Hella Coachella

Sunset at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Fest 2009 (via...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:50:28 +0700

Sunset at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Fest 2009 (via Cody McKibben)

In April, I flew home to the US to roadtrip with friends Megan,...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:49:15 +0700

In April, I flew home to the US to roadtrip with friends Megan, Sam, Nicole and Carmen to Indio, California to attend my third Coachella Valley Music Festival. Come witness this awesome 3-day concert in the California desert and see folks like Paul McCartney, The Killers, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Franz Ferdinand, The Crystal Method, Michael Franti, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in concert.

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Serpent Mother installation at Coachella 2009 (via Cuttriss…)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:46:15 +0700

Serpent Mother installation at Coachella 2009 (via Cuttriss…)

The Do Lab at Coachella 2009 (via Ivanesco)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:45:11 +0700

The Do Lab at Coachella 2009 (via Ivanesco)

Coachella 2009 Timelapse by Ray Klein (via RemoteRelease)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:43:59 +0700

Coachella 2009 Timelapse by Ray Klein (via RemoteRelease)

Another gorgeous Indio sunset (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:38:24 +0700

Another gorgeous Indio sunset (via Cody McKibben)

Our VIP award-winning Carpoolchellamobile! (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:35:59 +0700

Our VIP award-winning Carpoolchellamobile! (via Cody McKibben)

Ghostland Observatory in the Sahara tent (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:34:57 +0700

Ghostland Observatory in the Sahara tent (via Cody McKibben)

Writing in the sky (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:33:45 +0700

Writing in the sky (via Cody McKibben)

Sunset behind the Main Stage (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:30:00 +0700

Sunset behind the Main Stage (via Cody McKibben)

The 2009 Coachella gang at the Dome (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:29:06 +0700

The 2009 Coachella gang at the Dome (via Cody McKibben)

Arcade Fire “Rebellion” from the Coachella movie...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:33:16 +0700

Arcade Fire “Rebellion” from the Coachella movie (via rawkspectator)

You’d think Saturday night would be a hard act to follow, but...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:28:35 +0700

You’d think Saturday night would be a hard act to follow, but Roger Waters was miles away from any sort of let down on the main stage Sunday night. The Pink Floyd bassist and songwriter played a full set that night that featured many of his solo works and several hits from Pink Floyd favorites like The Wall and Wish You Were Here. I hear they also released a gigantic flying pig covered in political graffiti, that somehow managed to disappear! After about an hour, Waters and his band disappeared for a set change and returned twenty minutes later to play Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. Yes, that’s right, they re-created Pink Floyd’s entire 43-minute classic rock trip under the stars in the middle of the Indio desert. And they did it quite well, utilizing the gigantic Coachella main stage surround sound to its full functionality with all the album’s original voice-overs and sound effects coming from all directions. The entire set was also accompanied by some pretty cool visuals captured by one audience member over at Vicarious Music. All-in-all it was a great initiation into Pink Floyd’s music for me, and for other listeners outside of that generation I’m sure. Waters played for nearly three hours, as the audience just couldn’t get enough on the last night of this festival, doing an encore with “Comfortably Numb.”

Nicole and I stayed for the very last act of the festival, the French DJ duo Justice, who waited respectfully for Waters to finish out his set before they started mixing their signature thumping techno/dance music at about 12:30 AM. These guys really have energy; you can tell they really have fun with it, bobbing their heads to the beat while they mix up blaring electronica with a heavy rock flavor. The two perform on turntables and laptops alongside a giant lighted cross, and their up-tempo beats were the perfect thing to give the audience one last rush of energy before getting on the road back home.

crowds at Coachella (via Light in my eyes)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:25:38 +0700

crowds at Coachella (via Light in my eyes)

Coachella for Life! (via Cody McKibben)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:24:32 +0700

Coachella for Life! (via Cody McKibben)

Coachella 2009 Promo video (via aeglive)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:23:07 +0700

Coachella 2009 Promo video (via aeglive)

Finally, we rounded out Saturday night at the Portishead show....

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:16:56 +0700

Finally, we rounded out Saturday night at the Portishead show. The band is a trip-hop trio from Bristol, England, consisting of DJ/percussionist Geoff Barrow, guitarist Adrian Utley, and lead singer Beth Gibbons, who still croons her signature powerful, haunting high notes after nearly twenty years as the group’s front woman. The trio hadn’t put out any new songs together in nearly a decade as they each worked on their respective solo material, and Coachella was their first live performance in nearly as much time, on the U.S. tour to coincide with their brand new album release Third. Standing at the center of what felt like the world’s largest surround-sound system, Portishead’s classics like “Sour Times” and “Mysterons,” as well as their new songs like “Machine Gun” and “Silence” struck a powerful chord in the audience. As the last song hit its crescendo, I lay there in silent wonder—in a musical trance—enjoying what I can only call the afterglow of a night of music more perfect than I can describe, a musical experience akin to great sex.

Coachella style (via Swellkh)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:12:48 +0700

Coachella style (via Swellkh)

Franz Ferdinand plays at the Coachella Main Stage (via Cody...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:09:15 +0700

Franz Ferdinand plays at the Coachella Main Stage (via Cody McKibben)

The robotic Hand of Man stands triumphantly over a crushed car...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:07:42 +0700

The robotic Hand of Man stands triumphantly over a crushed car (via Cody McKibben)