Friday Writeups Go Here

[TomAz]

FRIDAY
Got to the polo grounds early to meet some folks for lunch. Then went and caught about 20 minutes of Abe Vigoda’s set. They sounded good and energetic but you know how the first set of the day is.

Didn’t really have anyone I wanted to see in the next time slot so I went and listened to the Sheepdogs at the outdoor. These guys play a sort of southern rock that’s not as funky as the Allmans and doesn’t rock as hard as Skynyrd, they’re more in the Marshall Tucker Band range. I don’t think I’d ever listen to their records much but lying in the sun – it was still warm and sunny – and listening to their mellowish 70s southern tunes was very relaxing. (Southern Canada, it turns out).

Picture meetup, then a beer with Josh, then caught most of Givers, who had packed the Mojave with enthusiastic fans. They played a nice energetic but (to me at least) sort of forgettable set.

Left early and headed to the Gobi to listen to EMA. I was torn between EMA and Yuck, but I decided my mood fit EMA better, and man I’m glad I stayed. This was the first really great set of Coachella for me. She has a great stage presence and an amazing voice live. Watching her I was trying to draw comparisons to describe her to people who haven’t seen her – the best I can do, from my point of reference, is she’s sort of a cross between Laurie Anderson and Janis Joplin. Which doesn’t make any sense, I know.

Hurried from EMA to see James on the big stage and they were really great. They sounded wonderful and Tim Booth has a sort of calm and assured enthusiasm that really came off well. The ‘come on thunder, come on thunder’ bit was fabulous. This made two sets in a row of seriously good stuff.

Rushed from James to see Gary Clark Jr who was fucking awesome. The Gobi was packed and he was loud and he ripped up his guitar and sang with this seriously soulful voice that just had everyone going ‘holy shit’. Third consecutive great set! This is what Coachella is supposed to be. Wow.

And then hurried to see Jimmy Cliff, who started a little late so I caught the whole set. Hardly anyone was there, I got close quite easily, which is a shame because he was amazing. I’d seen him before but this set blew the doors off my expectations. FOUR IN A ROW!!

So then I had to rest and meet some geezers and have a beer, but most of the geezers didn’t show or couldn’t find us or something.

Went to Madness and they were really fun. They are a great party band and skilled showmen. Two thumbs up, though not at the seriously great level of the four-in-a-row I’d witnessed in the afternoon.

I went and had dinner and sat for a while in the rose garden down by the Sahara. As you all know this is not my thing, but as I told some folks later even I could tell that the music in the Sahara sounded different this year from previous years. A lot more poppish or something. Paint-by-number. But I did get to check the baseball scores on my phone.

Next was the Rapture, got there a little late just as they were starting and the Mojave was packed, but was able to get a spot directly behind the sound board and mostly watch them on the screens. They started out sort of ‘just ok’ but built up a head of steam and somewhere around 20 minutes into the set they were really cooking. They’re sort of like Madness in that they’re a fun party band and the party was really rocking. The problem is their fans seem to contain a significantly high concentration of douchebags, fucktards, and assholes. I saw more shoving bro-chains here than anywhere else, by far.

So then I went and had a beer and waited for the Black Keys. This is the third time I’ve seen them (all at festivals) and while I really like their albums, they always seem to fall a little flat for me live, especially the parts when it’s just Dan and Patrick. So I listened for half an hour or so, but lying in the grass I was getting seriously cold, despite having a jacket, a sweatshirt, and a mesh jersey on. So I decided to get up and walk around, ran into Cara and Zach in the beer garden, talked with them a bit, and then went to catch the Black Angels.

The Black Angels’ heavy psychedelic blues was really cool and I hung out and got hypnotized for a while and they also had a pretty interesting video display involving at one point a glowing nipple.

I was pretty close to dead by this time, had been on the polo grounds for 12 hours, but went to see Refused, not sure what to expect. They sounded really great. I mean, the sound quality, was amazing, loud and clear and sharp. Reminded me very much of the Public Image Ltd set a few years ago – iconic band playing a late night slot on the Outdoor and sounding great and just killing it. Unlike PiL though I was too beat to really get into it so I left around 11:45.

All in all a very good Coachella day. I will remember the EMA->James->Gary Clark Jr->Jimmy Cliff run in particular for a very long time. There were a few minor (for me) logistical issues, though I understand it took some people 2 hours to get in.

Side note: I have mentioned before that I have a VIP pass for the first time this year (it was a gift). VIP parking is nice, and the Rose Garden was a good place to relax and recharge. But the VIP area by the main stage, late at night, was packed full of douchebags. I mean it’s like you’re not even at Coachella any more, you’re at some other event where pushy rich boys with bad but very expensive haircuts gather with more of their kind and just take up air. Look, dude, you may think it’s a significant accomplishment, but I really am not all that impressed by the fact that you were once in a Mazda commercial.

