Sweden and England, they're both....European?

I suggested in an article previewing Coachella that attendees go check out Jose Gonzalez because "he is the closest thing to Nick Drake that we have." Well, this morning I just unwittingly proved my own point.

While writing my last paper ever, I heard the intro track to Bryter Lyter and immediately the classical guitar and the arrangement triggered my subconscious to switch over to that Swedish Portuguese guy I love so much.

Booyaka.

Yeah THAT guy is still here.

Ben Kweller seemed to be very appreciative of his mahi and lobster tacos.

Last show I will ever work for USD, and I realized just how much I miss the day-of-show craziness. Although I felt a bit weird without John there and without a walkie talkie.

Red Rocks? But I don't believe it would be the same.

Coachella Tales...Day 3

Sunday April 29, 2007
8:30 am Wake up on picnic table and do my best to “shower” in the sink of the campsite bathrooms.

10:03 am Muller emerges from Rachel’s car at the restaurant disoriented and sets off the car alarm. His hair defies gravity.

10:42 am Listen to message from a distraught Patu who has not been able to find the tent all night. (Turns out he bought a sleeping bag from the general store and slept on an embankment in the parking lot)

12:12 pm Pack up tent and dare to open the cooler.


1:07 pm Why in the name of Carlos D would you wear white pumps to a festival? You might be a Rage fan if you have a shaved head, a goatee, and a tribal tattoo around your bulked up ceps.


1:37 pm Sound man plays “Dropkick the Punks.” Andrew and I determine that camped out Rage fans will most likely hate Manu Chao most of all artists they sit through while waiting for DeLaRocha and co.

2:16 pm I want to be the hype (wo)man on the stage for Lupe Fiasco. “I Gotcha” and “Daydreamin’” kick large amounts of ass.




2:54 pm Tapes ‘n Tapes aren’t good live. They play generic rock. They did it at the Bluebird in August, and they’re doing it now. How did I forget this?



3:35 pm While funking out to the Coup: Lupe Fiasco is standing right next to me. Picture please.



4:37 pm Explosions in the Sky melt faces with instrumental rock. I take a power nap in the shade of the sound board.

4:52 pm Men begin to set up a row of blow-through barricade, and they are each lifting pieces individually. That shit is HEAVY. If I remember one thing about loading in shows, I remember being proud when three of us could lift one.



5:28 pm If Carlos D is God, a drum solo from ?uestLove signals the second coming.
TheRoots cover Dylan. With a sousaphone. Anti-Bush sentiments flew today...not that I minded. Kirk Douglas might be one of the best living guitarists, and he has Chuck Berry down cold.


6:40 pm Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs scales the scaffolding. I make friends with an Australian who tries to get me to see Crowded House.



7:38 pm Jose Gonzalez has stolen Coachella’s soul and put it in his classical guitar so that he might give it back in the form of “Crosses.” He then launches into an appropriately timed “Lovestain” and my 10 Things joke is lost in translation. There is a Massive Attack cover involved in addition to the Knife one.



9:25 pm Air is delayed, so Paris Hilton and friends pose on stage for pictures. Andrew and I are stuck near a bunch of adolescent scenesters who all have Heineken bracelets...


Find the other USD crew..Steve passes out using a Dew bottle as a pillow.

10:24 pm Damien Rice takes the stage. Man standing next to us is wearing an Adidas speed suit. I shit you not. He looks like he just ran the 4x2.

10:40 pm


Rage finds the stage almost as slowly as Spinal Tap, no riots ensue. What a disappointment. I can feel myself getting sicker by the minute…immune system failing.

4:05 am (Monday) I wobble back home for a much needed shower and some quality time with my bed.

Coachella Tales...Day 2

Saturday April 28, 2007
12:56 am Nothing like lukewarm beers at the car.

8:13 am Temperature in our tent actually exceeds that of Earth’s core.

10:00 am Breakfast burritos and raspberry (vodka) lemonades. How did we get in a bottle of vodka and not our peanut butter?

11:45 am Woken up from my sweaty nap in the tent by Andrew. (“Your car is what seems to be a quesadilla.”)

12:00 pm I am frisked by a very polite CSC worker, and in for the second day. Andrew and I decide to hang in the shade of the beer garden rather than roast in our tent.


1:45 pm Make beer garden friends like Gabriel, the Rage fan from Jersey with tiger striped pink and black hair.

3:10 pm Gary Glitter! Through the speakers…courtesy of Steve Aoki

3:15 pm Down tempo Bloc Party remix from Steve Aoki and DJ Heather. Orange Mohawk + beer gut + green tutu + rainbow umbrella = a man ready for techno in the Sahara tent.

