The long-awaited announcement regarding this year’s Coachella Festival has finally taken place, and apparently the big name the organizers got this year was … Roger Waters? Who will be recreating Dark Side Of The Moon on the festival’s main stage? Yeah, really. (What was that I said about festivals being totally over in ‘08 again?) Tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. PT; other names on the 125-act bill, via the Los Angeles Times‘ Soundboard blog and URB, after the jump. (For those of you who think that Roger Waters is a little too old for Coachella: Don’t worry, Love and Rockets are on the bill, too!)
Raconteurs
The Verve
Jack Johnson
Kraftwerk
Portishead*
Death Cab for Cutie
My Morning Jacket
Love and Rockets
Justice
M.I.A.
The Breeders
Rilo Kiley
Sasha & Digweed
Café Tacuba
Fatboy Slim
Spritualized
Tegan and Sara
Madness
The National
Animal Collective
Mum
Pendulum
Sharon Jones
Stars
Battles
Aesop Rock
Midnight Juggernauts
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
Spank Rock
Minus the Bear
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
Diplo
Adam Freeland
Santogold
Vampire Weekend
Dan Deacon
Hot Chip
Cold War Kids
Stephen Malkmus
Gogol Bordello
Chromeo
Metric
Danny Tenaglia
Booka Shade
Murs
Cool Kids
Sia
Les Savy Fav
Holy Fuck
Black Kids
Black Mountain
Man Man
I’m from Barcelona
Kid Sister
The Horrors
Austin TV
Shout Out Louds
Luckyiam
Autolux
Modeselektor
The Bees
Professor Murder
Cut Copy
Busy P
VHS or Beta
Coachella 2008 Lineup Announced [The Guide/latimes.com]
Kraftweerk, Roger Waters headline Coachella [URB]
[Poster via ONTD]
* Please please please let them be playing other Stateside shows. Please.
I hope that Portishead only play Coachella just to spite you NYC types.
Nothing personal, Maura, obvs.
How on earth did I miss The Verve reuniting?
And the Breeders, wowza.
anndd… grand ole party!!! the spanish language radio station that broadcasted the press conference went over the poster handout aftewards and added some names…
Well, I’m very happy my best friend rented a house with a pool…
The rest of that list makes me feel old.
Come back…Julietta Venegas…come back.
I only want to see maybe a third of the line-up…not worth it. Also seconding the motion that Portishead play more stateside shows.
Actually, I saw Roger Waters do “Dark Side of the Moon” last year here in the Twin Cities and it was spectacular. (Even the first, non-”Dark Side” half of the show was pretty great — EVEN his solo songs!)
Also, I’m a little surprised Love and Rockets is doing a reunion show. I interviewed Daniel Ash during the last Bauhaus tour and asked him about L&R. He was super dismissive about them ever doing anything together again. A musician would lie? To a journalist? Really?
Am I the only person who notices Jack Johnson’s name in 128pt font headlining the first day? Repeat with me: Jack Johnson, headliner. I hear the words coming out of my mouth but they don’t make any sense.
@michaelpop: First thing I noticed, too.
On another note, Shout Out Louds get third to last billing?
@michaelpop: You were definitely not the only person to notice that. This is the weakest lineup in a while, although I would love to see Portishead.
Maybe Madonna will be a late add?
@michaelpop: Ugh. I don’t get the Jack Johnson love. He bores the shit out of me.
the lineup is decent, but it hurts my soul a lot to see Jack Johnson’s name set in a point size that’s readable from space while I need to get out a magnifying glass to decipher that Diplo is on the poster.
Wow, and Rogue Wave is fourth to last, too.
Jack Johnson also headling All Points West
I’m too depressed to make a “Wilco wuz robbed” joke [you just made it, liar!!! -- Eds.], but I might’ve paid $$$ to see this bill, but the Roger-Waters-is-headlining news is just too-much-more depressing, so I guess I’ll just stay home.
