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S-Yo.

Coachella Re-Hash Y'all

Preface: I know this is really, really late. I meant to post earlier this week but I accidentally deleted a huge chunk of this entry and didn't have any time until now to re-write and re-upload the pics. Special thanks to Maureen for letting me use some of her pictures. Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy the read! S-Yo.

"Gotta get us to the show, California here we come..."

Thursday:
11:00 - Meet at Elissa's apt. We all get a car service to take us to Newark.

12:17 - Arrive at airport and proceed to goof off and get lunch.

1:20 - Catch our first flight, which brings us to Dallas. Have a tasty lunch at TGI Friday's. Notice that wait staff does not wear flair here. When did that happen? We also come across a machine that sells Nintendos, camcorders, CDs, etc. Pretty sick. We buy some video tapes for our camera.








4:30 - Catch our flight to Palm Springs. Everyone on the plane is either super old and rich or a young hipster. You can tell the old people hate this time of year. I spy a lot of hoodies and tapered jeans. We kill the New York Magazine crossword puzzle and make friends with our neighbors along the way.

7:00 - Arrive in Palm Springs! Get luggage, rental car. We opt for the PT Cruiser. Drive to our digs. Super nice. We are probably the only people under 60 in this neighborhood.



9:00 - Head out to the Filter Coachella party. Proceed to get very lost.

10:30 - Arrive at Filter party. It is awesome. Free booze with a great setting--looks like it could be a cheesey safari theme park. There's a huge lake surrounded by land connected by charming bamboo bridges and tiki torches. A lot of really beautiful, really dressed up people. We guess that the LA faction of the country is representin'. We talk to strangers and end up taking pictures with them at the free photo booth. Elissa and Sam play guitar hero and kick everyone's asses. We meet our friend DOUG, who we will continue to bump into throughout the festival.


This is our new friend DOUG (kneeling) with his Cali posse.













































FRIDAY:

10:00 - Go to IHOP. Maureen and I are really jonesing for that delicious McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit combo that comes with a rectangular hash brown and yummy orange juice. But damn, IHOP is just as good, if not better. I get some special that comes with 3 eggs, sausages, bacon, a donut/pancake/pastry-like thing that is a combination of all those things, bananas, and has browns for a mere $8.00. On top of that, we order a stack of choco-chip pancakes for the table.






















11:30 - Go to Wal-Mart. We go nuts and get water guns and personal mini-fans that spray water, lots of sunscreen and $9 toothbrushes that play music when you brush (but ONLY when you brush). We also test our eyesight and play some of the games in the lobby. Oh, and buy classy jewelry and tattoos from the 25 cent toy machines.

4:55 Of Montreal. We bump into my officemate Samson. He is da bomb. He seems to know everyone at the festival and we see him about 15 times each day with a different manager, agent, etc. We catch a few songs of Of Montreal's and then opt to catch out Silversun Pickups since we just saw OM at Studio B doing Indie Rock Karaoke.

5:10 - 5:30 Silversun Pickups. The last time I saw them was at the Plug Awards at Irving Plaza. They sound about 1000 times better here and I think it may be due to the grossness of Irving (sorry, Fillmore). We are lucky enough to hear "Lazy Eye", "Common Reactor", and "Rusted Wheel". I think all the girls shared a collective moment of envy thinking: "Can I please be Nikki Monniger?"

6:25 - 7:15 Arctic Monkeys. They sound fantastic. In the middle of their set I bump into Sarah-Jane, my officemate and buddy who helps me get through the long days. She is the sole reason I got to go to Coachella and I love her to bits.


View of the Main Stage from the VIP section:


7:15 - 7:45 Rufus Wainwright. He sounds amazing. And he's not wearing pants. Can't wait for his new album. On our walk over, we run into the Megamite Army:




7:50 - 8:35 Jesus and the Mary Chain. They look angry the whole time. I wonder if the brothers are hating each other through the entire set. Scarlett comes out to sing. The rumors are true! I can't really hear her vocals and wonder why she is here in the first place. When is her album coming out?










