coachella2007 Blog and Journals

-  Origin?  Toronto, Canada.

-  Is this your first time at Coachella?  Yes.

-  What's your favorite part of the festival so far?  When the sun goes down...

-  Where did you just come from?  Toronto.

-  Where are you going?  Flying to Tokyo on Sunday.

-  Is this your first time in Japan?  Yes, we will be there for five days.  I have a lot of feelings about going, and have been researching Japan to prepare for our trip.  We are playing a show at Astro Hall in Tokyo - thanks to our label over there Columbia/Memphis Industries.

-  Favorite place in the world?  Toronto.

-  Favorite thing to do at home?  Play music.

-  Favorite venue?  La Sala Rossa in Montreal.

-  What are you listening to on tour right now?  Peter, Bjorn and John

-  What's your most essential item on tour?  EpiPen, my allergy medicine.

The last day of Coachella started later than the others.  I slept until noon because I was very, very TIRED!  Festival life is sort of a surreal existence - especially in the middle of the desert.  It's so strange to be in a barren landscape with pockets of vegetation fueled by imported water.  It's unnatural, yet not uncomfortable, if you know what I mean...

We decided to head back to the Anthem party for a hot minute to fuel up on free lemon bars from the Ice Cream Man, and hang with friends.  We just weren't motivated to get back to the polo fields quite yet.  It was extremely
.  Around 4ish, we headed back to the festival.  Parking wasn't as easy this time, and we were about as far away as one could be.  Fortunately, we hopped on a golf cart which took no time at all (it was worth the 10 bucks).

This is what closed out 2007 for me:

- CSS --->  I love this Brazilian electro rock collective!  They are fun, have great stage presence and get the crowd dancing! 

- Klaxons --->  These Brits really put on a solid, strong performance.  They got the crowd amped, so much that when Lily Allen came on afterwards, some audience members decided to jump over the barricade towards the stage.  The security guards were quite rattled by that intense experience!

- AIR --->  This French duo's music is so ethereal and calming.  Unforunately, the same stage setup that gave The Good, The Bad and The Queen such problems the night before, didn't help the AIR set get going on time either (30 min late).  During that waiting period, Paris Hilton decides to prance on the side of the stage with her entourage.  As soon as that happened, I was caught in a pseudo paparazzi chase while standing in the photo pit, getting practically knocked over by other camera lenses.  It turned into a regular freak show carnival - ugh!  Once AIR finally commenced on stage, life returned back to normal, well, sort of. 

- Ratatat --->  What a great way to end the night!  These guys rock it so hard in such a charismatic way.  I danced my ass off.  It's really what music is all about - having it shake you to your core so you can't stand it.  You just need more and more, for the rest of your life....



So that is my report of Coachella this year.  I came out unscathed, and really got back into writing and taking pictures.  It has been about a five year hiatus from music journalism for me.  I am really grateful that Coachella/Buzznet gave me the opportunity to write for you all!

Stay tuned, got some more coverage coming your way....

xoxo,
Missy

Friday was long, but Saturday was longer.  I woke up at 7:30am to meet up with the AAA tow truck.  It turns out, both my back tires had to be replaced.  There was a bubble on the inside of the back left one.  We were so lucky that nothing worse happened!

Then it was off to the Buzznet/ WESC/ Anthem Magazine party - complete with Rony's Photo Booth! 


[footnote:  I am listening to Little Radio (based out of Silverlake) right now, and the DJs were just chatting about Coachella - no joke.  One chica ended up having to sleep in her car due to last minute travel planning.  She goes on to say, "I used a towel as a blanket... and I'm 30."  What a great moment in live radio!]

Time can be so strange sometimes.  When a series of events occurs in such a rapid pace, what only consists of 72 hours seems like a week or even a month.  That is how I am perceiving my time at Coachella this year.  The last time I went to this festival was in 2004.  Although I had a good time, I swore I would never go again.  It was so painfully hot that year, that it was hard to do anything but sit in shade pounding loads of water. 

But, here I go again.  Thankfully, it was not as hot, and I was mentally prepared to go back into the frenzy of sensory overload.  There were so many bands I wanted to see this year.  It was impossible to do it all, so I didn't.  I just took on what I could and well, relaxed.

