Scenestar

Wow, did Coachella really just come and go? After months of build up, anticipation for the line-up to be released, set times to work around and plans to make to get to Indio, we finally got through another festival in one piece. Friends were made, lessons learned and many shows to be reviewed. The Scenestar will be posting photos from all the bands we managed to catch along with pictures of attendees, an interview with Noah & The Whale, and reviews from each day, starting off with Day 1 (Friday).

APRIL 17 | INDIO—Another year, another Coachella. What started as a unique festival in the desert almost a decade ago is now a must experience event for the music lover. Whether it’s your first time coming to Coachella or you’re a grizzled veteran, you always tend to bring back home memories or war stories of how Coachella went. Being the savvy veterans that we are here at the Scenestar, we decided to head on out to Indio the night before Coachella to avoid the traffic and the masses that were to descend on this three-day event. With hotel reservations made a year ahead of time to avoid the typical hotel markups, our checklists of what to bring with us and an open mind to expect the best music weekend of the year, Team Scenestar was looking forward to covering Coachella 2009 without a hitch.

By coming in the night earlier, we woke up early enough to take advantage of some free continental breakfast at our hotel and casually say hello to fellow festivalgoers down the hall as we prepared to get to the Polo Grounds.

We hit our first roadblock of the weekend when our photographer realized she forgot her camera charger. Thanks to the magic of the iPhone, we were able to find a camera store close to our hotel in Indio that had everything you would need for the pro photographer. Seeing that Johnson Photo was open so early tells us that this isn’t the first time or the last time that the store will have someone in need of a piece of gear for the event. Mental note for next year that this is where we’ll go or refer other photographers if they’re stuck in the same situation. Once that was taken care of, it was off to Coachella 2009.

Since we got there once the gates were open, getting into the lot and to the entrance was a breeze. One of our guests was playing with fire by not showing up with tickets, but was able to buy tickets at the window for the whole weekend, despite the fact that Friday was “sold out.” We also bought two tickets for friends of mine who wanted to drive down to Indio after work in hopes of catching Sir Paul McCartney’s set later that night. Mental note No. 2 for our readers: If you don’t have a ticket for Coachella, come early! Photo and press passes in hand, we were off to cover & shoot our predetermined bands of the day.

El Gran Silencio
First band on the list that I wanted to check out was Monterrey Mexico’s own El Gran Silencio. Not having coffee earlier, I figured why not get some high energy vibes at the most packed stage of the morning. People were really enthusiastic about the melting pot of sounds despite the language barrier from some of the English-speaking concertgoers. Not a stranger to diverse global acts, Coachella organizers have always made it a point to bring in great music, and El Gran Silencio really fit the bill. Mexican flags, luchador masks and cheers were in mass during the whole set. Bringing my own luchador mask, I was sucked into the mosh pit for some enthusiastic crashing of bodies with the soundtrack of Chuntaro Style infused into the Gobi tent. With accordions, horns and egging on of brothers Cano and Tony Hernandez to get into the music, this was the best way to start Coachella off right.

Alberta Cross
Next on the list was a band I didn’t even circle on my miniature Coachella schedule book, Alberta Cross. Being slightly worn out from all the dancing and moshing from El Gran Silencio, the New York-based band was a pleasant surprise for me, as I sat down to take in their soothing blend of folk rock. One of the great things about Coachella isn’t about the bands you want to see when you get there, but about new bands you discover, and this was one of them. Despite the sun beating down upon Coachella attendees, there was a respectively large crowd for Alberta Cross early in the festival. It made for a great soundtrack to look over the Coachooser to see what other great music there was to catch later in the day. A fellow music journalist reminded me that Coachella was holding Record Store Day a day early for the benefit of festivalgoers at the onsite Zia Records. We waved goodbye to the Outdoor Stage and headed toward the record store to get our hands on the previously announced LPs we had our eyes on from the list announced on the Record Store Day website. Hopefully we could get our stuff before Noah & The Whale went on.

Zia Records
Crossing the crowds of concertgoers, we made out way to the Zia Records tent. Everything was set up perfectly to access the limited LPs that we were looking for. The problem was that many others had the same plan of getting their record shopping done early. The prize of the day at Zia Records was scoring an autographed Morrissey vinyl of Years of Refusal for the price of the actual album! One thing about Coachella is that besides paying for your tickets, housing, gas and food is that you want to take some spending money for T-shirts, keepsakes, etc. Lucky for me, I kept that in mind in my mental budget. Unlike a lot of the stands, Zia Records did accept credit cards. They did offer to conveniently hold my purchase until the end of the day, so I wouldn’t have to lug it around. But instead I chose to take it back to the locker we rented for the weekend in case the exhaustion of covering Coachella gave me temporary purchase amnesia. With the time consuming task of buying records and taking them to our storage, I missed out on catching most of Noah & The Whale’s set. For Coachella veterans, no matter how much you plan your day, you always miss at least one band you plan to see.

