Tuesday, April 29, 2014

You can drive all night, looking for the answers in the pouring rain


Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2

When the set times were released, I wasn't too happy that one of my must-see bands were on the Main Stage right at the hottest time of day.  I couldn't get there early enough to grab a close spot because like I said, of the heat.  After making plans to reunite, my buddies went to see Temples, and I went to find a spot for Cage the Elephant.  It's weird.  Cage the Elephant is one of my all time favorite bands.  I liked them a lot since the first album mainly because of the front man's energy.  I love that crazy energy on stage.  Plus, I really love every song on every album.  So good.  Well, the weird thing is I had never seen them live.  I guess the timing never worked out, or maybe, if I like a band too much, I want to keep some kind of mystery by not seeing them live?  I don't know, but there's a couple of bands I love that I still haven't seen live.  So this was my first time seeing them.  I guess I should've seen them earlier because I missed out on a live version of "Japanese Buffalo".  I watched the webcast of years ago when he wore that dress I thought it was so punk and only he could pull it off so well.  I don't think Matt was as crazy this week, probably to not repeat what he did the week before, but he did grab a pineapple from the audience and bit chunks out of it.  Yeah, the skin and all.  He didn't climb anything but there were plenty of crowd surfing action.  Cool front guy antics aside, the set was so solid and made me happy.  I don't know why but I started feeling sad all of a sudden, because the lyrics are pretty emotional and sad.  When he sang "Shake Me Down', I choked up and my eyes filled with tears. I've been going through a lot the past year.  Usually, the joy of being at a show will kill any sad emotion no matter how sad a song is.  Thank goodness I had sunglasses on because I started crying during "even on a cloudy day".  Also, "Cigarette Daydreams" got me all emotional, too.  That's where this band is right now, though.  And I guess it was a perfect time to see them.  More emotional and solid, instead of angsty (which I love anyways).  I drank lots of water but the heat was already getting to me.  I had to walk now all the way to the Mojave Tent for Julian Casablancas.

I ended up leaning against the barricade of the guest section.  This was actually fun for me because I got to see all the guests walking in to see Julian Casablancas and the Voidz and boy, did they all turn out.  I only get star struck with people I'm an actual fan of.  Most others, I didn't even recognize.  But I was excited to see Drowners, members of Cage the Elephant, Alessandra Ambrosio (my fave model since the late '90s), and also Matt Bellamy from Muse!  At the end, I was able to flag down Matt and say hi.  He was super nice.

After that, we had to go eat.  I was in line for the Kogi Truck, and I saw Stephen Yeun from The Walking Dead.  Also, right after that, something crazy happened which is probably the highlight of this year's Coachella.  So by this time, I was so out of it and overwhelmed, and my food took forever, so I was a song late to MGMT's set.  There was no way I could make my way in.  It was way too crowded, MGMT had a really big turn out.  But I love them.  I love their second album the most.  They sang songs they didn't sing during weekend one.  They closed with "Congratulations" which got me teary-eyed again.  I was emotional on day two.















Julian Casablancas and the Voidz











MGMT


Queens of the Stone Age



Muse (no photos!  couldn't take good pictures at night, and so far away!)

Saturday, April 26, 2014

A dream too tired to come true


Coachella 2014 Weekend 2 Day 1

Contrary to popular belief, this was only my second time at Coachella, the first being in 2012.  Actually, it shouldn't be that surprising, though, since I'm really big on small venues.  So you can imagine how I felt about big festivals.  I love live shows.  I've been watching the live webcasts every year since they started showing webcasts.  Well, in 2012, after they revealed my dream lineup, I knew that was my year to finally go.  And I had a wonderful, magical, first Coachella experience.  I didn't think I'd go a second time, after all, it is a lot of work, and pricey.  For the first time, we took a leap of faith, and bought presale tickets, before the lineup announcements.  The weather on Friday was nice.  It was a bit on the cool side.  It was slightly windy and cloudy.  I wasn't complaining because two years ago, I got stuck with 106 degrees, so this was just fine for me.  Although, my legs did get a little chilly at night because I was wearing shorts.