[weekendCrush]

FRIDAY
Got to the polo grounds early to meet some folks for lunch. Then went and caught about 20 minutes of Abe Vigoda’s set. They sounded good and energetic but you know how the first set of the day is.
.... Look, dude, you may think it’s a significant accomplishment, but I really am not all that impressed by the fact that you were once in a Mazda commercial.

Great post!

[Stickjohn]

Way to set the bar too high for writeups.

[coolhandluck]

I must say, the debacle of 2010 seems like such a long, lost memory. GV improvements were incremental but they added to the festival experience. Took the shuttle in but they didn't swipe the card until AFTER you got off the bus. And coming in from the bus, you are searched once, and then again when you enter the festival site.

First set of the day was Wolf Gang. Nice, solid young English rockers from London. They were glad to be there and it was a nice open.

I stumbled over to the Mojave to catch honeyhoney. I was caught off guard with their sound. Suzanne Santo was on the violin and there were tinges of country but then elements of punk and blues and hard rock. Then she whips out the banjo. Having known nothing about them prior, I loved making a discovery of them. It was a great set. I highly encourage W2 people to make an effort to see them.

Caught a little of The Dear Hunter. Worried about the weather, I couldn't get into it. And I saw a guy in a Tulane shirt throwing up as we was being led away by his friends. Learn how to handle your drugs and alcohol, amateurs.

Had to take a break and wait for our friends who are Coachella newbies. Got into a packed Mojave for Grouplove at 5pm. Which is also when the front hit and the winds really blew through the tent. Some production designer had the brilliant idea to line the stage with tall grass which consistently blew down and got tangled in the mic and guitar cords. A roadie kept on jumping out to straighten things out. Other than that, Grouplove was great, fantastic, fun, etc. And to me, a touching moment when one of the members of the band said he had been coming to Coachella for the last nine years to watch and it was a dream come true to play the festival. Several songs later, the drummer came out and said the they guy hadn't told the complete story, that he had been coming with him for nine years and were now playing. Stuff like that really warms my heart to see artists achieve goals like this.

Madness was good, seemed a little dated, but they put on a good show. But Our House was so much fun, it was all worth it.

Had to go recharge the cell so ended up in VIP to watch Pulp. My general observation is that cold and rain greatly eliminates the general douchiness factor. Amazing what 15 degrees cooler will do to a crowd. Pulp was great, almost nostalgic, although the ironic moment of the night was seeing a bunch of twenty something girls in VIP dancing with each other and singing Common People.

Mazzy Star was amazing, simply for the fact that Hope Sandoval seemed painfully shy on stage and was so dimly lit, you couldn't see her directly. However, the video screens picked up the intimacy and the gorgeous blues and reds. And after her last song, she simply walked off. Really beautiful.

Which brings me to M83. My high expectations were not met. And they were high. First, I get to the tent 30 minutes prior to their set going off and its packed. Anticipation is high. Then the roadies keep on checking and rechecking and rechecking the equipment. Okay, always want to be prepared. The crowd was getting antsy and we even broke out into that soccer song. 1015pm start, not on stage. 1020pm not on stage. Okay, we're veering into Cee Late Green/Sly Stone territory. 1025pm they get on stage. And they got off on time, so it was a short set. During the first song, a technical glitch were the entire band was silent. It was about 1/2 a second and almost an "Uh-oh" moment, but it quickly came back so no harm no foul but really, all that roadie checking and you still have a technical glitch? It was by far the largest crowd ever jammed into the Mojave that I've seen. And everyone seemed to be into them. But something was missing for me.

I'm cold and drunk by now, I missed Refused and went to The Horrors instead. Tent was half full but they were pros and played a good set.

My overall observation of Rain/Windchella - crowd was trying to stay warm and dry so less aggressive behavior and drunkedness. Less heat means less BO but with more wind you smell more weed. Headed out now for Day 2.

[soybean]

More write-ups, please!

[adammm]

This thread could be very informative, hopefully more writeups happen... not just for friday but saturday and sunday too!

[york707]

I support more write-ups

[socalguy100]

Arrived when gates opened (almost) promptly at 11. The only stage with anything going on was the Sahara. Checked out a few minutes of Mea, who played with a band and a backup singer. Decent sound and songs were better than I expected. If you like Lords of Acid, you know what to expect. From then on, it was almost all Gobi for me.