Molotov
Since I was already at the Outdoor Theatre, I decided to hang out and catch the politically infused Chilangos from Mexico City, Molotov. With the sun already blaring down harder than earlier, I angled the convenient cardboard trash cans into a small but effective shade area to lie down and take in Molotov’s heavy guitar riffs. The Grammy winners didn’t disappoint live. The crowd was also into their message through such songs as the politically infused “Frijolero,” describing racial barbs between an immigrant and a gringo who’s not down for the immigrant being in the U.S. From the sounds of things, the crowd knew the song word for word and sang along enthusiastically loud during the cussing. It made it very interesting, and Molotov was able to hold their own musically for those who didn’t understand what everyone around was saying in Spanish.

Looking at the clock, I realized that it was almost time for my scheduled interview with Noah & The Whale. I quickly got up, offered someone my shaded spot and descended down the Polo Grounds to the artists’ trailers to get a few minutes with the band. I texted our photographer to meet me in the press area so we could shoot the interview. Unfortunately, because of the large volume of phones texting and not enough cell phone bandwidth at Coachella, I wasn’t able to reach her right away. A half-hour passed and no response. Looks like The Scenestar is flying into this interview solo.

Noah & The Whale Interview
Once I got through the three barriers of security to get backstage, I was in front of Noah & The Whale’s trailer ready for the interview. I got a chance to speak with Doug Fink, the band’s drummer. Tape recorder in hand, we spoke about what it was like for the band to play Coachella for the first time, the anticipation of the level of heat that the Londoners were to expect and places the band loves to eat or hang out during the times that they’ve been to Los Angeles. He also mentioned a possible fall tour tour in the works. Doug was excited of possibly catching a movie at the Arclight, having good Mexican food while in Los Angeles and maybe even catching the Kogi truck if it’s still around next time they come. Once the interview was over, we bid farewell until the next we see each other—hopefully in the fall. Everything came out great on tape! One problem though. On the way to the Coachella Press Area to get all of this down, a girl carrying too many drinks happened to bump into me, spilling her drinks on me and unfortunately the tape recorder in my hand. Since it was an old-school tape recorder, the interview was lost. Mental note for next year? Waterproof tape recorder (or toss it in my bag) and pay more attention to where I’m going. At least it gives me an excuse to go digital, but it killed any interviews I had planned for the day.

White Lies
Here comes everyone’s favorite part of Coachella: the schedule conflict! There always seems to be the moment when one or more bands you REALLY want to see happen to play at the same time. At 5:30 p.m., facing each other head to head were The Black Keys, Buraka Som Sistema, White Lies and the Ting Tings. Fortunately I had already seen the Ting Tings play the Jensen in Echo Park and The Black Keys at the Wiltern, so it was between Buraka and White Lies. A coin flip later and I was on my way to the Mojave Tent to catch White Lies. Dressed in black, it was a good thing that they were under a tent for their set. Already having their debut album on constant rotation for months, I was excited to finally hear the material live. Unfortunately the sound engineer wasn’t making it easy for the West Londoners. Harry McVeigh and the rest of White Lies made the most of their set for the enthusiastic crowd. Channeling the sounds of Editors and Interpol, they still did their best to make their sound their own. The set was thorough as they played their hits, including “To Lose My Life” and the rare “Nothing To Give,” which Harry mentioned has only been played three times before. Despite the sound problems, they won the crowd over by the end of their 50-minute set.

Crystal Castles
Despite wanting to catch Franz Ferdinand, I couldn’t deny myself Scenestar favorite Crystal Castles at the Sahara Tent. I was able to say a quick hello to the band, whom we previously interviewed way back when they were the opening band for a Presets club tour. Harry from White Lies was there chatting it up with Ethan and Alice, who had mixed a song for White Lies. The tent was packed and the set was running a little late. The audience was waiting in anticipation and eventually Crystal Castles hit the stage, resulting in a loud ovation from the crowd. The high-energy set kicked into gear with a wave of jumping, elbows and electronic sounds blaring from the speakers. If you’ve never been to a Crystal Castles show, it’s not something you can casually be in the middle of and observe. Coachella was no exception. The intensity of the music and the live show antics of Alice Glass made for performance art. Alice jumped into the crowd at will, much to the chagrin of the security surrounding the stage. I stayed for most of the set but realized that if I don’t leave, then all my energy will be zapped by the time Leonard Cohen comes on.