On our way to Jagwar Ma, there was a mass exodus to the Outdoor Stage where A$AP Ferg was performing.  It was crazy to see so many people heading towards the same direction.  Although the energy sounded great, I made my way to the Gobi tent, where Jagwar Ma was playing.





Grouplove - Only caught a little bit while walking across the field.



HAIM was on my list, but the Outdoor stage was too far, and the set time was too close to AFI.  I chose AFI, of course.  I was able to make my way into the side barricade just in time.  AFI's set is one of my best memories of Coachella.  They're so cool and amazing to see live.  Their energy, and performance is so bad ass.  I was blown away.  To add to the enjoyment, the crowd around me was super pleasant and definitely we had a good energy going.  So much so that the mosh pit started right next to me.  It was awesome.  I love happy mosh pits.  They sang all my favorite songs.  I can't believe I've liked them for so long.  Where did the time go?  I remember liking them since college.  I love how well they've aged, too.  They've grown so much and became even cooler.  I've always been a Davey Havok fan, even when he wore makeup and had long hair.  As for Jade, he's just such a perfect guitarist, so cool.  Love AFI!













After the lineup was first announced, my top priority must see band was The Replacements!  I got to the Outdoor Stage just as Broken Bells' set was ending.  I really like Broken Bells, too.  We got a good front row side spot and got a nice view of the stage and the giant screen.  Friday night set time is the most magical.  It's the first night, we're excited, and we all still have energy.  Seeing The Replacements was surreal.  They sang a couple of songs, and later Billie Joe Armstrong joined them on stage and went right into "I'm in Trouble".  At first, I didn't know how to feel.  To me, The Replacements didn't need a special guest, but I guess if Paul was having back problems, and since I do like Green Day, it was fine.  But as I was watching Paul Westerberg singing and playing guitar while laying down on a couch, and he still looked so punk, I couldn't get mad.  Even that looked cool.  And I have a crush on Tommy Stinson for some reason maybe it has to do with Bash & Pop, but seeing him right there in front of me, in a plaid suit and bow tie, felt like a dream.  Also, no one plays encores at Coachella, because of strict set times, etc.  But The Replacements came back out for an encore as the crowd started leaving.  But everyone immediately rushed back!  It was awesome.  This made Coachella worth coming to.  









Walking across the field again after The Replacements, we caught the end of Girl Talk.  I've always wanted to see Girl Talk.  I really do enjoy some good mash ups.  They actually played Coachella in 2012 when I went, but I missed them because of conflicting set times.  Oh, we didn't walk across the field, we danced through the crowd.  It was awesome.  And I loved seeing the colorful balloons set free in the night sky.


Besides The Replacements, I was really excited about Outkast when the lineup rumors started.  I wasn't a very early fan, but I was definitely a fan before Hey Ya.  Started with Stankonia for me.  It takes me back to my high school days and college days!  I had a big crush on Andre3000.  Where has the time gone?  I saw Outkast's weekend one set from the webcast.  I think I would've been happy to see them either way and I don't like comparing.  But I loved the weekend 2 set.  They started with B.O.B which sent excitement through the crowds, everyone immediately started dancing.  You know, as I stood there dancing to Outkast, I felt happy.  If you had told teenager me that I would one day see Outkast at Coachella, I wouldn't have believed it.  I really didn't start going to concerts until after college.  I didn't even dare dream of going to concerts back then.  I was so busy with school, and that stuff costs money.  Well, it was a good feeling that night.  That's the thing.  Everyone has their story and things mean a lot more to some people than you would know.  I sang along to my favorite Outkast songs and it was a perfect end to night one of Coachella.

Sorry, no good pics of Outkast, too dark and too far away.