We left Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, prepared for the two or so hour car ride.  That turned into over four hours.  When we were about 15 minutes outside of Indio, the car started shaking.  It just didn't stop.  We pulled over to see what was wrong, but couldn't figure it out.  The heat emitting from the concrete was unbearable, so we decided to press on.  A nice local let us follow him down some back roads, so we didn't have to go on the highway again.  So shaky car and all, we arrived at the show.

Friday was the most mellow day of Coachella.  We got excellent parking right next to the entrance.  Once we finally arrive, all that anxiety from the car faded away...


So this is what I saw:

-  The Jesus and Mary Chain --->  This is what I was waiting for!  They were amazing, and incredibly tight after all these years.  Hypothetically, if this was the only band I saw, going to Coachella still would have been worth it.  The only disappointment was when Scarlett Johansson got on stage to sing the female vocals to "Just Like Honey."  I found it distracting/anti-climatic - it just took away from the performance.

-  Interpol --->  Just a very good show - the sound was stellar, and their performance was more streamlined than ever. 

-  Bjork  --->  Althought I find her new stuff really isn't that radically different, watching Bjork is visual eye candy.  The orchestra in the background while she runs around on stage in a flurry of colors allows the entire art direction to be masterful!

We called it a night, and returned to "shakes" the car, bracing for a flat tire or something else more disastrous.  Fortunately, all seemed okay, and we drove back to the hotel without peril.  On the other hand, we didn't know that there are three different Marriotts in the area, so we hit them all.  That took another hour.  We debated about going to a GQ party in Palm Springs afterwards, but by the time we reached our correct destination, all we could do was collapse!  I called AAA right away, washed the desert dirt off and hit the hay....

Ryan, Daniel, and myself left the Buzznet house just after 11:00am; I noticed immediately that the air wasn't as thick with heat as the day before. (This was a good thing, as I knew I'd be standing directly in the sun for over 90 minutes while waiting for/watching Against Me!)

We had a vendor parking pass, but I couldn't sneak Daniel and Ryan in that day. (Bummer.) So they had to walk around the grounds and enter through General Admission.

I set up at the Buzznet tent, got our computers running, and set out to find some ice. (I failed miserably at this and we never got ice by the end of the day.)

The early day was pretty uneventful. I stayed in the tent for over 4 hours, signing people up for our Coachella mailing list, letting people use the net, and telling people about the Coachella community we were building. Daniel and Ryan were sweethearts and helped out all three days, letting me see bands, get food, and take breaks. I spent a lot of time talking to Ryan and getting to know him better during downtimes.

Lizy and Tim arrived from the Anthem party we were sponsoring just before 4PM. After saying hello, I bolted from the tent to the Outdoor stage to catch Against Me!

The sun felt like it was melting my neck off. This was the first artist I was going to watch in the middle of the day that wasn't in a tent. I was not a fan of this.

I managed to push my way up to the barricade as The Coup finished. They went over their set time for almost 5 minutes; I later heard that artists are charged $1,000 for every minute they went over. Ridiculous.

Against Me! came on stage on schedule; they opened with, "New Wave," off of their new album of the same name. The song was ok and people were bobbing their heads along to the beat. But as soon as they broke into, "Cliche Guevara," the crowd erupted with joy and sing-a-longs.

The set was decent and had songs from all 4 albums, with about 5 new songs. Some were ok, and one was REALLY good. But I was more interested in the shit off their first two records. And they closed with "Walking Is Still Honest." Well played, AM! Well played.

I headed back to the Buzznet tent to work a few more hours and prepare for the Rage Takeover 2007. (This would involve getting to the barricade for Rage, a most difficult feat for sure.) I gathered more emails, downed far too many Izze drinks (which I'm now addicted to), and awaited the adventure to come.

Ryan, Adam, Donnie, and Matt gathered in the Buzznet tent just before 7:30; Donnie was concerned that all the cholos would stab us as we tried to push past them. I assured them that I've squeezed my way up to the barricade at many a show. Donnie assured me that knife wounds hurt. But I'm fucking crazy, I told them. Just trust me. We'll make it.

