I'd never been to Coachella before and very nearly didn't go to this one either.
With funds a bit scarce right now and the line up not being too dazzling I decided just to go for the Friday, I booked a hotel months ago then the arseholes at Coachella decided to stop selling Friday tickets immediately prior to the event.
This left me in a very tight bind, hotel booked and no guarantee of getting in.
After much debating (I am a master at it after all) I decided to take a chance and travel down to the desert community hoping that they would do the right thing and release more.
Kellie didn't fancy the risk, so I roped in my old concert partner Lori and we set off in our rented VW Jetta.
With funds a bit scarce right now and the line up not being too dazzling I decided just to go for the Friday, I booked a hotel months ago then the arseholes at Coachella decided to stop selling Friday tickets immediately prior to the event.
This left me in a very tight bind, hotel booked and no guarantee of getting in.
After much debating (I am a master at it after all) I decided to take a chance and travel down to the desert community hoping that they would do the right thing and release more.
Kellie didn't fancy the risk, so I roped in my old concert partner Lori and we set off in our rented VW Jetta.
Our gamble paid off the next morning and we secured a pair of tickets for $120 each.
The weather report was predicting highs of 88 degrees, well I have no idea what Mark Kriski, Dallas Rains and co were smoking but it was a scorcher and touching near 100.
Bearing this in mind I decided my bald head wasn't up to that kind of punishment and was forced to purchase an overpriced hat. The only thing that would fit my massive cranium was a black, dodgy cowboy hat, $35 later there I was looking like a proper twat.
There were a few great bands scheduled for the Friday, my main objective was Morrissey, but there were a few others I was looking forward to.
The weather report was predicting highs of 88 degrees, well I have no idea what Mark Kriski, Dallas Rains and co were smoking but it was a scorcher and touching near 100.
Bearing this in mind I decided my bald head wasn't up to that kind of punishment and was forced to purchase an overpriced hat. The only thing that would fit my massive cranium was a black, dodgy cowboy hat, $35 later there I was looking like a proper twat.
There were a few great bands scheduled for the Friday, my main objective was Morrissey, but there were a few others I was looking forward to.
First up were THE COURTEENERS, I had bought their CD a few weeks earlier and was mildly impressed. But they are a band who are from my hometown of Langley, Manchester back in England. In fact they all attended the same school as me and despite the rumoured handicap of being Man United fans I was eager to see them perform.
They were okay, nothing spectacular, but a decent California debut.
It might have been a bit daunting for a lesser band to open such an established festival, but if they were nervous it certainly didn't show.
Next up for me was NOAH & THE WHALE , I must say that I thought they were a bit shite, so after a couple of songs I wandered off for something to eat and to get a couple of beers.
They were okay, nothing spectacular, but a decent California debut.
It might have been a bit daunting for a lesser band to open such an established festival, but if they were nervous it certainly didn't show.
Next up for me was NOAH & THE WHALE , I must say that I thought they were a bit shite, so after a couple of songs I wandered off for something to eat and to get a couple of beers.
Of course, this being Coachella it cost $8 for a Taco Bell sized burrito, $5 for an order of french fries and $7 each for a half pint of Heineken.
Sigh........ it was going to be a long day.
I had arranged to meet a friend from Seattle., we were going to meet at the Mojave stage while THE HOLD STEADY were performing.
He was stuck in traffic so I sent him a text that read
"You can't miss me Fergal, I'm wearing a Barcelona shirt and wearing a cowboy hat.......... No really!!!!"
I was quite excited to be seeing The Hold Steady perform, a lot of people I know had been raving about them, but I had never heard them.
Sad to say though that they were a massive disappointment, complete rubbish in my opinion.
They just sounded like some piss poor pub band, I really wanted to like them, but really hated them.
Thankfully I didn't have to endure them for too long, my friend Fergal showed up and rescued my ears as we walked over to the next stage and watched LOS CAMPESINOS perform the second half of their set.
The first thing that struck me about them was their lead singer was wearing an "All the songs sound the same" Wedding Present t-shirt.
Sigh........ it was going to be a long day.
I had arranged to meet a friend from Seattle., we were going to meet at the Mojave stage while THE HOLD STEADY were performing.
He was stuck in traffic so I sent him a text that read
"You can't miss me Fergal, I'm wearing a Barcelona shirt and wearing a cowboy hat.......... No really!!!!"
I was quite excited to be seeing The Hold Steady perform, a lot of people I know had been raving about them, but I had never heard them.
Sad to say though that they were a massive disappointment, complete rubbish in my opinion.
They just sounded like some piss poor pub band, I really wanted to like them, but really hated them.
Thankfully I didn't have to endure them for too long, my friend Fergal showed up and rescued my ears as we walked over to the next stage and watched LOS CAMPESINOS perform the second half of their set.
The first thing that struck me about them was their lead singer was wearing an "All the songs sound the same" Wedding Present t-shirt.
Then they broke into a rousing take of "Box Elder MO", it was quite a kick seeing a "new" band covering TWP covering Pavement.
After they had finished we headed off for more over priced Heineken, it was hot and it had to be done.
