Floating Away

My Weekend in the Desert: A Recap

So, I was a bit hesitant to tackle this whole festival thing, but in the end, I had a great time.  I actually loved it.  Not only was it a great weekend of great music, it was great to go to shows and be surrounded by people who unabashedly love what they are hearing and seeing.  When you go to shows in LA and NY, people are too cool to even clap, or as Nikki so brilliantly says, Indie Don't Dance.  But, in the end, we all want to dance, don't we? We all want to sing along to every lyric of our favorite bands and come home tired, dirty, sweaty and exhausted.  It didn't matter how hot or how tired you were, you clapped and you danced because, if you didn't, the crowd would make you.  This is why I loved this past weekend.  Spending Saturday running around singing aloud, jumping, dancing, going crazy to everything I heard was just great.  I loved it and wouldn't trade that experience for anything. 

That being said, here is a more detailed, day by day breakdown of my Coachella experience:

Friday: A total wash. Our entire commute (including a stop for dinner, and dropping off our stuff) took over 6 hours.  We got there just in time to see the always wonderful Bjork.  She played a great set, singing a few new songs and mixing in all the classics.  She was backed by an all blond horn section/back up singers, a few percussionists, a few sound dudes and a guy that appeared to be playing an electric card table.  If anyone knows what this amazing piece of machinery is, please do tell. I have never seen anything like it.

Saturday: Oh my. What a day. Saturday was hands down the best lineup of the weekend and I took advantage of every second.  I ran around like a kid in a candy store to see as much as I could.  I enjoyed the following: Regina Spektor / Hot Chip / The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) / Andrew Bird / A bit of the Decemberists / Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem.  By the end of it, I was just exhausted and nearly passed out after the unbelievable set by James Murphy (aka LCD Soundsystem).  But, all day, everyone just played their hearts out.  Hot Chip killed and got everyone dancing despite it being at least 110 degrees in that tent.  Tom Morello ended his set by inviting up Perry Farrel and Bootsy (from the Coup) to play This Land Is Your Land. 

Andrew Bird played a strong set mainly playing material from his wonderful new album, Armchair Apocyrphya.  The highlight though was closing on Fake Palindromes from the also superb Mysterious Production of Eggs. As the sun set and the sky went dark, Arcade Fire came on and played an incredible set.  I don't care what anyone says, there is no other song that I would want to hear and sing along with 50,000 other people other than Rebellion (Lies).

After fighting all of the kids coming in to see the Chili Peppers, all the hipsters headed over to see LCD Soundsystem.  We snuck in through the side and were right up front for all of the set.   Hands down, LCD Soundsystem delivered the best set of the weekend.  He killed. It was one of those great moments in music where your obsession with an album ties in perfectly with seeing the band live.  It seemed like everyone there was as excited to see him and just dance and sang until they couldn't anymore. 

By then, I found myself a bottle of water, an ice cream and a patch of grass.  I was done for the day. 

Sunday: A much different day. We got there later and hung out in the Beer Gardens the most of the day.  Saw the Roots and Willie Nelson from afar.  Then, Crowded House came on and I wanted to be up close for what I was sure was going to be a great highlight of the weekend.  Only problem was the Rage Against the Machine fans were already there and they didn't care who was playing, they wanted to be heard and let everyone know that Crowded House was not Rage.  It was horrible and I felt genuinely saddened to be a music fan.  The boys did their best and played on despite the crowd yelling "Rage" over and over again and throwing things at the stage.  Their highlight was playing "Locked Out" which managed to get the crowd going a little bit, but nothing would satiate these Rage fans.

We tried to check out Air next, but they were running very late and ended up back at the Main Stage to see a bit of Manu Chao. Sadly, that didn't last long as I left since all the scary dudes around me were moshing.  Definitely not my idea of fun. 

But then came the surprise of the weekend: Teddybears.  3 guys from Sweden who wear giant teddybear heads as they play.  The crowd, dwindling from its closeness to the start time to Rage Against the Machine, was as happy as ever, dancing the entire time.  It was a great way to end the evening and I was exhausted.  Just like Saturday, I bought some water, ice cream and watched Rage from far, far, far away. 

So, that was my weekend.  Of course, there were some lessons learned.  Be sure to remember these next year:

Its about the accommodations.  After a long day of jumping around and singing to your favorite bands, you want to sleep on a nice bed, wake up with the prospect of jumping into a pool or a hot tub.  You don't want to tip toe around a house hoping not to wake your friends parents as you prepare to sleep on a floor. 

Wicking Underwear. This is no joke. I actually have a few pairs to go hiking in.  They do a great job of ensuring your privies stay dry.  I am not sure what I was thinking when I didn't pack these guys for the weekend.

Don't follow the rules.  I didn't bring my Digital SLR because the Coachella rule book said they weren't allowed.  Everyone and their mother had a Digital SLR.  Another item of note that I would have loved to have brought, but didn't know was able to sneak past the guards -  a camelpak.

Take Monday off.  I did and it saved me.  I can't imagine coming back to work today.  I would have been useless.

2007 KROQ Weenie Roast Announced

KROQ announced the lineup for this year's Weenie Roast and its a more diverse line-up than in years past with Interpol, Peter, Bjorn and John, Silversun Pickups playing alongside Social Distortion, Linkin Park and the Killers.  The show is May 19 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. More info here.

Obligitory Pre-Coachella Post #3

Alright, last post before the big weekend.  Lots of great information in the LA Times today including an hour by hour must see list and a comprehensive list of ways to survive the weekend.

