Idolator: Coachella

Coachella: The Canary In The Increasingly Crowded Festival Coal Mine?

Maura Johnston — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:45:00 EDT

A statistic that I probably could have ballparked solely from my personal observations of this year's Coachella Music & Arts Festival: Year-to-year ticket sales were down by 30,000, with 150,000 people attending the three-day sweatfest, according to promotion company Goldenvoice. The last-minute addition of Prince to Saturday's bill reportedly helped swell that day's attendance to 60,000, and Goldenvoice founder Paul Tollett claimed that Roger Waters' litter-filled set was one of the festival's "best ever," so I'm guessing that the tumbleweeds rolling through the Empire Polo Field on Friday (headlined by Jack Johnson) were not, in fact, desert mirages. All this number-crunching brings up the whole question of sustainability in the festival market once again, since "oh, why don't we just book Prince one more time" is not a viable long-term plan if only for reasons of crippling cost. (Just ask the people who book the Super Bowl!) [The Desert Sun]

Roger Waters' post-Coachella littering spree, ...

Maura Johnston — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Roger Waters' post-Coachella littering spree, the final chapter: The deflated remains of his giant inflatable pig, which floated away after his festival-closing performance Sunday night, were found Monday morning by a jogger. Who—no, really!—was wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt when she found said "pulled pork." Said Floyd fan is eligible for lifetime passes to Coachella because of her findings, but she told Entertainment Weekly that she's "not really part of that crowd." [Hollywood Insider / Photo: AP]

Just Asking: So, Um, Who's Going To Headline Coachella In 2013?

Maura Johnston — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Over at Hitsville, Bill Wyman responded to my ravings about Coachella—specifically, my love for the sets by Prince, Portishead, Kraftwerk, the Breeders, and the Verve—with the riposte "Didn't I see this show in 1995? I certainly could have, except for Kraftwerk..." A fair point, and one that I found myself thinking about a fair bit during the course of the weekend (like, for example, when Swervedriver tore into "Rave Down" and "Son Of Mustang Ford" back-to-back—not that I wasn't thrilled, but you know). But are there any acts who have come up since the turn of the millennium who can headline a 50,000-capacity festival? And what does my having to think long and hard about rounding such a list up to five (1. Jack Johnson; 2. Hmmm....) mean for the future health of the festival circuit?

My initial answer: It's not good. And further thinking about this looming crunch has made me wonder if the current festival bubble we're seeing now isn't dissimilar to the housing bubble that's been deflating over the past 18 months or so—festivals are in the "unsustainable growth on the backs of depleting resources" part of the cycle, with the big reunions and big names that draw in people now being sort of analagous to "exotic" mortgages in that there's a payoff now (Prince appearance that results in Saturday night being a sellout/smaller mortgage payment that allows you to spend money on frivolous items like Coachella tickets) that will turn into a liability later unless people get creative (reunion shows coming around for the second time and losing their "special" luster/whopping increase in mortgage payment). In the case of avoiding the high mortgage payment, "getting creative" meant flipping the house before the market went tits-up, but how are organizers of festivals this year going to do the same? Forcing Prince and Roger Waters to engage in a dance-off to figure out, once and for all, whose house each festival site actually is? Getting Jay-Z and Stephen Malkmus to do a half-assed version of "The Slack Album" live? Or maybe, in an effort to maximize crossover potential, having T-Pain on hand for run-ins during every single set of the entire weekend? (At the very least, imagining what My Morning Jacket will sound like with Teddy Pinned-Her-Ass-Down glommed onto their sound has made me giggle for the past five solid minutes.)

The best show of the year? [Hitsville]
[Photo: AP]

Roger Waters: Littering For Obama

Maura Johnston — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:30:00 EDT

"Those who live near the Empire Polo Fields, where the Coachella Music and Arts Festival was held, woke up this morning to something that looked like snow, according to some residents. Thousands of small pro-Obama fliers littered the ground after they were dropped from a plane flying overhead last night during Roger Waters' set around 11:25 p.m., residents said." (Here is where I note that I'm posting this because when these fliers were being dropped—which was, I believe, about two hours earlier than this report says—I seriously thought that the plane doing the littering was either a) raining confetti on the crowd or b) engaging in anti-Floyd-fan chemical warfare.) [The Desert Sun via PopWatch / Photo: AP]

Roger Waters Somehow Finds A Way To Make Me Loathe Pink Floyd Even More

Maura Johnston — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EDT

I slogged through the first half of last night's main-stage-closing set by Roger Waters—which was billed as "Roger Waters Dark Side Of The Moon"—partially out of masochism, partially in the interest of sociological research, and partially because I didn't feel like dragging my ass over to the stuffed-to-capacity-all-weekend dance tent to see Modeselektor, who were the only other act playing for the first portion of Waters' set. While it was interesting in a "so this is who he lured out to the desert" sort of way, it was also infuriating, and at one point a friend said to me, "I can hear your eyes rolling back from here." But no portion of the evening filled me with more rage than the pre-show, which had as its visual an old-timey radio, a model airplane, and a tumbler of whiskey; every so often, a hand would reach into frame to change the station and/or refill the glass, and the stations that the hand hit on, for the most part, had a playlist that lulled the classic-rock fans in attendance into a state of self-righteousness: Bob Dylan, "Hound Dog," and "My Funny Valentine." There was also a "humorous" bit when the radio somehow was all-ABBA, all the time, and hand man couldn't escape from the tyranny of radio! ABBA! I mean, could you believe the nerve!

