Coachella: Saturday's Best Of The Rest
Superlatives get tired quick, but here goes ... Saturday may have been the greatest single day festival experience we've had yet. Staving off the 106º temps and sun with a mix of sunscreen and adrenaline, we marched across the Coachella grounds fueled by the excellence of every act we saw. Nobody missed the mark, and as the sun set and Arcade Fire played "Wake Up," "Tunnels," "Ocean Of Noise," et al to their expectedly massive audience, pretty sure everyone around had one of those shared "this is the shit" moments.
Earlier in the day, we took in the ever-polarizing Kings Of Leon at the Coachella Stage, playing one of the fest's most acclaimed sets. The Followill boys were tight as always, opening with "Black Thumbnail," killing "On Call," and generally enjoying their moment in the mainstage sun. The Decemberists were well worth the walk to the Outdoor Theater, with Colin bedecked in a stylish seersucker suit, opening with "Crane Wife 3," shifting into the entirety of "The Island," and the Colbert Nation taunting "O! Valencia." Meloy instigated another dance contest. Also, there was a whale costume.
Much later, not-a-DJ Girl Talk did what he does best: make the stage a giant dance party, by spinning mostly Coachella artists (Spank Rock Vs. Peter Bjorn & John!) and inviting the likes of Paris Hilton on stage. Our night ended with avant-pop deconstructionist Cornelius, who absolutely scorched the Gobi Tent with playful jabs at prog, thrash, electro, and dreamy day balladry. He has a stateside tour coming (first in five years), so do what you can to be there.
KINGS OF LEON
THE DECEMBERISTS
ARCADE FIRE
GIRL TALK
CORNELIUS
Blueroom is streaming a bunch of good stuff (though no Rage, sadly) 'til fest end (all times PST).
06:05 PM Kaiser Chiefs
07:05 PM CSS
08:05 PM Klaxons
08:55 PM Crowded House
09:50 PM Damien Rice
10:40 PM Amos Lee
11:10 PM The Lemonheads
Posted at 7:47 PM in Concert
Tags: Arcade Fire | Coachella | Cornelius | Girl Talk | Kings Of Leon | The Decemberists
i dunno whats worse
Posted by: johnny daydream at April 29, 2007 9:26 PM | Replywin butler's hair-do
or the KOL guys' vest
either way, i wish i was in the cali sun.
Score = 0
man this is state of music today?, nerds rocking out with lutes! gimmie a fuckin break!
Posted by: sean at April 29, 2007 9:33 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Man, I was up front for the New Pornographer's set - holy shit it was great. No one ever told me how funny Carl Newman is - his in-between song banter was a highlight.
de
Posted by: derek at April 29, 2007 9:42 PM | ReplyScore = 0
The collective trousers of KOL are making me nauseated. And whenever somebody puts the Decemberists on at work I want to shoot somebody; cannot stand the man's voice. Yesterday's sets sounded better. Although i would've loved to jam with Girl Talk, that man knows how to inspire people to have fun.
Posted by: liv at April 29, 2007 9:48 PM | ReplyScore = 0
can you post my cd on this blog?
Hakaima Sadamitsu - Écouter Avec des Écouteur
International Press release:
Hakaima Sadamitsu's new album, recorded in Brazil with some local acts such as Cassim, Lulina, Sebastião Estiva and Odicet. From Dance to Tribal Techno through Drone and Harsh Noise, this Japanese producer slams it all in one place. An Outstanding record. Like of Black Dice, Boards of Canada and Wolf Eyes meets 8-bt.
Download it Here:
http://sharebee.com/2aa7bfdd
myspace.com/artistaamarelo
Posted by: Hakaima at April 29, 2007 10:53 PM | ReplyScore = 0
God I hate the Arcade Fire. There I said it. I know I'm the only one on earth that feels that way, but there it is. Pretentious, bad poetry for lyrics, and uninteresting, inflated music. And that voice. It gives me the same feeling as when my phone rings and I see it's my mom calling. For all you slobs out there who are going to wish violence against me and curse my children for having this opinion, I invite you to eat my shorts, in advance. This must be what it was like for a person in the 80's to not like U2 or REM.
