]

I haven't looked for videos yet, but most of the webcast is supposed to be re-broadcast on May 3rd.

If 5 Gum were smart, they would reshow that performance in it's entirety.

[whynotsmile99]

totally sad. I fully agree with the LA Times that it was a terrible move to bring him out. Stupid to book him, shameful to make him "perform" in such a state.

don't forget what a legend he is

[Abe Lincoln]

I was there.And pissed off from trying to track him down all night and missing other great stuff in the process.So I yelled at him that he was unprofessional and left for the rest of Gorillaz and the Ferris Wheel,which were both awesome.I'll post more about it later,just got home...

[fergie]

Shame on the promoters allowing Sly to perform in the incoherent condition he was in. Coachella is unprofessional for letting this beaten down old man perform. Perform for our amusement and horror??

I left Coachella 2010 in disgust.

[Abe Lincoln]

I saw more coherent performances in the campgrounds.

[livethechoice]

I love how everybody instantly demonizes the event promoters. "How could they do that to that poor old man? I left utterly disgusted!" (paraphrasing many posts). How about tossing a little of that blame to his manager, family, and to Sly himself? Do you honestly think that he was coerced into performing? Do you imagine the people at GV watching the webcasts and laughing maniacally as they rub themselves down with money? Somebody there lost their job over this catastrophe, and the only one laughing is Sly, all the way to the bank.

[oftheheartofthesoul]

If you need an employee just to (allegedly) watch over a performer and make sure he/she shows up, that performer probably shouldn't be performing.

[gaypalmsprings]

The performer should live up to contractual obligations. A four hour delay should have kept him from appearing on stage.