COACHELLA 1 (Aphex Twin, Verve, Fatboy Slim...)

Posted Saturday, April 26, 2008 @ 02:11 in Events by Joshua Glazer

Since last year, when Coachella expanded from a two to three day festival, Friday has been a questionable proposition. Not to say that there's a fundamental probelm with an extra day of awesome bands and the beautiful Empire Polo Grounds. Hell, it wasn't even that hot yesterday. A comfortable low-'90s, which in the desert may as well me 82-degrees. It's just that it's tough getting 50k folks to take Friday off and get their asses out to the desert before sundown, which means that a majority of the bands playing COachella Friday afternoon don't nessesarily get the crowds they might have otherwise. They also might not have gotten booked without the extra day—so there ya go.

 Admittedly, we didn't arrive until well past 5 PM. So people in glass houses... 5 PM was the goal. But one forget how long the drive in, walk from the parking lot, and standing in line to pick up your tickets. So we missed our beloved Cut Copy, who it's reported played a better set  than the one that had us gushing at SXSW last month.
 We did however catch the last songs of the Breeders, who in almot sheer defiance played "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," the Beatles cover off their classic debut, Pod. Defiant only because URB spent the week before Coachella griping "It's not like they're gonna play 'Happiness is a Warm Gun'" D'oh! 

 

Once embedded in the VIP, it's hard to escape. So we stayed put for Tegan & Sara, although saying we "saw" Tegan and Sara would be an overstatement. We did see Alicia Silverstone while hanging stageside (great rear), and in a moment of happenstance, we also saw Steven Tyler (yes, Aerosmith!) with two ladies in tow. It's nice to see that Tylers taste update with the times, as his lady friends we off the hipster-model sort. Not the fake boob rock chick types you would expect. Then again, maybe they were his daughters.

 

We finally made a move to the Sahara Tent to see the much anticipated set by Apehx Twin. It's been a good decade since Richard James took the stage and curiosity was piqued. Seated on a folding chair behind a desk of gear, and flanked by two enormous spearker stacks, James opened with some ambient sweeps before delivering 30 minutes of 115 BPM '80s proto house, that included Straffes "Set It Off" of all things. Running into Jame's booking agent backstage, he was quoted as saying "Coachella only booked one house DJ this year... Aphex Twin." Piss perhaps took, James finaly opened up the throttle and gave the people what they really wanted—a barrage of manic breaks and drum & bass that ended with a roar so loud you'd thought a jet was actually landing on the tent. Coachella might be the last place in America where jungle music realy makes sense.

 

Back at the mainstage, The Verve was delivering the second of three most anticipated UK reunion sets of the weekend (gold: Portishead, bronze: Swervedriver). Richard Ashcroft was in good spirits and good shape as the band played mostly singalong classics from Urban Hymns, of course including "Bittersweet Symphony." If the song's uncleared Rolling Stones sample might have cost the band millions of dollars (it all went to Jagger and Richards—enter, Nike ad), at least a decade later they figured out how to cash that check on the festival circuit. We would have liked to have heard soemthing off of the bands first album. But perhaps even better, they closed with what as best we can figure is a new song. Built around a baleric inspired sample (hopefully legal), this unheard gem actually indicates a new yet still familiar direction for the band. Not bad after a decade long absence.

 

Next of course was the much maligned Jack Johnson. The Coachella field has finally filled up in the darkness and we were curious how much of the throng were actually there for the "mellow troubadour." But not curious enought to stick around. Armed with a smuggled water bottle full of hot Petrón, we began the long trek back across the ground for the Sahara tent. We made a pause to catch some Spank Rock, only to find Amanda Blank onstage, alone. After a few jams, she explained that Spank Rock was very ill and would not be performing. A cynic might call this a "conveneint break" for Blank, but while she perpetually stands out admists the Spank Rock crew—often out rocking her more accomplished peers onstage—she needs another minute until her own solo songs will captivate a large crowd. 

Fortunately—we the next tent over had Fatboy Slim scheduled for 10:45 to take us all home. Several years ago, a bit of an exiting fiasco inspired Caochella to stagger the set ending times at the end of the night, encouraging differnt groups of people to leave at different times. Unfortunately, the schedules don't reflect that new reality. So while the booklet said Fatboy Slim  10:45 PM-12:00 AM, the reality was 11:10 PM-12:20AM, leaving a tent full of people anxious to get their 1998 on to wait impatiently for a good 25 minutes listening to canned dance music at 25% volume. An experience made extra difficult as we had killed the hot tequila on the walk to the tent. Standing still while the worm takes hold is a difficult experience.

Norman Cook finally hit that stage, stood atop a giant platform with LED video that began benaeth him and continued up behind. Ever since Daft Punk assembled their pyramid, the bar has been forever raised on the visual aspect of performance. Norm isn't Daft Punk, but the LED display (complete with tales of mankinds evolution from fish to fat as) was entertaining. As for the choons? Rocking hard in most moments and completely losing the energy in a few more, Fatboy Slim still deserve the recognition as the original party DJ. For good or bad—Aoki, AM and the rest might not have much to say had it not been for Norman's genre defying in the '90s (sure—we called it big beat, but only because everything needed a name back then.) Still, playing House of Pain in 2008 is pandering, even if it did ellicit the best crowd reaction of the night.

 

 

Coachella Day 1 started off partially brilliant and partially warmed over. Two more days to bring the heat. 97-degrees today sayeth the National Weatehr Service. 

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