Coachella Day 2

So, Day 2!
I started off Day 2 with two of my friend's choices, but both were enjoyable.  The first was RX Bandits, a sort of metal band with ska/reggae influences from Long Beach California.  Not really something I would ever listen to on its own, but at a concert it was pretty fun.  They drew a very large crowd for a noon show, as did the next band, Porcupine Tree, a pretty famous prog/psych rock band from the ?80s?.  This one I just sort of laid down on the field not to far from the stage and just took in Coachella as a whole plus some sort of trippy music from the band.  Nothing too special I thought, but I do think everybody should check them out because I do think they have a very interesting style.

Camera Obscura

Photo by Me

Camera Obscura played of course a lively show, but they were definitely dwarfed by Girls, who were playing the next tent over.  I opted to see Camera Obscura as I have seen Girls already (review here), and I got a front row spot for Camera Obscura which set me up for front row for Beach House.  The band meshed well together, playing to the crowd's pep on an early Saturday afternoon with songs like "French Navy," their ultra poppy/happy tune that got everybody singing.





Beach House

Photo by Me

Photo by Me

 Beach House finally realized their potential with Teen Dream, and it really showed in their performance.  The place was jam packed, with hundreds of people spilling out of the tent and into the sun.  Victoria Legrand's deep vocals echoed out across the tent over the crowd, putting everybody into what I like to call "the Grizzly Bear Trance"... everybody sort of closes their eyes and just sways to the music.  They were one of the few day bands that had set design, which consisted of these strange different sized pinata looking things dangling from the ceiling behind them.  Not quite sure what I thought of them, but whatever.  The music itself sounded straight off the record; lots of reverb and soaring vocals.  The most interesting part of the show I thought was how the music was actually played.  The guitarist had something that he was playing with his feet, which I am embarrassed to say i didn't what it was, although it looked/sounded like a "foot organ" if you will.  It created a very interesting performance aesthetic; Victoria Legrand with her wild tousled hair moaning out to the crowd, the relaxed, smiling with the eyes closed drummer, and the focused, sitting guitarist/samplist/foot organist.  Songs like "10 Mile Stereo" and "Gila" really seemed to move the crowd.  They even did one "new" song, a cover of Gucci.  Unfortunately I missed Temper Trap at Beach House, but it was definitely worth it.

Photo by Me

Photo by Me

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Before we go any further, there is a funny (and embarrassing) story to be told, involving me and a faux pas (committed by none other than yours truly).  So as I have said before (I think), I was front row for Camera Obscura and Beach House.  As you can see from my photos, there is an area in between front row and the stage where photographers/band members can enjoy shows.  In between Camera Obscura and Beach House, a pretty girl who was clearly from a band by her look/a person taking a photo with her sat down right in front of me in the area for bands/photographers.  I knew she was in a band and she looked a lot like one of the girls from Camera Obscura, but I wasn't sure.  My friend said "Yeah that's her," so I say to her "You guys were great!"  She gives me this incredibly strange look as if I am tripping or something and says after a long pause "I like your glasses."  It was a pretty strange response and I didn't know what to say so I just sort of said "Um, thank you" and she kept on looking at me and laughed.  A few minutes later I heard someone say to her "You guys are on next right?"  and she responded "Yeah, but I am so excited for Beach House and I just have to see a few songs."  And wham! it dawns on me... she was looking at me funny because she hadn't played yet!  Now, fast-forward an hour or two and switch locations to the Outdoor Stage (not the mainstage though).  You may be asking "What does this have to do with Ed Sharpe?"  Well here's the kicker.  I am a big Ed Sharpe fan, but had never seen a picture of them.  My friend and I get to the Ed Sharpe stage just as they are starting and look who is on stage... none other than the girl from my faux pas!  It was Jane of Ed Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, who just about every Ed Sharpe fan/male Ed Sharpe fan worships!  I thought it was fairly funny, so I figured I'd include, but looking back on it I realize just how awful a story teller I am...

Photo by Me (I can put another shot up with Jane if you like)

So, back to the concert itself.  This concert was about as close to a Summer of Love concert as I think you are going to get from any contemporary band.  Lots of long hair, songs about love, lots and lots of people on stage, kids on stage, a singing, joyful crowd, etc.  It was a very hippie crowd, but also a very dedicated crowd.  Every song the entire crowd seemed to know the lyrics, and when Alexander (the lead male for those of you who think the lead is Edward Sharpe) and other members (including Jane) ventured out into the crowd, it seemed as if everybody swayed in to embrace them.  "Home" of course brought the house down.  Comedically, the crowd replaced the classic whistling with humming... I don't think the crowd was quite skilled/sober enough to whistle.

