Saturday Writeups Go Here

[TomAz]

I blame Courtney. It was her fault.

So Saturday was a good day. The afternoon was the best weather in the 8 coachellas I have attended. I mean it was beautiful and perfect. And the minute the sun went down, literally the very minute, you could feel it start to get cold. You could see the people puttig on their sweatshirts and jackets.

But anyway I show up early and run into Sean so we go have lunch and then over to We Were Promised Jetpacks. I didn't know much at all about these guys but they came recommended and man they were really great. Sort of dour scottish intelligent punk rock that somehow manages to be fun. Definitely going to be getting some of their stuff this week.

Then over to the Mojave for Black Lips, who were a hoot. These guys play a sort of shambolic southern trash country-tinged punk rock, which is so right in my wheelhouse I'd've thought they were created simply to target market to me. In other words this is my kind of fun fun shit and they were a blast and they had a blast doing it. And yeah you may have read that the dude in the cowboy hat stripped off his pants and showed us his junk and tried to fuck his guitar or something. 8 coachellas, but this was my first penis sighting.

Then a little relaxation happy break and then back to the Mojave for fIREHOSE, who did not disappoint. Ed sounded good and Mike and George were really fucking tight. This was really good to see.

Then I ran over to the Outdoor to see Tuneyards, who I'd been looking forward to and was bummed that she overlapped with Buzzcocks.. eh, I dunno, I love the album but it really fell very flat for me yesterday afternoon. I can't quite put my finger on why, as much as I love 'Gangsta' on the album it just was sort of ok live. I had to leave early to catch the Buzzcocks though, maybe she got better?

So yeah, this issue about the Buzzcocks. I will tell you right now, this was my single most highly anticipated set for the entire weekend. And it started strong, with Fast Cars, then Autonomy, then You Say You Don't Love Me, then ESP.. then the setlist took an interesting side trip into places unknown for me, including a song from a Pete Shelley solo album and a song from a Steve Diggle solo project. OK. but then.. something.. happened.. they played a string of 6 straight Singles Going Steady songs and it was like they band caught fire and the whole thing went to a completely different level. I mean holy shit it was magical. Orgasm Addict - Harmony In My Head - Ever Fallen in Love -- wow the place was going nuts, they had the crowd in the palm of their hand, it was one of those really really great rock and roll moments where the band is energizing the crowd and the crowd is energizing the band.. and then they closed perfectly with "I Believe" with everyone singing THERE IS - NO - LOVE - IN -THIS -WORLD - ANYMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE. Fuck this was great. I mean seriously you Weekend 2 people, if you have the slightest inkling you might want to catch this, DO IT.

So after that I had to go have a beer with some folks and relax for a while. Then it was over to the Gobi for Squeeze. I got there just a minute or two before they were supposed to start, and the place was virtually empty. I was like, oh man, this sucks for them, I really like Squeeze, and its' empty plus they seem to be running late.. then I ran into Courtney and we sat down and got into a deep conversation and still Squeeze is not coming. Damn, this is gonna suck, but at least there's more people here now when they finally do come out. Finally I say to Courtney, hey, they're really late, what do you think the deal is? She looks at her booklet and says "no, it doesn't start til 7:45." I'm like, what, no I am sure it was 7:15.. uh oh.

I was in the wrong fucking tent. Squeeze was over in the Mojave rocking it up while I'm sitting in the Gobi wondering why they are running so late. So yeah, I blame Courtney, it was all her fault.

So I caught the second half of Squeeze's set in the Mojave and they sounded really good and man I was really really really pissed at myself. Then it ended and I got depressed for fucking it up -- Squeeze was one of my top 10 anticipated bands this weekend -- so I went and had some beers by myself and wallowed in my depression. I was gonna see the Shins but I drank alone instead. God damn Tom why are you so fucking stupid? Damn it all.

Finally I got my ass up and decided I needed to see some music so I went to Flying Lotus in the Gobi - right tent this time, thank you. But it was fucking packed and I couldn't see for shit and I was cold and the wind was blowing. So I went to the Mojave after a while and lay down and waited for Godspeed. And Godspeed was really great. I mean I'm not a huge fan of theirs but they just were amazing and awesome and stuff. So that lifted my mood quite a bit. I left a little early for Radiohead but yeah it was great.