Anyway, that little interlude made me wonder if our readers would be as dismayed by the fake radio offerings as Disembodied Hand Man was—so here's a poll.

I'm pretty sure that this is going to be lopsided in one direction, but hey, I may be wrong. The one good thing about Roger Waters' set, though? It made me appreciate the greatness of Black Mountain even more. Holy balls were they fantastic.

Prince Covers Radiohead: Watch It While You Can

Maura Johnston — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:45:00 EDT

I'm not even going to type up a full report of this clip, because by the time I finish writing it up Prince will have banished it to the land of "This video is no longer available." purgatory. So get clicking! [YouTube]

Oh, And

Maura Johnston — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:50:00 EDT

Both Portishead and Kraftwerk, who played before Prince, managed to fill Coachella's huge outdoor space with arresting music and incredible visuals—I'd last seen Kraftwerk ten years ago at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, and I'd forgotten just how striking the tableau presented by the simple pieces of art and their stock-still figures was, while Portishead used the giant space to do their show on Thursday night one better, thanks to the giant Beth-on-Beth images provided by the screens flanking the mainstage. (Audio here.) But were the planes flying overhead that had ads for upcoming albums (by Cut Copy, Robyn, and Elbow, among others) running LED-style across the bottom of their wings really a good use of jet fuel? I understand that "annoyvertising" is super-good at emblazoning things on the brains of people who are within its immediate sphere, but the one thing I really wanted to do last night was listen to Portishead's set while staring up at the stars. And the constant ads kind of killed my chance to do that (and seemed more than a little misguided, given that most of the people in the crowd were probably in the "illegal acquirer" demographic anyway). Boooo. [Photo: AP]

Prince Takes Coachella To School

Maura Johnston — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EDT

Most of my thoughts on yesterday's installment of Coachella were scoured away by Prince, who put on a show, complete with swagger, virtuosity, and that little bit of ego that more people who play music for a living really should have. He brought out Morris Day and Sheila E. He went on these extended freestyles that made me wonder if he's going to transition into a career as an MC soon. He covered "Creep." (And I was stuck in the bathroom line for it. This is where I curse my femininity.) I heard some frat bro in cargo shorts say "dude, I'm sorta getting, like emotional" during his backup singer's bringing-down-the-house performance of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" (!)—and I'm sure that the association of that song with those tear-jerking ASPCA ads didn't help on the waterworks front. And he declared the Coachella grounds to be "his house," and really, who can argue? Roger Waters? Uh, no. Any video of last night's show will probably vanish from YouTube as soon as it's put up (thanks to Princely decrees), but I've got the set list after the jump.

The Bird (performed by Morris Day)
Jungle Love (performed by Morris Day)
Glamorous Life (performed by Sheila E.)
Instrumental Jam
1999
I Feel For U
Controversy (with snippet of "Housequake")
Little Red Corvette
Musicology
Cream
U Got the Look
Shh
Anotherloverholeinyourhead
Creep
Angel
7 --> Come Together
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy

Set list via Brooklyn Vegan's comments section, which is, of course, bringing out the "well, I saw him play in a FARM to THREE PEOPLE" assholery in full force. God bless the Internet.

[Photo: AP]

Coachella: Bringing Me Back To The Time Before Lilith Fair Ruined The Whole "Women In Rock" Thing

Maura Johnston — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:20:00 EDT

One thing that's been nice about Coachella: Most of the outstanding performances so far have served as a nice corrective to my complaints about the male-white-semi-corporate-oppressive nature of current alt-rock. I saw four terrific performances from lady-powered bands that almost made me feel a tiny bit less despondent about the gender balance of rock right now: Portishead (who I saw Thursday night), the Breeders, Tegan & Sara, and Santogold all made me happy to be there, to the point where I didn't even worry about when my last sunscreen application was until after each of their sets. (And yeah, it's probably not much of a surprise that 50% of them first appeared on my personal radar back in the '90s.) Video and brief writeups after the jump.

Portishead - "Over" (from Thursday night's pre-Coachella show)

I feel like a blogger asshole even mentioning that I saw this show, which was at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles. So I'll just post the video above and mention that the show ended with Beth Gibbons jumping into the crowd to high-five a bunch of people in the first few rows. Yes, really.

The Breeders - "Iris"

OK, this video isn't from yesterday—none of the Breeders' Coachella performances have made it to YouTube yet, alas—but it's one of my favorite songs of theirs and hearing it live nearly broke me in a good way, although some people wouldn't agree. While their set stumbled at the beginning (with a false start and a somewhat half-hearted performance of the Amps' "Tip City"), they recovered and ran through a set that meshed bits of Last Splash and Pod with tracks from the better-with-each-listen Mountain Battles Plus they played "Saints," because summer is ready right now!

Tegan & Sara - "The Con"

How can you not love a band whose stage banter includes an extended rant about how the fabric H & M uses is so thin, you need to wear sunblock under your shirt? Not afraid to be servicey, indeed.