@science vs romance: Let’s hope the organizers arranged to have Diplo and MIA’s tour buses parked on opposite sides of the lot.
There are some very good acts in the fine print here, and both Kraftwerk and Portishead should be exciting, but Roger Waters and Jack Johnson are just.not.acceptable. They’re casting a pall over the whole event.
If you go a single day go Saturday. Drive out there. Watch Grand Ole Party. Drive home. There are other worthwhile acts but catch them on their own tour. This line-up is heartbreaking.
Ooooh! Black Kids!!
@mlackey: Oh, wait. Are we passed making fun of Black Kids hype? Sorry.
@Seth: Kylie is this year’s Madge if you believe the rumors. but Portishead (this after like five years of news they’re going to be there) and Kraftwerk? not too shabby. good thing Jack Johnson’s on friday. that will get your high going to ease you into the rest of the weekend.
what i really want to is how they’re going to get Danny Tenaglia to just perform for under an hour. i pray that he gets to spin somewhere else until tuesday morning.
Following in Roger Waters footsteps, Jack Johnson will be performing his score to Curious George in it’s entirety.
The most disappointing thing is that past headliners could fill arenas, and this year’s headliners could barely fill mid-sized concert halls. Roger Waters does “Dark Side of The Moon” all the time, I don’t see the appeal of it happening in the desert, outside of the drug set. I think Jack Johnson has the biggest draw, but I don’t think he could outsell Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or any number of the headliners in year’s past.
The fix is in! Goldenvoice wants you to save your money and go to All Points West instead!
@therichgirlsareweeping: The food is actually reasonably priced for large gathering type events of this sort.
Portishead. I am pleased.
@Dan Gibson: Please don’t get uppity with me about your provincial lifestyle choice. I lived in “flyover country” for 98% of my life — and I still think festivals are LAME. And really, don’t get me started on how living in NYC isn’t all it’s chalked up to be, live music-wise. In that regard, after a year here — Austin wins this category, hands down. But that’s a whole other kettle of fish.
I’m not sure where you live, but I thought that most of the crowd for Coachella was people who are in LA or SF anyway — or people who fly in from other parts of the country to “party.” And, while I’m sure there are plenty of other virtuous people there from smaller cities attempting to get tons of bang for the buck — I hate the party-with-your-balls out festival attitudes (OMG! Let’s get wasted and act like idiots! We’re at a MUSIC FESTIVAL!), I hate the desert, I hate overpriced shitty food (BTW, I’m sure you’re right Superunison, but I’ll never forget someone’s flickr picture a few years back of a $20 Coachella meal that looked like … offal) and $5 bottles of water, and I generally, every year, I find the Coachella bill to be crap. And I’ll not apologize for that.
@therichgirlsareweeping: Ssssh. The grownups are talking.
Heh. Uffie got final billing.
@therichgirlsareweeping: The water’s actually $3, but, hey, don’t let the facts get in the way of your elitist rant!
As someone who’s actually been to several Coachellas (and enjoyed them without chemical enhancement, go figure), I guess I can’t argue with a picture you saw on flickr at some point, but my experience has largely been of people from all over who enjoy the bands on the bill. Of course, like any musical event, there are a number of burnouts and scenesters, but if you’re contending there’s some musical Utopia out there without those sorts, draw me a map on a cocktail napkin, and I’ll head that direction. Yeah, the beer’s too expensive, it’s hot during the day (but remarkably cool at night), and, this year, the headliners suck, but I guess I don’t understand the need to shit on what happens to be a fun weekend for 50,000 or so people who didn’t happen to catch Geoff and Beth at Brixton back in the day.
Jack Johnson is the Jimmy Buffett of Gen-Y. Jesus, I thought Led Zep was touring this year.
am I the only one who is hearing the name Jack Johnson for the first time?
@Oldboy: Jack Johnson is the Jimmy Buffett of Gen-Y.
haha, I made this exact comparison on ILM! It makes sense that he’s headlining a show in SoCal of this level.
