New Footage

Just added some live footage from the Gorillaz set so make sure you check it out here

Or read the Gorillaz blog here

Peas REEBAJEEB

Day 2 Video Highlights

VIDEO AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

Things I've Learnt While In The States for Coachella

1. Don't eat an apple coming off the plane thinking you will find a bin before customs. You WILL get held up at customs and it WILL takes ages.
2. Yanks will add sugar and/or cream to almost anything
   
3. Remember where the car is parked
   
4. Coachella Valley police department is closed on Sundays
   
5. Thom York is MVP
   
6. Danny DeVito is way awesome
   
7. Americans don't respond well to people trying to get closer to the stage at a festival
   
8. Get your merch day one or you will end up with XXL
   
9. Dave has an awesome pad worth $20 million and if your lucky he will show you pics off his phone
   
10. Australian slang can get you in awkward situations or see you ordering the wrong thing at restaurants 

POSTED BY REEBAJEEB

Festival Fashions (Or Lack Of)

Thanks to Lady GaGa it is now acceptable to not wear pants. This was more than apparent with both punters and artists (Little Boots) at Coachella. I thought some of our festivals were bordering on incident but after the amount of flesh we saw this weekend I'm singing a different tune.  

As much as you want to turn and look away big ups to the few size 18's that had the confidence to get around in just a bikini or the Canadian girl who only wore her bikini bottoms. 

With all the weird fashions that were going around I'm surprised none of the unusual bikinis I later spotted in Venice Beach made an appearance. 

PHOTOS AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

More Than Meets The Eye

Aside from the five official stages (Coachella, Outdoor Theater, Gobi, Mojave and Sahara) there were a few little stages and tents that were providing just as much entertainment.

The Dolab - Appearing at the festival for the 6th year in a row this stage has arts, music, production and even aerial acrobatics.

 

 Not sure what this next stage was called but it was run by solar power and had some wicked drum and bass roaring from it late Sunday night. 

POSTED BY REEBAJEEB

Everything In Its Right Place

So it felt as the headlining act of the Outdoor Theater Thom Yorke took to the stage on Sunday at Coachella. The crowd was massive and like I've said before pushing past Americans doesn't fly so I ended up in a terrible position.

While being down the front would have been amazing you could feel the raw power of this set from wherever you stood - Yorke was absolutely chilling to watch. Playing songs mostly off his 2006 solo album The Eraser we also caught a few Radiohead songs which included Everything in its Right Place and an acoustic rendition of Airbag.

Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea joined Yorke on stage giving us a privileged glimpse of their new super-group Atoms for Peace. Forming back in 2009 the group consists of Yorke, Flea, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronker (who has played with the likes of Beck and REM) and finally Mauro Refosco.

The set ranged from dreamy numbers that enveloped you with Yorke's remarkable voice to more upbeat electronic and percussive tracks in which Flea's signature base lines could be clearly heard. With quirky dance maneuvers that consisted of  robot-esque twitches and funky side hops Yorke was entirely captivating and we were reminded of his utter charm when he replied "I love you too" the lucky punter who expressed her affection for him.

Finally, singing over his own looped falsetto vocals, Yorke's encore was a solo affair that was absolutely stunning! 

 

VIDEO AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

Hungry ?

Check out some of the food stalls at Coachella... Giant Fish Tacos at a festival? Pass

Installations

Being a music and arts festival you can expect there are going to be a heap of awesome installations to keep you enthralled between acts.....

Cubatron L5 - designed by a dude by the name of Mark Lottor.  This trippy work of art is comprised of about 5000 LED lights that change colour to produce some amazing patterns and visual effects. Pretty much like the one at BDO in 2008.

Skyline - Illuminated chains of balloons filled with helium that could be spotted from all over the festival.

Land Sharks! - These little creatures were sick. Two neon sharks names "Betty" and "Sparky that roamed the festival at night. They were only 4feet long and could go up to about 40km/h.





Ascension - The giant origami crane that could be seen from just about anywhere on site. Representing hope, awareness and understanding the sculpture lit up an array of different colours through out the night. 

Metamorphosis - This was a glass and mirror wheel that when you stand in front of it and someone stands in the same position on the other side you appear to morph together as the wheel spins. 

PHOTOS AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

Coachella Day 3 Review

Yet another late start to the festival thanks to Dan and his disappearing act but thankfully I made it in time for Julian Casablancas! Surely you’re up to speed on the solo career of The Strokes frontman. Speaking of which they are touring in July – hope you got your tickets.  I missed out so was stoked that he did at least play Hard To Explain.

