Pop Culture Buzz

THE “COACHELLA” MAIN STAGE

This year’s three-day Coachella Music & Arts Festival in Indio, CA was light years ahead of the same event I attended two years ago when Madonna, Tool, The Scissor Sisters and Daft Punk performed. The complete organization and prompt concert line up were very impressive.

I highly recommend Coachella to all concert lovers, Burning Man fans, and people who love to meet new people and see exciting art installations. The vibe is positive all around and people are more pleasant than you would think. Add to that a brilliant line-up, comfortable camping conditions, constantly cleaned porta-potties, private showers, an expansive and eclectic food court and giant beer gardens. I cannot say strongly enough how much this event is a must for anyone looking for a fun group annual outing.

WE WERE THE SECOND GROUP OF CAMPERS TO ARRIVE AT THE HUGE POLO FIELDS FOR THE GROUP CAMPING

Here are reviews for each of the acts I saw this year :

COACHELLA DAY ONE:

THE “SAHARA” DANCE TENT

DJ MEHDI -

I had no idea who this DJ was but was pleasantly surprised by his 80’s dance/pop-influenced mix. Mixing Janet Jackson and other pop divas, DJ Mehdi blew the roof off the dance tent. This was the perfect set to start off a blistering hot day of bumping beats.

MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS - Of all the dance acts, this Australian threesome had me the most excited. Unfortunately they didn’t deliver the same freshness I recently heard on their debut CD “Dystopia.” I was pleasantly surprised to see the members playing instruments instead of tweaking out on a sound board and keyboards.

THE BREEDERS - It was fun to see Kim Deal and company go back to their grunge rock roots at a festival again (I saw them at Lollapalooza about 15 years ago). The classic modern rock group played all their hits including “Divine Hammer” which took me back to 1994 and had me dancing like a fool all over again.

WATCH VAMPIRE WEEKEND PERFORM BELOW:

VAMPIRE WEEKEND - The year’s most hyped and creative band (so far) played a breezy, fun set to an overheated crowd as the sun began to go down. Their music was perfect for cooling off and feeling good. The young hip college kids couldn’t get enough.

GOLDFRAPP - After playing two of their new, slower singles the crowd began to thin out, allowing me to get closer just as Alison Goldfrapp and company began to rock the house with their futuristic brand of disco funk. Their loss was my gain and I danced like a rock star again.

WATCH GOLDFRAPP PERFORM BELOW:

THE VERVE - Even though I only saw The Verve perform their breakthrough hit, “Bittersweet Symphony,” it was worth it just for bragging rights. Richard Ashcroft never looked or sounded better.

APHEX TWIN - This set was the most aggressive, scary, annoying, mean sound I heard at the whole festival. I’m not saying that they weren’t a hit with the crowd — I’m just saying that they made me want to beat someone up.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS - I am so pissed that I only got to see one song from this soul sensation, but the song I saw Ms. Jones perform was a mind-bending experience. She lost her mind and got the Holy Ghost barefoot singing out her heart. This was a powerful performance and it was just one song.

WATCH SHARON JONES PERFORM BELOW:

FATBOY SLIM - I was hoping for a bit more from this set but wasn’t let down by Fatboy’s live mixing style. He sounds less gimmicky and cheesy live then he does on some of his full-length CDs, but I must say that I wasn’t that impressed.

COACHELLA DAY TWO:

THE BIRD & THE BEE - This cutesy all girl group was a sweet way to start the day. Their airy brand of 60’s elevator music was fun and innocent enough to enjoy.

VHS OR BETA - I have been waiting to see this group for a long time and the payoff was well worth it. The second day of Coachella got off to a rocking start with their catchy brand of rock n’ roll, which sounded a lot like The Cure.

MGMT - This group had a lot of buzz and the tent in which the show was held was overflowing with people in 115-degree heat. They sounded pretty good and original, but the venue was so intense I couldn’t stick around for the whole thing.

WATCH BOYZ NOISE PERFORM BELOW:

BOYZ NOISE - This super fun DJ set was a surprise because of the high energy, techno sound and brilliant samples. The dance floor moved with the fun energy of these remix masters.

KATE NASH - After dancing my ass off, Kate Nash was a great way to cool down. Her voice was a strong and effective blend of sweet girlie lyrics and witty vocal styling. The mostly female crowd ate up every minute of this set.

HOT CHIP - This was my favorite dance experience of the whole three days. Hot Chip knows how to throw a dance party with their loud cheeky dance music. Their hour-long set drew a huge crowd that braved the direct sun just to dance to their music.

WATCH HOT CHIP PERFORM BELOW:

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Besides dissing Prince, Death Cab for Cutie didn’t impress me, although I did sing every lyric of my favorite song of theirs, “Soul Meets Body,” as loud as I could. It was a magical moment that sounded just like their CD.

RILO KILEY - As the sun went down Rilo Kiley played their brand of chilled-out Southern California rock ‘n roll to a crowd of wiped-out fans. This was the best comedown-from-dancing rock act of the day and it was the perfect way to cool off.

ME AT MARK RONSON WITH DAVID HASSELHOFF

MARK RONSON - My favorite experience of the whole three-day event was when Mark Ronson brought out a parade of Brit-pop stars to sing his hits. Kenna, the lead singer of The Kaiser Chiefs, and The Charlatans all helped Mark Ronson give the most mind-blowing set of the entire festival. It was a history-making experience AND I met David Hasselhoff!

