78 Days 'til Coachella - My Response to No Single Day Passes

I received an email tonight from a good friend, it was forwarded from someone who wrote,

"No single day passes this year? FUCK YOU COACHELLA."

I know, this is pretty subtle. But after reading between the lines, I figured out that this particular person was displeased at the fact that, despite in previous years, when attendees could purchase tickets for each day of Coachella, only three-day passes would be issued for Coachella 2010.

This is my response to that particular email.

---

I gotta say, as I understand it's true, but the comment about the "non exciting" lineup is fucking stupid. This is a FAN's Coachella. No stupid Paul McCartney, Red Hot Shitty Peppers, The Killers, or Jack Johnson to me says hell yeah. This is the best initial lineup announcement I've seen since 2005 or 2006. And I really think they've got an ace up their sleeve for Saturday to boost ticket sales a la Prince in 2008. If I had to guess, I'd say they finally got Bowie, but of course, I dream a lot ;)

As far as no one-day tickets, I sympathize, and I think it will ultimately bite them in the ass. But in a good way for me. You get a wristband this year, I'm told, which means you can't even split the ticket. It's one ticket, you present it the first time you go in, and you get a wristband that you keep for the rest of the weekend.

So yeah, that sucks for my friends who really want to go, just to experience it. But I guess I'd say if you haven't done it yet, you've had ten chances. This is your 11th, so man up or shut up. This is just a different excuse not to go, so take it or leave it.

Now the people I *really* feel for are the ones who live relatively close, and who really, really want to see only one or two nights, and not the third. That's gotta suck. But hey, it's Coachella. And if they need to, they'll release single-day tickets just before the event. Think of it as a band that books a show in LA, and then waits for me and Conner to buy tickets and get a hotel and take off work, and THEN books a show here in San Diego on a Saturday (see Butthole Surfers and The Residents, just lately).

Sorry. Coachella is the closest thing I have in this world to a religion. And I think everyone should be able to get in on it but I also think you have to go for the whole thing to *really* experience it. And it's not like any day sucks, IMHO. There's not a bad day in the whole lineup, and that's just as announced. There will be additions that will make it even more appealing, though it may pit two must-see acts against each other.

Ov course, the true rock stars among us (Danelle, Thomas, I'm looking in your general direction) will get in free, VIP, and stress-free ;) I'll be looking for Thomas and Atousa's little red tee-pee that we saw them hanging out in, in the middle of the polo field, back in 2001.

---

So there it is. If you're a die-hard or a douchebag, it's likely you'll be there. I'll greet the former with a hearty handshake and a smile, and the latter with a wallet-jacking that will leave you knowing what you've suspected all along.

Viva Coachella, and Viva Coachellans.

87 Days 'til Coachella - Lineup 1.0

2010 will be the 9th (?!) Coachella we've attended, and I have never been more impressed with an initial announcement as I am with this year's. I've always found a way to have an absolute BLAST when I go. Even last year, which had some amazing acts, but the schedule overall I felt was a bit of a stretch for three days.

This year's totally different. It's a total Coachella fan's lineup. Great reunions (PIL, De La Soul, Sly & the Family Stone), artists I haven't seen but am very much looking forward to seeing (MGMT, Devo, Grizzly Bear) acts I never thought I'd get to see (Gorillaz, Gil Scott-Heron, Orbital), and headliners that totally don't suck or scream "Goldenvoice are total whores!! We have no standards!! We just need money!!".

I mean, take any day. There are bands I'm TOTALLY excited to see on each and every day. My girlfriend asked me how I knew "all these bands" I was telling her about, and I realized that I maybe know half of the acts this year.

The crazy thing is, I'm pretty excited to see everyone I know, very curious to see everything I've only heard about, and anxious to check out all the stuff I've never heard of.

We'll see what the lineup looks like as the weeks roll on. My prediction: The Thin White Duke will end up headlining Saturday. I love Muse, and I think they're totally underrated, but that's also the reason I think they'll need to bring in a real heavy-hitter for ticket sales once we get closer to April and Saturday's still not sold out.

Check back often, comment on what a jackass I am, and then see you on the polo field!

This Week's SHAME: Scott Chipman of Pacific Beach

"This is truly drug dealers opening up shop in our neighborhoods."

-Scott Chipman on San Diego 6, 08 December, 2009

Hey Scott,

You're WRONG. You're just Palin (oops, I meant "plain" silly me) IGNORANT.

Or maybe the New England Journal of Medicine is wrong. I guess it's possible.