Santogold - "Creator"

There's a lot of hype surrounding this woman, to be sure—given that the music business is "all about relationships," I'm sure her major-label A & R past has resulted in many people who are still employed by said biz being in her corner—but I'm actually convinced that about 85% of it is well-deserved. (In this overheated era, it's kind of hard to find anyone with a 100% hype-to-actuality ratio, don't you think?) Her between-songs banter was charmingly nervous/tweaked, and somehow her voice reminded me of both Tegan & Sara and Musical Youth at the same time.

[Photo: AP]

Because I seem to be speaking in fours today, ...

Maura Johnston — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Because I seem to be speaking in fours today, here's a four-pack of things about last night's Coachella performance by the recently reunited Verve (or is it "the recently reunited The Verve"? Grammarians?): One, they debuted a new song, which sounded very great in the context of the performance; two, as with the Battles show earlier in the day, there were people doing the hippie-noodle dance in my line of vision; three, apparently Erin "Joanie Cunningham" Moran is a big Verve fan, as there was a crowd shot midway through the band's performance of "Bittersweet Symphony" that I am 99.4% sure had the former Happy Days star as its focal point; and four, the band sounded really great and were probably the day's most pleasant surprise, with last night's set pushing me into the "I will buy tickets for its upcoming NYC show" camp if only because I was a little bummed out that they didn't play "Slide Away." [Photo: AP]

Four Coachella T-Shirts That Proved Irony Is Dead Forever

Maura Johnston — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EDT

The fashion tableau provided by the Coachella audience revealed a lot of things about fashion in 2008: the American Apparel-bred aesthetic of shiny spandex has been embraced by a lot of women; those awful monokinis where the top and the bottom parts are connected by a strip of fabric are inexplicably back; and I can't look at mesh fedoras without feeling revolted, because they remind me of Spike from Top Chef. And as always, the ironic and semi-ironic t-shirts were out in full force, with four in particular standing out for the way they bludgeoned the idea of "irony" with a cotton-covered truncheon.

4. Wyld Stallyns. In 2013, this spot will be reserved for a "MILF Island" shirt.

3. KISS' Hot In The Shade Tour. The only way this bit of clothing could have been more eye-roll-inducing was if it were a shirt from the Psycho Circus tour, because at least Hot In The Shade is semi-redeemed by "Forever."

2. Nick Lachey's 2006 Tour. Every single person I told about this shirt had the same reply: "Do you think he was kidding?" It's like Homerpalooza come to life.

1. Triumph, "Just A Game" Tour T-shirt. If I was giving out prizes solely based on what the shirts was advertising, this would probably come in below the KISS offering. But the overall aesthetic pushed it over the top: Not only was dude's shirt (professionally, I'm pretty sure) shredded to bits, so were his cutoffs, and there a few well-placed tears that allowed all passerby to get up close and personal with his junk. I would have taken out my camera to commit this memory to pixels, but I figured I'd spare all of you.

Coachella: The Race To Avoid A Paralyzing Sunburn Begins Now

Maura Johnston — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:15:00 EDT

Today marks the first day of the three-day desert sweatfest Coachella, and I would be shirking my blogging duties if I didn't tell you in advance that have made my way out to southern California for blog-information-gathering purposes (well, that and the chance to see Portishead open for Prince, because when is that going to happen ever again in my life). If you'll be there, or if you see someone on the schedule who I absolutely positively should not miss, let me know in comments! (Unless your can't-miss band is Slightly Stoopid, because ... no.) Also please speak up if you know where to buy a big floppy hat around here, because I am terrified that I'm going to get burnt to a crisp. [Coachella]

Coachella: Let The Sunscreen Application (And Sean Penn-Related Speculation) Begin!

Maura Johnston — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:45:00 EDT

The 2008 festival glut begins this weekend in the California desert with this year's edition of Coachella, and with a little more than 72 hours to go until the gates open, the festival's organizers have released the weekend's schedule. While I've been mostly focused on my relief over the fact that I'll have something to do during Roger Waters' two and a half hour festival-closing set (thank you, Black Mountain), an eagle-eyed tipster e-mailed to point out that Sean Penn was on Sunday's bill not once, but twice, with a half-hour set in the early afternoon and a 15-minute set in the early evening. What could he be doing during his allotted time—celebrating the 26th anniversary of Fast Times At Ridgemont High? Introducing one of the artists he'd directed a music video for (maybe Jewel)? Thankfully, posters over at Coachella's message board were on the case:

First, the doubters:

I doubt that a surprise band would pop in for a bangin' 15 minute set. I'm guessing it really is Sean Penn and he wants to talk political shit.

People quickly rose up to remind people that in past years, Tenacious D and Beck have done exactly that at the festival.

into the wild. chris went to coachella. sean directed the film. i predict a bus + some musical surprise.

Which led to the only natural conclusion:

into the wild = eddie veddar. makes SO MUCH SENSE AGGGHH!!!!! that'd rock my world.

Ahh, I love the Internet, how a grain of truth can turn into a full-bloomed flower of all-caps excitement. Whether or not it's actually true, of course, is up for debate, but I look forward to the next 23 pages of message-board speculation that will fill attendees' working hours between now and the moment the gates open on Friday.