The xx

As much as I love The xx and as much as the crowd seemed to love them (it was mobbed), it wasn't really a thrilling show.  The music is enjoyable live just because it is good music, but slightly static and pretty much different in no way whatsoever from the album.  This wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that it is not really interesting music to play live in my opinion.  There was one very interesting thing in an otherwise boring show (In My Opinion...) they didn't wear all black for what must be the first time!  Instead... they wore white!  

Photo by Me

Well I left the show after just a few songs, partly because it wasn't wonderful and partly because my friend (and I) had some plans for the rest of the day... unfortunately they did not involve that stage, which had an incredible lineup that day: The Temper Trap, Edward Sharpe, The xx, Hot Chip, MGMT.  This meant that I would miss Hot Chip and MGMT, as well as the Dirty Projectors who were on another stage.

So what are these plans we had that made me miss three bands that were all supposed to have had amazing shows?  To understand, we must first... TAKE ANOTHER TRIP TO STORYLAND.... (and this one will definitely get my friend mad... he hates this one).

Rewind three years.  2007.  I am twelve years old, have never been to a concert.  My friend and I are both obsessed with Muse.  We have tickets to go see Muse at the Forum in Inglewood.  His brother is taking us, along with one of his friends.  Make a long story short, we get there and as we are going in, we realize there are only three tickets, and four of us.  My friend gets the boot.  For the past three years, my friend has been dying to see Muse.  Muse at Coachella is a chance to fulfill his dream.  So how would we make up for not getting to see the concert three years ago (almost to the day)?  Getting front row for Muse at Coachella.

Muse

Now, I would like to say one thing real quickly.  I'm not as obsessed with Muse anymore, especially there new album which for the most part is awful (with the exception of the symphony), but they are still a fantastic band, in particular their early material and their live show.  They aren't really this blog's type of band though, but I still had to see this show.

So how did we get front row?  We got there straight after leaving the xx and stocking up on water... we were two and half+ hours early.  This meant we had to sit through Coheed and Cambria, who were awful in my opinion, and Faith No More, who I knew nothing about and put on one of the stranger shows I have seen (which was still pretty bad, and included Danny DeVito running half naked across the stage... writing that sentence was very enjoyable, seeing it was not).  What it also meant though was that we were front row for Muse.  And Muse is the type of band were front row is synonymous with epic.

Matt Bellamy rocking out on his Kaoss Pad-embedded guitar.
Photo by Me

Matt Bellamy on a Beautiful Piano.  Clear Cover, Light Up Keys
Photo by Me

Muse, as usual, put on an extremely rockin' show that managed to pull off things like green rave lasers, a keytar, light up shuttershades (!?), and weird robot animations (which they actually had the first time I saw them) without making it seemed over produced or cheesy.  Well maybe the robots/some of the other images on that were a little cheesy but whatever.  They really are a stadium/arena rock band.  The show featured some ballads (the always beautiful piano/megaphone piece "Feeling Good" - possibly my favorite song of the night), some rockers ("Uprising", which as bad as it is on the album is pretty fun live, and "Knights of Cydonia") and some tortured love love songs ("Time Is Running Out" "Hysteria").  Every synth sounded perfect, every riff sounded tight, every solo sounded creative and epic... all in all it was a Muse show.  One more thing that demonstrates just how cool Matt Belamy is... he is cool enough to pull off a change from neon pink pants to neon blue pants mid show.... The song "New Born" really demonstrated their range; it started off with the frantic keyboards, and then it changes to the dirty guitar sound midway through the song seamlessly.  There was some great jamming in between songs thanks to Matt Bellamy's Kaoss-Pad-Guitar, but not as much as at one of their own shows.  The only real disappointment was that they didn't get to play as much stuff as I would have liked because it was not their own show (which generally would last about 3 hours and two encores), although they did enjoy an encore.

Matt Bellamy.  Plus some lasers.  And a keytar.
Photo by Me

Unfortunately, also had to miss Major Lazer and Flying Lotus (whose new album is coming out... it's fantastic.).  We did stay for Tiesto, which featured some awesome bass drops and great trance/house music, but not much else.  Oh and bass that could be felt for miles.

All in All, Day 2 was a day were I got to see some great bands in the morning, and despite missing some great bands in the evening, still had a great concert experience.

-- A Teenage Elephant.