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May 03, 2007
Coachella: Day 1 - Of Montreal, Amy Winehouse, and Arctic Monkeys
Four full days removed from Coachella and Merry Swankster coverage begins in earnest. Stick around and take a gander at the highs and lows of Coachella 2007 through the eyes of Senior Swankster.
Like most bloggerati our spot on the 'keep it positive' gauge is typically parked in the bright sunshine beyond the red line marker of hyper-enthusiasm. Upon conclusion of the Coachella coverage you’ll see that no artist was spared if they performed a festival show heavy on the awful. This is my duty to you, fair Internets.
Having already poked fun at the nit-pickers I'll address some common grumblings so as to get them out of the way, real quick like:
-Driving - "Traffic sucks!" - Toss out the general directions and look at a damn map. EVERYONE takes the recommended route. Pick a different one.-Heat - "It's so hot!" - East coast transplants living out West know the maxim pretty well, but it’s worth repeating: "This is dry heat!" Remember it and use it for perspective next year. I understand my point might is lost on Angelinos born and bred into a perpetuity of enviable 70 degree existence, but since when do we dumb down explanations for the sake of LA? I joke!
-Prices - "Food is expensive!" - So are the fancy drugs in your pocket and all they do is make you hungry, thirsty or twisted. The cycle is vicious it is.
-Hype - "Bloggers getting carried away equating Coachella to an idyllic bucolic paradise of excellently chosen artists in a menagerie of awesome" - Natch and zing.
-- -- --
Coachella 2007 Day 1: (04.27)
Comedians of Comedy - Gobi tent
The first impression of Coachella '07 comes from a comic. A little odd but true. Walking into the grounds on a mission to see Of Montreal’s set at the Outdoor stage I overheard a joke that sounded roughly like this:
"Pretty much everyone hates Bush now. Even his early fans have come around in disgust. Kind of like your buddy who used to be into Creed - no matter how often you told them they sucked, you know? Later they were all like, "whoa dude,…what the fuck was I thinking."
Of Montreal - Outdoor stage - Recap here.
Kevin Barnes in a dress, on a ladder.
Amy Winehouse - Gobi tent
Amy Winehouse - [Photo cred]
Tiny Gobi tent was super packed for the raunchy faux-Motown sounds of UK tabloid fodder Amy Winehouse. A good view for late arrivals was almost as impossible as her wild beehive ‘do, but I could hear fine. She and her band sounded great. Here is a great shot of her with backup singers dressed in appropriate desert clothing.
Arctic Monkeys - Coachella stage
Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys [Photo cred]
For whatever reason after the initial hype abated I made a decision to not like these guys based on nothing resembling a tangible assessment and everything with my fickle nature for such senseless resolve. My turn on the see-saw.
Arctic Monkeys’ main stage set was a tight, cohesive and clear demonstration of how good a band they are. They still didn’t grab me in a profound manner, but an enjoyable and fun to watch set nonetheless. Even their biggest critics cannot put down Alex Turner’s voice – throaty, raspy and aged far beyond his years.
Best part of Arctic Monkeys: completely free of the inane bullshit some of their countrymen (and women) felt compelled to spew during their moments on the podium. I definitely lost some love for the famous quips of our Anglo brethren over the weekend, these Sheffield boys excluded.
Posted by Merry Swankster at May 3, 2007 06:31 PM
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