Coachella Awards
Wish I could've been everywhere at once |
| 40 | | !!!
Strange Weather, Isn't It?
WISH I'D SEEN
Had to deal with wristband troubles on day 1. Oh well
Also: Black Joe Lewis |
| 39 |  | Wiz Khalifa
Rolling Papers
GLAD I MISSED
His set smelled like lots of puke as people left the show right as I was
arriving for Nas. Also: Brandon Flowers |
| 38 |  | Boys Noize
Oi Oi Oi
BANDS I REALLY WISH I COULD'VE SEEN
Also: Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke, Tame Impala, Bright Eyes, Broken Social Scene, Empire of the Sun,
Gayngs and probably a lot of others |
| 37 |  | Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
Radical
Longest hype session ever. I was hoping to catch 15 min of this and most
of the morning benders, but between technical difficulties and too much
time hyping themselves I got bored and had to leave. |
| 36 |  | The Morning Benders
Big Echo
Why I didn't go to this set I don't know. Actually I do, see above. |
| 35 |  | Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Un Escorpion Perfumado
AWESOME DUDE
also, one of the best guitarists of our time. A shame no one actually saw
him as I would still highly recommend seeing him if he comes to a venue
near you. |
| 34 | | Between Sets on the Main Stage
Among which were Jack Johnson's 'Middle Man'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiDSGfgrAYI) and The Ramones'
'Sheena is a Punk Rocker' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=AsEpDBMsKqA) before Nas & Damian Marley, but perhaps even better
was DJ Shadow's What Does Your Soul Look Like
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQxIexegatM) before the Black Keys |
| 33 | | Charging Station
Some awesome Flying Lotus / Aphex Twin esque sounds were always
emanating from the cell phone charge station which was right next to the
drinking water. It was good stuff. |
| 32 |  | Interpol
Interpol
DEFINITION OF A WASHED UP BAND (klap4music's term but I couldn't find a better one to fit) |
| 31 | | Cage The Elephant
Album
DID NOTHING FOR ME
I've heard nothing but good things, but I found them to be incredibly
unmemorable. |
| 30 |  | Neon Trees
Habits
NOT MY THING
Not bad, but not good either. |
| 29 |  | Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles II
MOST GENERIC
I don't have anything against these guys, but I also don't have anything for
them either. |
| 28 |  | Kings of Leon
Come Around Sundown
FOR BEING FAMOUS |
| 27 |  | She Wants Revenge
This is Forever
FOR BEING THE ANTI-KANYE |
| 26 |  | The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt
REALLY WISH IT WAS THERE
I recognize there is talent there and so many people adore this guy, but I
have yet to understand the appeal. |
| 25 |  | Flogging Molly
Float
RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
Having seen these guys live before, the fact that I happened to catch them
singing 'Devil's Dance Floor' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TSwaVvF7rdU) was cool. From having seen them before I can tell you
that they put on fun performances |
| 24 |  | A-Trak
Fabriclive45: A-Trak
QUALITY CLUB DJ
Maybe I missed something here and this is based on only 4 songs, but as
much as I would be down to hear this at a local club, I found the
performance to be fairly uninspired. |
| 23 |  | Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
MOST OVERHYPED
I enjoyed 'Jesus Walks' (irony considering I'm jewish?), but didn't care for
the set as a whole, leaving for a few She Wants Revenge for old time's
sake. |
| 22 |  | Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More
MOST FORMULAIC
I was disappointed with not hearing 'I Gave You All' and by just how
obvious the structure of all Mumford & Sons songs go exactly like this:
http://i.imgur.com/myCLa.jpg. They debuted 2 new songs, which were only
ok and their sound is simply not designed for this big a stage. Still, the
reasons as to why they were so popular were apparent. |
| 21 |  | Phantogram
Eyelid Movies
MOST ME
Not sure I'd rec this to the masses though. |
| 20 |  | Menomena
Mines
SOLID |
| 19 |  | Titus Andronicus
The Monitor
THE ONE WHERE RABBIT WAS RIGHT [2]
Although burning hot, early, and at times looking overwhelmed by the big
stage, Titus Andronicus played an excellent set, though they yelled 'You Will
always be a loser' at me a few too many (32) times, so I'm not sure how
much I would have enjoyed their whole set |
| 18 |  | Skrillex
Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
WORST CROWD
Quality set though that included a well-received nod to 2pac (Changes -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Y9-JlSRXw), the Jackson 5 and Major
Lazer. Great early show. |
| 17 | | Thunderball
BEST THING ABSOLUTELY NO ONE NOTICED
I really just wanted an excuse to check out the Oasis tent and mistook
Thunderball for Lightning Bolt, but either way I was impressed with this