Radiohead was Radiohead. I don't know how to add more to that. Highlights for me were Weird Fishes, Karma Police with everyone singing along at the end, and Idioteque. and the 'After the Goldrush' bit was really cool too.

man I'm tired.

[Sigur Ros Stache]

I agree weather was PERFECT!
Started with Keep Shelly in Athens, they sounded great but as far as stage presence, the singer seemed a bit lost. I still enjoyed the set and was happy to see them.
Grabbed rail for Dragonette and was very excited to see them....DID NOT DISAPPOINT! So much danceable, poppy goodness and energy from them. Definitely a highlight so far.
Left Dragonette a bit early as the Vaccines were scheduled on the Gobi next door...grabbed a spot by the soundboard as it was about half full. Another AWESOME! set, love the album and enjoyed the new song they performed. Met the drummers Dad a bit later on and he said they were halfway through another album so that was exciting to hear. GREAT SET!!!
Beer break between the Main/Outdoor then over to see the Tune-Yards.
I really enjoy the album but wasn't sure what to expect live. I think they pulled it off pretty well, loved the building of the songs she did with the sampling of her own voice. Gangsta seemed to be played too early on but oh well, still enjoyed it and worth staying the entire set.
Beer break
Caught the last song of Manchester Orchestra, not a fan but won't say it was bad, just not my thing.
Tent emptied grabbed rail for Squeeze....YES!!! this was a big big big exciting act for me. Have loved them for many years (showing my age here) YEAH!!! SQUEEZE, such a great set, great songs, was afraid they were going to cut Hourglass due to set time constraints but YESSSSSS!!! Tempted is a classic and it just meant so much more to hear it live, Cool for Cats, AWESOME! Closing with an extended version of Black Coffee in Bed just made me smile from ear to ear. They were GREAT, have waited a long time to see them and was worth it.
Held spot for Kasabian...OH HELL YEAH!!! Kasabian has this command of an audience that just forces you to obey. From time they stepped on stage til when they left it was a pogo party. Noel Gallagher and the singer from Kasabian had some kind of joke going on as Noel was off to the left laughing constantly. Before Kasabian went into "club foot" he dedicated to that fucker Noel Gallagher....the way they were all smiling it was all as "buds" LOVE KASABIAN and my only disspointment was the length of their set, was truly half of the setlist from 2 weeks ago in Atlanta.
Off to Miike Snow at the outdoor stage....UGH. Let me say this UGH is not directed at Miike Snow as they sounded INCREDIBLE. However getting to the fields at 11am and it now being almost 10 pm my patience with inconsiderate douches had run its course. Rather than being one myself I just accepted the fact I was tired and bowed out after 4 songs and headed back to the car.

Day 2 was a stellar for me!

[coolhandluck]

Dead tired but stumbled into the polo grounds to catch We Were Promised Jetpacks. Solid start to the day, I expect great things from them in the future.

From there, we went to Bogore (not my choice) but left after 5 minutes. Too early in the day for whoomp-whoomp-whoomp-whoomp. Then went into the Big Pink, a UK band, that quite frankly I can't remember them but I did like them.

Headed for mainstage and caught AWOLNATION which was OK. I then pushed up to see Kaiser Chiefs. Lead singer Ricky Wilson ran around the stage, into the crowd and acted like a madman. In other words, HE ACTED LIKE A FUCKING ROCK STAR. Finally, it was refreshing to see someone interacting the the audience and having a blast.

Had to meet someone at the locker and missed Manchester Orchestra which I regret. Watched just a bit of Laura Marling but not enough to form an opinion. Then headed to the main/outdoor beer garden and saw a little bit of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds which didn't do that much for me.

Which leads me to Jeff Mangum. I pushed up but I suspect the crowd was small behind me. The TV screens are blank and they make an announcement, twice, that asks the audience not to take pictures, video or audio out of respect for the artist. He walks on stage. A woman behind me gets excited and says, "That's Jeff Mangum. Oh my God, that's Jeff Mangum". He sits down, picks up one of five guitars and begins playing. The crowd around me knows every song and sings along. He sings about the first time, love, regret, passion. Occasionally a horn section will appear from nowhere and play a phrase or two of the song and then retreat. It was beautiful for the fans but also for him. This is the way he wanted to perform and Coachella gave him an awesome setting.

