Coachella Recap #3: Day 1

After a late night drive and setup, I awoke surprisingly refreshed Friday morning. Took a quick shower and got the day going. I met up with my ex, the Redhead, which went really well. Without going into too much detail, it was really good to see her again. After applying some much welcome sunscreen, we headed into the show.

Walking up to the entrance now. #coachella 1:04 PM Apr 17th from txt

Dear finished early so we missed em. Need food & water. Alberta Cross coming up. 1:38 PM Apr 17th from txt

Dear & The Headlights is a band from Phoenix, Arizona, that are starting to get some much deserved attention outside of their home state. I wish they hadn’t finished early, as I was looking forward to seeing them in a venue larger than just a couple hundred people, but alas, it wasn’t to be. Instead, Doc and I decided to head to the beer garden as there weren’t any bands I was dying to see until We Are Scientists at almost 3pm. However, from the beer garden we did take in some of Alberta Cross:

http://twitpic.com/3h6j8 – Alberta Cross 1:55 PM Apr 17th from TwitPic

I forget if it was the first time Doc went to Coachella, or if it was the second time, that I saw his toe nails. I think I’m going to get him a set of clippers for his upcoming birthday so he can take care of what has been deemed the Raptor Claw, or the Talon:

http://twitpic.com/3h75c – Return of the Talon! 2:03 PM Apr 17th from TwitPic

Disgusting, isn’t it?

We took in a good portion of We Are Scientists, also from the beer garden, before heading to the Mojave Tent to catch a band that has a ton of buzz, and was THEE Coachella moment for me: Cage The Elephant.

We Are Scientists. Bout to head over to catch Cage The Elephant. 2:57 PM Apr 17th from txt

http://twitpic.com/3hd1t – Cage The Elephant #coachella 3:15 PM Apr 17th from TwitPic

Cage The Elephant has set the bar high. Up next: Airborne Toxic Event. 3:35 PM Apr 17th from txt

http://twitpic.com/3hg5u – Lead singer of Cage the Elephant crowd surfs to back of mojave tent @coachella 3:53 PM Apr 17th from TwitPic

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the bar was not reached by any other performers at this year’s Coachella. Though several came close, none surpassed the raw energy and pure excitement of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, hybrid-rockers. When I played Cage on the New Music Spotlight, I called them “a mix between G. Love and the Raconteurs.” I tell people now that they are like G. Love working with Jack White with a good helping of Arctic Monkeys. When asked what the best band at Coachella was, I respond with Cage the Elephant every time. They blew my mind! I’m a huge fan.

There are SO many ppl wearing the Smiths tshirts. 3:54 PM Apr 17th from txt

Seriously, there were an insane number of the Smiths t-shirts the first day of Coachella. I wouldn’t have been so surprised about it had the Moz been playing, or the Smiths (oh, how I wish!), but they weren’t, so I have no real explanation other than people at Coachella dig the Smiths. Not very scientific, but it’ll have to do.

http://twitpic.com/3hics – Airborne Toxic Event from the beer garden #coachella 4:19 PM Apr 17th from TwitPic

The beer garden doesn’t give the best vantage for a Main Stage performance, but when you’re looking to enjoy a beer with your music, it’s the best way to go. That’s how we took in the Airborne Toxic Event. I didn’t get to see them when they were in Salt Lake because they played the same night as the Ting Tings and I opted for the Tings figuring I would see ATE at Coachella. Success! They were great live and I’m looking forward to seeing them in a smaller, more intimate setting.

Bought some 7 inchers from @ziarecords for Record Store day. #rsd09 4:33 PM Apr 17th from txt

Even though Record Store Day was officially Saturday, Zia Records (a chain not unlike Greywhale, based in Phoenix) had all the goods out on Friday, and I took full advantage in picking up several of the exclusive offerings including the Sonic Youth/Beck split, Sublime, Flaming Lips/The Black Keys split, Flight of the Conchords and…maybe that was it. I got a few goodies, took ‘em to the locker I had rented and we were back at it checking out more bands.

Back in the Mojave Tent for White Lies. 6:05 PM Apr 17th from txt

A lot of people and blogs have been pumping these guys up, and to be honest, I wasn’t really impressed. I had heard the single “To Lose My Life” prior to seeing them live, and their live show wasn’t much better. They are similar to the Editors, in my opinion, and that’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, but the Editors are really hit and miss for me. White Lies are mostly miss, unfortunately. Even though I didn’t care for their set, I don’t feel like it was time wasted because now I know. Plus, one bad performance all weekend? That’s a pretty good percentage, if you ask me!

Blueroom to charge my phone. 6:29 PM Apr 17th from txt

Phone died. Saw Ghostland Observatory, Silversun Pickups (@sspu), A Place To Bury Strangers, Paul McCartney. Much more tomorrow! 11:49 AM Apr 18th from txt

Notice that my phone died even after taking it to the AT&T Blueroom to charge it. Either they didn’t plug it in, or the charger they had it on wasn’t working. When I picked up the phone from them, the Green Light of Death was already flashing. I knew it was a goner. Luckily, the rental car I had from Enterprise had an outlet in the center console, so after the show we went out to the parking lot, drank some beers and charged the BlackBerry up real nice.

Prior, though, we had checked out Ghostland and their RIDICULOUS light show in the Sahara Tent, Silversun Pickups in the Outdoor Theater from the beer garden (another great performance, looking forward to seeing them again in a club soon), noise rock masters A Place To Bury Strangers in Mojave Tent and stopped on our way out to take in some of Paul McCartney on the Main Stage. Looking back, I really wish we had stuck around longer for Sir Paul. He played more than 30 songs, broke out in tears on the 11th anniversary of his wife Linda’s death, and overall really impressed those that I’ve talked to who stuck around for his set.

After we charged our phones, we headed back into the camp ground. Not surprisingly, I crashed pretty quickly. It was an exhausting and inspiring Day 1. But there was a lot more to go.