highly energetic set. Beginning with a great remix of Dusty Springfield's
Son of a Preacher Man, and moving along to a more mediocre mix of
Sublime's Santeria, Thunderball redeemed themselves with some Fat Boy
Slim's Praise You and the omnipresent Duck Sauce's Barbara Streisand. 'I
just want to do something freaky with you' echoed as dark brooding beats
sounded to me like a better version of The Weeknd. |
| 16 |  | Freelance Whales
Weathervanes
QUALITY EASY-GOING INDIE |
| 15 |  | The National
High Violet
THE ONE WHERE RABBIT WAS RIGHT |
| 14 |  | Trentemoller
The Last Resort
MUSIC FOR ALL OCCASIONS |
| 13 |  | Arcade Fire
The Suburbs
BRINGING INDIE TO THE MASSES |
| 12 |  | Ratatat
Classics
MOST LIKABLE
Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI ,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1H7vZYBeHc) |
| 11 |  | The Black Keys
Brothers
FOR BRINGING BACK THE BLUES |
| 10 |  | PJ Harvey
Let England Shake
BEST FEMALE VOCALIST
I barely had a chance to see her, but the few songs I heard were enough
to make me wish I had seen the whole thing. |
| 9 |  | The Chemical Brothers
Dig Your Own Hole
BEST NAVIGATION OF THE MAIN STAGE
Playing for the 6th time, The Chemical Brothers knew how to make stunning
visuals pop out at you no matter how far you were from their own
performance. 2 shadows, one pink and one blue, floated seamlessly on
stage entering and separating from one another in harmony with the
soothing beats behind them. Though after a while it seemed more like an
IMAX screening than a concert, no one can do what The Chemical Brothers
do quite like The Chemical Brothers do it. |
| 8 |  | Delorean
Subiza
BEST EARLY SET
Such a great balance of indie-pop and House music. Highly recommended |
| 7 |  | Gogol Bordello
Trans-Continental Hustle
MOST ECLECTIC
Picture a retired pirate who joins a band of gypsies and learned stage
presence from Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Yea, this dude was awesome. |
| 6 |  | The Strokes
Is This It
BEST THROWBACK
Most of this show felt like it was 8 years ago, which was fine by me.
'Someday,' 'Last Night,' '12:51' are a few of the many quality tracks
designed to be played on a big stage. |
| 5 | | Afrojack
Lost & Found
MOST DIVERSE DJ SET
Despite a grand total of zero ratings from sputnikmusic, Afrojack showed
the crowd what was what with a phenomenal set through and through. He
threw down a sick remix of Daft Punk's Aerodynamic (if you find it post it
please), played some Major Lazer (most hilarious music video ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2nmgcVbfKE), and Kid Cudi's Day n'
Night as well. But his own 'Take Over Control,' the ultimate excuse to start
making out with the girl immediately to your left, really hit home and
everyone in the tent was loving it. |
| 4 |  | Nosaj Thing
Drift
BEST ACT NO ONE'S TALKING ABOUT
I saw Nosaj Thing on a whim, and it was perhaps the best one I ever had.
An unassuming / dorky looking asian guy, Nosaj Thing managed to drop sick
remixes of The XX's Islands ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ziJFbRiPUvg ) and Portishead's Wandering Star (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAnfPMaLPec ) to augment an already
phenomenal set, which included more than a few star wars soundbytes.
Listen to this album and see this guy live if you get the chance! |
| 3 |  | Nas & Damian Marley
Distant Relatives
BEST EXECUTED SET
From start to finish, this was a set that was impressive on every level.
Together they opened with 'As We Enter' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=pyY70LE2D-Y), but stuck mostly with their hits. For Nas, this meant
dropping 'Halftime' as well as 'If I Ruled the World' and 'Made you Look.'
Damian Marley played his own smash hit 'Welcome to Jamrock' along with
his father's 'Exodus' and 'Could You Be Loved.' The early show, coupled
with the star-power created by Bob Marley probably overshadowed Nas'
incredible rapping because imo, he was the best rapper of the entire concert. |
| 2 |  | Black Dice / Animal Collective
Wastered
MOST MEMORABLE
It may be true that no sane person can be a fan of Animal Collective, yet
here they are at the top of my list of performances. To my left were people
giving me props for singing along to 'Did you See the Words' and 'We
Tigers' while to my right, only 20 rows from the main stage, a group of
people were sitting down in a gap filled by people who were disgusted by
what they saw. Still, Black Dice's visuals and Animal Collective's manic
beats coupled to make a spectacular display unlike any ever made, and one
that I will never forget. |
| 1 |  | DJ Shadow
Endtroducing
SHOUT OUT
Yea, he wasn't there, but if the shadowsphere ever comes to a town near
you, drop everything you're doing and buy tickets immediately. Dude is off
the hook (new track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkP4mzOJ98M) |
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