Since I left Crystal Castles early, I was able to take in some of the art installations in the middle of the Polo Grounds. It is a music and arts festival after all. I did manage to catch the last two Franz Ferdinand songs while hydrating in the press tent. From the size of the crowd and the loud cheers, it looked like the Scottish rockers had accomplished their mission. While resting, I finally got the photographer’s message asking where to meet for the interview, a few hours too late. Another late message was from friends meeting me at the gate to get the tickets I bought earlier for today. Next year, walkie talkies!

Morrissey
After scoring a Morrissey-signed vinyl, I was even giddier about catching the Mozzer live right before Sir Paul. He started the set off on a good note for fans of his Smiths’ work by playing the ever popular “This Charming Man.” He welcomed the crowd in between songs and kept asking if he sounded OK, which the crowd acknowledged that he did. He obviously wasn’t too happy with the smell of meat cooking in the air, since he is a devout vegetarian, telling the crowd that he hoped the meat he smelled burning was that of a human and that he was feeling sick. The smell of meat in the air probably wasn’t the muse inspiring him to play an energized set. He ended with the song that is probably best known by those who are unfamiliar with his work, “How Soon Is Now,” and then he exited to the sound of a gong.

The Presets
Sacrilegious! Yes, about 85% to 90% of the Coachella attendees were probably there to see Paul McCartney, but I thought about taking the chance in catching The Presets, knowing that Paul might not play too many of The Beatles hits right away. In taking the chance of missing a good chuck of Paul McCartney’s set, I was rewarded with one of the best sets I saw all day. Consisting of only two guys, The Presets sure know how to put on a live show. Despite the overflow of people watching Sir Paul on the Coachella stage, the Sahara was packed. The Presets played a thorough set, mixing in material fromBeams and recent release Apocalypto. They managed to steal the show, despite having to compete with a Beatle for the eyes and ears of Coachella attendees. I can easily bet that nobody in the Sahara left disappointed and vouch that the next time The Presets play Coachella, they deserve a bigger stage.

Paul McCartney
Everyone at Coachella comes for different acts and genres, but Paul McCartney was one of the few artists to bring together the diverse crowd tonight. Young and old were together, taking in material from Wings, Paul’s solo work and, of course, material from The Beatles. Since I came in an hour into the set, I decided to watch from the elevated VIP area to the left of the stage. It was really magical to hear a whole crowd sing along to “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude,” “Give Peace a Chance” and dance with total strangers to “Birthday,” while watching Franz Ferdinand give their rendition next to me without a care in the world. Sir Paul went into a few encores past the midnight curfew, but for those who stuck around until the end, it was nothing short of perfect for the first day of Coachella.

APRIL 18 | INDIO—We woke up a little later than we wanted to Saturday morning. Friday took a lot of energy out of us, and we decided to have breakfast in our room. Fresh fruit and playoff basketball between the Celtics and the Bulls were on the menu. Before we left, we also caught Manny Ramirez’s first homerun of the season for the Dodgers. So far, signs of a good day. We decided to hit the Oasis party close to the Polo Grounds, which was sponsored by my favorite shoes, Onitsuka Tiger, and Vitamin Water. Coachella isn’t just about the great music and art, but also the crazy parties surrounding the event. We decided to kill a bit of time at the Oasis party, hanging out at the pool, drinking Vitamin Water, eating from the organic taco truck and listening to the sounds of a Trevor Skeet Skeet DJ set. No free shoes though. Those were for the VIP guests and artists invited to the party. Once hydrated and ready to expose myself to the sunshine of the Indio sun, we decided to go to Coachella. Our photographer decided to skip the party to catch Paolo Nutini. I made it just in time to get a nice spot for the Scenestar on the Press Table, ready to catch my first band of the day.

Amanda Palmer/Henry Rollins
Once settled in, I made my way to catch the musical stylings of Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls fame. The enthusiastic crowd got to hear the controversial song “Oasis” along with “Coin Operated Boy.” At the same time, something was pulling me to the neighboring Mojave Tent to catch a bit of what Henry Rollins had to say. I took off and heard him speak of what brings us together at Coachella and for us to experience the world, instead of just staying in the U.S.

His experiences really caught my ear and the enthusiasm and heart of what he said seemed to captivate the audience as well. I had a choice spot in the crowd and decided not to go back to Amanda Palmer, since eventually I was going to be here to catch the band I wanted to see the most on Saturday, Glasvegas. Unfortunately, that plan was axed once Henry Rollins came to the stage and announced that Glasvegas cancelled their set due to illness. We found out that lead vocalist James Allen was hospitalized due to illness. I was bummed, but the frown turned upside down at Amanda Palmer, when I caught her stirring rendition of “Creep.” Since Glasvegas cancelled, off I went to get a good spot to catch TV on the Radio.