MARK RONSON

WATCH MARK RONSON PERFORM BELOW:

PORTISHEAD - Portishead played at the first hint of night with an eerie and somber set that packed the main stage with people in a daze. The electro pioneers played all of their trip-hop hits along with some new stuff to thousands of tripping fans who were mesmerized by their performance.

SASHA & DIGWEED - I love dance music but this show was like popping in a CD at my house, it had no human touch or emotion. There was nothing authentic or original about it. Maybe it was all the awesome live acts I had just seen, but this repetitive electronic dance music just didn’t do it for me.

CALVIN HARRIS

CALVIN HARRIS - Calvin Harris was my second favorite performance of Coachella 2008. I don’t think many people knew who he was or what he was capable of because as soon as he started his act, the roof blew off the tent and people started swarming. I danced my ass off and was in heaven when he played the hot track, “Vegas.” After walking up to him near the beer garden earlier in the day I can confirm that he truly is smoking hot in person.

WATCH CALVIN HARRIS PERFORM BELOW:

PRINCE - Right before Prince began to play, all of the lighting at Coachella turned purple. No other act went up against Prince and that was the right thing to do. Prince played every hit and dissed all of his haters. It didn’t hurt that he brought this friends Sheila E and Morris Day and the Time with him. This was history in the making, folks. He played The Beatles’ “Come Together” and made sure to remind us all “this is my house!”…and it was!

COACHELLA DAY THREE:

PERRY FARRELL - I had no idea Farrell was going to play all of Janes Addiction’s best hits. He even performed a dance version of “Been Caught Stealing,” that made me squeal like a teen girl. This little surprise made me lose my gay mind.

DIMITRI FROM PARIS

DIMITRI FROM PARIS - My favorite DJ of all time made sure he played enough French house and disco inspired tracks to keep the crowd going crazy. I was not surprised he won over thousands of people who obviously had no idea who he was. This was unpretentious old school dance music with lyrics we all knew! His remix of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” tore up the dance tent.

WATCH DUFFY PERFORM BELOW:

DUFFY - Duffy played the perfect set to calm down from a dance frenzy. Her soulful set was calming and she sounded as clear as she does on her debut CD “Rockferry.” I even got to meet her in the dance area know as Do-Lab “The Mushroom Garden” (picture below). Not only does she sound lovely but she looked sweet as pie as well.

DUFFY

JESSE MURPHY (BRAZILLIAN GIRLS) - What a rare treat this performance this was! Murphy’s remix of The Smiths “Big mouth Strikes Again” at the Do-Lab “Mushroom Garden” wet grass dancefoor had me in a gay tizzy! I screamed and danced until I had a heart attack, then I passed out from all the excitement. What fun!

BOOKA SHADE - This dance act was another sweet surprise and a great hour of booty shaking beats. Despite the unbearable heat people couldn’t avoid dancing to the funky fresh dance tracks these guys laid down in the blaring sun.

DANNY TENAGLIA - Once again I became over saturated with dance music in the high heat of the day and I had to leave once Danny’s music became too repetitive and robotic with no sense of real fun.

WATCH GOGOL BORDELLO BELOW:

GOGOL BORDELLO - These gypsy punk rockers from Eastern Europe had the massive crowd at the main stage swirling in a massive mosh pit. Their fun blend of world music and melodic punk rock made me an instant fan.

METRIC - Metric played a soothing and charming set as the sun began to trickle over the palm trees on the horizon. Their soft rock sound was the best way to calm down after a day of non-stop dancing.

WATCH MY MORNING JACKET PERFORM BELOW:

MY MORNING JACKET - My favorite stoner rock band didn’t disappoint their legion of hippy/jam band fans by playing all their hits and some new tracks which have me drooling at the mouth for their new CD out next month. This group knows how to play a sun set and put you in a good space.

SIA - The female voice of the band Zero 7 played tracks from her terrific new solo CD and then she played one Zero 7 song, “Destiny.” After a day that wiped me out this was another great song set to lie out and relax to.

SIA

ROGER WATERS - This was the most anticipated show of the day and people were obviously emotional as Waters played hits from “The Wall”, “Wish You Were Here” and “Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety. This deeply moving experience was truly breath taking to watch and Waters voice sounded gorgeous. I am so glad I was able to see this show and be a part of something legendary.

WATCH A CLIP OF ROGER WATERS PERFORM BELOW:

SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - The dance tent suddenly exploded with bouncing heads and a crazy light show as soon as these guys came on. Their crafty blend of dance music and hilarious lyrics had the crowd going insane.

CHROMEO - This group started off with a bang but then became a bit too repetitive and cheesy. The electro-voice recorder sound effects and early 80’s rap knock of their songs didn’t sustain the energy of the first few tracks. This was another slightly disappointing band that I had high hopes for.

WATCH JUSTICE PERFORM BELOW:

JUSTICE - Just like their techno influences (Daft Punk) Justice decided to create an experience rather than just play tracks from their CD’s. These guys built up songs that exploded making a frenzy in the crowd that was crazy to witness. Closing out Coachella should always go out with a similar bang as Justice provided.

A HOT DAY AT COACHELLA