Next set that I caught was Bon Iver. I will be in the minority on this but I thought that it was disconnected. His voice and performance were wonderful but it just didn't work for me. First off, he spent much of the time at the end of songs and the beginning of his next songs on his knees adjusting audio controls. This is not what rock stars do. He didn't even break into rapport with the audience until his set was almost finished. I get the sense that he was uncomfortable for such a big moment. I was near the ADA sign language guy and I felt really sorry for him. He was trying to sign some of the high falsettos but he couldn't understand what Justin was singing so he had to just stand there. The crowd around me, most of whom were waiting to push forward for Radiohead, were respectful but they really, really weren't into it.

It got colder and colder. I was at the back for Radiohead. The visuals were great but they turned off the video screens so to really see the band, you've got to commit and push closer. It was a huge crowd. I was tired but stuck it out. They will do an encore so don't immediately leave when they walk off stage. I think they got off pretty close to 1am.

[fatbastard]

I'd gladly skip Squeeze for a deep conversation with Courtney. Sounds like you had a great time Tom.

[gaypalmsprings]

I'd squeeze Courtney.

[york707]

So glad to hear Buzzcocks were great. Them and fIREHOSE.

[bmack86]

More people post in here. Good stuff.

[santasutt]

I feel your pain, TomAZ. Saw the Squeeze webcast: Jolly good from start to finish. Bummer no "Labeled with Love" singalong, perhaps next week!

There are a few Alzheimer's meds on the market now but they don't mix well with watered down Heineken.

Thanks for the fireHose tip. Still undecided for that slot. Grace Potter sounded damn good on the webcast.

Saturday looks like a can't lose, in any case. Cheers.

[KidRobot]

Staying with 11 other people in a hotel about 40 minutes away where neither of us were driving, my friend and I accepted the fact that we wouldn't get to the Polo Fields in time for Keep Shelley In Athens and probably not in time for We Were Promised Jetpacks either. But I was determined to make it for Azealia Banks. But for whatever reason, no one in our room was ready to leave before 2. We drove to the grounds and went through the painful parking debacle, and by the time we got out of the car, it was about 3 pm. My friend and I left the others from our car and ran to the entrance. We got in the grounds at about 3:15 and sprinted to the Gobi. Surprisingly though, we went into an empty tent. We walked around to the outside to check if we were in the right tent and we were. I approached one of the employees and asked "Is Azealia really late?" The lady responded, "No, she ended like 20 minutes ago." I didn't see how that made sense, but later, I found out that she only did like a 25 minute set. Huge disappointment as she was one of my most anticipated sets of the whole weekend.

I then walked to the main stage and hung out on the outskirts for the end of Childish Gambino as I complained about missing Azealia. I am a very big fan of Donald but couldn't really get into the set because I was too pissed off. He seemed very energetic though, especially with his broken foot.

By the time Childish had ended, the second car of my group had arrived to the fields and we all met up to get food. We ventured around and caught "Sail" from AWOLNATION which was good.

We made a circle at the back of the Outdoor shortly before tUnE-yArDs started and all chilled while waiting. After only playing for about 8 minutes or so, half of my group left to get more food and we scooted up some. We looked to the left and there was a tribal circle of some sort starting. It was slowly gaining momentum and me and two of my friends decided to stand up and join it. Despite Merill's performance being not as exciting as I had pictured it would be, the tribal circle definitely was a highlight of the whole festival. (I also agree that "Gangsta" was played way too early in the set)

After tUnE-yArDs ended, four of us rushed into the crowd to start trying to get our good spot for Jeff Mangum. We got pretty close up during the break time before Andrew Bird. Andrew Bird was an amazing experience. I'm still impressed by his live on-set whistling. I really enjoyed his set but was getting very angsty and anxious in anticipation for Jeff Mangum.

As soon as Andrew's set ended, two of my friends left to catch the end of Laura Marling and my other friend and I continued to move our way toward the railing. We made it very close; we could reach out and touch the rail. I took the first half of my edible lollipop while waiting. From the moment he opened the set with "Two-Headed Boy," I was in pure ecstasy. My friend left after three songs in order to see St. Vincent (which she later regretted since Annie didn't play her favorite song) and I used her space as a way to step up closer to the railing. This was a bad decision because the person standing next to me had the WORST voice, and his singing in my ear was terrible. When the horns came out during a few choice songs, it was magical. The entire experience was definitely one to be remembered.