Marc Brown took over operations at the tent and I told him I'd return after Rage to pack up everything and make sure I grabbed all our property. I assembled the troops and we headed to the main stage.

We flanked the crowd on the left hand side, because there were less people, and we very quickly assumed a position a few hundred feet back from center stage. (And more off to the left as well.) We watched the last 30 minutes of Crowded House (who I suprisingly enjoyed), but I got angry at a large group of Manu Chao/Rage fans who kept chanting, "¡Culero! ¡Culero! ¡Culero!" at the band. The band's an asshole because they're playing music? Grow the fuck up.

As Crowded House finished, I reached back and grabbed Ryan's arm. I knew it was coming. Sure enough, the crowd shifted and began to move forward. I slid in between two converging groups of people and pushed forward. Within 5 minutes, we were maybe 100 feet from the barricade. However, in this process, I soon became separated from my fellow brethren. As I pushed forward, I lost sight of Ryan and Adam. The crowd continued to pulsate with anticipation and as Manu Chao soundchecked, I pulled myself onto the barricade.

I had succeeded. In less than an hour.

It was at this point that I noticed a microcosm emerge: The relationship between the Coachella security and the fans. I'm not a fan of authority figures to begin with, but these guys were particularly moronic. As people trapped in the sea of Rage fans began to pass out or give up for an array of reasons, they'd be passed overhead of us. They were dropped most of the time and it became apparent that most of those hired to do security had never worked any sort of show in their lives. No one caught the crowdsurfers. Most were dragged over our heads, forcing us to bend our necks in unnatural positions.

What angered me most was watching guards act out their masochistic and macho insecurities. As kids walked by, two guards in front of me would shove them towards the exit; because they were also spraying us down, the barricade stands were wet. The vast majority of those shoved slipped and fell. When they confronted the guards, they were met by 5 or 6 more guards, who backed up the asshole who was unnecessarily pushing people.

If someone crowd surfed over and accidently kicked a guard or knocked them down, they were met with physical violence. Overreaction. And standing there, waiting for Manu Chao to play, waiting for Rage to take the stage 90 minutes later, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disparate sadness. This is how we're supposed to see this band? 40 feet away, with men in yellow and blue polos who despise us? Who spit on us, who flip us off, who pour water on our cameras, who know that they hold the power in their numbers?

Even in a moment where we're supposed to enjoy a band who railed against this very type of human interaction, we did nothing. We couldn't do anything. I couldn't help but feel that nothing had changed since Rage had left.

Manu Chao was goddamn wonderful. I was surprised that they played almost all of their more upbeat material. Their punk-infused, cultural reggae dance parties were a perfect fit before Rage. And so fun to sing along to!

The crowd became even more animated and violent as Manu Chao left the stage. As the stagehands began to set up Rage's gear, I still couldn't believe that I was about to see the band. I'd heard so many bizarre rumors about the performance. Was it true that Zach was in isolation for four days? Was he going to pull the plug at the last minute? Were police in riot gear waiting for a possible riot?

But then the lights went out. And the electricity of the crowd jolted through me. (I'm getting goosebumps just typing this.) The crowd behind me broke the air with a roar of anticipation. Ever so slowly, a single red star was raised in the background. Only one single thought ran through my head:

Oh fuck. This is actually happening.

They came out as a group. Zach looked like Bob Ross, which was slightly odd, but as they broke into the opening riff of, "Testify," euphoria took over.

Oh fuck. This is actually happening.

Bulls on Parade. Live. It had been so fucking long, and I was watching Tom Morello thrash about. Seeing Zach scream into the mic. Unreal.

The S/T Rage album has always been my favorite. And when Tim and Tom stood next to each other, playing the opening riff to "Bomb Track," I completely lost my mind.

This became the theme throughout the set. As I watched how absolutely stoked the entire band seemed while playing these songs, I only got more excited. Those four individuals belonged on the same stage, playing those songs.

They didn't say much of anything at all until the final break in, "Wake Up." Zach was bounding around the stage and I watched in delight as he ran full force at a set of amps on stage right. He lept in the air and attempted to kick them over. As they teetered side to side, nearly falling over, he ran back to them and lept up to the top. He then gave a speech about how our current administration, if faced with a trial similar to the Nuremburg trials, would be executed and shot.