4:03 pm Shower in my own sweat with Brit Fitz and Andrew while waiting for Hot Chip who made me further dehydrate myself due to their synth rhythms.



4:18 pm Meet someone who knows John from Shithole, NM…(he was at Wolf Parade near the speaker, Daft Punk, The Knife—except he was in SF)


5:49 pm Accessory award for the day goes to my bandana for working as a towel, blanket, and so much more.





7:05 The Decemberists (and here and here and here) are attacked by a whale onstage while playing “The Mariner’s Revenge.” Only Colin Meloy survives.

7:15 pm Chug my drink in the beer garden with Brit, Allie, and Andrew while looking for E and Rach.

7:45 pm Found Erin, Rach, Steve, and Chris. Arcade Fire, “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)”: Ok guys, move up on my signal.

9:15 pm “Seize the hole!” Barrel through the crowd blindly following Chris to get within spitting distance of Flea.

-:-- pm I lose my watch, potentially while men are simultaneously shoving, jumping, and kicking shins, but I feel ok about having my face smashed into someone’s back as long as I can see Anthony’s tasty new moustache. Concert Etiquette rule #93: Just because someone is short does not mean you can use them as a shelf.

Later The Good, the Bad, & the Queen take to the outdoor stage. I shower with a water bottle.

Even later Erin and I drive to Joshua tree, drink a bottle of pinotage and sleep on a cement picnic table.

Coachella Tales...Day 1 ish

I survived the weekend...here are my notes.


Thursday April 28, 2007
7:00 pm Second? Haircut of the day.

9:15 pm Pick up new VA friend Patu at the airport (“I’m a tall white guy with ripped jeans”). Told you guys he wasn’t a creepy guy who was going to rape and kill Andrew and me.

9:55 pm Henry’s is closing, and we’re checking prices on granola. Feel like I’m at home.

10:45 pm Shower and listen to Doves while Patu repacks in the kitchen.

11:43 pm Pack up car at Andrew’s. He is prepared with a carton of Marlboro lights and a case of B-minus.


Friday April 27, 2007
1:00 am Get on the road, eat some of my Western Longhorn cheese. It’s tasty business.

2:45 am Eyes unfocusing…boys both asleep…ooh Arcade Fire. I’m awake.

3:45 am Leave Patu in car sans camping pass, set up tent in record time. Dudes (what Rage fans will be called from here on out) arrive in striped polos and backwards college hats. They don’t get their tent set up until after I go to bed. (“I throw beer cans at the chicks. They like that.”)


4:39 am Everyone starts cheering for no reason. Determined that if scenesters take off their tight jeans and pointy boots they melt into a puddle of hipness, thus our neighbors are still in said clothes.

8:00 am Find Patu at car and decide to go for a run (Andrew: “That is absurd”).

10:30 am Token Goth sighting we have been waiting for: Man in knee high platform boots and a black pleather skirt.




1:49 pm Make first and only use of 10-for-1 recycling deal.

2:04 pm Comedians of Comedy in the Gobi tent. Patton Oswalt asks us all to sit down because he knows that hipsters have weak knees. Aziz Ansari mentions being lonely enough to google blogs that mention him and ponder e-mailing the girls who mention him as a celebrity crush...Well Aziz, look no further. Your Bonnaroo bit sealed the deal here. Zack Galifinakis strips to a red Annie dress and lip syncs to “Tomorrow” while displaying signs like “I would start a revolution, but I just bought a hammock.”



4:27 pm Tilly’s sound man has good taste…plays “We Share Our Mother’s Health” by the Knife

4:33 pm Tilly and the Wall + sequins + colored lights = Candyland of music. A high school girl in front of me is wearing hot pants and Napoleon Dynamite space boots.








6:40 pm The lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys looks like a hobbit. Moving on up…look it’s Stefanie. She is standing right next to us among the thousands of other people.




7:17 pm Drunk, overweight super fans flash stage.

8:20 pm Jesus and Mary Chain play a new song. I believe they stole the melody from Wilco’s “Spider Kicksmoke.” ScarJo comes out for “Just like honey.”

9:25 pm Up front waiting for Interpol…Fat smelly woman and blonde dude in Brooks Brothers shirt grind in front of me.

9:55 pm Andrew determines that Carlos D is in fact God with a bolo tie, a moustache, and a bass. Interpol plays “Mammoth” from new album.

10:20 pm Sonic Youth is still playing. Ooh, look at that nice patch of grass. I could almost lay down and rest my eyes. Just for a minute.

11:03 pm Up when the lights go down…I’m cold, but look, someone has left me a sweatshirt on the ground. Sweet. DJ Shadow entertains as do the dancing tripped-out kids with the glow sticks. Accessory award for the day goes to Dr. Scholl’s Gel Pads which fit nicely in my Chucks.