I ran to St. Vincent and actually was able to find my friends (including the one who left during Jeff Mangum) in the middle of the crowd, a few feet from the front. I caught "Cruel," which was amazing. I also loved the new song "KROKIDIL" that she debuted. Her new stuff seems like it is continuing to evolve with each album. Since it hadn't kicked in yet, I took the other half of my edible lollipop as soon as I was done screaming during Annie's set.

We moved up for Flying Lotus and when he started, everyone in the crowd went crazy. The new material definitely had a much more dancey vibe than past material, which was amazing seeing as everyone in the crowd were clearly in the mood to dance. One he ventured into the rap samples, the mosh pits quickly emerged. It was a great feeling at first but then my high kicked in and I quickly got dehydrated. I looked down at my watch and it was about 8 minutes before his set was scheduled to end. Due to my placement in the crowd, I wasn't even going to try to navigate my way out. So I tried to stand still but people in the mosh pit kept pushing me. Both shoes fell off. As soon as the set ended, I crawled out of the tent towards the water stand and down a bottle of Powerade and two bottles of water.

I met back up with my friends (who bugged me for ten minutes asking if I was alright because they saw me running out of the tent) and we walked towards the main stage. Although I had originally planned on trying to catch the latter half of Bon Iver's set, I was too drained to try to navigate through the crowd. I sat out for the rest of set and half listened, trying to gain my composure through my high before Radiohead started.

I could tell that Justin ended when I saw some people filing out and I grabbed my friend's hand and lead us into the crowd. Not surprisingly, we didn't make it extremely close, but we nabbed a pretty good spot. Radiohead was perfect, as expected. The sing-a-long to "Karma Police" was phenomenal, "Idioteque" was dance perfection and the encore with "Everything In Its Right Place" was divine. My night ended amazingly.

[ThatGirl]

I'd squeeze Courtney.

Maybe we should start a Blame it on Courtney thread. Detailing all the sets that have been missed on account of our dear Court was busy snake charming someone with her witty banter.

[Mr. Fuzz]

Staying with 11 other people in a hotel about 40 minutes away where neither of us were driving, my friend and I accepted the fact that we wouldn't get to the Polo Fields in time for Keep Shelley In Athens and probably not in time for We Were Promised Jetpacks either. But I was determined to make it for Azealia Banks. But for whatever reason, no one in our room was ready to leave before 2. We drove to the grounds and went through the painful parking debacle, and by the time we got out of the car, it was about 3 pm. My friend and I left the others from our car and ran to the entrance. We got in the grounds at about 3:15 and sprinted to the Gobi. Surprisingly though, we went into an empty tent. We walked around to the outside to check if we were in the right tent and we were. I approached one of the employees and asked "Is Azealia really late?" The lady responded, "No, she ended like 20 minutes ago." I didn't see how that made sense, but later, I found out that she only did like a 25 minute set. Huge disappointment as she was one of my most anticipated sets of the whole weekend.

I then walked to the main stage and hung out on the outskirts for the end of Childish Gambino as I complained about missing Azealia. I am a very big fan of Donald but couldn't really get into the set because I was too pissed off. He seemed very energetic though, especially with his broken foot.

By the time Childish had ended, the second car of my group had arrived to the fields and we all met up to get food. We ventured around and caught "Sail" from AWOLNATION which was good.

We made a circle at the back of the Outdoor shortly before tUnE-yArDs started and all chilled while waiting. After only playing for about 8 minutes or so, half of my group left to get more food and we scooted up some. We looked to the left and there was a tribal circle of some sort starting. It was slowly gaining momentum and me and two of my friends decided to stand up and join it. Despite Merill's performance being not as exciting as I had pictured it would be, the tribal circle definitely was a highlight of the whole festival. (I also agree that "Gangsta" was played way too early in the set)

After tUnE-yArDs ended, four of us rushed into the crowd to start trying to get our good spot for Jeff Mangum. We got pretty close up during the break time before Andrew Bird. Andrew Bird was an amazing experience. I'm still impressed by his live on-set whistling. I really enjoyed his set but was getting very angsty and anxious in anticipation for Jeff Mangum.