He lept down and left the stage with the rest of the band. The crowd continued to cheer, to chant, to clap, begging them to come back. They did and it will forever be my favorite encore: "Freedom" and "Killing In The Name Of."

To hear a crowd screaming, "FREEDOM!" at the top of their lungs, to hear a chorus of, "Fuck you! I won't do what ya tell me!," was completely mind-boggling.

Truth is, I know I'll never experience that again. Ever again.

I'd say Rage got a standing ovation as they bowed at the end of their set, but we were already standing. Suffice to say, I think the crowd cheered in joy for nearly 15 minutes straight. It continued long after they left and as the crowd moved to the parking lot. But it was shortlived for me; because as amped as these people were, I didn't think they take this energy and proactively apply it to their lives, to change this world. They'd go home. Tell their friends how much it ruled. And returned to life as usual.

I met back up with the boys at the Buzznet tent. I was in a state of shock. Did I really just witness that? Did that really just happen?

I didn't sleep well that night. We got back to the house pretty quickly. Daniel showered and crashed (rightfully so), but Ryan and I stayed up until past 5AM. Adam, Daniel, and Matt stopped by before heading home. All I will say about that is this conversation we had:

Donnie: We should invite Chris to hang out and then not show up.
The Rest of us: No.
Donnie: And we'll look at him through the window.
The Rest of Us: [Lots of silence.]
Me: Wait a second. What? Look at him through the window? What the fuck are you talking about?
Donnie: You know, invite him to a McDonald's or something and then we'll look at him through the window.
Me: Dude, he's going to see us.
Donnie: Not if we're dressed like orthodox Jews.
Me, amidst laughter and confusion: Hassidic Jews? You want to dress up like Hassidic Jews? Donnie, may I remind you that YOU'RE FUCKING BLACK?
Donnie: [Very matter-of-factly] I've done it before.

I don't even want to know.

Ryan and I were up for nearly two hours more, just talking about random shit. Life. People. Who we were, who we are, where we came from. A nice end to the weekend.

Coachella 2007 was a total blast. Saw some great bands, heard some new music, made some new friends. And memories I'll hold on to forever.

All I have to say:

If you didn't see Rage Against The Machine, you missed out. Dearly.

I have goosebumps right now. Typing that. I'm still in a state of shock.

I'll have a more detailed post tomorrow. Suffice to say, I may have a broken rib and I have never sweat so much in my whole life. Or fought so hard to get on the barricade. Or persisted for so long to stay up front. But seeing that band, right then, right there, after a 13 year gap from when I last saw them, meant the goddamn world for me.

Thank you.

I went to day 2 of Coachella. My day started at 4 in the morning. I got up, showered, got my stuff together and headed out to the California Speedway in Fontana. From there we took off to Coachella. It was a very long drive, and it seemed longer than it really was because I had to piss like 20 minutes into the drive. If you've drove out there before, you know it seems like forever.

My shift started at 9:30. I was lucky and was working at the mixing booth at the Mojave tent. I saw some pretty good bands there. Talk to some people from Hot Chip. They were cool.

I saw Fields, The Cribs, The Fratellis, Hot Chip, Peter Bjorn and John, !!!, The Arcade Fire, Justice, Girl Talk, Busy P & DJ Mehndi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Tiesto.

The highlight was definitely Tiesto. I sware his performance changed my life. I was standing on the back barricade dancing the whole time. I never felt so free in my life. Not a care in the world. It was just myself, Tiesto, the music, and the thousands of people. Pure beauty.

Sad to say I couldn't find the Buzznet tent. I was rocking my buzznet wirstband though.

I was far too tired to go and work today. Kinda disappointed, but it I never would've survived.

I will remember the night for the rest of my life.

"Dance4life" - Tiesto

"Capturing the Buzz" at Coachella  from ArtsBeat in the NY Times.

"Buzznet ran a small tent of its own, where members could stop in an upload photos of their Coachella adventures and update their online profiles..."

Wow, if they think our tent this year is small, they should have seen last year  :)