Sunblisters, Sweat, and Sonic Youth

I got more comments! Four more! I'm an internet star!

I've received a request to blog about traffic and it's impact on road rage. Just to set the rules; sure I'll take requests, but I won't always honor them if I don't feel like it. But in this case, for Carrie, I will.

(begin rant)

Fast people stay on the left, slow people stay on the right. Got it? Good.

(end rant)

Ok, so I don't really want to talk about that today.

What I DO want to talk about today is the 2007 Coachella Festival. This year, it's going to be a 3 day event. I'm not too excited about this because it just means more money and more time spend eating $3 tacos and drinking $5 beer while trying to dodge the sun. So I was hoping that Goldenvoice, the festival organizers, would do me a favor and schedule the worst headliner of the three on the first day so I could just skip it. No such luck. Here's the (abridged) lineup:

Friday, April 27th

Headliner:
Bjork - I'm really excited for this. Although I'm not the biggest fan (haven't really moved past Post yet, and that was, what, 10 years ago?) I doubt I'll get many opportunities to see her ever again.

Other Bands I'm Looking Forward To:
Interpol - Saw them once at the Curiosa Festival. Can't say enough good things about these guys. Turn On The Bright Lights is somewhere high amongst my list of all time favorite albums.
The Jesus & Mary Chain - I haven't really heard much other than Psychocandy but I like that album. They've been split up for a while, so this should be a good set to check out.
Sonic Youth - Only saw them once, back at the Marquee in AZ, but they put on an awesome show, especially for a bunch of geezers.

Other artists of note: DJ Shadow, Busdriver, Peeping Tom,

Saturday, April 28th

Headliner:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Ugh. I enjoy a couple of their songs but they're one of those bands that's long past their prime. They're still a bunch of amazing musicians but everything they've put out lately seems so watered down. This actually may be a bonus though; it'll be the first time I'll be willing to skip the headliner and check out some other bands.

Other Bands I'm Looking Forward To:
The Arcade Fire - Although Coachella 05's lineup wasn't spectacular enough for me to check out, I heard these guys put on an amazing performance. Hopefully they can live up to the hype. Funeral is an album I don't think I'll ever get tired of.
Blonde Redhead - I've been wanting to see these guys for a long time now. They're gonna play a show in Seattle a couple days prior, so perhaps I'll check them out and use the opportunity to see someone else at Coachella. Either way, I'm totally stoked about this.
!!! - this should be a fun show, hopefully they're put up in a tent rather than the outdoor stage.
The Frames - Some band from Ireland I heard about a couple years ago. Picked up Burn The Maps, and while "Finally" is an amazing song, the rest is only mediocre. But I get the feeling they're better live than on the album (like The Stills)
The Nightwatchman - I haven't heard any material from this, but it's Tom Morello from RATM and Audioslave, it's his side project (solo project too maybe?). Should be good.

Other artists of note: The Decemberists, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Ghostface Killah, Girl Talk

Sunday, April 29th

Headliner:
Rage Against The Machine - This was a shocker. Never really expected these guys would reform, even if for just one show. I've already seen them three times, but it's always been a great show, and this should be amazing.

Other Bands I'm Looking Forward To:
Air - At my first Coachella, they played the sunset slot, and even as I was laying in the grass, passing out from heat exhaustion, I remember this just sounding INCREDIBLE. The way the air cooled as the sun went down, the glowing of the sky dimming in my eyelids...Air + sunset slot on main stage = heaven.
The Roots - I've missed them the last couple of times they've been in my area, and will miss them again next week. Great hip hop artists with a live band behind them, should be a lot of fun.
Crowded House - sing it with me: "Hey now, HEY now, don't DREAM IT'S OVER". I don't know any other songs by them but hearing thousands of people singing along to that will be pretty cool.
Explosions In The Sky - Oh. My. God. I almost broke out into spasms when I saw they were coming to Seattle soon, but Coachella too? Anyone who went last year and saw Mogwai's set...as much as I love Mogwai...prepare to be blown away even MORE. Hopefully they get a prime spot and don't get cooped up in a tent at 4pm.
Against Me! - they seem out of place at an event like Coachella, but it seems like Coachella is moving toward a greater variety of bands. I wonder how many kids are calling them sellouts for this.
Junior Boys - Wac turned me on to them a couple of months ago, describing them as sort of a modern day Depeche Mode. I think they're not quite as passionate-sounding as Depeche Mode was, but in many ways that's a fair comparison. I'm not one to dance in public very often, and even soberly much less, but these guys could get me dancing.

Other Artists Of Note: Grizzly Bear, Lily Allen, Willie Nelson

Right now I'm not sure if I'm as excited about this Coachella as I was of the last two, but there's still enough bands that make me want to go. And like past events, I'll either discover a couple other bands while I'm there or check out some bands scheduled to play and see what I like.

Now, if they can actually get Portishead to play this one...that's a different story.