As soon as Andrew's set ended, two of my friends left to catch the end of Laura Marling and my other friend and I continued to move our way toward the railing. We made it very close; we could reach out and touch the rail. I took the first half of my edible lollipop while waiting. From the moment he opened the set with "Two-Headed Boy," I was in pure ecstasy. My friend left after three songs in order to see St. Vincent (which she later regretted since Annie didn't play her favorite song) and I used her space as a way to step up closer to the railing. This was a bad decision because the person standing next to me had the WORST voice, and his singing in my ear was terrible. When the horns came out during a few choice songs, it was magical. The entire experience was definitely one to be remembered.

I ran to St. Vincent and actually was able to find my friends (including the one who left during Jeff Mangum) in the middle of the crowd, a few feet from the front. I caught "Cruel," which was amazing. I also loved the new song "KROKIDIL" that she debuted. Her new stuff seems like it is continuing to evolve with each album. Since it hadn't kicked in yet, I took the other half of my edible lollipop as soon as I was done screaming during Annie's set.

We moved up for Flying Lotus and when he started, everyone in the crowd went crazy. The new material definitely had a much more dancey vibe than past material, which was amazing seeing as everyone in the crowd were clearly in the mood to dance. One he ventured into the rap samples, the mosh pits quickly emerged. It was a great feeling at first but then my high kicked in and I quickly got dehydrated. I looked down at my watch and it was about 8 minutes before his set was scheduled to end. Due to my placement in the crowd, I wasn't even going to try to navigate my way out. So I tried to stand still but people in the mosh pit kept pushing me. Both shoes fell off. As soon as the set ended, I crawled out of the tent towards the water stand and down a bottle of Powerade and two bottles of water.

I met back up with my friends (who bugged me for ten minutes asking if I was alright because they saw me running out of the tent) and we walked towards the main stage. Although I had originally planned on trying to catch the latter half of Bon Iver's set, I was too drained to try to navigate through the crowd. I sat out for the rest of set and half listened, trying to gain my composure through my high before Radiohead started.

I could tell that Justin ended when I saw some people filing out and I grabbed my friend's hand and lead us into the crowd. Not surprisingly, we didn't make it extremely close, but we nabbed a pretty good spot. Radiohead was perfect, as expected. The sing-a-long to "Karma Police" was phenomenal, "Idioteque" was dance perfection and the encore with "Everything In Its Right Place" was divine. My night ended amazingly.

What were you eating, a morphine lollipop?

[Mr. Fuzz]

I'd squeeze Courtney.

Squeeze those big-o-titties!

[KidRobot]

What were you eating, a morphine lollipop?

Haha, no. I think it was more of my dehydration combined with the high that set me off.

[FEELS]

Tom, do you have a ponytail by any chance?

[TomAz]

No I do not, and chance has nothing to do with it.

[amyzzz]

I bungled things a bit on Saturday because I spent most of the time at the main stage instead of checking out Kasabian and GY!BE. As many of you know, I took my kids for the first time this year, so I had to follow their lead if they were impatient at a set and move on elsewhere. I bought a lot of ice cream, frozen lemondaes, and churros this year to keep them happy. Much money was spent.

We came in late Saturday by design because there wasn't really anyone I absolutely needed to see early on, so we took that extra time to relax in the pool. We arrived in time to see The tUne-YaRdS (however it is capitalized). I enjoyed the "Gangsta" song, but none of the other songs were really working for me, so we wandered off just in time to see The Buzzcocks. We sat down in the back of the Gobi on a blanket and managed to catch Brandon as he was walking in, which was a nice surprise. The Buzzcocks played a good set but we left early again to get more food and to get our sweaters and glow bracelets from the lockers before it got too cold, and then I made a command decision to camp out at the main stage. The night before was SO COLD that we had to leave early, so I thought maybe if we stayed in once place we could stay through the night.

Around 7, we started working our way through the main stage crowd during Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds, who weren't too bad, and made it to the center barrier in front of the soundboard that splits the left side of the crowd from the right side of the crowd. I sang along to a rousing rendition of Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger" and was a bit disappointed that he did not play Wonderwall. Damn you, Noel.