TV on the Radio
Now that the Glasvegas scheduling conflict was resolved due to an unfortunate illness, I was able to get a choice spot to see TV on the Radio on the Coachella stage. I have only seen them a few times, but this was by far the band’s best set that I’ve ever seen. With the picturesque backdrop of the setting sun, TV on the Radio played their hearts out to “Wolf Like Me,” along with other material from Return to Cookie Mountain and new album Dear Science. I could tell that the crowd was pleasantly surprised by the great live set, especially those who looked like they were staking a spot for following acts M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation. If anything, it really solidified for me that TV on the Radio is one of the best live bands out there and worthy of playing the Coachella Stage.

Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes is a band that I have heard is a must see. I always missed their live shows for one reason or another, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again. Playing on the Outdoor Stage, they had an overflowing crowd mesmerized by every word and note. So hypnotized was the crowd that I easily cut into a good spot. Everyone was so at peace that it was OK for you to get closer as long as you didn’t block their view or interfere with the beautiful music coming from the stage. I decided to sit down to watch smiling faces, lovers’ embraces and fans lying down staring into the stars, as Fleet Foxes provided the soundtrack. It was one of the few artists at Coachella that I wish I had someone to share the experience with, but it was satisfying enough that everyone around me understood the beauty of their music, so in reality, I wasn’t really alone. I just felt bad for those farther out in the crowd, where Thievery Corporation blended into Fleet Foxes’ set.

M.I.A.
Conflicting time slot! This round we had Band of Horses, Junior Boys and M.I.A. Since M.I.A. was making a return to cover for Amy Winehouse, I was curious to see her back in form after just having a child. It was M.I.A.’s first performance since the 2009 Academy Awards, and the crowd was ready to see what she had in store. Amid the flashing bright lights in the background and army of dancers behind her, she played probably one of the longest songs of the day to start off her set. Egging on the crowd to get with it, she launched a barrage of horns and T-shirts to onlookers near the stage, causing chaos to those near the projectiles. Someone even got hit in the head next to me because they weren’t paying attention. With Rye Rye on her side, M.I.A. got the party started and the crowd grooving with material from Arularand Kala. At one point, she asked the crowd to invade the stage, much to the chagrin of the Coachella security force. Even though she admitted that she really didn’t know how to bring it to the main stage, she put on a valiant effort and made the most of her time.

Glass Candy/Gang Gang Dance/MSTRKRFT
This choice wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Having seen the Killers at the Gibson for KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas, I decided to take TV on the Radio’s advice and catch Glass Candy and Gang Gang Dance at the Gobi Tent, while taking breaks in between to catch more art installations. Glass Candy’s tent wasn’t as full as I thought it should have been, but it was pretty fun hitting inflatable balls back and forth between the band and the crowd. It was almost like the beach balls at Dodgers Stadium, only with a dancier soundtrack. In between sets, I caught the mechanical fire-breathing dragon with Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio before Gang Gang Dance’s set.

Lizzy Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance eventually hit the stage, rocking a Missy Elliot tour shirt and situating herself behind the drums. One of those love it or hate it bands on the Coachella bill, Gang Gang Dance delved into the atmospheric electronica that the band is known for. A good amount of people were checking out The Killers, Atmosphere or the other bands on the bill, but those who were here to try something new were representing at the Gobi Tent.

One tent that didn’t have a problem filling their spot was MSTRKRFT. This was by far one of the sweatiest, dance-driven sets of the day. MSTRKRFT was playing material from Fist of God, while mixing in material from previous album The Looks. Lucky for me, I was able to get a spot in the photographer’s side, but I felt bad for those being crushed in the front row. Everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives. From the half-naked girls flashing their body parts to the sweaty, T-shirt-waving guys, the crowd cheered MSTRKRFT on with every familiar tune. After an hour, I decided to make an exit despite MSTRKRFT being the only game in town, since The Killers had already finished their set. Seeing the army of Coachella attendees trying to catch the end of MSTRKRFT was a sight to see. Unfortunately, I left a little too early, just missing out on John Legend’s impromptu set. Saturday over. Time to get ready for Coachella Sunday!