Saw the final couple songs of Abe Vigoda's set. I wasn't familiar with their music but liked what little I heard. Wolf Gang was next and they reminded me of Hurts, who played a similar early afternoon slot last year. Pleasant sounding British pop. Other Lives delivered one of my favorite sets of the day. Nice harmonies, great songs, and the addition of the cello, trumpet, and violin round out their live sound nicely.

Departed the Gobi briefly to check out Yuck on the Outdoor. Felt a little bit of rain falling, more like mist at this point. I thought they were just OK, but if I was going to weekend 2, I'd have stayed in the Gobi and seen EMA. Briefly checked out the end of Ximena Sarinana's set in the Mojave. I enjoyed what I heard.

Returned to the Gobi and saw Gary Clark, Jr. in progress. I doubt there's a better guitar player at Coachella. The tent was packed, the sound was incredible, and if you want to see someone shread the guitar, this is the guy. I moved to the rail right in front of the stage after the set ended. Death Grips was next. I knew almost nothing about Death Grips and was not looking forward to the set but I wanted to be in front for Wu Lyf and Atari Teenage Riot. This turned out to be an amazing set though, mostly because the audience was going crazy, lots of crowd surfers and giant inflatable pills being passed around.

Wu Lyf had a tough act to follow, and they were a bit of a disappointment despite a crowd of fans near the front who knew all the words to their songs. When Wu Lyf finished, I held fast to my rail position as the stage was set up for Frank Ocean. It's always interesting to see the fans of one act leave the front of the stage and the fans of the next act flood in. There seemed to be a lot of young girls eager to see Frank. The crew had everything sound checked and ready to go at 8:15 (set start time) but no Frank. 8:20 no Frank. At 8:25, I had a Sly Stone flashback, but Frank finally appeared. The girls screamed. He didn't seem that comfortable on stage, and he complained about the monitors a couple of times. Stops one song after about a minute and starts playing a different song. Explains to the audience that the reason he keeps glancing down at the ground between songs is because he has a set list taped to the stage. The only highlight of his set is when Tyler appears for one song.

Atari Teenage Riot followed. I'm familiar with their music and was looking forward to seeing them live and they didn't disappoint, although they probably sent some of the uninitated screaming from the tent. Energetic and very noisy, but this, along with Death Grips, and Other Lives (three very different act) were my favorites of day 1.

Had designs on M83, but it wasn't conducive to late comers. The tent was jammed and then some. Stuck around for a few songs outside the tent, but by then was becoming aware of the rain and the cold. Wanted to hang out for Amon Tobin but instead wandered towards the main stage and caught a few minutes of The Black Keys before calling it a day.

[chucko8419]

great post. such an amazing weekend of great music and special memories.

[loopy]

This is a great idea =)

After a really late night in camping, didn't get a move on to get inside until 12:30, which, with the long line to get into the festival, had me miss Wolf Gang's set entirely which I was really bummed about. Got into the Sahara to check out Breakbot who didn't disappoint. It was a funky dance party the whole set but I could've done without the live singer (at least for the first song). Rain and high wind was setting in so I trucked it back to camp to pick up a jacket and headed back.

Next big thing on my list was Madeon so I stopped to have a quick snack but that's when the sprinkling and high wind really picked up and they herded everybody out from underneath the shaded area in front of the food stalls to try and secure it down. Caught most of Grouplove's set (very fun and I agree with the above comment about one of the band members saying they'd been coming to Coachella for the past 9 years and to play it was a dream come true -- very cool), and the end of Feed Me which was mostly just to ensure I got a decent spot for Madeon, but they were OK.

Madeon was really great! Aside from M83, probably my favorite set of the day. Played the better-known tracks; Pop Culture, Raise Your Weapon, Shuriken, Icarus, etc, but mixed some new stuff as well. He seemed to be having so much fun up there and had some great visuals. Just looking at the set times now I can't believe he played for an hour. It went by really fast and it was a great dance party the whole time.

Headed over a to meet up with my friends at M. Ward who didn't brave the rain earlier in the day, he was a great set. Nice, homey feel. I had heard (and loved) his stuff for the first time after the line up came out, so I was happy it translated live. Also that Zooey Deschanel was nowhere in sight. We wanted to see M. Ward / The Rapture / M83 so we stayed put.

The Rapture put on such a good show! A good mix of old and new, stuff like Sail Away, How Deep Is Your Love?, Whoo Alright, House of Jealous Lovers. A really great pick for all fans and everybody I talked to who'd never seen them before was converted. They really delivered.

By the time M83 was about to start we were up to 2nd row, and I couldn't be happier. They were definitely one of the top bands I wanted to see the whole weekend. One of the drum pads wasn't working and that's why they started late -- the roadie kept testing it for about 15 minutes but looked like nothing was coming through. Finally they started and after reading a lot of the comments on here it seemed like a fair amount of people thought it was lackluster, which I disagree with completely. They picked a lot of great tracks, a good variety that kept us dancing the whole time. Intro was a great song to open with (I suppose that's why it's called Intro, right?) and the extended, gorgeous closing with Couleurs capped it off perfectly.