Set Times [Coachella.com]
What the HELL is Sean Penn doing on Sunday? [Coachella Message Board]

Swervedriver's long-planned reunion will ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Swervedriver's long-planned reunion will kick off at the Coachella Festival on April 27, followed by a US tour in May and June. Says singer Adam Franklin: "We've actually only had the one get-together at this point in a cheap studio in North London but it sounded surprisingly tight and together—and also more punk rock and unhinged than ever before somehow." Once again, where is that reissue of Raise? [Billboard]

Somehow, Jack Johnson Is Only Playing Five Festivals This Summer

Maura Johnston — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:45:00 EDT

That's the word from Jeff Leeds at the New York Times, who penned a story on the fact that there may be something of a summer-rockfest glut hitting the U.S. over the coming months. With the lousy economy putting the hurt on potential cabana sales and the overlapping lineups making each festival less of a destination, can America handle "more than a dozen" parties based around the consumption of music? The answer seems to be "it depends on the lineup"—apparently the jam-band-heavy Mile High Festival is selling like gangbusters, while the promise of two Radiohead shows isn't helping tickets to the New York-adjacent All Points West festival move as quickly as one might have hoped.

Meanwhile, Charlie Walker of Lollapalooza promoter C3 thinks that this country hasn't seen enough huge music extravaganzas; "It's a big marketplace," the Times quotes him as saying . "We've got a little ways to go before we see any saturation." But that tune might change once his festivals start feeling the hurt that Coachella was rumored to be feeling this year (before the announcement that Prince would play, at least): Coachella promoter Paul Tollett called last year's sellout "an anomaly" prompted by Rage Against The Machine being on the bill, and he was wary of more festivals cropping up because "everyone [could] have the same bill and the same sort of feel at the festival. ... If every one of them is just a McFranchise, there's a specialness that'll be lost." Something tells me that he's feeling the sting of his festival going the "booking Roger Waters in an effort to be different" route—an expensive mistake, if the rumors that Prince's $4.8 million payday for headlining the festival's second night are true.

Concert Industry Is Banking on a Festive Summer [NYT]

Prince Added To Coachella's Saturday Lineup

Maura Johnston — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:25:00 EDT

Is ~~three weeks~~ 15 days out too late to announce a headliner for your festival? Guess not. From the inbox: "Prince has joined this year's line-up for the ninth COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA (Friday, April 25, Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27) as the headliner for the second night of the critically acclaimed festival." Unfortunately, the headliner he'll be bumping down is Portishead, not Roger Waters. The crucial question: Will this juice ticket sales or not? (I'm actually considering going now, so I suppose the answer is "maybe.") Let the comment-filled blog posts commence! [Photo: Getty]

As an admitted Amtrak aficionado, I must ...

Maura Johnston — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:35:16 EDT

As an admitted Amtrak aficionado, I must admit that my curiosity was piqued by the announcement that the railway and Goldenvoice would pair up to shuttle campers back and forth between Los Angeles' Union Station and Coachella before and after the festival last month. According to Billboard, the train will only be open to those people who have paid for a three-day camping pass, but part of me wants to try and lobby Amtrak to let me ride in exchange for all of my Amtrak Guest Rewards points, just so I can watch the desert scenery roll by. It'd be a lot more entertaining than a Roger Waters set, I'll tell you that. [Billboard.biz / Photo: ocean yamaha]

Coachella line-up update! Hot shit! Five-words-or-less ...

Jess Harvell — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Coachella line-up update! Hot shit! Five-words-or-less take on each new addition: Aphex Twin (ooh), Goldfrapp (yay), Kate Nash (ugh no), Serj Tankian (iffy on the solo stuff), Redd Kross (!), and Adele (eh). Okay, I'm not actually going so this news affects me not a whit, but perhaps you are and are now more excited than before? Or less? Or middling? [Billboard]

"For the first time in more than 25 years, ...

Maura Johnston — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST

"For the first time in more than 25 years, British dance duo Yazoo — known as Yaz in the United States — will reunite for a series of shows in the U.K. and U.S. this summer." The duo is playing in the UK in June with US dates to be announced, but hey, a Yaz reunion could be just the thing to give this year's Coachella the big-name comeback boost it so desperately needs! OK, OK, maybe not, but at least it could help draw in some of the people who were really amped about Kylie Minogue showing up and then had their hopes dashed. [Billboard]

Coachella: The Teeth-Gnashing Continues

Maura Johnston — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:00:31 EST

Roger Waters. Jack Johnson. Slightly Stoopid. The Portishead appearance aside, it would be generous to say that this year's big-reunion-free Coachella lineup, particularly when compared to years past, is kinda lacking. (Among our commenters' reactions: "not worth it," "the weakest lineup in a while," "I guess I'll just stay home," "heartbreaking," and "Ooooh! Black Kids!!") But we wanted to put the 2008 bill to the ultimate test: How does this year's roster of artists fare when you put it up against one of the many fake lineups that were dreamed up by Internet jokers over the past few months? Our poll after the jump. (And no, we didn't pick one of the fake Coachellas with Radiohead on the bill, because that would have been too much of a blowout.)

