It’s that time of year, Nerds! Music festivals are a flutter and you might be noticing a heightened use of a certain three-syllable word, Coach-el-la. This Friday marks the opening day of Weekend 1, and yours truly will be there to witness the beast in all its sweaty, hazy glory. I will transform into my shameful hipster alter-ego and talk to festival attendees about things like The Gaslamp Killer‘s awesome beard, how to pronounce Ximena Sariana and how I plan on marrying Gotye and/or Kimbra before I leave the desert and head back to L.A. I will wear tie dye, I will camp, and I will probably get sunburned.
My Top 5 Bands to see at Coachella (excluding Radiohead because, lets be honest, that goes without saying):
5. WU LYF
Right off the boat from Manchester, England, this mysterious band has made it big, despite their eagerness to keep away from the press. They describe their music as “Heavy Pop,” their vocals are hard and loud yet placed on a bed of playful guitar. Word on the street is they put on a really special live show, so definitely check them out!
4. Gotye
It seems that ever since the lineup was released, Gotye has blown up in exponential proportions, but don’t let that discourage you. Even though the Australian heartthrob has gone mainstream (His song “Somebody I Used To Know” will be featured on tonight’s episode of Glee), he’s still managed to release one of the most original albums this year. Not to mention his collaboration with Kimbra is magical.
3. Frank Ocean
One of our favorite members of Odd Future, Frank Ocean, will be hitting the stage solo at Coachella. He’s the R&B singer to see this year after being featured on Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne, his singles, “Novacane” and “Swim Good” as well as his current tour have been receiving killer reviews. Frank is absolutely a must-see!
2. Lissie
When it came to deciding which chick singer I wanted to promote this year, it came down to Lissie and St. Vincent. I feel that I have expressed my love for Annie Clark and her spectacular self countless times on Nerdist, so maybe I should give someone else a shot. Lissie is a hippie who can rock. Hard. I had the pleasure of shooting her a few years back for Billboard.com and she encompasses a little bit of everything, rock n’ roll, country and being a badass. Go see her!
1. Justice
I cannot express to you how long I’ve been waiting to see Justice live. If you look at my bucket list somewhere it’s written “See Justice Live.” FINALLY! Ever since I saw their documentary, A Cross The Universe (which I highly recommend), watching Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay live has been a dream of mine, mostly because these two Frenchmen know how to put on a show better than anyone else. Go see them. Mosh. Rage. Be disgusting. It will be fun.
Please follow me on Twitter! I’ll be conducting interviews all weekend and will be asking for your input!
Greg, this blog is about living with chinorc pain, that is why I mention my being in a wheelchair at this event and how the experience is effected by that. Many of my readers suffer from the same condition as me (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) or other painful disabilities and are able to relate to my life. I write to share my experiences realistically with people who are interested. Not everybody is as strong as you, Greg, not everybody knows how to suck it up and many people who live with the daily agony of chinorc pain would never even consider going out because of the massive repercussions that it can have. Many are newly diagnosed and very confused. These are the people who are interested to know what the experience was like, what the negatives were and if I was able to overcome them. I don’t know what your handicap is, however it is ignorant to assume that everybody with a disability should be able to cope in the same manner and as effectively as you do.The point of this post is not to complain, it’s to share how I went out and had a good time. The point is to share hope, not despair. You have focused on one negative element of what is otherwise an account of a positive experience. In fact, my annoyance with people pushing in front to take pictures has little to do with my disability and everything to do with the pointlessness of buying tickets to a live show and watching the whole thing through a little screen held out in front of the rest of the audience’s faces. I included this as a throwback to an older satirical , it’s not the serious lamentation that you seem to have interpreted.
noice
Mmmm, St. Vincent or Lissie. Tough call. Personally, I’d go with the brunette. Really looking forward to The Horrors and Tune Yards.
Mmmm, St. Vincent or Lissie. Tough call. Personally, I’d go with the brunette. Really looking forward to The Horrors and tUnE-yArDs.
Please check out Refused in honor of a poor soul who could not get tickets to see one of her favorite bands that she’s NEVER gotten to see live and sadly, probably never will.
I love this site, reminds me a little of Auralgasm.org!