Yes, he’s going to hell in a leather jacket! Well at least with the scorching desert heat and thick air in the Mojave stage it would have felt like he was already there. Less rock and more synth pop Casablancas played Out Of The Blue and 11th Dimension before slowing the tempo for the latter half of his set. Trying to get as close to the stage as possible was an epic fail, American audiences do not budge when you ask politely to move to the gap in front of them. 

I have to say I was pretty unimpressed when Casablancas closed with I Wish It Was Christmas Today

Spoooooon! (remind anyone else of that kids cartoon The Tick?) but seriously, American indie rock four piece were one of my weekend highlights. Despite coming out in a cowboy hat Britt Daniel quickly redeemed himself with a phenomenal performance that was perfectly suited to its late afternoon time slot.

The French are good for a few things, one of which being their recent musical export Phoenix. Opening with Lisztomania these guys filled the audience as far as they eye could see. With a set list that featured the best of their four album back catalogue their set was highly energetic and "all about the music". With their lighting guy stuck elsewhere (thanks again volcano) Phoenix proved that you don't need wicked lighting rigs to put on a good show.

Run Run Run, Rome, Lasso, Long Distance and Consolation Prizes were among the many being played with 1901 featuring as the final track. 

Heading to Little Boots (albeit against my will) I was pretty surprised looking around at the rest of the audience at the Gobi stage. I'm going to liken Victoria Hesketh to a contemporary Kylie Monogue. Adding a over the top lazer show to the mix, which would have been just as effective if she lent half to Phoenix (not that they needed it), Little Boots was scarcely clad, sparkly and seemed to draw in a large number of flamboyant males.

Missed some huge electronic beats coming from the Sahara tent where the recently regrouped brothers from Orbital seemed to be ripping up a storm. Having seen them before I was content to miss them in exchange for a good spot for Thom Yorke! (This needs its own blog) 

PHOTOS AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

Gorillaz In The Mix’d

“Welcome to the world of the plastic beach”

We all bolt toward the stage. My heart almost skipped a beat when I heard those magical words saw Snoop Dogg's head on the screen. Sadly it was just a video for this set we were just going to have to make do with Damon Albarn, his band, an entire string section, back up singers and a F load of Cameos. Rumor has it two members from the Clash were also on stage and its safe to assume one of which was Mike Jones.

Although initially ridiculed back home in the UK Albarn’s fictional cartoon band has taken off. In the US alone the first two albums even outsold Blur’s entire catalog. This most recent album, Plastic Beach, just as amazing as his last! Its slightly less poppy but it maintains those famous reggae base line, disco beats and the measured rapping of Albarn and co.

Until now 2D, Noodle, Russle and Murdoc have all been illusive characters drawn by comic book artist Jamie Hewlett, so we had NO idea what to expect from this live performance.

On stage cameos included Bobby Womack for Stylo and earlier performers De La Soul. The set was amazing and I was blown away by how much was actually Albarn himself - this man writes, produces and sings!

The set was pretty chilled and ended without Dare or Feel Good Inc. Thankfully they did encore! After about five minutes the stage was filled again and the second song was Feel Good Inc featuring De La Soul. The crowd went off roaring ‘Ha ha ha ha ha’. Dare never got played and my only other disappointment with was that they ended on a low point. The final song was a slow number with cartoon images from Peal Harbor. Kinda heavy and not exactly the note to close Coachella on. Nevertheless Gorillaz were above and beyond anything I ever expected. My personal favorite – Superfast Jellyfish. 

 

 

PHOTOS AND POST BY REEBAJEEB

Coachella Day 2 Review

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - Empire Polo Club, Indio California aka middle of nowhere. Unfortunately we missed the first day (don’t talk about the war) due to our flight delays but all weekend I heard rave reviews about Jay Z’s set, especially his encore with Beyonce. Pretty cool to see that Z hung around to catch some of the other acts at the festival including The XX which were the first band I managed to catch.

Although a three piece (used to be four) on stage it is the dual vocals of Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim that stole the show. Dressed in matching outfits of a yellow shirt and black pants these guys almost looked as though they about to clock on for work. Their set was timid and while the songs were danceable I found it almost too mellow. For me, The XX were one of those bands whose performances don’t stray far from their sound on the album.

