Despite the sub-par organization, questionable security, drama with psycho-b*tch-landlords, traffic on the bottlenecked I-60-to-10 junction, sacrifices made from overlapped performances... I am sure that Coachella was a hedonistically amazing time for everyone. We (Andrew and Yoshi) post today a few highlights to re-live and/or to experience the moments.
I had seen Jay-Z before but my man HOVA never shined this bright. He brought us back to the old-school and rewarded us fans from the middle-school days. Not to be elitist, but it seemed like he was showering us "real" fans with special attention. To top the performance, damn-fine wifey B came out to sing Mr. Hudson's part in "Young Forever". It was seriously the best night cap they could have possibly imagined considering how the Coachella audience was brimming with youth and living in the moment. Never has a live performance captured my very emotions at that very moment. (It was actually so emotional for me, "me" being Yoshi, that I cried... Fireworks help in this process as well, of course...)
With a few of my highly anticipated performances, I felt that the live audio didn't live up to the recorded material, either because a) the performers themselves weren't up to par with the studio-tinkered enhancements, b) the spearkers were blown, or c) the performers didn't sound-check. I mostly felt this with Hot Chip... SAD, I know. I am hoping that it was option (b) for them in which case being placed at the Outdoor Theater at that time was just a horrible coincidence. At first I thought they were going for a more organic sound in comparison to their synthed out album but it was a bit TOO washed out. If that was intentional, I don't know what to say... I don't think so given that this video from another venue sounds exciting! Jealous! I have high hopes for the next time I cross paths with Hot Chip. (I missed Kaskade during this hour but they're supposed to be at EDC. Woot!)
Muse LIVE is irreplacable. I think they could be THE epic rock band of our generation. They transported me to other lands. At times I was on a journey across a desert on my camel, other times I was Dr. Who traveling through space and time. Brits don't usually arouse me but Bellamy flawlessly singing and rocking out the strings at the same time, Wolstenholme giving us the subtle bass chords, and Howard keeping the band strong from song to song on the drums... SEXY.
Plastikman was out of this world! He was on at the same time as Thom Yorke so sacrifices needed to be made but if your city is ever graced with Richie Hawtin's presence, please do yourself a favor and go. Dennis Romero of the LA Weekly does a much better job at describing the incredible set than I ever will be able to: here. This video doesn't even come close to serving justice to the incredible life-changing hour of my life. Let's just say... until this point in my life a was an avid non-minimalist... Now, I am into minimal tech. (That's a big f-ing deal.)
Gorillaz was a great, funky way to end the whole weekend. LOL points for Paris in this video. "I f-ing love that b*tch!!!" They were a perfect mix of new and old. When it comes to collaborations no other group does it better than this genre-bending animated characters.
Other notables:
LCD Soundsystem did their elitist "non-dance" NY retro stuff well.
I only caught a song of Vampire Weekend so I'm hoping to catch them at the Hollywood Bowl come late September. So excited to jump around in my preppy outfit!
We swung by a smaller tent where we were trapped for a bit by the beautiful voice of Céu.
Bett Ditto of the Gossip sounded amazing though I could only stay for 2.5 songs. Hopefully I'll catch them sometime soon.The XX were super chill.
MGMT played too much of their new stuff which noone really likes! Well, at least at this point still... (The video is a classic. None of this new stuff.)
Tiësto attracted the worst douche crowd but I was still glad I was there.
Mad props to my Deerhunter boys. I want to take every single one of them home! ("I" being Yoshi.)
Since I missed it, I'm hoping to catch Club 75 (Justice, Cassius, DJ Mehdi, and Busy P) as the "special guests" tonight at Dim Mak Tuesday. I really hoping they're the "special guests"... Maybe Little Boots which I wouldn't mind either...
Phoenix played too much of their new stuff, too. (Actually, this was the only classic they played throughout their set. Shame...)
Some Coachella-oriented audio in no particular order (too lazy to embed individual players but you can use the continuous play at the bottom of the page and still download the tracks you like):
Note: This blog is solely for the purpose of introducing people to amazing music. We do not hope to encourage or facilitate piracy. Please let us know at musiclexecon@gmail.com if you would like files to be removed. Thank you.
Despite the sub-par organization, questionable security, drama with psycho-b*tch-landlords, traffic on the bottlenecked I-60-to-10 junction, sacrifices made from overlapped performances... I am sure that Coachella was a hedonistically amazing time for everyone. We (Andrew and Yoshi) post today a few highlights to re-live and/or to experience the moments.
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