8:35 - 9:30 We hang out in the VIP section and get some grub. I really want to catch Jarvis Cocker's set, but nobody I'm with has a particular liking for him. I definitely regret not making an effort to see him, but when you've been running around in the 102 degrees all day, it's easy to get tired. MY BAD. I also want to see Sonic Youth, but I reason to myself that they are NYC band and I can catch them again in the city. Good thing the McCarren Park show was just announced.

9:30 - 10:20 Interpol. Pioneer, awesome! We just lie in the grass and take it in.


10:45 Bjork. We decide to get up and go watch close to the stage, by the soundboard. As we're walking over, she slides into "Unravel" and I lose my shit. That song is probably in my top 3 favorite Bjork songs. I think Unravel is the highlight of the festival for me. Hearing it under the stars was priceless. She also sings "Army of Me" and closes out the set with "Declare Independence" off Volta.

SATURDAY:
10:30 - Wake up. Watch SNL Videos in bed.

11:13 - Eat Doritos

11:45 - Hit the pool. I pretend I can't swim and we re-enact David Hasseloff scenes from Baywatch.







1:00 - Leave the pool and get ready to go.

2:30 - Hit the road to make it time to catch Regina's set. I mean, we really should've gotten off our asses to see The Frames, Pop Levi, Fountains of Wayne, Fields, The Fratellis and Steve Aoki, but I just didn't have it in me...plus, when there's a ridiculous pool right in front of your driveway, it's hard to say no.

Scenery on the way in to Coachella grounds:




Goofing off in the car:











3:50 - 4:40 Regina Spektor. We grab pizza and lemonade and catch her set perched atop a picnic table in VIP. I'm in heaven. She goes balls out and plays all the hits. We've got some time to kill before the New Pornographers go up, so we get our water guns all set up.

With our buddy Steven, who we met on the plane! We kept bumping into him throughout the festival.

5:05 - 5:55 - New Pornographers. They were pitted against old-skool band Travis, who A.C. Newman acknowledges after a song. The NP's try to play and sing along to "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (as Travis is playing it) but can't remember the words. Hilarious. A.C. keeps talking about how fucking hot it is. As if we need a reminder. But he does remind us why we love them so much with a set list that reads like a greatest hits album they will put out once all us indie-rock kids are 40 and driving station wagons and carting our kids around. They opened up with "Sing Me Spanish Techno"--a song that encompasses probably one of the best written bridges of its time. We were also rewarded for choosing the NP's with "Use It", "The Bleeding Heart Show", "Twin Cinema", "Bones of an Idol" and "The Jessica Numbers".

6:15 - 7:05 Kings of Leon. Dude, whoever used to dog on them for giving shitty performances in the past can not say anything about their live show now. Perhaps you, like so many others, were not a fan of their early output. However, I think you'd be a total fucking nut to think their new album isn't awesome. And that is mostly what they played. They drenched the crowd with their swaggering, southern rock. Loved hearing "On Call" and "Charmer".

7:30 - 8:40 Arcade Fire. Although this is only my second time seeing them, I'm beginning to realize AF is a band that always delievers. Their energy was full-blown and there is nothing in this world like hearing "Rebellion", "No Cars Go", or "Neighborhood #3" under the stars. I think that everyone in the audience had a simultaneous, collective musical orgasm as they thought: "this set is the shit". On top of that, the security dudes were spraying water on all us and it felt fantastic. Lindsay Lohan tried to push us out of her way so she could make it to the front row. Good thing Elissa and Sam are hardasses and shut her down. Ok. I digress.

9:00 - 9:30 Girl Talk. We try to get backstage to see this show but apparently they are at capacity. Later on we learn that Paris Hilton is onstage dancing with the huge group of beautiful people. At time point I start to feel really fucking tired but I try my best to enjoy Girl Talk's set. I love Gregg's show and I know if I were in a better mood and not dehydrated, like if this were happening at Studio B or Bowery Ballroom, I'd be dancing my ass off. I can not wait to see him when he decides to descend upon NYC again.

The Geodesic Dome, which featured artists like Kraak & Smaak and Cut Chemist. I totally spaced and did not check out any sets in this space. My bad.