Wandered around until we found our other friends, checked out some of Amon Tobin and was bored fairly quickly. I enjoyed the music and the visuals but felt the whole first half was spent waiting for some sort of climax that never came; I sort of wish I hadn't read around that this ISAM show was supposed to be all amazing because maybe I went into it with too-high expectations. Checked out a little bit of Datsik which was fun to dance to for awhile and enjoy the lights. We decided to leave, passing by SHM to have our eyes burned out by lasers before we headed out to camp. Cold, wet, tired, sore, and happy as clams.

[mountmccabe]

then caught most of Givers, who had packed the Mojave with enthusiastic fans. They played a nice energetic but (to me at least) sort of forgettable set.

Left early and headed to the Gobi to listen to EMA. I was torn between EMA and Yuck, but I decided my mood fit EMA better, and man I’m glad I stayed. This was the first really great set of Coachella for me. She has a great stage presence and an amazing voice live. Watching her I was trying to draw comparisons to describe her to people who haven’t seen her – the best I can do, from my point of reference, is she’s sort of a cross between Laurie Anderson and Janis Joplin. Which doesn’t make any sense, I know.

Hurried from EMA to see James on the big stage and they were really great. They sounded wonderful and Tim Booth has a sort of calm and assured enthusiasm that really came off well. The ‘come on thunder, come on thunder’ bit was fabulous. This made two sets in a row of seriously good stuff.

I was just trying to write my review but that would've started like this, nearly word for word. I had decided on Yuck to get things going for me but passing through the Gobi I ran into people (including Tom) and heard Erika soundchecking her vocals and they were just haunting so there was no way I was leaving.

Tim Booth was a great frontman, with his excessively baggy jeans, corduroy jacket and fun dancing.

After James I went for some food and to investigate the grounds but got drawn to the Coachella stage again by Jimmy Cliff's fantastic gold outfit (including gold shoes.) Their set was largely great. As Tom says, "I Can See Clearly" was great with the complete cloud cover.

We stayed through Arctic Monkeys; I did not enjoy it but it seemed like the crowd around me did so hey.

Pulp were my third amazing set of the day, with Jarvis running all over the stage. "Common People" on the polo fields was just as good as expected, the crowd went crazy.

Afterwards we went to hear some Mazzy Star from the back and relax but the cold and rain won out and I left, realizing i was not going to make it the three more hours necessary to see Refused (I almost got pulled back in hearing sound bleed from the Rapture and I would've seen some of the Black Angels too so it wouldn't've been an empty gap until Refused, but, still, brrr.)

[juloxx]

Friday fucking sucked

there

[TomAz]

nearly word for word

there is no way anyone else thought up the cross between Laurie Anderson and Janis Joplin stuff though.

[ods..]

Started the day nice and early with breakfast, bowls, and beers at the campgrounds. Then we got ourselves together and wandered in around 11:30 to check out the merch tent and Zia before Abe Vigoda.

Abe Vigoda was alright, some catchy songs. Nothing too memorable. We went over to catch the end of Patricio into Jobot at the Do-lab, both of whom were killing it. Great way to start the day. Met up with some friends.

Then we ventured over to Main Stage and took advantage of the amazing overcast weather. I couldn't imagine a time where I could watch a main stage band early in the day and not be dying of heat stroke. Hello Seahorse! played an awesome latin-pop-rock set to a sparse crowd, the lead singer has a gorgeous voice. Recommended if you are looking for something to see early.

After a few songs I met up with friends and we got in close at the Dear Hunter who were much better than I thought they were going to be. Sounded a lot like the Mars Volta (in a good way) and I thought they all were pretty good at their instruments and vocals. Nothing extraordinary but good nonetheless.

Walked over to Gobi to catch the middle-end of Other Lives. I am SO going to catch these guys next weekend. Their sound filled the tent and they had the crowd going as well. A little pissed I couldn't see more but I made my way over to mainstage to get a good spot for Kendrick, who was one of my biggest acts of the weekend.

My girlfriend and I pushed in close and made sure had a good spot for sound and eye-line. He came on to Fuck Your Ethnicity which was fucking perfect... I didn't love that I was the only person within a few yards of me who knew the words but that's alright, probably should have gotten there a bit earlier. The crowd was still grooving and vibing hard throughout the set. He played Pussy and Patron for what felt like 10 minutes and probably lost a bit of casual fans but I seriously loved hearing all the old shit. Michael Jordan was definitely one of the highlights of the set, and then ADHD to close it out of course was perfect. Almost teared up hearing Chapter 6 also ("Pray that we make it 'til 21"), as my birthday was in exactly a week from that moment. Needless to say the set was amazing and I was dissappointed. One of the best of friday and the weekend as well.