This is MEDICINE. Just like the pills we'd be sure to find if we raided any random Pacific Beach desperate housewife's MEDICINE cabinet.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

The people have spoken. They don't want people to suffer if they don't have to. Can you blame them?

If you want to take issue with that, fine. But we'll take issue with you.

Muse to Headline Coachella 2010?

I posted this to Stereogum tonight in response to this thread:
http://stereogum.com/archives/muse_to_headline_coachella_2010_102231.html

It might not get approved, but just in case, here's my rebuttal.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh, it kills me to see people letterboxing Muse as:

1. A Twilight band
2. A Radiohead ripoff
3. Unoriginal
4. On par with The Killers

Yikes!!

I saw Muse at Soma here in San Diego on their only small venue date for the Black Holes tour, and they absolutely blew the doors off. If your only experience with them live is seeing them as an opening band, it's understandable that you're going to say "They're not as good as (insert headliner here)" because let's face it, most headliners don't want a band that's going to be "better" than them. Then again, anyone who's still listening to fucking U2 has completely missed the point of what music is for. It's supposed to be listenable. U2 *were* great. Now they're just big. And if you're going to compare Muse to anyone, at least compare them to another band with a lot of talent.

I personally watched A Place To Bury Strangers and Bajofondo over Sir Paul for 2009's Friday, and was totally happy with the alternative. Sorry all, Paul McCartney has no place at Coachella. See also Roger Waters.

Saturday, I eschewed The Killers for Jenny Lewis (eh) and MSTRKRFT (better but still eh). In retrospect, I should have hit Atmosphere and then beat it. I really loved The Killers back when my friends in Electroboobies were spinning promo mixes of Somebody Told Me, but shit that was years and years ago. When I heard they were headlining Saturday I honestly asked, "Are they really THAT big?!" Hey, that's cool with me. We drove back to the hotel pretty quickly while they played on.

Sunday this year, I saw Throbbing Gristle and caught the end of The Cure. And make no mistake, that Cure set was epic. So I did catch one of the headliners.

Full disclosure. That's where this opinion is coming from.

Muse is not supposed to be big enough to headline Coachella. I think they're great, they're totally underrated in the US, but they're just not big enough in this country to headline the whole thing, IMHO. Then again, when I heard Prince was headlining Saturday in 2008, I was like, I thought Portishead was headlining?? So these are rumors at best, and even if they're in the big 36-point font on the first release of the poster, nothing's set in stone.

So maybe I'm an old hipster, but I still believe in good music. I'm pretty much never there to see the headliners. 2010 will be my 9th Coachella, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Because no matter who's headlining, there's almost definitely going to be something as cool and opposite on another stage if you don't like the headliner.

And yeah, I guess if you're going to compare them to Radiohead (just about my favorite band of all time) and Queen, you can compare their ticket sales at Wembley in the UK, for instance. Muse sells out the whole thing, as do Radiohead and what's left of Queen.

And hey, @shoegaze45, I'm all for Blur/Spacemen 3/Lush/Swallow/Fleeting Joys/Swervedriver/The Big Pink/13th Floor Elevators taking over the festy, but let's face it, even after MBV (tied for my favorite band of all-time) FINALLY got booked this year it was to a tepid reception to all but the most hardcore fans (read: ME).

Sure, it's all about money, but it's a balance of making money off of people who just want to see the big bands and keeping the respect of, and selling tickets to, those of us who want to see and hear good music.

Every now and then, those two goals come together, but it's pretty rare.

See ya there.

Cheers,

-m

Joe Wilson is to Politics as Ace of Base is to Music

=

OK, so we don't look to Republicans as the be-all end-all of class, though I know many who, despite their abhorrent political views, actually have quite a bit of tact. The same can be said of folks from South Carolina. I spent a considerable amount of time down that way as a kid, and I've met some really amazing people from that part of the country.

But this guy... come on now. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, you have to respect the president. After we quietly endured the wrath of Bushy for eight fucking years, who does this scrotum think he is to disrespect Obama? And before you try to flame me, remember that John McCain urged this bottom-feeder to apologize.

As Ice-T said, "Freedom of speech... just watch what you say."

There's a gentleman who's planning to run against this suck-u-bus by the name of Rob Miller. At the time of this writing, he got over 6,200 donors to contribute over $215,000 to the campaign to defeat this foul cracker over how he treated the president. During the last hour or so, the number jumped about $10,000.