APRIL 19 | INDIO—What a long night! Since we showed up late Saturday, we didn’t get the best parking spot in the world at Coachella. We just barely made it to In & Out around 2am after waiting forever to get out for a really late dinner with friends and Coachella veterans Kinky that were there to catch the weekend’s acts. This was a recipe for another late morning start for The Scenestar. Lucky for us that our photographer left a little early to get some good shots of Friendly Fires. As for those of us left behind, we decided to go sequel on the Oasis party this time leaving with some cool T-shirts and a supply of Vitamin Water to keep in the car’s cooler for after we leave Coachella. We made our way back to Coachella right before Lupe Fiasco hit the stage. In the rush to get in, I forgot my laptop in the car so I left the festival to get in since I needed it to report on the day’s event but missing out on Lupe Fiasco & Lykke Li. Forehead slap! At least I was back in and ready to take on Sunday.

Peter Bjorn & John

Situated in the Press Area hydrating, I was able to get down to some Peter Bjorn & John. Intrigued that they were playing the Coachella Stage was a pleasant surprise but not expected figuring they would play there with organizers going with X or Groove Armada. Despite what people around me questioned about their slot in the festival, I found the set to be a big step in their live show and was entertained. Lykke Li stepped in for Young Folks so I technically didn’t miss seeing her at Coachella so that was a plus. Robyn joining Peter Bjorn & John’s set was also another pleasant surprise. Already a big fan of their current album Living Thing, it was cool to finally hear the material live. Unfortunately it looked like the crowd camped out for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs weren’t too schooled on the material. Here’s hoping that some of the crowd were won over a bit and give the band a chance when their solo tour comes to town.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Although their time slot interfered with another band I wanted to see Sunday, X, I was really amped to see their performance of the new material from It’s Blitz. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs didn’t wait long to drop some new material on the crowd starting off with one of my favorite songs off the new album “Runaway”. Dressed in a elaborate gold outfit, Karen O brought it as the sun set in the Indio sky. One of the biggest fans I know called my cell to hear the set so armed with my hand in the air, St Louis got a piece of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set. Touching a bit on all three albums, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs tossed in a cover of The Cramps “Human Fly”. Although tame compared to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs shows from the the Fever To Tell days, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs still put on a great show and made themselves worthy of the Coachella Main Stage.

My Bloody Valentine

This was a band that people thought was sure to play in 2008 during their reunion but Coachella made it a point to get them in round two. I really hope that the Cure fans did their homework and brought their ear plugs because even though I was wearing mine, I wasn’t sure I had any ear drums left. My Bloody Valentine brought the noise and that’s statement is pretty liberal. The band can easily claim to have played one of the most memorable sets in Coachella history and surprised that they left any speakers left for The Cure to use. Besides the noise factor, their set was beautiful in the layers of detail within the distortion and din of their guitars. No matter where you were, there was no escaping My Bloody Valentine. Being a fan of the band and excited to finally see them live, it went beyond expectations for me. For those that weren’t fans, I’m sure they made it a point to be at the tent stages catching The Horrors or Christopher Lawrence. It’s going to be tough for Coachella to find a band that will break the festival’s decibel record.

The Cure

After recovering a bit from My Bloody Valentine, the Cure was next on the list. Making sure everything was stable I’m sure after My Bloody Valentine, the Cure took the stage. Starting off with newer material, they please the hardcore fans that camped out all day just to catch their live set at Coachella. From talking to the crowd beforehand, some even made the trip after watching their set in Las Vegas. Cure fans are dedicated as the Cure’s music is soothing to the ears. A sharp contrast to the band before them. It was a perfect ending to a great three days to this year’s festival. Since I had already seen them the multiple times they’ve played in Los Angeles, I decided to bonus a bit and head over to the Outdoor Stage

Public Enemy

Yes, the rhythm the rebel! For those that only know Flava Fav from his reality television shows don’t know unless they’ve seen him live that he’s one of the best hype men ever in the history of hip hop. Even more historic was Public Enemy dedicating the set to their influential album It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back from track to track. It was the first time in 16 years that Public Enemy has played the whole album according to Chuck D. It was easy to get caught up in the energy and enjoyed the set as much as any set the whole weekend at Coachella. From Chuck D dropping the beats to Flava Flav’s multiple stage dives, it was quite a sight to see. For me and the Scenestar crew, this was a great way to end our 2009 Coachella weekend.

On the drive home, we talked about the great job of Coachella putting the acts together despite the groans the talking heads of cyberspace tearing down each new lineup year after year. We also hoped that Coachella would keep the same early date as the weather was more pleasing than any Coachella we’ve been to. The surprise of the evening for us was when we finally got home was that THE CURE WAS STILL PLAYING ON STAGE. Wow. Congrats for the endurance trials Cure fan because it must have been heaven for you. A magical Coachella moment missed but not soon forgotten. See you next year Indio for Coachella 2010!