After Kendrick I ran over to EMA and hoped I didn't miss any of my favorite songs. The crowd was really spread out and chill in there and she sounded fucking incredible. I moved up front with my gf and we were about 8 feet from the stage by the time Grey Ship came on. The setting was unbelieve, the palm trees thrashing in the background with the wind, dark overcast skies but the sun still backlighting the stage, casting some ominous silhouettes of the entire bad. At one point she was bent over screaming into the microphone and I just couldn't help but gape. Great set. 2 in a row. It will be tough to choose Yuck over EMA this weekend so I'll probably still catch the second half of her set. I've seen Yuck before so I won't be missing too much.

Next I think I grabbed a bite to eat or something while meeting up with a huge crew of friends who just got into the festival (drove in from SD after school). They were pissed they missed so many acts but ready to get moving so we made our way over to Neon Indian. The crowd was getting bigger at Outdoor steadily (because the weather hadn't taken a turn for the worst yet) so we just stayed near speaker B1 on the left side and posted up. Neon Indian was pretty good but very weird honestly. Sounded like they were still figuring out the mix at Outdoor and the wind might have been fucking it up as well, but the sound was very tinny and shrill. Not much bass or low-mid. I enjoyed the set, but it wasn't amazing. I'll definitely be catching Gary Clark Jr. this weekend as I heard he killed it.

After Neon Indian we headed over to Jimmy Cliff to get a good spot, which was easy because the weather was shitty and there was next to no one there. He started about 10 minutes late too, because the speakers and light rigs on the mainstage were swaying reaaaaally bad due to wind. They started playing "Blame It on the Rain" on the soundsystem while crew members sorted shit out. Kind of a buzzkill but when Jimmy finally came out the band sounded perfect and he sounded amazing as well. You Can Get It... Ruby Soho... I Can See Clearly, all highlights. Excited to see this set in the sun this week.

After Jimmy my plan was to go see Girls on outdoor but the weather was a little too windy to fully enjoy a set like Girls who really need to be seen in the sunlight. So we walked over to Gobi where Death Grips was DESTROYING the tent. I guess I missed Guillotine by leaving too early or arriving too late but what I did hear was RAW as fuck. The new shit sounded so good live... I danced so hard during I've Seen Footage. The energy coming from the stage and throughout the tent was unreal. I seriously might see them again.

After Death Grips we wandered around a bit and met up with some friends before WU LYF. They weren't bad, but I just couldn't get fully into it. I liked the end of their set much better than the beginning however. A definite skip for next week. Hope to convince my gf to see Madness with me.

When WU ended we walked over to see like 5 minutes of M. Ward who was boring as fuck. Couldn't stand it. Went back over to the Gobi to camp for a packed Frank Ocean set. The crowd was fucking unbearable too for the 25-35 minutes I was on my feet. So many douches and prostitots that somehow made it out of the Sahara for a set that by the time Frank finally came on (late and lacklusterly) I was in a bad mood. He proceeded to play a flat, weird, slowed down set with alternate versions of songs and little to no energy. When Tyler came out he looked visibly pissed that the crowd was excited to see him, as if we shouldn't give his friend any applause. His voice sounded meh live and I just generally disliked the set. We walked out during Lovecrimes, and didn't even get to hear Novocain. The tent was insanely packed as well... I think we'll come and see just the end of this set this week to see if it's any better. This is coming from someone who absolutely LOVES the album.

After Frank I walked over to Mojave where I met up with my friends in the back left corner. The energy in this tent was perfect and just what I needed after the shitshow of Frank Ocean. I loved the setlist and I knew that when House of Jealous Lovers came on the crowd was going to go apeshit. The band didn't disappoint and neither did the crowd; turned every one of my friends into rabid fans if they weren't already and threw down one of the biggest dance parties of friday night. I just love that about chella. I knew this set would kill it and they lived up to my expectations. One of the best of Friday. Definitely going to catch the end of Mazzy Star though this week.

When Rapture ended my initial plan was to stake out a spot in the Mojave for M83 (which I probably should have done) but waiting for Frank earlier in the evening turned me off from the idea. We instead decided to run over to the bathrooms by the entrance to the venue (which are consistently EMPTY) and catch the beginning of Black Keys before M83. Black Keys opened a bit late but the sound on main stage was crisp and super loud. It was about this time that I realized how much better the sound on Main stage was then the other stages (except Sahara, which I don't know first hand but my friends said Afrojack's bass rumbled their bodies). Pisses me off... So many good acts ruined by poor/quiet sound. Black Keys however sounded great. We left about 3 songs in to get over to M83 (who fell victim to the poor sound I was talking about) but I'm definitely seeing most of Black Keys next weekend.