I really hope this Miller guy knocks fuck-o out of his seat as soon as possible.

Joe Wilson's days in politics are numbered. I just hope he's torn apart slowly by rabid pit bulls with AIDS.

Even Laura Bush Approves of Obama's Speech

Too bad her husband fucked things up for this country so bad it doesn't matter much. Even so, it's true. Laura Bush says she approves of the job Obama's been doing. And this is according to a local news station.

I mean really. Come on people. Most of you morons who were against this speech voted for Bush (twice), and probably voted for McCain. And the former First Lady is not in line with you.

Obama rules. You dumbass redneck bastards and bitches can suck on my freedom.

Coachella 2005 Review

I was digging around on an old hard drive when I found this, my review of Coachella from 2005. I hope you enjoy it, but if you don't, eh.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another year of Coachella has come and gone and we’ve got a pretty damn thorough review for you. We managed to catch substantial pieces of 19 bands’ sets on Saturday and several full sets on Sunday. This year, to help facilitate actually posting a review of both days, we’ve decided to post the reviews in award format.

Band Most Likely to Catch Heat Stroke: None!
While last year’s obvious winner was Thursday, the mid-80’s temperatures for both days set well with bands and concertgoers alike. There may not have been as many crispy Goths as there were in 2004, but there were also fewer shirtless muscledorks.

DJ Spinning Cheesiest Trance : Evil Nine
The caveat here is that Evil Nine was the first DJ in the Sahara tent on the first day of the festival. His skills were respectable, but the tracks were laughable. This poor bastard dropped everything from “Calling Your Name” to a Sandstormesque Darude cut. In his defense, I think he was probably under duress to play such crap.

Most Forgettable Act (Saturday) : Nic Armstrong and the Thieves
Not necessarily bad, but not anything I’d run out and buy.

Most Forgettable Act (Sunday) : Jem
Jem sounds like ugly girls with nice bodies. Good from far, but far from good. This is what the Cardigans would sound like if they could get any more boring.

Best Cover of Another Coachella Act’s Song : Jamie Cullum
While Coldplay’s abbreviated cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt was cute, Jamie Cullum performed a cover of Coldplay’s We Never Change that was heart wrenching despite the fact that he claimed the band had never played it live and might “Totally bollocks it up.”

DJ Most Inspiring to Aspiring DJs : U.N.K.L.E.
While billed as U.N.K.L.E., this was actually a James Lavelle DJ set. What we caught included everything from evil, ambient and flatulent bass lines to Get Ready by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. If any a DJ were to be accused of doing more than just “playing records,” it would be Lavelle. While Ben Watt’s set made us realize that good dance music is still being produced and spun, James Lavelle lived the mix and told a story with a bit more breadth.

Best Main Stage Discovery (Saturday) : Buck 65
A one-man band who can scratch like a dog with VD, Buck 65 was not only the most entertaining thing on in his time slot, but probably the funniest act of the festival. “When I was growing up,” he growled, “people used to ask me what I wanted to be, and I told ‘em door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. That dream didn’t work out, but I wrote a song about it.” Two turntables and a microphone? Seen.

Best Main Stage Discovery (Sunday) : Nine Inch Nails
We thought Goldenvoice was taking a big risk booking NiN after all this time, but what do you know, Trent’s still got it. Unlike The Cure, who were the Sunday headliners last year, Trent’s new material had the same effect on the crowd as hearing the old stuff for the first time. It’s not industrial anymore, but maybe it hasn’t been since Broken. Look for a number-one-with-a-bullet effect this week as With Teeth, the first new full album in ten years is released.

Most Horizontal Audience : Wilco
I don’t know if Wilco fans are stoned or just naturally unmotivated, but just about everyone seemed to be lying down for this one. On the bright side, you could see them really well if you were standing up and 100 rows back from the front of the stage. Jeff Tweedy also gets the award for stupidest utterance by a rock star at a festival. He said, “I don’t like festivals.”

Best Knob-Twiddling Act : Four Tet
I was really hoping to give this one to Swayzak, but Four Tet did more by himself than both the dudes from Swazak combined. He had this intense look on his face most of the time like he was trying to pass a football-sized colon stone. A couple of times he looked up and smiled. As if he had finally passed said stone. You know one of these acts is good when it sounds like they couldn’t possibly know what they’re doing and they then transition into another looping pattern so smoothly that it makes you question your very being.

