Yes… this news is a few weeks old. But I have a couple reasons for this. First off, I have an unwavering sense of procastination, and for this I can only blame myself. Secondly, I was really really hoping that Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine would be added to save what is possibly Coachella’s most lackluster lineup in its nine years. If this is not the case, then I’m full expecting Prince and David Bowie to headline for the 10 year anniversary to make up for this.
Let’s go over the pros and cons of this year’s lineup.
The major debate amongst fans of this festival have been the headliners. Friday we have Jack Johnson. Now, I don’t have anything against Jack Johnson, but I do feel that he is not headlining material for this specific festival. I do think he definitely has a place at Coachella, but not where they’ve put him. The backlash has been pretty ridiculous, yet at times humorous, on the Coachella message boards regarding this. Saturday, we have Portishead. This is something that I, personally, am very excited about. After an absence of almost ten years, and finally a new album, this should be a huge draw. Yet as headliners, I wish I would be able to see them on any other stage than the main stage, since they are such an intimate act. Also, they’re new album drops only weeks prior to the event. I’m being nitpicky here, but I wish I would have more time to digest the new material before seeing them. But I’m sure they’ll come around again. On Sunday, out of left field, we have Roger Waters performing Dark Side of the Moon. I’ll give Pink Floyd their deserved credit for the creative output they’ve had throughout the years, as well as the influence they’ve had on many acts since… but bottomline, I really don’t need to see this…
On the reunion side of things, we have the Verve, the Breeders, and Love and Rockets. The Verve were a very important childhood band to me, so I’m excited about this. If the Breeders play “Cannonball” without a video of the State’s “Pants” sketch in the background, I will be sorely disappointed. If you know what I’m talking about, I love you.
Other than headlliners, the mid-range, soon-to-blow-up, and under-the-radar acts are pretty excellent. This will be the hugest draw for Coachella this year. Although, if you’re a veteran to this festival, you’ve seen 2/3rds of these acts in the last two to three years. So if you’re a newbie, you’re definitely in for a treat. Here is my list of personal must-sees for each day, which of course will prove impossible since all the bands I want to see always play at the same time:
Friday: The Verve, The National, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Battles, Aesop Rock (disappointingly only one of the few hip hop acts this year), Les Savy Fav, Santo Gold (she will blow up… mark my words), Vampire Weekend, Black Lips, Modeselektor, Luckyiam
Saturday: Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab, M.I.A., Hot Chip, Animal Collective, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Mark Ronson, Erol Alkan, Little Brother, The Bird and the Bee, Uffie
Sunday: Justice, Chromeo, the Streets (is their a new album I’m unaware of?), Metric, Simian Mobile Disco, Murs, Dimitri from Paris, Autolux, Black Kids (I really hope this band can keep their sanity amongst all the blog and media hype.)
If I missed anyone’s favorites, please let me know what I’m missing out on. I always love new music.
And below are clips of some of the acts I’d be most excited to see. See you in April… maybe?
Portishead – Glory Box (Live in NYC)
Battles – Atlas (Later! with Jools Holland)
Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (live in Paris)
Dont forget My Morning Jacket – Jim James puts on one of the best live performances, hands down. other than that – i agree with you, but im still going.
-Foote
Dark Side of the Moon – 1) it’s better on my stereo, 2) my living room won’t charge me $5 for a bottle of water. Are the promo people trying hard to make their concert legit again. Because this is not helping. There are so many great bands that are not touring, they can’t snag one to be the headliner? Call Trent (nin) and tell him he can have both nights. He’ll do it for free, I promise.
Here’s my suggestion – the weekend of the festival, go sit in a Palm Springs hotel (with wi-fi) and open Pandora on your notebook. Repeat this on five computers and place the computers in different areas of the hotel room. Then when you hear a song you like, go stand by that computer. This works better if you can position the computers around the pool and drink beer.
Oh, Montez…
By the way, for muffin visitors that don’t know, Montez is a very good friend to the muffin. But I have to assume that Montez has never been to Coachella. First, the water is very reasonably priced in recent years. In fact, last year they implemented a program that if you collected 10 empty bottles (which were fuckin everywhere) you got a free bottle of water. Anyone who was there last year can remember seeing broke ass hippies run around like crack heads looking for discarded bottles. And for my second point, my grandparents have maintained a second home in Palm Desert since I was little, and I am no stranger to the area. So I know that if you are going to be down there during that time of year, you want to be inside of some air conditioning. But the same bonding that brings POWs together during wartime brings music lovers together during Coachella. It actually adds to the experience that everyone is dealing with 115 degree temperatures together. And to be honest, after awhile, you get used to it and are more concerned with who you will see next rather than “damn, it is hot as hell here.” And as some final advice for concert goers, it may be 115 during the day, but when it gets dark and the headliner you’ve been waiting for comes on, its going to be cold as fuck. So if you can figure out a plan better than using the warmth of the bodies in the pit to get you through the last two acts, you are way ahead of me.