M83 was just too quiet. I was so excited for this set and I just ended up in a shitty spot because i didn't come early. This weekend I'm going to plan ahead and either camp up front or just situate myself in the back behind a speaker. That's really the only place you can get good/loud sound in Mojave unfortunately. We left after 2 songs because I was so disappointed. Sucked.

Went over to Explosions and caught their ending. They sounded excellent on Outdoor and the vibe over there was great as well. I'm probably going to miss them next week though because they're at OSL and I've seen them 3 times already this year.

After Explosions, I decided to go over to Black Angels and I am so happy I did. By far one of the best sets of the day/weekend. These guys were THROWING THE FUCK DOWNNN. My mollied up head was eating it up, the psychedelic/bluesy/garagy rock was exactly where my brain was. So loud and excellent. These guys made me happy I bought earplugs for chella this year because they were exploding that tent. So much energy. When the sitar came out... and that solo... A must see for next weekend. One of my favorite discoveries of the fest. I will see these guys any time they are near me.

After Black Angels we wandered by Main Stage to catch a glimpse of Swedish's madness before getting in close for Refused. Refused proceeded to play such a high energy, fun set. The band and crowd both felt so grateful to be there and everyone had a huge smile on their face even as they were slamming into one another. One of my favorite moments of any coachella when Dennis explained to the crowd just how happy he was to see this crowd here to see their music, and how it would be arrogant for them not to play with the kind of support and love he was recieving from the crowd. Super humble, amazing moments.

After refused we walked over to Amon Tobin, taking the time to walk by Swedish again and look over at the crazy main stage crowd. They were playing some terrible Gotye remix and reaffirmed every reason why I hate them now. Amon was pretty good but once again the sound was not up to par in the Mojave. I wanted to get close to see the visuals clearly, but the only place I could get any loud sound was in the very back of the tent. So, needless to say, I didn't love Amon's set. I was kind of pissed I had to miss him early this year in LA and in SF for New Years but eh what can you do. Maybe the sound problems will be sorted out during weekend 2. This week I'll definitely catch most of the Horrors set though.

Overall, an amazing start to Chella. I had so much fun and it felt so good to be able to see full, delicious sets without having to worry about missing people. Anyone I missed that I really want to see, I'll catch this week no problem.

Top 5 of the day:
1. Kendrick Lamar
2. The Rapture
3. EMA
4. The Black Angels
5. Death Grips

HM: Refused, Jimmy Cliff

jesus.. mine seems a bit long. whatevs

[Nealocus]

Started early on Friday considering it was my first Coachella and I had been counting down since I bought pre-sale tickets last year. I was with my girlfriend and we arrived at the parking lot at around 9:45am. It was closed for some reason so we ended up driving around for another half hour until we were let in. Got to the gates and laid against some fence for some shade until 11. Nervously went through security as I had a 8oz flask and cigarette box of joints stuffed in my undies. Luckily I took advice from some of you guys and had my stuff already out of my pockets and greeted the security guard in a friendly manner. Breezed through with barely a pat. Next we got our locker set up and explored the festival grounds.

At around noon we headed over to the Outdoor Theater to get a good spot for The Sheepdogs and ended up catching them during their sound check. We decided to play a game of cards while bathing in the warm (but not scorching) sunlight and drinking lemonade with a couple shots of Belvedere added. Coachella was becoming everything I thought and more! Before they left I yelled out "The Sheepdogs rule!" and got a big thumbs up from the drummer & lead singer...it was awesome! I had never had such a intimate experience with a band. When they finally came on it was pretty crowded for such an early set and they jammed hard with their southern rock. I lit up a joint and danced my heart out. My girl ended up loving their music and it was the absolute best intro to my first Coachella I could possibly ask for. I had huge expectations for this festival, and so far they were being met.

After The Sheepdogs we had an hour break before catching the GIVERS so we went to the food area and bought an Italian grilled chicken sandwich with red peppers and onions...YUM! Had no idea the food at Coachella would be so tasty. We finished the food and decided to make a pit stop at the merchandise booth to see what they had. On the way I was distracted by a Do Lab DJ (who I still don't know the name of) who was bumping a badass remix of Jay Z "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" which I just had to get down to. Luckily before we had finished eating I decided to put on my GoPro and get a first hand view of the festival grounds so I caught all of it on tape! It was so cool to be so easily distracted by a song I had no idea was even going to be played. After he finished up we just stopped dancing and went back about our business.

