Frank at Coachella Music Festival (Sunday)
Sunday
Luckily being on west coast time I was able to catch the Pens beating the Rangers before heading out to the last day of Coachella. First on the list was a set by Swervedriver. Tight musically but not much of a ’show’ but again they sounded good and seemed to be enjoying playing for a small but faithful audience but not real heavy on the showmanship. It was a little hazy which gave relief from the heat but it didn’t matter at the main stage. Gogol Bordello was up. They had a big crowd and had it moving to their eastern European flavored sounds and songs. Like a gypsy punk band turned up to 10. The energy they put out was passed on to the crowd and there was lots of dancing and attempts at dancing but it didn’t matter. A great live act. Over at the 2nd stage was Metric. I didn’t know any of their music but I liked their set and will investigate more. Sia is one of the acts that I had hoped to see. To me her recorded music is pleasant as is her work with Zero 7 but put in a live venue with the sound turned up gave it better energy than I was used to and I did enjoy her set more than I expected. To finish off the night and Coachella ’08 was Roger Waters. His first set was Pink Floyd classics from The Wall, Wish You Were Here and Animals complete with a flying pig with political slogans, an airplane flyover, spotlights, and tons of smoke. After a short intermission and a trip to the hotdog stand, Waters and the band performed ”Dark Side of the Moon”. The band was very good and the guitarist played pretty much note for note but in my mind I was wishing David Gilmour would pop on stage and make it complete but alas, not to be. Still it was a great performance. Surround sound included. Another Coachella done. Now the let down of leaving the southern California sun behind but summer’s just around the bend, right?
Thanks for reading my Coachella adventures for this year. Lots of great music and sunshine. My last comment is that except for Jack Johnson, the headliners and major draws to Coachella have been around quite a while. Lots of acts new to me at this year’s shows. Who is gong to be the next big thing to break out now and still command headline status in 20 years in the way that Prince and Roger Waters did this year?
Frank