After Noel was done, we managed to get "second row" at the second barrier on the right side facing the stage. Yay! We settled down to an evening of mellow indie rock to ease us into Radiohead. The Shins were were pretty good -- I have a particular fondness for their intricate harmonies, although the songs made me a little sleepy. Luckily, we managed to get a free Rockstar energy drink on our way into the fest and I smuggled it in past security, so my girls and I shared it during The Shins to wake us up. More on that later. Not too much after The Shins, Bon Iver began, and I was not looking foward to this because I really don't like the lead singer's voice, however their instrumentation was lovely, and I really liked the set design with its tattered rags swaying in the breeze and what looked like glasses with candles in them spread out on the stage. It looked like a pirate ship to me, with rags hanging from the masts, lovely. Still, I was turned off by the singer's odd-sounding falsetto and the weird vocal distortions (vocoders?) that he used on many songs. His lower-pitched songs sounded better to me. A rabid Bon Iver fan was in front of me though so I was respectful and silent during the entire mellow performance, although by this point my kids and I started cracking the glow bracelets, partly to show others where my kids were since they were sitting/laying down during most of Bon Iver's set, and partly in anticipation of the Radiohead "glow throw" I had planned for later.

More people started crowding in after Bon Iver left the stage, so I had to protect our spot and keep people from stepping on my kids. Radiohead came on with beginning with Bloom, not my favorite track, but the energy clicked with me when they began "15 Step" next, and I got more and more excited as the show continued. My kids enjoyed the songs sitting down, and I think because the crowd was so close we were a lot warmer than we would have been if we were further back, so there's that. Once "The Gloaming" started up, the screen on stage and the LED lights were all GREEN, so green that grabbed about 30 green glow bracelets and premature threw some glow up. I couldn't help it, I had to add to the GREEN. I love the lights on that song. The Pyramid Song was lovely as always; I'm glad to see them include that so much in their regular set list as it is my favorite Radiohead song, and I know my daughter Eve loves it too. As the set went on my older daughter Cerys informed me she had to pee (oops, the caffeine in the energy drink makes you need to pee, forgot about that), but I coaxed her to stay until Idioteque so we could throw up the glow sticks. We made it to Idioteque, threw the blue, red, and green glow bracelets at the appointed times, although I could not see much from where I was at. Did anyone see them?? I knew that was about the time the encores start, so we pushed our way out of the crowd as quickly as we could, although it took FORVER "excuse me, sorry, trying to get through, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me" and headed over the the restroom area between the main stage and the Outdoor Theatre during "Lucky." ATTENTION: anyone who wants to use the restroom trailers, THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO TO. We were able to use that restroom trailer with VERY minimal wait times all weekend. Use it. You won't be sorry! We came out of there just as "Reckoner" was beginning and headed back over so we could watch the encores from the back of the field in front of that rainbow thing (Gateway). They played "Everything In Its Right Place" and all was right with the world. I had really wanted to see them play that in Phoenix, (they didn't) so my kids finally got to see it at Coachella. We started throwing our remaining glow stick in the crowd during that and during "Paranoid Android." I told my kids to wait for that rainbow LED light part during PA, wait for it, WAIT FOR IT! And they loved it. It was awesome. THE END.

Yes we missed Kasabian and Godspeed because of my main stage decision, and I do somewhat regret that, but at least my kids were able to stay warm and stay up through Radiohead. I know they would have liked Kasabian, but I was a little concerned that Godspeed would bore them, or they would talk during it. Oh well. And that was my Saturday. Leaving the parking lot was a bit tricky because we went the wrong way out at first, but once we headed the RIGHT way, we got out in 5 minutes. There were actually nice parking attendants in the lot who showed us out! YAY!

[Alchemy]

I first encountered SBTRKT through “2011 Top Albums” lists created by my friends, which was also how I learned about James Blake and the phenomenon known as “post-dubstep.” Without having a good background in two-step, UK dubstep, or garage electronica, I cannot really identify what elements and combinations in post-dubstep are new or old; but, to me, the songs that these artists are making are not like anything I’ve heard, and I can enjoy their sound a million times more than that other emerging genre of music that has filled America with the sounds of Michael Bay’s Transformers – the Skrillex flavor of brostep. I’m not even sure that sort of American dubstep should be called dubstep. But don’t take my word for it; I’m no expert on the subject.