At around 2pm we went back to the Mojave to catch the GIVERS. Hadn't been listening to them for a very long time but boy did we enjoy their set! They sounded amazing live, and ended up being my girlfriends favorite set of the whole weekend. Tiffany was cute and rocked the shit out of the drums and vocals while Taylor kept the fans involved by thanking us and commenting on how much bigger the crowd was than he thought it would be. They seemed like a bunch of cool kids on stage having the time of their lives. Very humbling band and the only bad thing I have to say is they didn't play my favorite song "Noche Nada", but hey you can't win them all.

We had another break but didn't do too much as Gary Clark Jr. was next on our schedule and he was one of my "must see" acts...and thank God for that. He is so amazing I have a hard time fitting it into words. The guy literally doesn't need to sing because his guitar does it for him. He rips on it like Hendrix. However I'm glad he does sing because he has one of the best blues rock voices I've ever heard in my fucking life. He rocked that crowd like he'd been big for 20 years and was playing his greatest hits. Only speed bump was a few dudes behind me grabbed my Cardinals backpack and I turned around and asked them not to touch it. Turned out they were Cardinal fans and were trying to show it to a buddy of theirs. I still don't think they should have grabbed it but I felt bad for snapping so I offered them all a shot out of my flask. Lit up another joint and reveled in his awesomeness. The wind was blowing the palm trees in the background and I managed to take some amazing pictures with my camera. He is just the epitome of a badass blues star. Aviator glasses, cool fedora type hat and a grizzly beard. During his set I felt as if I wanted to cry just out of sheer happiness for how great he turned out to be!

After Gary's set ended I was so glued to my spot I completely forgot that Grouplove had started 5 minutes before. My girlfriend pulled me over after reminding me and we ran from the Gobi to the Mojave but unfortunately the tent was packed! We tried to find a spot on the side but the rain combined with a bunch of assholes pushing their way through put us in a bit of a bummed mood so we ended up leaving a few songs in to go relax and get some dinner and meet up with some friends. After grabbing another Italian sandwich and meeting a buddy of mine and his girlfriend at the Do Lab we hung out and chatted for about an hour. By this time my girlfriend was pretty chilly so I told her we could go to the car and warm up and drink for awhile while the Artic Monkeys were on main since I've seen them a few times before. We walked to the parking lot and she took a power nap while I downed as many warm Miller Lite's as my stomach could handle. I was pretty happy though because I rolled down the window and was able to hear most of their set (which sounded great).

Refreshed and ready to get back to it we grabbed a towel from the trunk and she wrapped it around her waist to keep warm. We made our way to the Mojave to watch The Rapture at 9pm. I caught the first few songs of Frank Ocean while I was waiting for my girl to get back from the bathroom and wasn't very impressed. We finally got to the Mojave and were a little towards the back but still were able to rock out to an absolutely amazing set. I was a little unsure of how they were going to sound live because of Luke's unique voice, but they did not disappoint! "How Deep is Your Love" and "In the Grace of Your Love" sounded amazing and the whole tent exploded in a giant dance party of jumping, clapping and spinning! So glad I made their set but was yet again a little bummed because they didn't play one of my favorite songs "Echoes" which I thought was a for sure thing. I for some reason don't remember too much more of their set (I wasn't on any drugs yet) but I do remember them being great and I was happy I got to see them.

We only had a 20min break before The Black Keys started at the main and we used it all to walk over there. By the time we got there it was jam packed up front and knowing that we still had Refused in store I needed to let my girlfriend take a breather. I wrapped her up in the towel and we laid in the grass in front of the mob at the main stage. Being a huge Black Keys fan (and even rocking their shirt) I was sadly not very impressed. I don't know if it was the time slot, the weather or the area we were watching from but they just sounded...stale. I didn't really hear any impromptu guitar rifts like I've heard their famous for or any talking with the crowd. I honestly think seeing Gary Clark Jr. spoiled me. We ended up leaving after 5 or 6 songs into it so I could catch M83's encore Midnight City (which I'm so...so happy I got to see) and to wait in the ridiculously long coffee line to get a last minute pick me up before watching Refused.