Leaving midway I decided to get a few drinks but what’s different about this festival is that the organisers have made it pretty hard to get pissed. At Coachella you can only drink in designated drinking areas which were not all that close to the stages. As a result weed seemed to be the weapon of choice for your average punter and walking through the crowd that’s all you could smell. It made for an interesting vibe – fewer fights and a very calm, blasé response to the HOURS it took trying to leave the venue. 

Drinks were about the same price as here only huge difference was their idea of a ‘cocktail’. Bourbon and coke…. Need I continue?

The sound at Coachella was pretty impressive but when Hot Chip came on you could tell it still had nothing on our boiler room. If you have ever seen Hot Chip a Big Day Out in Sydney you will know what I mean. Their live performances produce a cacophony of sounds and unless the five piece have moved away from trying to achieve this, then the multitudes of layers were lost across the venue. Then again I may have just been in a bad position.

Playing a good mix of song off their most recent album One Life Stand and from their back catalogue, Hot Chip were highly entertaining. The awkwardly adorable dancing of Alexis Taylor ensured that even people who know they can’t dance weer giving it a go. How would you not, their electro beats are highly infectious. No surprise that Over and Over was the crowd favorite followed by an powerful close with Ready For The Floor. 

Hanging around till the end of Hot Chip meant BATTELING through to the crowd to catch the end of Faith No More. Having only recently reunited I’m kicking myself for not seeing more of their set. At least I can say the final few tracks were Epic and I did happen to catch the highlight – Danny DeVeto runny across the stage. Apparently he is a regular at the desert gathering.

They got a less than decent review at Splendour a few years back and have pissed off fans by only playing a Sydney show when last in the country but despite all this MGMT were on my agenda. DAMN IT. Should have listened to what people were saying! Thankfully I didn’t sacrifice any other must sees but I did loose out on valuable beer garden time. Andrew VanWyngarden, Ben Goldwasser and their support took to the stage which was washed with (Oracular) Spectacular lighting. From the stages to the art installations the colours at this festival were amazing.

The audience was packed, everyone eager to see the electro/synth-pop duo. Sadly when it came to actually entertaining us it seemed as if they were too cool. Standing practically still through out their entire performance I would have rather watched one of their awesomely trippy film clips. Flash Delirium and other new tracks even replaced Kids. Thankfully they did play Weekend Wars, Time to Pretend and Electric Feel.

The people with half a brain (which I was not part of) slowly trickled away to get a good spot for Muse. This was another set that was almost identical this years BDO, I think Matthew Bellamy was even wearing the same outfit only this time his red pants were accessorizes with blue shades.

Veterans of the stage Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard knew how to get audience frothing and their lighting ensured the visuals matched their sound - their set borderline sci-fi. Playing their hits from all five albums Muse had almost the entire audience screaming the lyrics Supermassive Blackhole, Time is Running Out, Knights of Cydonia and Plug in Baby.

11.40 time for the act I most wanted to see today - The Dead Weather. This is what happens when you get a band fronted by Jack White (The White Stripes) and supported by Allison Mosshart (The Kills), Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs). All four had their own moments but as expected White and ‘Baby Ruthless’ Mosshart stole the show. Staggering around the stage as if wasted (she wasn’t) Mosshartwatch. After performing Hang You from the Heavens White came out from behind the drum kit that he had been trying to murder to take over lead vocals/guitar for a number of tracks. On stage each performer seemed to do what ever the hell they wanted and it worked. Treat Me Like Your Mother and Die By The Drop were absolute highlight and the only negative of this set was the beats from Tiesto starting on main stage seeped across killed the sound from where I stood.

Catching a bit of Sia before heading to 2Many Dj’s I fell in love with her simply from her between song banter. Egging people on to heckle her and taking the piss out of Madonna, Sia was a lot of fun to watch. This kid has a good sense of humour and I guess with a film clip like the one for Buttons you would have to. I managed to catch only a few songs including You’ve Changed before racing to Sahara stage.

I LOVE Soulwax so for me catching 2Many Dj’s is a must! Throughout their set they displayed album covers of the tracks they were remixing with the head of lovely Belgium lads replacing the faces on the original art works. Their set drifted in and out of themes my favourite of which mixed together a series of songs about $$$ including a legitimate mash of new and old skool songs that even featured ABBA’s Money Money Money and Pink Floyd’s.... you guessed it, Money. Their set closed with two confetti cannons and a massive wall of applause. They Even Played Kids

PHOTOS AND POST BY REEBAJEEB (more pics and vids to follow)