
OK, Los Angeles. Sorry that this is so late, but there was sleeping to be done, highway races to the airports, and long flights to be caught. Now that Virgin America’s new route has delivered me home safely, I’ll drop in a few last notes as Coachella fades away, Brigadoon-like, into the mists of improbable polo fields for another year.
(after the jump: the Shout Out Louds, My Morning Jacket, Roger Waters, Black Mountain, and more)
Continue reading Dispatch from Coachella: Sunday →
A graffitied pig is now floating above the Roger Waters crowd (“fear builds walls”). A circling airplane just sprayed something above the grounds. I’ll bet this could be AWESOME if you love Pink Floyd. I’m just kind of afraid.
update: the substance being dropped from those airplanes? tens of thousands of tiny Obama flyers. [ew]

Friday at Coachella was, if not a relative ghost town then at least a very well attended garden party. Dashing about the grounds and sliding up to the front of a stage remained easy through most of the day and patches of shade were easy to find. Saturday, then, came as a shock to the relaxed sensibilities engendered by the previous day. Arriving at the Mojave tent at about half past three, we found that MGMT had already fired up their hipster electromagnet. Getting within eyesight of the band was more of a challenge than I was up to first thing in the afternoon.
(after the jump, veggie corn dogs, Malkmus, Death Cab, Islands, Hot Chip, M.I.A., Animal Collective, Prince, and more)
Continue reading dispatch from coachella: saturday →

When last we left, you found me still acclimating to the warm dry air and the welcome respite from Seattle’s Narnia-like winter. Sun, warmth, the absence of rain, and mountains just outside my backdoor looking like a staged backdrop? What is this magical world? Also, there was a bit about shuffling across a grassy festival grounds trying to take in some music and art. Shuffling is actually a good term for what goes on here. Although a genreist could make a good weekend for herself, sticking to the dance tents, techno village, or mainstage rock stages exclusively and have a perfectly good time, the breadth of the music on display is really well suited to the overstimulation-seekers.
Continue reading dispatch from coachella: friday →
Hello there, Los Angeles. Coachella 2008 is upon us and crowds are already starting to fill the polo grounds of Indio for the ninth annual eclectoc mega festival.
I’m still feeling fresh and unbeaten by the elements having just seen Rogue Wave play to a few thousand if their biggest fans (it was, after all, the first show of the day in the hot afternoon sun). It was an entirely lovely performance,complete with makeshift celebratory drum circles at the peak of “Bird On a Wire”. An excellent start to a weekend of great music.
Now its off to BATTLES, Black Kids, and Jens Lekman. Let me know if there’s anything you’re desperate to hear about. I’ll be around all weekend.
Lizard people dude. Seriously.