its beautiful here. not just because of the obvious but because of the feeling the vibe the come from.
people have traveled from all over the world to be here and i took video of them that i will share with you when i get back to hollywood. theyve come from canada and texas and ny and even san diego.
they didnt come to get laid, or paid, or because theres so much going on in indio, or even because the biggest band in america is here, they came for music of all kinds, they came for music from all over, they came to dance and to hear something you dont hear all the time – the near future.
kanye west today took the main stage fashionably late to a crowd of probably twenty five thousand. he pranced around and freestyled with a live band behind him including a string section who stood and played along with nearly every song. he doesnt do whole numbers, just the best parts of each of his many hits. the crowd ate it up and totally fell for him when he had his dj play a-ha’s “take me on” as he danced like a stiff 80s white guy. he mocked but it was all in good fun because he had introduced the mtv classic as one of his favorite songs. no kidding.
earlier wolfmother filled the mojave tent with fans who screamed their name and clapped a good five minutes before they were even scheduled to take the stage. america was ready and it wanted the sabbath-styled three peice led by a lead guitar playing singer with an afro and a gibson sg. the contrast of 70s devil music with the peaceful row of palm trees and rose colored mountains behind the stage was shocking.
but nothing was more shocking than running into janes addiction singer perry farrell in the vip area. all day i was telling people that i was from the coachella blog, which i sorta was, since all the pictures that me and the rest of buzznet are taking are ending up in the coachella community which features the blog. plus if you say hey this is for the coachella community it might give people the wrong idea that its going to an old folks home. blog they understand. and perry smiled and went on rapping to his lady friend.
common was good, franz ferdinand wasnt bad, but ladytron was super good, and cat power – omg that woman is incredibly beautiful. tv on the radio was great, lady sovereign (pictured, checking out my beer) rocked the house, and because i listen to my long time readers i even checked out lyrics born who were playing about 50 yards from our tent. not bad chokey.
depeche mode played us out as we had a long walk to our car. from reports of those who stayed they were pretty good but had a very odd setlist. and then everyone ran over to daft punk on the other side of the fairgrounds and people are telling me that more people were there than at kanye or depeche. over 30,000 people. all dancing. all rocking.
who were the worst – she wants revenge.
i was told that atmosphere was also very good.
all i know is i had a killer time and i will be there first thing tomorrow, because i too love music.
one of the best sounds you hear at coachella are crowds clapping and cheering in approval. if you lay it out there people will eat it up. if you mail it in, these people will notice and walk away to someone who’s bringing it. these arent people who came there to get drunk and puke, these are people who are withstanding 93+ degree heat, expensive hotels, two dollar waters – and you must drink many through the day – and not-cheap tickets.
dozens of people were waiting outside at the begining of the day looking to buy your ticket, and just as many were waiting outside near the end of the concert trying to get in to see depeche or daft punk.
i ate a chicken on the stick from a thai stand, and a spicy hot sausage from a bbq pit. and i had fried rice. four beers, a double captain morgans, and about 7 waters.
its 239am and i should get to sleep but im trying to figure out how i can get close to see madonna tomorrow. and metric. and the yeah yeah yeahs. only problem is the yeah yeah yeahs play and as soon as theyre done madonna goes on stage clear across the other side. so if you want to get close for madonna you have to only see a few songs of the yeahs. which is probably what lots of people will do, but theres a very strong possibility that karen o will be the best performer of the entire show.
and theres a good possibility that madonna will be rusty, stiff, predictable, and overhyped.
developing…