Shoot me an email if you want to meet up at some point. 

Obligitory Pre-Coachella Post #2

Set times have FINALLY been announced.  Let your planning begin.

Reunion Tours / Arcade Fire Tickets Still Available

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me who I thought would be a big act when we were our parents age.  Who will be our Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Brian Wilson?  After immediately throwing out Radiohead and Thom Yorke, I was kind of at a loss.

Ben Ratliff connects our current obsession with reunion tours with this same concept yesterday's NY Times:

We’re seeing the winnowing of the live-music era in America, as well as the end of belief in the album. Any crisis of belief leads to sanctification and orthodoxy; people want to see the saints work their magic. Ashley Capps, who helps produce mid-June’s Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn. — which has booked the Police as one of its headliners this year — put it in a slightly simpler way. “When I was growing up, the release of an album was an event,” he said. “We’ve moved away from the notion that the release of a recording is an event. Somebody can release a great album and get fantastic reviews and everybody’s talking about it, but how long does that last? Six weeks? In that sense, live performances are becoming the important event.”

Couldn't agree more.  It ties right into Buzz Vertigo.  An album leaks and by the time the album is actually in stores, everyone is done with it.  Is that why there are still Arcade Fire tickets on sale? LOTS on Wednesday!!

Obligitory Pre-Coachella Post #1

Minus Lollapalloza in 1994 and when Neil Young played the H.O.R.D.E. Festival (1997??), I have not done the music festival thing.  Coachella is less than a week away and I am sort of stressing.  About what you say? Let's see. Where to begin. First, theres the heat:

Then the fact that I really only like small venues.  Any time a band plays the Wiltern I basically abandon them for good.  I hate traffic and I don't large like large crowds.  Awesome. (Also - I may not have a ride home, so any faithful reader who might have space in their car, please let me know.)

So, here I am heading to a weekend full of lots of people where basically everything I despise will be in one place. All because I have never really had the festival experience. Yikes. Hopefully Crowded House will be worth it.

Floating Away Review: uWink, not so cool

Last night, the lady friend and I went to uWink with another couple friend.  After talking about it for some time, we decided to check it out.

It all began about a year ago, at the Entrepreneur Association's Conference at UCLA Anderson.  Nolan Bushnell, creator of Atari and Chuck-E-Cheese, spoke about his latest venture, uWink.  Think digital Chuck-E-Cheese for adults. 

Games, photoscapes, and SportsCenter are projected onto the walls while guests order food, drinks, and play games from touch-screen monitors placed in the middle of each table.  The atmosphere and technology is supposed to promote an extremely social environment.  Unfortunately, the reality of the technology makes the entire experience incredibly antisocial.  There were four of us at the table, but we spent hardly any time actually talking or interacting with the couple across the table from us.

Surprisingly, there are NO games that you can play with the entire table.  The terminals pop up from the center of the table, like a pyramid, with two monitors, facing opposite sides of the table.  The technology fails because each monitor runs separately.  In order to create a fully social environment, the terminals need to be sync'd up.  Not only do you need to be able to see what the people across the table are doing on their screens, but you need to be able to play games with them. 

The ultimate goal of uWink is to become franchised around the country.  The location in Woodland Hills is their pilot location.  I am concerned because they've been open since October and have still not been able to create a truly multiplayer gaming experience.

As a stockholder, I want nothing more than for uWink to be a huge success.  However, after my visit last night, it's got a long way to go.  Today's stock buying lesson:  experience the product before you buy!

So, with all that being said, please go and spend lots of money there :)

Friday Video: The Meta-Free-Phor-All

The Colbert Report does it again with their Metaphor-Off pitting Stephen Colbert against Sean Penn.  We haven't had this much fun since Chris Funk of the Decemberists took on Colbert in the ShredDown.

Ticket Alert: Arcade Fire @ The Greek Theater

Arcade Fire has announced that they will be playing the Greek Theater on May 29 and May 30.  Electrelane will be supporting.  Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10 am.  KROQ is promoting the show so I am sure there will presale information in the next few days via their street team emails.

The Deadly Syndrome @ Spaceland 4/14/07

I saw the Deadly Syndrome for the first time in late February and have spent the last 6 weeks or so telling everyone I know about the band.  The first time I saw them, I had heard of them from the various other LA bloggers, but what happened on stage blew me away.  Their live show, particularly "I Hope I Become A Ghost" and "Eucalyptus" blew me away.

"Eucalyptus" is perhaps one of the best songs I have seen performed live in years.  The song, about a group of friends who plant a row of eucalyptus trees to protect them from the weather (and possibly many other fears) is beautiful.  With the entire group singing, the xylophone button on the keyboards, a great guitar loop and incredible percussion, I would be happy to just have the recorded version of this song.  But, the band doesn't stop there.

As the song reaches a climatic drum solo, slowly, the 3 other band members surround the drum kit and the song transforms into this tribal/Animal Collective-esque drum circle.   Slowly, the band members go back to their instruments and beautifully (and perfectly) bring the song back together.  It is a sight to see live and I would see the band many times over to see them perform just this song again.  It's that good. 

See them next Saturday night open up for the Klaxons at the EXPLEX (underneath the Echo). Advance tickets are no longer available, but will be for sale at the door.

MP3: The Deadly Syndrome - Eucalyptus
MP3: The Deadly Syndrome - I Hope I Become A Ghost

(NOTE: Both of these are from their EP. A proper full length comes out in August on Dim Mak)