At the beer tent we saw A SWARM OF BEES , this wasn't the name of the latest American indie band, but an actual swarm of bees.
Needless to say I kept a nervous eye on them while I polished off 2 or 3 more Heineken's, getting stung wasn't on my agenda.
Next up was FRANZ FERDINAND , I'm not really much of a fan to be honest, but I must say they did a fucking blinding set and really blew the cobwebs off the rapidly melting crowd.
I got lost in the crowd and missed out on LEONARD COHEN so I could get a good spot for MORRISSEY , fingers crossed that it would be worth it.
By the time the Pope of Mope took the stage we were packed in like proverbial sardines.
He came onstage to "This Charming Man", he should have left it in the back catalogue to be honest as his band and his current voice simply can't carry such a classic.
Things were going okay until "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" when he announced "I can smell burning flesh..... I hope it isn't animals cooking and it's human flesh I can smell"
(The main stage was a couple of 100 yards downwind from the food court and the smell of hot dogs, burgers etc was very obvious) He spluttered through the rest of the song and then walked off without saying a word leaving Boz and co still playing and looking bemused.
I got lost in the crowd and missed out on LEONARD COHEN so I could get a good spot for MORRISSEY , fingers crossed that it would be worth it.
By the time the Pope of Mope took the stage we were packed in like proverbial sardines.
He came onstage to "This Charming Man", he should have left it in the back catalogue to be honest as his band and his current voice simply can't carry such a classic.
Things were going okay until "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" when he announced "I can smell burning flesh..... I hope it isn't animals cooking and it's human flesh I can smell"
(The main stage was a couple of 100 yards downwind from the food court and the smell of hot dogs, burgers etc was very obvious) He spluttered through the rest of the song and then walked off without saying a word leaving Boz and co still playing and looking bemused.
He returned moments later to an ovation, but continued to act like a diva, constantly complaining, missing entire lines from songs and croaking his way through the rest of the performance.
It was a real shame, Morrissey's personal views should be left backstage. His fans pay good money to come and see him play, travel great distances at great expense yet he continually shits on them.
The man is one of my idols and has been since 1983, but sometimes I just wish the fucker would shut up and sing.
SILVERSUN PICKUPS , were next up and they didn't disappoint. They performed songs from both of their albums and staged an energetic set. It certainly made up for the Moz experience.
The man is one of my idols and has been since 1983, but sometimes I just wish the fucker would shut up and sing.
SILVERSUN PICKUPS , were next up and they didn't disappoint. They performed songs from both of their albums and staged an energetic set. It certainly made up for the Moz experience.
The night was nearly over and it was time for headliner PAUL McCARTNEY , to be honest I wasn't really too keen.
The sceptical middle aged indie kid/music snob in me wasn't bothered and I just basically hung around just so I could say I had seen a Beatle in real life.
When he finally took the stage it felt like that everyone was there to see him, as he walked out I swear I had a fucking epiphany. The light bulb went off, the cynic in me took a backseat and a voice in my head said "It's fucking Paul McCartney up there onstage Andy, one of The Beatles you twat"
He kicked off with "Jet" and never really looked back. I was amazed at how good he looked for a man of his age, his voice sounded great and his band were brilliant musicians, as you'd expect.
The sceptical middle aged indie kid/music snob in me wasn't bothered and I just basically hung around just so I could say I had seen a Beatle in real life.
When he finally took the stage it felt like that everyone was there to see him, as he walked out I swear I had a fucking epiphany. The light bulb went off, the cynic in me took a backseat and a voice in my head said "It's fucking Paul McCartney up there onstage Andy, one of The Beatles you twat"
He kicked off with "Jet" and never really looked back. I was amazed at how good he looked for a man of his age, his voice sounded great and his band were brilliant musicians, as you'd expect.
Then when he put his bass down and picked up a guitar his playing was unexpectedly amazing, I'm talking Hendrix type riffs here.
I have to admit that I was blown away by him, he played for nearly three hours, playing most of his classics along the way, this alone was well worth the $120 ticket price.
I only hope that Morrissey stayed around and watched and picked up a few tips from Sir Paul, but I doubt it.
A great day overall, the low lights were Diva Moz, the heat, the prices and especially the 2 hour crawl out of the venue.
I was shattered and relieved to make it back to the hotel, where I slept like a log.
I was somewhat glad that I didn't book for the entire 3 days, I don't think I could have taken two more days of that.
Would I do it again?
Possibly, let's see who's on the bill next year.
I might even bring my cowboy hat again.
I have to admit that I was blown away by him, he played for nearly three hours, playing most of his classics along the way, this alone was well worth the $120 ticket price.
I only hope that Morrissey stayed around and watched and picked up a few tips from Sir Paul, but I doubt it.
A great day overall, the low lights were Diva Moz, the heat, the prices and especially the 2 hour crawl out of the venue.
I was shattered and relieved to make it back to the hotel, where I slept like a log.
I was somewhat glad that I didn't book for the entire 3 days, I don't think I could have taken two more days of that.
Would I do it again?
Possibly, let's see who's on the bill next year.
I might even bring my cowboy hat again.
No comments:
Post a Comment