SBTRKT didn’t have the greatest set time at Coachella, considering their conflict with Godspeed You! Black Emperor and how their set ended exactly when Radiohead’s set was scheduled to begin; however, I decided to go for their performance since I caught Radiohead’s Glendale concert and Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s magnificent set at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on St. Patrick’s Day of last year. Of course, other determining factors included my love for the self-titled album, and that SBTRKT’s great collaborator, Sampha, was confirmed to join the act’s mastermind, Aaron Jerome. And so that is how I ended up inside of the Gobi Tent on Saturday night, packed to the rafters with many dancing and jubilant folk, enjoying one of the festival’s greatest performances.

The performance reminded me of an argument that a friend of mine once raised, when she, more or less, said something like this: “Why are you so insistent on seeing bands perform live? It costs a lot of money and you can get just as much enjoyment by listening to the album.” I still disagree with that statement for many reasons, which include these: (1) The live performance provides a visual element lacking from the album; (2) the venue and audience grant a pleasure of their own accord; and (3) the “I was there” mentality, while only being a boast after the fact, does give you a nice buzz simply for being in attendance during the event. As for the money: There are performances with ridiculous price tags, but I think that many shows – Coachella included – hold a reasonable cost, all things considered.

SBTRKT’s Coachella performance reminded me of another major reason to attend live performances: The music during the live show can – and probably should – differ from the music on the album. When one of SBTRKT’s masked crusaders – it was a bit hard to see the stage in that crowd – announced, “This next song is called ‘Never Never,’” I almost thought they were mistaken; because, despite the track being one of my favorites, I could not recognize it during the first minute or so. And even when the song gradually turned into the familiar track – more than familiar enough to please fans of the record – the whole of it remained new. All of their songs seemed upgraded for their live show, augmented with heavier beats and sounds that could allow everybody to dance like lunatics. After the set ended, I thought to myself, This is why I love to go to concerts and festivals.

[AeroplaneJunkie]

Saturday honestly was the best musical day of my life, possibly overall the best day ever. I got up, played some BP in the campsite, smoked a few J's, ate a burrito, and headed to the festival in time for Borgore. Borgore was awesome. and I barely even his music, my friends had to convince me to go. Ice cream? check. Visuals of bitches eating ice cream? check. that was followed by Jaques Lu Cont, who dropped a pretty good french house mix. nothing too amazing, some nice Daft Punk and Killers action. and then, I headed to where it REALLY began, on the outdoor. tUnE-yArDs were due to start in 15, and it was pretty empty, so i managed to get within the first 10 rows of people or so. She was great, so were the bassist and horn players, very impressive how she worked that loop pedal. Honestly, my feet were already dead at that point, so after she was done, I wanted to sit before andrew bird, but that place got PACKED. i really wasn't expecting it, so I just stuck it out, and once andrew went on, good times ensued. Andrew Bird is a great live performer. after Andrew, was the set I was anticipating the most, Jeff fucking Mangum. The sun had almost completely gone out, and over the overhead speaker I heard "please do not take pictures of videos of this performance" and everyone was pretty appalled, but still got footage. Jeff was everything I ever wanted in an acoustic set...if you can call it that. during aeroplane over the sea, the horns came out, I yelped like a little girl. Oh Comely was my favorite song i've ever seen live. and then, right as the last note of 2 headed boy was played, i heard "BOOM tiss tiss BOOM tiss tiss" and out came the band, to play The Fool. One of the most shocking things I'd ever seen, I was blown away. After his set, I had to go to an empty space, sit down, and have a cigarette. I then moseyed on over to catch the 2nd half of The Shins, who did a beautiful cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe", followed by me moving up a LOT in the crowd for Bon Iver, who killed it. Bon Iver was way better than I expected, an incredible show, followed by the first time I'd ever seen my favorite band in the world, Radiohead, live. "AHHHHHH" is all I was thinking, the whole set. Opening with the usual, Bloom, and ending with one of my favorites, Idioteque. Daily Mail was TOO good, so intense at the end. then, the encores happened. Give up the Ghost, Everything in it's Right Place, Lucky? DAMN. and then, the song that got me interested in my now favorite band, so many years ago, Paranoid Android. CHILLS. SO heavy. I somehow managed to make it back to my campsite, and regain my "normal" state of mind that I had before them. Radiohead and Jeff were the 2 best sets I've ever seen in my life, and I go to quite a lot of concerts.

[Pixiessp]

I moshed with Tom on Saturday. Everything else pales in comparison.

[TomAz]

I was afraid i was gonna kill you though.