9:30 - 10:30 LCD Soundsystem. OK, this is my Coachella moment that I am most ashamed of. I fucking FELL ASLEEP outside in the grass during LCD Soundsystem, right when they started playing "All My Friends". I know. I know. I'm pretty embarrassed. In my exhausted state, I could tell it was a sick set, but I just couldnt' muster up the energy to go inside and do some kickass dancing. Right before I conked out, I got these pics:

10:20 The Rapture. So Maureen wakes me up at the end of LCD's set right when The Rapture is fixing to go onstage. We all head backstage and listen to from there. I am incredibly groggy and not fully awake at all. I also regret/am mega-ashamed of this moment. I must redeem myself when The Rapture plays again. Here's a pic of the tent at the end of their set:

SUNDAY:
The traffic on the way:


More goofing off in the car:






Shooting other people in cars with our water gun as we are stuck in traffic:


The traffic is the lightest it's been, but once we reach the security check-in, it's a whole nother story. The security woman is being a complete bitch and tells us that even though we have VIP passes, she still has to examine our bags and demands that I throw away my Camelbak. Fuck no! So we end up walking around the perimeter of the entire festival to the VIP entrance, where we have no problems. As soon as we get in, we bump into our friends. We get straight to business. And by business I mean downing a margarita before we're off and running to hear good music.


5:00 - 5:20 Soulwax Nite Versions. This tent is bumping! Great set. I don't know their stuff that well, but they are a lot of fun and the tent is packed with beautiful hipster girls and the non-shaven dudes that follow them around.

5:30 - Junior Boys. We catch the last 2 songs, one of which is "In The Morning". I piss my pants. I wake up to that song everyday. The final song is a bit boring and I can see why people say they are kind of a snoozefest live. Don't take that the wrong way, I really love their stuff, but I could see how standing through an entire set could get tiresome.

6:05 - Konono No. 1. Catch a sliver of a song. Really dig their sound and am stoked because they are opening for 2 of the 3 New York Bjork shows.

6:10 - 6:30 Kaiser Chiefs. Already heard them at Roseland, where they sounded great but the crowd and venue sucked. This time the crowd and venue were great, but Ricky Wilson's voice sounded like he'd had too much whiskey and cigs the night before.

6:30 - 7:20 Willie Nelson. He opens with "Whiskey River" and the crowd loved it. His 2 sons joined him on a few songs, playing drums and guitar. Awesome set. His guitar-playing son is really good. Make mental note to google him and check out his stuff when I get home.

7:30 - 8:25 After Willie's set we walk around for a bit and take some pics. I'm an idiot. I now realize maybe we should've caught the Klaxons, even if I did see them recently at Bowery. We buy merch and walk around the grounds to take pictures.















8:35 - 9:25 Air. They keep us waiting until about 9:15. Pretty fucked up. They make no explanation as to why they are so fucking late. The crowd is pissed (see below for angry faces). Maybe they sounded good, I'm not a fair judge. I was pretty annoyed so they sounded awful to me. Perhaps I let my emotions get in the way. It's just when there are a ton of other awesome artists playing the same slot and you chose one artist over the others, the artists should understand respect and honor your decision...AKA, go on close to the anticipated start time. While we were waiting, we could've seen other acts. ANYWAYS. After 3 songs, Maureen and I decide to go backstage and watch from there. Unfortunately, huge trucks were pulling in for load-out and the crew isn't allowing anyone backstage. UGH. Frustrated, we leave the Outdoor stage and head over to the Main Stage to check out Manu Chao.

9:25 - 10:15 Manu Chao. We listen from the VIP area. I decide to booze it up with redbull + vodka. Everyone is dancing and going crazy. Manu sounds awesome.

10:30 Rage Against the Machine. During Rage's set, things got a little crazy. They are da bomb. I especially dig the way they cut into the Bush administration. The crowd eats it up and everyone is jumping, dancing, singing along.

1:14 - On our way home...We try to meet our friends at BEERHUNTER, but it's closed. We think we see Amy Winehouse talking to our friend in the parking lot, but maybe that's just the booze talking. We turn up the stereo and sing some sick harmonies. Can't wait to do it all over again next year.