The Dead Part of You

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking hipsters on this motherfucking train!

Before I forget, be sure to spend your weekend indoors watching Coachella. May I suggest skipping Friday and tuning in at 6:50PM EST for Man Man? Other Saturday highlights are

• VHS or Beta [8:35 PM]
• Hot Chip [10:25 PM]
• Animal Collective [11:25 PM]
• Portishead [Sunday, 12:15 AM]

Sunday night's webcast includes

• Stars [10:15 PM]
• Spiritualized [11:10 PM]
• Love and Rockets [Monday, 2:05 AM]

IF I WERE GOING.

The US festival season kicks off this weekend [SXSW is more of an event than a festival in my eyes] with Coachella, and they finally announced set times so I made up my own weekend. Who knew I would spend like half a day in the Sahara tent?

Coachella was such an adventure in 2006, it'll never be repeated, but I still get insanely tempted every year. I'm considering 2009 already.

But back to the lineup, if I were going. What sucks on Friday? The near crossover between Aphex Twin and The Verve. Previous festival experiences have proved there's no way I would be able to catch both full sets - I'd choose Aphex Twin in the hopes of a tour from The Verve. Plus, I saw The Verve a long time ago in a small club.

Saturday's mess would be Animal Collective vs Akron/Family vs Kraftwerk -> Portishead. I'd choose the bands I haven't seen, Kraftwerk and Portishead.

Sunday's actually not bad at all, but really, do we need two and a half hours of Roger Waters, with not much else to choose from? Really? I can't imagine the crush on the Sahara tent on Sunday night.

ANYWAY, I'm off to Lollapalooza in August, we're told to expect a schedule in June but tonight? It is a SADGASM with American Music Club!

It's the most wonderful/hated time of the year, where for the next few weeks there's all sorts of Coachella rumors. I've already decided not to go - it's just too far and expensive and LA, but it pretty much sets up what we can expect for the rest of the US festivals, including Lollapalooza, which I am definitely going to again.

Today, it all about the big ass music festivals.

• I was reminded of a dream I had last night about the Pitchfork Music Festival. GZA performing Liquid Swords. Really? I wasn't dreaming that?
• Coachella released set times today, and I officially decided I am way jealous that I'm not going this year. I spent an hour pretending about what I would see if I were going.
• I am, however, attending Lollapalooza in August, and have started checking out some of those lesser known bands.

And first up on that list is Bound Stems, who mostly get compared to Modest Mouse, which is pretty dead on. Maybe a dash of Pavement in there too. However, Bound Stems are missing the magic that MM and Pavement possess. A je ne sais quoi new musical energy source created within a band sparked by a singer. I do not envision myself rushing off to see Bound Stems, but if they were playing a stage before someone I wanted to see, I don't think it would be painful.

Andover, by Bound Stems, from Appreciation Night
Western Biographic by Bound Stems, from Appreciation Night

So Sam and Chris got their reviews up. I feel so hyper-emotional right now. I'm totally not sleeping tonight. I'm a live wire - here's the facts:

I started Saturday with Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel. It was probably one of the best things I got to see - not too crowded, and everything I'd heard a solo Rob Dickinson show had been.

The setlist was [don't hold me to the order]:
Heal [nice!]
My Name Is Love
Handsome [which we clapped along to for him. he’s trying to sell it to Cher as a disco tune]
Crank
Oceans
Black Metallic ["this song took 4 minutes to write but wound up being 8 minutes on the album"]

There weren't a lot of people there at the start although it was starting to get crowded at the end. [See, being new to the whole 'festival' crowd ebbs and flows, 'crowded' has a very different meaning at 1:30 PM as opposed to 4:30 PM. I learned].'

I walked over and caught the last few New Amsterdams songs - the best part being a cover of my all time favorite Afghan Whigs song, "When We Two Parted".

And please allow me to present you with a clue
If I inflict the pain
Then baby only I can comfort you

Then it was back over for Nine Black Alps. Sam had said he'd be there, and they're OK, but now the festival had really kicked in, or so I thought at the time. The tent where Rob Dickinson had played just 1 hour ago was now "packed". Comparitvely. Nine Black Alps were OK - pretty generic alt-rock. I didn't "run into" Sam as there were probably 2000 people there. I was the one behind the LA girls bumping shit up their noses.

I took a break because it's pretty hella-hot at Coachella. I sat in a shade tent. I heard a bit of Animal Collective, which sounded really good - like I want to hear more, good.

I went back to the Mojave tent for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, thinking I'd "run into" Chris who said he'd be there. And since nobody's probably heard of them that wouldn't be a problem. Well the tent was now packed - I wish I had numbers as to how many people each tent holds. Maybe 5000 in the Mojave tent? I was right in the middle. I'm only vaguely familiar with them - I have maybe half the album. I thought they were really good and fun at the time, but looking back, pretty disposable.