At around 11:15pm the time had finally come that my girlfriend had been dreading...Refused. I explained to her their awesomeness and how it was a once in a lifetime opportunity after their dramatic breakup to see them perform live. She understood and was willing to sit in the grass while I went into the pit. After lighting up my final joint for the day I pushed through the crowd and got as close as I could and entered a mosh pit for the first time ever. Was immediately elbowed in the stomach and made the hard decision that I was a pussy and moshing wasn't for me. I left the main crowd with my tail between my legs but still ecstatic on how wonderful they were sounding live. One of my favorite parts was when Dennis practically apologized for breaking up and said it would be dumb for them not to play for their fans. He was so humble and so not what I thought he would be, it made me happy. I sat with my girlfriend for a few more songs until my time had come...New Noise. I had waited years to hear that song live and as soon as I heard that faint guitar I knew what was happening. I yelled at her to record and got up to start dancing. Part of my Coachella experience was to not give a fuck about anything other than me and my girlfriend. So I rocked out like I've never rocked out before. People looked, probably laughed and I'm pretty sure one guy openly mocked me (we were way in the back were there wasn't much of a crowd, so my dancing probably looked retarded) but zero fucks were given. I was having an amazing time and they performed that song perfectly. I wanted to stick around for Amon Tobin but by this time it was already late, still rainy and very cold so I decided since my girlfriend did me a solid I'd repay her and take her home.

We went to the place we were staying, grabbed some food, had some sex and went to bed. It was one of the best nights of my life; as were the next two days of the festival.

Top 5

1. Gary Clark Jr.
2. The Sheepdogs
3. GIVERS
4. The Rapture
5. Refused

[eimie]

Hey y'all, I hate to be one of those people who cross-posts, but I'm hoping that those of you who enjoy sharing and reading about other people's experiences over Weekend 1 would find my site useful: www.coacheller.com

You can get more of an explanation here: http://www.coachella.com/forum/showt...e-taking-polls

I'm kicking myself for having started on this project so late, but I'm still stoked that I managed to finish my app last Thursday morning at 6:30am .

[summerkid]

Got into the festival early on Friday and went over to meet some friends by the water filling station near the Sahara around 12:30 or so. We watched in amazement at the crowd in the Sahara. It was packed, I don't think I've ever seen the Sahara so full this early in the day before. We watched the crowd and were amused how they were going crazy over such bad music and watched how they reacted towards every drop like clockwork. After seeing this I knew that Coachella would be a little bit different this year and that more and more of the crowd would be in the Sahara which was fine by me and it seemed to limit my run ins with douchebags the rest of the weekend. After 10 minutes of that I guess we got something to eat and then didn't see anyone until Yuck. I enjoyed their set, don't think it was anything spectacular sounded just like the album and I like the album sort of 90s nostalgic flavor. After this I went and saw Gary Clark Jr. and man was he great and so was the crowd. Clark Jr. showed that he could give any guitarist at Coachella a run for their money and backed this with a truly soulful voice. After this I went over to Jimmy Cliff and Tim Armstrong which was such a fun set. Jimmy Cliff put on a show dressed to the nines in a gold suit and shoes armed with a glowing smile it seemed he brought light to the polo fields at a time when clouds blocked out the sun. His band was great as well and Cliff showed why he's a legend. Next, I stayed at the main stage to see Arctic Monkeys. I love this band and have seen them twice before and they never cease to impress me and leave wondering, how is this band not bigger? A great live band with a ton of energy that can whip the crowd into a frenzy. We were right behind a mosh pit up front and it was a blast. One of my friends said to me after the show that he didn't realize how good the Arctic Monkeys were. After the Arctic Monkeys we stayed at the main stage for Pulp. First thing I have to say about Pulp is that Jarvis is a brilliant front man. He has the best on stage banter in the world and dances without any inhibition and runs all over the stage. My friends and I sang a long to Disco 2000, Babies, Do You Remember the First Time, and of course Common People. I was pleasantly surprised to see them play The Fear and This is Hardcore! I had high expectations for this set and it did not disappoint as I had a big smile on my face the whole time. After this we went over to see Mazzy Star, I loved it as they played Ghost Highway and seemed to eschew their hits for a more shoegazey set. After Mazzy, we lost the group so my girlfriend and I went to M83. This would be one of two times that I would encounter douchebags in the crowd at Coachella. M83 sounded great but people kept pushing their way into the tent only to stand their and talk to their friends. Really pissed me off so we left 10 minutes early and went to the Black Angels who sounded great. There version of psych blues was perfect for this part of the day where exhaustion starts to kick in. We then stayed and watched half of the Horrors, I love their albums, but I really didn't think they sounded very good live, seemed sloppy to me so we went over to see a little bit of Amon Tobin. This set seemed to me like it was just something to look at and the music (if you can call it that) was too challenging for 12:30 at night so we decided to call it a day. On our way back to the campsite we heard Swedish House Mafia who sounded terrible and they must have launched fireworks 10 times because they did it on our way out and I heard them do it again once we got back to the campsite. Overall a great day spent with friends listening to great music and getting to see bands I never thought I'd get to see (mazzy star, Pulp) that's what Coachella is all about.