Earlier: Coachella Lineup Announced: Prepare Yourself For The Anticlimax

Coachella Lineup Announced: Prepare Yourself For The Anticlimax

Maura Johnston — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:36:51 EST

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.

Because people just couldn't wait two days ...

Jess Harvell — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:13:27 EST

Because people just couldn't wait two days for the official announcement (coming in just hours), ~~news~~ rumor broke over the weekend that Portishead are "officially" headling the West Coast fest and Radiohead would headline the (not) Coachella happening on the East Coast. Odds on this two 'Headed prediction being accurate: Oh, who the hell even knows at this point. [Urb]

Is the Coachella lineup being announced ...

Maura Johnston — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:58:04 EST

Is the Coachella lineup being announced Monday in Mexico City—with the city's location being the festival's way of celebrating increased participation from Latino artists? [sopitas.com (translated); HT Dan Gibson]

Coachella: The Rumormongering Rages On!

mjohnston — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:49:50 EST

Kevin Bronson at the Los Angeles Times has a sort of update on the heatstroke-inducing desert jam that is Coachella Festival, the lineup of which is being announced next week. According to Bronson, not only is the above poster totally off, My Bloody Valentine will not be one of the "surprising veteran act[s]" on the show's roster—but who cares, because apparently Portishead is going to be there! Maybe I should brave the desert, although I'd need to stock up on some SPF 150 and a gigantic floppy hat before doing so. A list of bands who are, so far, totally definitely 100% rumored to be appearing according to the Internets and blog boards and such after the jump. Can you say "yay, '90s"?

Death Cab for Cutie
The Breeders
Justice
Jens Lekman
Junkie XL
The Verve
UNKLE
Cold War Kids
Chromeo
Autolux
Spiritualized
Portishead
VHS or Beta
Dan Deacon
Brett Dennen
The Cinematic Orchestra
Battles
Kid Sister
Crystal Castles
Louis XIV

Also, some commenter at Brooklyn Vegan is claiming that Led Zeppelin is playing but how many times have we heard that old song and dance lately.

Coachella roster slowly takes shape (and getting misshapen) [Buzz Bands via BV]

There's A Festival Coming To The NYC Area, But Don't You Dare Call It "Coachella East"

mjohnston — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:55:40 EST

Those of you who enjoy sweating outdoors while listening to poorly amplified music and the natural beauty of Jersey City will be thrilled to know that AEG and Goldenvoice, the promoters of the Coachella Festival, will be putting on a festival at Liberty State Park this summer. The festival will not be dubbed "Coachella East," contrary to Perez Hilton's breathless predictions yesterday, although it will have "major headliners"—Billboard helpfully illustrates the article with a picture of Radiohead, who played a pre-Sept. 11 show at the park and who I'm sure would sell enough tickets to make this venture worth its while—as well as competition for said headliners from the Vineland Festival just down the shore. I'm just hoping that the lack of Coachella branding and unsexy, In & Out-free location will keep the riff raff away, although I know that I'm probably hoping for a little too much there. (Plus, doesn't Jersey City have a Fatburger? Aw, crap.)

Coachella Promoters Launching NYC-Area Fest [Billboard]
Earlier: Is 2008 The Year The Bottom Falls Out Of The U.S. Festival Market?

Is 2008 The Year The Bottom Falls Out Of The U.S. Festival Market?

mjohnston — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:10:23 EST

Perez Hilton is reporting^* claims from an "insider" in the Coachella camp that
the sun-baked festival will be moving eastward this year, and will be held "in New York or possibly New Jersey" sometime in August. Hooray?

Well, maybe not. See, I've been wondering for a few months now if the market for big, multi-day festivals that attract people from all over the country—and a lot of jerky "VIP" types who show up to collect their gift bags and pose for Cobrasnake shots—was due for a serious correction, and this announcement is finally what pushed me over the edge and into the "yes, please" camp. A question from someone who actually lives in the geographic area in question: Does the Northeast really need its own Coachella, considering that it's, well, the Northeast, where cities that bands actually tour to on a regular basis are crammed together close enough that if you want to really see a band, it's pretty accessible by car or train? Not to mention that the area's residents haven't exactly been kind to the notions of multi-day, camper-rich festivals in their backyard, even with the promise of tourist money. Perhaps I'm still bitter since I bought a ticket for ~~Bonnaroo Northeast~~ the Field Day Fest back in 2003, only to have the show canceled at the last minute because of "community complaints," but I do also think that the population-dense Northeast is a different animal than the middle of the California desert, what with there being a lot more people around and, as such, a lot more potential complainants. The proposed Vineland festival—which is also scheduled for August in New Jersey—is experiencing quite a bit of pushback from local residents, and I don't doubt that an East Coast Coachella would have similar tussles with the people who live wherever it decides to set up shop.

But aside from the whole NIMBY concept, there's a more pressing issue. Does America really need another festival at this point, given that the economy is grinding to a halt, gas prices are soaring and bringing airfares along with them, and the concert market—particularly the one involving bands that aren't reuniting or Disney Channel-related—slowing down as well?