Will happily catch Portishead and Verve on their follow-ups. (And they WILL follow up, I think.)
I prefer the fake line-up last week. Can we do that one? Please?
Kraftwerk are always beyond excellent, but Kraftwerk & Kylie would be stunning.
I don’t know…there are still plenty of bands here I would love to see, but in the middle of the desert? Madness makes me kinda happy. I just don’t see me ever being that excited with festivals like this.
Jack Johnson is as popular and as corny as most of the acts on this bill, he’s just popular and corny in a different, less hip way.
It’s all about Portishead, The Verve, Kraftwerk, MIA and Madness for me.
Sorry Roger, I’m sure Dark Side@Coachella will be one hell of an experience but you should have reunited again with the rest of Floyd for this.
also, lol @ people bellyaching that a mash-up DJ should be on the big stage.
Same shit, different year. I mean, I’ve never understood why Coachella was such a big deal anyway — repeat after me: sweltering temps and overpriced “food” just add insult to injury, really. And seriously, anyone not convinced that the headliners don’t indicate some kind of serious shark-jumping for festivals in general needs to wake the fuck up.
And, not to be a total stick-in-the mud, but I saw Portishead at Brixton Academy in like, 1997 — it was a phenomenal experience, and I absolutely will NOT sully that memory by queuing up for an hypothetical east coast reunion show unless they’ve got a REALLY strong new album to go with.
@therichgirlsareweeping: Repeat after me: Coachella is a big deal for those who don’t have the ability to see these bands on a regular basis. As much as I’d love to jetset off to see shows in NY or LA whenever the mood strikes, if I want to see two-thirds of these bands at all this year, Coachella (or a similar festival) is the best option.
Nothing personal, but that sort of “let them eat cake” attitude is why people in fly-over country hate you big city types sometimes.
So, it’s CMJ in California, but with Jack Johnson? I wouldn’t go to day 2 of this if you paid me. Roger Waters is maniacal, scary even. Gilmour would do better. Let’s hope for better on the Atlantic coast.
I’ve been a bit of a Coachella apologist, but I’m canceling my hotel reservation for that weekend and buying a new TV with the money I was going to spend.
@michaelpop:
Agreed. How? What? Why? Did I miss the memo? Seriously? Jack Johnson has graduated from good mid-level outfielder into high wattage designated hitter (sorry, Deadspin). Wha? When? I am dumbfounded.
Bonnaroo? Maybe. (If Panic and DMB aren’t playing) Coachella? Huh?
i had a blast in 2005 when i went solely to catch my all-time fave band New Order play.. there is no real GOTCHA band for me in this lineup. there are a lot of cool groups in the 3rd tier, but nothing worth the trip across the country to see. i’ll catch them when they pass through on their own club/bar tours.
the problem now is the resurgence of festivals they are diluting each other.
water is $2!!! And last year they gave it free if you returned 10 bottles. Recycling in action!
Also, the Internet is tailor made for people to shit on stuff they either a) don’t know anything about or b) don’t know about, don’t care about, but still seem super fired up about in, usually, very negative ways.
Because at the end of the day the 50k people at Coachella don’t care whats written on the Internet while they have a great/horrible time. Neither do the tiny minority of douches there (which in comparison to other fests, the Coachella douches are such a smaller percentage of the overall crowd you hardly notice them).
The lineup is by far the worst they’ve offered yet, but ultimately, this reminds me of people bitching about the last two Pitchfork Festivals. There’s just this whole “Little Room” element to anything artistic that pisses off a certain contingent of people when it gets presented to a mass audience. Yeah, they could definitely do some work to tweak it in the right direction, but acting like it’s fucking Woodstock ‘99 is rather ridiculous.
@slowburn & @Dan Gibson: Really, I promise I’m not as elitist or grumpy as I’m letting on here. I’m not sure why I have such a crummy view of Coachella, and I can’t imagine what possessed me to go off like that yesterday. Anyway, I hope that everyone who goes has a good time, and really, I hope that Portishead puts on a good show.