WHOA - dead on the nail with that Mojave tent estimate.

Anyway, I also realized that running back and forth between tents and stages was no longer going to work due to crowds, heat, personal needs that had long lines - TV on the Radio, Ladytron and Cat Power were now off my list - I went directly over to the Coachella stage for Sigur Ros. Got me a patch of shade by the tech tent. Watched the sunset.


Sigur Ros were holy.





I'm honestly not a Franz Ferdinand fan, so I retreated to the back for a patch of grass to lie down on before Depeche Mode. I stood up for their 2 hits, and chilled waiting for DM.

Depeche Mode. The stage design and visuals were brilliant. I thought it was pre-recorded video it was so good [from what I could tell, take 12 cameramen focused on the same person from twelve different angles. Flash between angles rapidly, with varying overlayed visual effects. Too cool.] The happy faced spaceship pumping out LED words like "Pain" and "Misery" The set list wasn't perfect but pretty close. Just finally feeling a part of, reaching that group consciousness. Singing "Enjoy the Silence" at the top of my lungs along with 50,000 other people and not giving a damn what I sounded like or if anyone was looking at me, because we were all just having fun and I was finally included in that "we".



Day two's music was all MogwaiMogwaiMogwai. I was in no mood to run around in the desert seeing bands I only had a passing interest in [Giant Drag, Mates of State], so mostly I just sat in the Sahara tent with Sam, Joshua, and a bunch of other bears who wandered in and out. I was around for most of Louie Vega's set, and that was really hot. I'm not a huge techno fan, I like what I like and that was fun.

Bloc Party was at the Outdoor Theater at 6, and I immediately went right for that tech tent shady spot, which = good time. They were very good but nothing specific to write home about. We all clapped our hands over our heads. Note how far from the stage I am, it comes into play in a few hours:



Once Bloc Party ended I was in go go go mode. 95 minutes to take care of ALL body functions and get to the front of that stage for Mogwai. This meant that I wound up being there for most of Digable Planets, who are like The Cosby Show of rap. I pretended to be grooving to it but was really just dancing my way closer and closer to the front. They got the "Good" of "Good Night" out when I just started pushing.



It was so worth it. My pictures didn't come out so hot raw - some photoshop touchups and they'll be good.

I'm really trying to stay emotionless in my recap of all of this, but something happened during Mogwai.

Mogwai Fear Satan 1 of 3

Out of nowhere, it just hit me how - well I think it started with the only other time I saw Mogwai live. I showed up to meet my friend Eric at the Middle East wasted. Like I could barely stand up wasted. Nodding off wasted. I got through maybe 2 songs before I had to leave because I was too drunk to stand up anymore. How fucking sad. What a fucking waste. I could have seen this band at the Middle East in Cambridge, and here I am seeing them at a festival. This pendulum of absolute self-hate and shame, and extreme gratitude that I was sober and sane enough to get to this state this festival this moment in time ALIVE was just swinging way too fast, and I started crying. Wailing, actually. Screaming my hands on my head shaking and sobbing.

Mogwai Fear Satan 2 of 3

Remember the boy I liked better than all the other boys? Fuck yeah, shit like that came up too. I quieted down for a bit, thinking about the whole past - it was all very 4th steppish, actually. I actually felt crap leave my body and soul.

Mogwai Fear Satan 3 of 3

I don't know where it came from or where it went or how Mogwai brought it out of me. I was fine the rest of their set, night. Just, well, changed I suppose.

and uh, when i'm in the grips of it i don't feel pleasure and i don't feel pain, i just feel no emotions. do you understand what i'm talking about? have you ever, have you ever felt like that, when you just, when you just, you couldn't feel anything and you don't want to either, you know, like that. do you understand what i'm saying sir?'

You can see the back of my shaved head in the video. I'm to the right of the tall guy infront of the cameraman.

I decided that since I was up front that I'd stay and catch some of The Go! Team. I'm so glad I did.



Again, I need to touch some up but the only people in front of me at this point were the pros with the press passes. I stayed for 2 smoking, excellent songs - but I could see the lights and fog of Massive Attack off in the distance calling me, and it was just too much to resist so I left.

I caught "Unfinished Sympathy", and then 2 Liz Frasier songs. I totally couldn't believe she was there - remember last year's Coachella where Cocteau Twins confirmed then pulled out? I guess this was as close as we were going to get. I wish I had seen and heard more, but I was really far back and distracted by all of the walking around.

Tool. Packed. Couldn't see a thing, and they were just projecting fractals and music videos on the screen. Bored me to tears. Not only did they come on 20 minutes late, apparently they didn't make it up on the back end - I left during "Vicarious", heard "Aenima" on my way back to the campground - then nothing. Maybe I was just tired, cranky, hungry, sunburned and completely drained from the weekend.



I totally still bought a Tool shirt to prove I was there.

I have so much more to say once the pictures are done and flickrd.