Just think about all the festivals that have attracted bloggers and Lindsay Lohan types over the past few years—including a bunch of new ones, many of which have had variable success rates. Off the top of my head, you've got:
Coachella (CA)
Bonnaroo (TN)
Vegoose (NV)
Lollapalooza (IL)
Sasquatch! (WA)
Austin City Limits Festival (TX)
Virgin Festival (MD)
Bumbershoot (WA)
Milwaukee Summerfest (WI)
Pitchfork Music Festival (IL)
SXSW (TX)
CMJ (NY)

Granted, not all of those festivals are the same beast as far as logistics, but they do tend to attract similar demographics thanks to lots of overlap in booking and the seemingly endless disposable income of people who like to put their music fandom on the Internet. Are there really enough of those people out there in the States—or even the world—to sustain all of these multi-day events? Even if Radiohead plays every single one, and has Led Zeppelin open, I'd say the answer is "no." And so, a predicttion: This year, I foresee at least two of the above concerts—perhaps Virgin and Vegoose?—either throwing their final outings or canceling their festivals at the last minute, citing "problems with the venue." And Coachella East isn't going to happen, or if it does, it'll be in the middle of Pennsylvania or waayyy upstate in New York. Anyone want to bet me a $5 bottle of water on either of these wagers?

Good News, Music Lovers [Perez Hilton via The Daily Swarm]

^* FYI: Using this clause still gives me hives.

Coachella: Let The Rumormongering Begin Anew!

mjohnston — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:50:26 EST

This poster's ratio of B.S. to actual bands who will probably show up and play this year's Coachella festival is probably about 50/50, although I have to call foul on the prospect of Kylie Minogue being relegated to the dance tent. Like that would fit any of her crazy headdresses! (Here's last year's actual poster for reference.)

Coachella 2008: First Fake Line-up Revealed [losanjealous, via ONTD]

A slow news day has the NME cooking up disaster ...

jharv — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:40:43 EDT

A slow news day has the NME cooking up disaster scare stories, with quotes from scientific experts and everything, about cataclysmic earthquakes that could maybe, someday, possibly strike the Coachella Valley. Even though one hasn't hit for 300 years. My God, can you imagine if it happened by some infinitesimal chance during the festival? The loss to the music-blog community would be astronomical. [NME]

Blogsmacked: The Sunburnt Masses, Huddling In Front Of Their Computers

mjohnston — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:35:15 EDT

- Hey, did you hear about that band that reunited Sunday night? You know, the Lemonheads. [Buzz Bands]
- Carlos D takes facial-hair tips from souvenir posters found at a nearby Wild West-themed resort. [Stereogum]
- Thankfully, someone else made a roundup of "OMG Scarlett sings with Jesus And Mary Chain!!!" articles so we didn't have to. [No Rock And Roll Fun]

- Robots' innards: A lot more interesting than Scarlett Johansson. [Boing Boing]
- Bjork gets political. [eBlips]
- Crowded House's set sounds like it played host to every "Hey, Asshole!" submission we've received, ever. [Because Lisa Said So]
- Getting sick in the desert: A first-hand account. [skeet on mischa]
- The fifteen-minute clock on this festival may very well be at 14:59. [Teddy & Moo's Celebrity Pictures And Gossip]
- How do Coachella attendees afford their rock and roll lifestyle, anyway? [Useless Things]

Get Ready To Get Baked

Brian Raftery — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:10:24 EDT

It's Friday, April 27, and you know what that means: Coachella kicks off today, and thousands of musicians, fans, writers and bloggers will be gathering under the blazing California sun to revel in the shared of experience of getting kinda drowsy by 5 p.m. We won't be going, partly because we weren't deemed "legit" enough to warrant press passes (can't say we disagree), and partly because we have a court order not to get with 100 feet of either Peter or Bjorn (John, though, is cool). However, we can't wait to hear reports from all of our Idolator commenters, and we hope the VNV Nation debate continues to rage, only this time in person. As three-time attendees, allow us to provide the following tips:

- If you're going to make your own acid, make sure you have the government-required ingredients label.
- Don't loiter in the DJ area! Tiësto can get tiësty.
- Nic Harcourt loves it when you yell "NIC HARCOURT Y'ALL!" while dumping a bucket of Gatorade on his head.
- There are no "V"'s or "I"'s in the V.I.P. section, though the guy who played Randy Quaid's son in Independence Day is always there.
- The White Stripes are not playing a secret show in the Gobi Tent, but Beck probably is.
- No matter how much he begs, and no matter how he pleads, don't touch Leto.

Unhappy Mondays To Go Bezless In America

mjohnston — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:34:36 EDT

Those of you pumped up to see the Happy Mondays at Coachella on Sunday night are about to have your melons twisted—Bez, the band's maraca-wielding mascot, has been barred from entering the U.S.:

A statement released by the band said: "Due to tightening immigration and working visa legislation, Bez was not, unfortunately, able to secure a visa to perform at Coachella this weekend.

"Happy Mondays apologise to all their US fans that they will not, on this occasion, be able to enjoy the spectacle of Bez shaking his stuff for them at Coachella."

Terrible news, innit? Let's hope this doesn't result in Shaun Ryder becoming so despondent that he decides to only play songs from later-period Black Grape.