Anyway, I do wish I was there for the million other great bands. But I live in NYC. So I'll probably check out the High Line Festival- at which, I see Deerhoof, and Air, and....the Arcade Fire are performing. Kill me now.
Posted by: matt at April 30, 2007 12:20 AM | ReplyScore = 0
win's getup kiiiind of reminds me of hitler. just an eensy bit. actually, i think plenty of people don't like arcade fire, but you can't ever please everyone. but you don't have to throw out your dislike for them out there.
Posted by: pearl at April 30, 2007 12:37 AM | ReplyScore = 0
KOL are a good looking bunch no joke. And Win Butler did look a little like Hitler. But the arcade fire is pretty good
Posted by: panda at April 30, 2007 5:07 AM | ReplyScore = 0
KOL rock my face off.
Posted by: kylie at April 30, 2007 9:27 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Hey Arcade Fire hater, you don't like Win Butler's voice but you're going to see Deerhoof? Good luck with that, I saw them open for the Flaming Lips and it was one of the most grating experiences of my concert-going life. Enjoy her shrill nonsense.
Posted by: Ben at April 30, 2007 9:30 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Why would anyone make such a fuss over not liking Arcade Fire? A lot of people don't like Arcade Fire, it's not even a big deal. A lot of people don't like any band for that matter. Like I don't really get Deerhoof either. So here I stamp my disapproval on the pre-emptive attack on "slobs" for the anticipated "violence" as if not liking Arcade Fire warrants such attention.
Posted by: brooklyn heathen at April 30, 2007 10:28 AM | ReplyScore = 0
matt, im glad you could finally get that all of your chest. but ive got a quick personal tale for you: when i first heard the band i didn't get it. it was right when they came out, the buzz was not as deafening as it is now but it was there and i definitely didn't see what the fuss was about. much farther down the road i saw them live at ACL fest and i will never forget that experience. equally impressive and unexplainable to me is the amount of people, 30+, who have said something or posted online about that specific set being one of the best performances, or THE best, they'd ever seen. and most of them weren't diehard arcade fire fans.
so go to the high line festival. watch them. if you don't like them after that...well, then i guess that's that.
Posted by: adam at April 30, 2007 11:59 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Arcade Fire was the best set of music I've ever seen. I forgot I was hot/tired the entire time, I had tears running down my cheeks the entire set. The energy coming off the stage/speakers was brilliant. It made my trip, not to mention Hot Chip, Girl Talk and LCD.
Posted by: Dee Snuts at April 30, 2007 12:22 PM | ReplyScore = 0
1. Deerhoof are one of the best rock bands in the world. Entirely despite my opinion about that, it's still absurd of someone to call out someone who doesn't like Win Butler's voice but (presumably) appreciates Satomi's. Hey Ben, your point is not only irrelevant but nonsensical.
2. Cornelius is tight, and I'm glad to see him getting props. Saw him at Bimbo's in SF the other day and yea, verily, it was good.
Posted by: Spencer at April 30, 2007 1:11 PM | ReplyScore = 0
AT&T's Blue Room live feed via broadband, cold Newcastles, and my comfy couch in breezy, 70-degree coastal Southern California was My Couchella '007. I skipped this year, but plan on a return in 2008. Nothing like Coachella in person.
Only bad thing about the live stream was every time they switched cameras, it blipped and froze.
CSS was fantastic, and so were Klaxons on Sunday.
Posted by: Melina at April 30, 2007 3:57 PM | ReplyScore = 0
dude, kol lead singer man is turning into joshua tree era bono. someone please send the decemberists somewhere really far away. go back to the library nerds!
Posted by: booboojuice at April 30, 2007 4:38 PM | ReplyScore = 0
does anyone know/have the arcade fire setlist? i wanna hear that magic in order again.
Posted by: paul at May 1, 2007 4:30 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Fuck, I missed CSS by 10 minutes, but at least the Kaiser Chiefs put on a good show.
Posted by: Dirtysweet at May 1, 2007 8:40 PM | ReplyScore = 0