This is going to be hard to write about for a number of reasons; Lack of material not being one of them. Mostly because Coachella kicked my fuckin' ass. I would estimate that I have about four brain cells left and they are all busy remembering my date of birth, full name, address and phone number. So, bear with me as making sentences has been quite the challenge recently.
I pretty much have my doctorate in music festivals now since Coachella bumped my count up to three. You'd think that music festivals would be somewhat comparable with the main focus being music and all but if you think that, you'd be wrong. It's amazing how much a little scenery can change the whole atmosphere as well as your experience. Surrounded by palm trees, mountains and an amazing line up of bands, Coachella was without question, the best music festival I have been to thus far in my life. I still have my Coachella wristband on and it ended four days ago. Yeah, I'm that girl. I just like to look down and be reminded of it all. Personally, I think music festivals should last until your wristband falls off on its own. I think kids would be down for that.
Alright, time to get my focus on. Performances. If you both recall, I blogged a few blog entries back about the Austin City Limits Festival. In that, I wrote about bands in superlative form and guess what? I'm doing that again. Without further adieu...
MOST I HAD EXPECTED MORE FROM 'EM BUT I STILL LOVE 'EM
>Cults
Just to clarify how good I think this band is, I'd like to point out that they don't even have an official album out and have released only a few songs on the internet that are all right in my wheelhouse. I basically have those five songs on repeat at any given moment. I was pumped to see them on the Gobi Stage on Saturday. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was disappointed with their performance. To their credit, I'm not entirely sure it was their fault that they sucked a little. I blame their sound guy. I could barely make out what the lead singer was singing and she was overpowered by the music. I also blame the crowd for not being into it. Everyone was simply standing there like Obama was giving a speech. Perhaps that could have something to do with it being 100 degrees out and only knowing five songs at most but hell, I was dancing. They definitely have incredible potential though. Perhaps they are just inexperienced and just need to work on their live show. (I feel like and old man when I say "perhaps.") I look forward to seeing them again, buying their album and giving them another chance to prove me wrong.
MOST MOTHER FUCKING ARCADE FIRE
>Arcade Fire
I have nothing bad to say about them pretty much ever. They fuckin' rule and if you don't like them, I don't get you as a human being. They always put on a good show and their albums are all better than 99% of anything you're listening to. What more can you ask for of a band? They were the last band to play on the Coachella Stage (the main stage) on Saturday night at 11ish. In order to secure a good spot, my brother and I went to that stage at around 5:30 and sat (or stood) through a whole lotta other shows just for AF. That's dedication. By the time it was 11 o'clock, my legs were numb from standing up so long and there were so many people around me, I couldn't even scratch my arm. I've never seen Arcade Fire in such tight quarters and it sort of ruined my experience. It's not Arcade Fire's fault they're so awesome and everyone loves them. I was most happy to hear them perform "City With No Children" as I have never heard them play that in concert as well as "Wake Up" because it is such a powerful, live song. They closed out Saturday night with "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains") and oversized, glowing balloons falling from the roof. It was beautiful. Come to Boston soon, Arcade Fire. Until then, I'll miss you.
MOST SO, YOU GUYS ARE OFFICIAL ROCK-STARS NOW, HUH?
>Kings of Leon
Despite the fact that I am not a big fan of their last album, Come Around Sundown, I was excited to see KOL as the Friday night closer. I felt like I was seeing old friends. Let me tell you, they rocked it. Their performance was flawless, playing every song to a T. It must have been my lucky night because Caleb announced that they were sick of playing the new stuff. They played a bunch of old songs. To name a few, "Four Kicks," "Molly's Chambers," "Taper Jean Girl, and "The Bucket" (which was my fave of the night). I've been a KOL fan for a long time now and it's great to see them this successful but at the same time it makes me laugh for some reason. They are such the rock-stars these days and they know down in their bones how much people sweat them. After their encore, Caleb took a rag, wiped the sweat off his face, tied it in a knot and threw it in the crowd. No one wants your sweaty rag, dude. He also grabbed an unopened bottle of water, opened it, took a sip, put the cap back on, and tossed it to the audience. Great, now someone is probably going to get herpes because aren't you banging Miley Cyrus now? Oh no, wait, that's your bassist. I'm proud of them, but they need to get over themselves. Let's not forget that your drummer was drinking a Michelob Ultra during the show.
MOST I CAN'T BELIEVE I TRIED NOT TO LIKE THEM
>Mumford & Sons
This band blew up a few months ago. I had heard the album and it was alright, but I tried my best not to jump on the bandwagon. Sometimes I get snobby like that when it comes to popular music for reasons I do not understand. If it truly is good music, I'll come around. And come around I did. It only took me seeing Mumford & Sons live. I can't get tell you how amazing they were. They were my favorite band at Coachella by far. Even more so than Arcade Fire and that says a whole lot. You could see it in each of their faces that they couldn't believe they were there. I think that translated to the crowd and the excitement level in the audience was tangible. They are all amazing musicians. Most notable was the lead singer. That man has music running through his blood. Not only does he have a distinct voice, he plays the kick drum while singing, then will play a whole drum kit while singing, then play the guitar, and then the piano. You kiddin' me? I can't even keep a beat with my hands and the steering wheel. Showoff. I was thoroughly blown away by them. If you ever get a chance to see them live, do so immediately.
Mumford & Sons - "Little Lion Man (Live Video from Coachella 2011)"
MOST MOTHER FUCKIN' MONSTER
>Kanye West
On an excitement level of 1-10, 10 being the most excited, I was at about a .8 level of excitement to see Kanye, knowing what a douche he is. He killed it though. His show was over the top with fireworks, crazy background images, and a lift that held Kanye up in the air like he was JC (Jesus Christ). It got the crowd pumped up for sure. I didn't realize how Caucasian the Coachella kids were until Kanye performed. I've never been around so many white people singing, "You ain't got no Yeezy, N*gga?!" before in my life. Even though he really is a d-bag, it's hard not to like Kanye's music because he truly is a great rapper. He showed up on time, played for a solid two hours and put on an awesome show. Kanye showed up fo sho. For someone who wasn't looking forward to seeing Kanye, I knew every word to every single song he rapped and was dancing like I knew how.
Looking forward to Coachella 2012. Who's coming with meh?
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