Bez refused entry to US for historic gig [Digital Spy]

Coachella: Let The Scheduling Conflicts Begin

Brian Raftery — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:41:25 EDT

Coachella has posted the set times for this weekend's festival. Time to choose your alliances! Will you sing along to the Arcade Fire or nod aggressively to Ghostface Killah? Will you save your best drugs for VNV Nation or Spank Rock? And finally, will you please go see Against Me! and tell us how it is? That new album is amazing, and you don't really need to see Junior Boys, do you?

Coachella - Set Times [Coachella.com]

Concert Promoters Focus On Not-So-Old Fogeys

Brian Raftery — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:43:40 EDT

Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal took a look at how summer-festival organizers are attempting to woo youth-deprived fans. Their approach? Identify all of the elements that make the live-music experience spontaneous—and then hermetically seal those elements up and place them far, far away:

Music festivals are going after an older, wealthier crowd this summer with more mainstream acts, higher-priced tickets and a slate of VIP perks. Lollapalooza, formerly renowned for its muddy mosh pits, is offering cabanas on Lake Michigan, mint-infused cooling treatments and a $3,500-a-table gala. At Sasquatch in Washington state, fans who pay about $300 extra for a "Solid Gold Superticket" can take hot showers in air-conditioned bathrooms. (Regular campers get porta-potties and no showers.) Holders of American Express Gold Cards have received a special offer for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in California; for $549 — more than double the regular price — they get entry to the only cocktail bar on the grounds...

Now these festivals are offering more options for people who aren't eager to sleep at rowdy camp sites and line up for porta-potties. David Carpenter and his wife, Vanessa, both 31, will attend Bonnaroo for the first time this year. They plan to take advantage of the festival's VIP package. For $1,121.75 — about triple the regular ticket price — they can stay at a special campground equipped with showers and get into VIP tents serving free food. "We're quiet suburbanites," says Mr. Carpenter. He adds that if he "was 21 years old," he might buy a regular ticket. "But I'm more mature and better off now, so I said no thanks to that."

We certainly understand the desire to avoid spending three days sleeping in the middle of the woods, trying to catch some shut-eye as the drunken piddles from a bunch of wandering twentysomethings bounce off your tent. But surely there's got to be some sort of middle ground between too-close-for-comfort immersion and at-a-distance insulation; it's not as if Bonaroo or Coachella are mini-Altamonts waiting to happen. In fact, based on our own expeirences, the worse thing that can happen is seeing Jared Leto pump his fist while playing with his BlackBerry (Coachella '04) or getting goosed by Andy Dick (Coachella '99-present).

The VIP Rock Fest [WSJ]

Liner Notes: Faith Hill Now 15 Percent Less Perky

Brian Raftery — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:17:54 EST

- The Hollywood Hills home of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw was burlgarized over the weekend; the couple reported that an undisclosed amount of money was missing, as well as a still-wrapped DVD of Reba: Season 3. [Reuters]
- Coachella has sold out, proving that you should never underestimate the appeal of taking two tabs of ecstasy in a desert parking lot while half-listening to Felix Da Housecat. [Billboard]
- Hip-hop site Ohword.com appears to have been suspended; could this have anything to do with those massive zip files they were posting earlier this week?

Reunion-Tour Profits Will Make Even Zach de la Rocha Rethink Evils Of Capitalism

Brian Raftery — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:50:45 EST

Today's Wall Street Journal examines the concert industry's newfound love of reunion tours: With the number of reliable, big-ticket headliners dwindling, reformed acts stand to make a small fortune on the road (Van Halen, for example, is projected to generate sales of $34 million, which could make Woflgang the richest 15-year-old not overseeing a Middle Eastern emirate).

In 2005, a reunion tour by '80s metal band Motley Crue took the industry by surprise and became the No. 11 grossing tour of the year, taking in close to $40 million in 22 cities, according Pollstar, which tracks concert-industry data. A three-night stand by the blues rock band Cream at Madison Square Garden was the fourth-highest-grossing show the same year, taking in $10.6 million; it also helped to further propel the reunion phenomenon. A spokeswoman for Cream frontman Eric Clapton says the trio has no plans for further concert or recording activity...

The Pixies tour, which continued through 2005, is an object lesson in the lucrative economics of reunions. The Pixies tour grossed an average $180,000 a show, according Pollstar. The band played bigger venues, to bigger audiences, than it ever did during its original career as influential alternative-rock pioneers in the late 1980s. By contrast, in the same period a solo tour by Pixies leader Frank Black took in just an average of $8,800 a show.

The story also notes that the Rage Against the Machine reunion has helped Coachella sell 100,000 tickets so far—triple the amount that had been sold at the same time last year. Considering that Morrissey once claimed to have turned down a $5 million Coachella cash-in for a Smiths reunion, we're guessing Rage's tab is in the low seven-digit figures—although Zach de la Rocha now insists on being paid with a pocket full of shells.

