I’m still recovering from my Coachella experience so let me be swift and let me be brutal
Day One
Yeasayer – Sounded great. Would love to check them out in a proper venue.
Ra Ra Riot – Much improved from their SXSW show, which was riddled with technical issues. Fell in love with the violinist, crushing hard on the cellist (who might have the best ass in indie rock)
The Specials – Sounded so good. Wish I would have checked them out longer but had to catch…
Passion Pit – Tons of fun but the lead singer needs vocal lessons… or the mix was way off but I doubt that because the second he sung falsetto (which is always) he was impossible to hear.
Them Crooked Vultures – Good to see John Paul Jones live but I wish they didn’t sound like Queens of the Stone Age outtakes.
Echo & The Bunnymen – He’s such a prick but he’s earned it.
Vampire Weekend – Without a double my pick of the day. Last time they were nervous, stiff and out to prove themselves. This time they came to rock and boy did they.
Jay Z – So I can check that off the list. And now I love how Danger Mouse improved him even more.
Day Two
Camera Obscura – I was certain they’d wilt in the desert heat but they were surprisingly awesome.
White Rabbits – I wish these guys were surprisingly awesome but they’re young so I’ll cut them some slack.
Tokyo Police Club – Man, I wish they were better live.
The xx – Their sound is huge. Go see them, preferably outdoors. Just awesome.
Dirty Projectors – Oh, oh, oh damnit, you’re only good on albums.
Corinne Bailey Rae – Still beautiful.
Faith No More – They opened with a bitchin’ cover of “Reunited” and commanded the stage until their last note. Without a doubt my pick of the day.
MGMT – They sounded better. I’m done saying nice things about them.
Muse – In theory I should really, REALLY like… unfortunately that’s just in theory.
The Dead Weather – Alison, don’t leave The Kills for this band. You and The Kills are better than this side project.
Day Three
Mayer Hawthorne – I’m a little over the current white soul surge… or maybe just this guy.
Florence and The Machine – Very good but not magical and she really should have been magical.
Julian Casablancas – Sounded great, just like The Strokes (are they still together) but still great.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Yawn.
Phoenix – Just when I lost my faith in the French they rocked it. For sure my pick of the day.
Pavement – Sounding good guys.
The Big Pink – Way heavier than their album and I wish they weren’t. Still, worth checking out.
Gorillaz – Damon, get your ego out of your ass and stop boring me!
On a final note, the new “in/out” policy whereby people can enter the show, leave to go back to their car and then return, resulted in way more folk rolling. Christ, I saw a pack of fourteen year-old girls doing blow, in public no less. The whole event took on a different vibe.
Okay, I’m off the soapbox. Here are my pics.
One last note. This is my 500th post. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go all Clark Boyd but I knew I wasn’t gonna go Brian Ibbott. Instead, let this marker stand as a good place to look back, then look forward.
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