Coachella 2008 Wrap Up

It had its moments but to be honest, Coachella 2008 was a major let down. The bands booked seem to come to New York or LA every couple of weeks so it was nothing I hadn't seen before. Even so, I managed to make the most of it and there were some great highlights.

The show of the weekend of course was none other than The Verve. Opening with "This Is Music" and moving on to play a set filled with new tracks and fan favorites; Ashcroft and co. were the only thing that make the entire festival really worthwhile. It was so good that I couldn't feel my legs. Yep...it was THAT good.

Kraftwerk were absolutely brilliant as well. I have never seen a group be able to stand there in black and be so entertaining. Kudos to their visual guy...the graphics on the screen were the most fabulous thing I have seen in quite some time.

Portishead were amazing but not for everyone. They aren't performers...its just the sound and if you don't like the sound then you are royally fucked. Beth Gibbons sounded perfect...her voice is as haunting live as on CD and in a huge field it was absolutely brilliant. The new stuff isn't as good as the old stuff but it could just end up growing on you...

Justice was wicked but the one problem was people squeezing up to the front to "see" the show. They are fucking DJs...just enjoy.

Black Mountain was one of the last bands to play the festival but it was well worth the wait. The tent was empty as everyone wanted to finish watching Roger Waters or get a good spot for Justice. It was perfect; no crowd and good music...what more can you ask for?

The surprise of the weekend was Roger Waters. I missed the whole "Dark Side of the Moon" bit that he played during the second half of his set, but from what I did see, I realized why Pink Floyd has such a lasting presence on pop culture. The visuals and the work that was put into this show were amazing. Complete with a flying pig that had "Obama" written under it, it was a killer show to catch and an unexpected enjoyment.

Other honorable mentions were Love and Rockets who KILLED it on Sunday, Hot Chip who somehow managed to perfectly tie in all of their hits into one 60 minute set and got the crowd incredibly hyped and Mark Ronson who made my night bringing Candie Payne on stage.

I could write about Coachella for hours and hours but these were the highlights. I couldn't see a damn thing during Prince but he played "Controversy" which made my night.

Also, does anyone think they should move Coachella back to 2 days? My feet hurt, I felt gross and after day 2 I was ready for the thing to be over.

Prince



The Verve



Portishead

Likely Looks: Justice - DVNO

Justice really really want you to know that DVNO are 4 capital letters. If you didn't know already...

Justice take a little bit of light brite style with what seems to be logos from forgotten 80's products and mashes them together to create the video for their latest single "DVNO". Of course, its Justice so the final product is brilliant.

Were Justice Honestly Serious?

What a joke to honestly think that Justice could play Madison Square Garden and sell it out?! The joke is on them now because the venue has been downgraded to the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden

Please note: that is still going to suck. The sound isn't loud enough in there and how much dancing room can you seriously have? Its like saying you are going to DJ on an airplane and then having people attempt to dance in their seats. Not going to happen.

If you actually bought tickets to the MSG show...well here is the statement released

“This event has been moved from Madison Square Garden to the WaMu Theater at MSG,” it begins.

“Tickets for the ARENA show will no longer be valid. Those patrons who had purchased tickets via Ticketmaster phone /internet to the ARENA show will be sent a new ticket for the Theater show. Those patrons who purchased tickets via the box office or Ticketmaster outlet for the ARENA show will be able to exchange their tickets at the Madison Square Garden Box Office.”

Justice Wants You To D.A.N.C.E. In The U.S. of A

JUSTICE wants to make all of North America dance! The Paris duo has been an indie disco classic since teaming up with Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and people decided they like them so much that they can play massive venues.

Here are the tour dates:

10/5 Mexico City, MEX - Abrigo Del Pedro
10/9 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
10/10 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
10/12 Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
10/13 Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
10/16 Minneapolis, MN - Foundation
10/17 Chicago, IL - Metro
10/18 Toronto, ON - Republik
10/19 Montreal, QC - Metropolis
10/20 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10/21 Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom

And for your listening pleasure:
JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E. (Tittsworth Remix)

NY Broad x