Better to Reunite Than to Fade Away [WSJ]

Coachella Lineup Revealed: You Can Schedule Your Return Flight For Sometime Sunday Evening

mjohnston — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:54:58 EST

Thanks to cat dirt sez's screen-capturing abilities, you're looking at the poster that briefly appeared on the Coachella festival's official Web site earlier today. It's causing us to ask a lot of questions: Is the Jesus and Mary Chain reunion the big one that was supposed to be kept under wraps until later this week? Is there a worse band name than Fair to Midland? And are Rage Against The Machine fans really going to be that into Lily Allen and the Happy Mondays?

cat dirt (temporary) exclusive: 2007 coachella poster [cat dirt sez]
Earlier: Idolator's wall-to-wall Coachella coverage

Even In His Absence, The Curse Of Sting Haunts Coachella

Brian Raftery — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:04:08 EST

A few months ago, we put forth the notion that there is a "Curse Of Sting", based on the belief that everything the former Police man does is tragic—from Dune to Baron Munchausen to Studio 60 (amazingly, Studio has not yet been canceled, thanks to the small army of viewers who interpret pandering mawkishness as "grown-up TV"). And though it now looks as though that long-rumored Police reunion won't be happening at Coachella—barring some follow-up announcement, of course—his curse is still affecting the festival. Consider these recent Coachella catastrophes, all of which have transpired in the last few hours:

- Andy Dick's announcement that, due to scheduling conflicts, he will be unable to grope festivalgoers in the V.I.P. tent this year.
- Troublesome California weather-patterns damaging the Beer Garden's Heineken crop.
- Perry Farrell's "No Glow Stick Left Behind" bill failing to pass imaginary, wholly Perry Farrell-created congress.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers landing headlining slot.

Earlier: The Demise Of "Studio 60": Proof That Hiring Sting Is A Didgeridon't

Coachella's Latest Reunion Announcement Will Twist Your Melon, Man

mjohnston — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:46:34 EST

Los Angeles radio station KROQ has the full Coachella lineup on its site; in addition to the Rage-Chili Peppers-Bjork headlining trio, the lineup includes Willie Nelson, the Arcade Fire, Fountains of Wayne, and—the Happy Mondays? What?

The full lineup after the jump.

!!!
Air
Amos Lee
Amy Winehouse
Anathallo
Andrew Bird
The Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys
Avett Brothers
Benny Benassy
Bjork
Black Keys
Blonde Redhead
Bojones
Brazilian Girls
Brother Ali
Busdriver
CSS
Circa Survive
Coco Rosie
Comedians of Comedy
Cornelius
The Coup
The Cribs
Crowded House
DJ Heather
DJ Shadow
Damien Rice
Decemberists
Digitalism
Erol Alkan
Evil Nine
Explosions in the Sky
Fair to Midland
Faithless
The Feeling
Felix Da Housecat
The Fields
Fountains of Wayne
The Frames
Fratellis
Ghostface Killah
Gillian Welch
Girl Talk
Gogol Bordello
The Good, The Bad and The Queen
Gotan Project
Grizzly Bear
Happy Mondays
Hot Chip
Jacks Mannequin
Jarvis Cocker
Jose Gonzales
Julieta Venegas
Junior Boys
Justice
Kaiser Chiefs
Kings of Leon
Klaxons
Konono No. 1
The Kooks
LCD Soundsystem
Lily Allen
Lupe Fiasco
MSTRKRFT
Manu Chao
Mika
Mike Relm
New Pornographers
Nickel Creek
Nightwatchman
Noisettes
Of Montreal
Ozomatli
Paul Van Dyk
Peaches
Peeping Tom
Peter, Bjorn & John
Pharaohe Monche
Placebo
Pop Levi
Rage Against The Machine
The Rapture
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Regina Spektor
Richie Hawtin
Rodrigo Y Gabriella
Roky Erickson and the Explosives
The Roots
Rufus Wainwright
Satellite Party
Silversun Pickups
Sonic Youth
Soulwax
Spank Rock
Sparklehorse
Stephen Marley feat Jr. Gong
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tiesto
Tilly and the Wall
Tokyo Police Club
Travis
VNV Nation
We Are Scientists
Willie Nelson
Yeva

Coachella 2007 [KROQ]

Coachella Attendees To Party Like It's Woodstock '99

mjohnston — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 18:25:36 EST

A report appearing in Monday's Los Angeles Times says that Rage Against The Machine will reform for a one-off show at this spring's Coachella Valley Music Festival. Also headlining the three-day festival, according to the Times, are Björk and the Red Hot Chili Peppers; the official lineup announcement is expected tomorrow, and we're just hoping that the words "Limp" and "Bizkit" are nowhere to be seen in that press release.

Rage Against The Machine Will Reunite For Coachella [LA Times, via Buzz Bands]

No Matter What Rock Festival You Go To This Year, You're Going To Run Into "Stacy's Mom"

mjohnston — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:54:44 EST

Thanks to the tipster who pointed us to this USA Today blurb on power-pop masters Fountains Of Wayne, which pegs the band for slots at the Coachella and Bonnaroo festivals this summer. (At least we'll be able to hear catchy songs during our inevitable attack of desert-induced heatstroke.) The rumblings about a Rage Against The Machine reunion are also growing louder, and if there's one thing we love doing, it's fanning speculative flames, so if you have any info on other artists playing either Coachella or Bonnaroo, send the news to tips@idolator.com.

~~Fountains Of Wayne - Laser Show~~ [MP3, link expired]
Fountains of Wayne gets stuck in 'Traffic' this spring [USA Today]
Previously: Idolator's rampant speculation on the Coachella lineup