Most Obnoxious Crowd : None!
This year’s festival had the best vibe since at least 2001 if not ever. People were friendly, vendors were courteous, and security wasn’t too assholey (except for the dick in the parking lot who tried to make me wait to leave even though I was the only car in sight). Between the people and the fact that there was plenty of water, food and hand sanitizer, Goldenvoice may have finally nailed it.

Act We’re Most Sorry We Missed : Bloc Party
While Matmos and Roots Manuva were runners-up, I had to make my peace with missing Bloc Party early on. It would have been a logistical nightmare, and I planned to see the entire Bauhaus show. I don’t regret my decision to see Bauhaus, but I do regret the organizers’ decision to put these two excellent bands up against one another.

Best Comeback : Gang of Four
I hadn’t heard anything from Go4 until I read that they were on the bill, but the recording I managed to snag was a live set from 1979 with a lot of great songs on it, including the first three they played. They opened with Return the Gift; we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opener than that.

Best Reason to Show Up Even Though Cocteau Twins Bailed : Eisley
I’m not sure where this band came from, but I’m sure glad they showed up. The harmonies are reminiscent of harp strings plucked in a dream sequence in an old and faded cartoon. This is probably the best thing to come out of Texas since LSD, or at least since Seven Percent Solution. While they might be a bit country for some and a bit commercial for others, the comparisons to Transister can’t be easily ignored by someone who’s familiar with both bands.

Best Overall Band (Saturday) : M83
Maybe it’s because it was the first time we’d seen them, maybe it’s because they came all the way from France. Or maybe it’s because they rocked harder than any other band could effortlessly. M83 is one of those bands that has the potential to blow you into the next dimension, but leaves you dangling by a thread somewhere in-between, taunting you. We’re a big fan of both of their LPs and were a little anxious about how it would translate to the live stage. Alex Gonzales et chaque lived up to the “they sound a little like My Bloody Valentine” label without being a rip-off, and completely OWNED the Gobi tent.

Most Technically-Superior Band : Fantomas
Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) could also have won the award for “Least Listenable Act” as well as the “Act with the Most Fart and Burp Sounds” award. However, we have to give props to the man who has obviously been taking a lot of cues from such experimental masters as John Zorn and Frank Zappa. Part jazz/metal, part thrash and part indigestion, these guys took your Uncle Charlie’s “pull my finger” trick and made it look as complicated as doing calculus with an active nuke up your butt. Equal parts Cobra, bean curd and Mothers of Invention, Fantomas may not be coming to a town near you, but if this floats your air biscuit, check out Suspended Animation, the group’s latest release, containing 30 tracks laced with cartoon melodies.

Crankiest Band : New Order
Would someone please change Bernard Sumner’s diaper? Jeezus. While I was pretty impressed that they opened up with the old Joy Division tune Atmosphere, it was a bit like French-kissing my sister. Incestuous, but exciting (Ed: media assassin does not have a sister, but he French-kissed mine one time). The set was a bit too heavy on the newer stuff (did anyone really buy Republic or that last one? Is anyone going to buy the new one?). The new stuff isn’t bad, but when the only two classic New Order tracks you get are Bizarre Love Triangle and Blue Monday, you can’t help but feel like they’re sticking out their fat little hands and asking for your money. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from checking them out, they are one of the most influential bands of their genre, but just don’t kiss their ass about it. They’re certainly not going to kiss yours.

Best Overall Band (Sunday, and of the Entire Festival) : The Arcade Fire
My expectations were unrealistically high for The Arcade Fire. Having seen them on Conan O’Brien, I thought I knew what to expect. A lot of antics, and a very good live performance, and that’s what we got. How could I be disappointed? Quite the opposite, I was elated. The crowd atmosphere was like a family, everyone was talking to each other, cheering like one big happy family, and when it was over, we all cried out, “That’s IT?! It’s OVER?!?!” While it was over too soon, we were treated to two of the band’s members climbing up the scaffolding and banging their drumsticks on it during Neighborhood 2 (Laika). I have it on good authority that one of them cut his hand pretty badly, bad enough that the blood was POURING onto the keyboard, never missing a note. Their interviews at Los Angeles’ KCRW (www.kcrw.com) state that they want to remind the audience that they’re in the presence of live musicians, and they succeed in this goal. There’s no way you can ignore The Arcade Fire live, and even the most jaded of us have been won over to Funeral, the band’s debut album that has met with nearly universal critical praise. And hell, when you have a band with 11 people in it, you’d think if they sucked at least a few of them would recognize it and go get a job at Denny’s or something.