Today is a very, very special day. Not because the town is flooding and all the rats/roaches are drowning and there are tornado watch warnings, but because today Paul Tollett and the crew over at Golden Voice have finally posted the line-up for COACHELLA! For music aficionados, hipsters, scenesters, and music snobs in general, the Coachella line-up jump starts the excitement for what has become, for many, the replacement of Christmas, Halloween, New Years and birthdays all rolled into one.
I know that I speak for many when I say that the 5 days I spend in the desert every summer watching all my favorite bands try to out rock each other while I sweat and chase a buzz I will never catch, has become the highlight of my year. Once it's over I start speculating again how on Earth will Golden Voice top this year, who will headline next year and who is booking the house/hotel for next year. But let's not talk about next year, let's talk about this year.
As soon as I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the barrage of emails and texts I received, all raving about the Coachella 2010 line-up. So obviously, I grabbed my laptop to see what all the fuss was about (follow along please: www.coachella.com). AND BOY WERE THEY RIGHT!!!! As a self described music snob, it is very easy to bitch and moan about the Coachella line-up each year. It's sort of like living in San Diego and bitching about the weather (stupid cloud!). While I'm not thrilled about the headliners, I will say that this year's line-up is as close to perfection as possible. There is literally something for everyone. Big names, little names, really obscure names, surprise reunions and of course, the beloved curve balls.
As much as I want to analyze, consume, digest and regurgitate what I think about the entire line-up, I'll spare you all the garble and just give you, in my opinion, what should not be missed.
DAY 1 - Friday April 16th
I'm not crazy about Jay-Z, in fact I plan on skipping him, but I'm sure he'll bring his NYC swagger along with some special guests to perform. Who I'm most excited to see this day is LCD Soundsystem. Their last album was near perfect and about as close as you will ever get to combining punk and house into a beautiful blend of deliciousness. They're coming out with a new album this year so I expect some new stuff to shake your booty along with their usual audio assault of awesomeness. I also plan on seeing Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Grace Jones (c'mon, she's practically a living legend), The Whitest Boy Alive, Lance Rock (Yo Gabba Gabba's DJ, bring your toddlers!), Aeroplane, Sleigh Bells, and Little Dragon. Keep in mind I generally lean to the electronic laced, 4 on the floor type of music. Right Rose???
Day 2 - Saturday April 17th
Again, I'm not crazy about Muse, I just don't see what the big deal is, but they're selling out stadiums all over the world so what do I know? In my opinion, this is the weakest day of the event, but that's like saying Jessica Alba is not as hot Latetia Casta and Alessandra Ambrosio. So, with that said, I plan on seeing Hot Chip (I've got their new album, it makes me smile), 2ManyDjs (some say they're the innovators of tasteful mash-ups), Major Lazer (think reggae/dancehall themed M.I.A., but better, and without M.I.A.), Dirty Projectors, The XX, Flying Lotus, Pretty Lights, The Girls and Beach House. I'm ok with some days not being as awesome as others. It gives you a chance to sleep in that day and you don't have as many conflicts between bands you want to see playing at the same time.
Day 3 - Sunday April 18th
The Gorillaz are awesome. I saw them in Chicago about 8 or 9 years ago and it was really cool. They projected cartoons of themselves on a screen while they played behind it, which was not that cool, but they still sounded awesome. Seeing as they are headlining the last day though, I'm sure they plan on bringing their "A" game as far as showmanship and aesthetics go. Plus they have an arsenal of hits and I can only imagine there will be a surprise guest or four. In my opinion, this day is amazing, this day was made for me, in fact I think they raided my iTunes library to make this day, but anyhow, with conflicts abound, I pray I can catch all these amazing groups: Pavement (reunion baby!), Thom Yorke ???? (apparently he has jazzed up The Eraser and he is playing it in order from front to back...WOW), Phoenix (duhhh...), Spoon, Sly and The Family Stone (if you miss this, you are a fucking idiot), De La Soul, Gary Numan (I'm curious, what can I say), Club 75 (French super group including members of Cassius, Justice, plus Busy P and DJ Medhi), Big Pink, Miike Snow (these guys killed it at Spaceland and The Echo up in LA last year), Florence and the Machine, Little Boots (wasn't thrilled about the album, but friends say she was amazing live at Lollapalooza last year), Owen Pallet (or Final Fantasy, same guy, rocks the fiddle) and of course The Soft Pack.
So there you go SD, I hope that was not too painful. If you are on the fence this year and you are a bit overwhelmed by all these groups you don't know, I suggest you hop on MySpace or YouTube and start checking some of these groups out because if you are going to go to Coachella, this is the year to go. There truly is something for everyone this year and I take my hat off to Golden Voice for really giving the fans the line-up they've been waiting for. See you Indio, drink lots of water!
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