Satori brought up my Big Gay Road Trip mix on a local mailing list recently, which had me dig them up and give them another listen.
It's been a hot minute since I've listened to either of these, but I thought I'd put direct links out there for anyone who wanted to give them a listen. These were recorded five years ago, and were put together for an audience of one. One of my oldest and dearest was driving cross country with her boyfriend, so I whipped together two quick mixes of tunes I knew she'd enjoy. The point is, expect a number of familiar tunes on here. But also a number of tunes that you'll be all "oh shit, I remember hearing this all the time"
Both mixes are about 52 minutes in length:
Spiggy - Big Gay Road Trip
Spiggy - Big Gay Road Trip v1.5
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
In which we discuss outings from the last weekend.
This past Thursday night, lacking of any truly enticing options, I accepted an invitation to join Randy and Torrey for a night out at U Street Music Hall. The "Pacemaker DJs" were playing. Overall I wasn't impressed. The track selection pretty much hit both sides of the spectrum (either way overplayed or remarkably dull) with no real middle ground. And when you couple that with the way they mixed them together? Look, I'm a huge advocate of advancing technology in all fields. I think a lot of the software options out there are great tools to utilize as a DJ. But I think it's also enabling a generation of DJs who don't actually think about the innerworkings of their set. And I'm not talking overly complicated concepts here. I mean, it's pretty fucking jarring if you're playing some hands in the air jacking house tune and then slam into some deep, Get Physical-style, tech house. It's like "goodbye momentum". We can also get into the concept of bad mp3s and why flanger should never be used unless you're playing an epic trance breakdown, as both of these things presented issues in the night. But I won't.
Still, lack of other options, plus a general appreciation for the space itself (and it's bar staff) led me to spend some quality time with the Old Irish Bastard (read: Jameson) and close the place down.
Fast forward to Friday night, we encounter new partners in crime (Mike & Dyanne) and head off to Muse (The Muse? The Muse Lounge? Muses?) for District Ignition's Rewired party. Featured acts of the night, Uberzone and Dances With White Girls. I've seen DWWG's name in the past and have always been tickled by his name, but never actually looked into him before. When asked what kind of sound he plays, I was told he calls it "Thug House". (which provided further amusement). Definitely enjoyed his set. His sound really isn't that much of a stretch from the electro vibe currently in vogue (somewhere along the lines of Kill The Noize, Fake Blood, and the like), dropping tunes ranging from Nadastrom to Proxy. I'd definitely recommend checking him out if you get the chance. Not life changing, but definitely will get your ass shaking on the dance floor.
I'd like to comment on Uberzone's set. I'd like to say it was fantastic and I shook my ass. Unfortunately, this is where one Mr Hendrick's distracted me. Suffice it to say, I over-indulged and the night got hazy somewhere shortly after he went on. I know I apparently made some bad choices. I know I now have an Uberzone t-shirt. And I know I had a relatively hefty bar tab. Beyond that I can't really comment. So, to summarize: first half of the night = awesome; second half of the night = Drunken Failure
A day of nursing a hangover later, Mike & Dyanne scooped me up and it was back to U Street Music Hall where the guys who run the Fixed and Making Time parties (in NYC and Philly, respectively) were playing. I've never made a Fixed party, but I've gone to several Making Time parties. Generally have a blast when at them. Granted, this is largely due to the headliners they've brought through (Simian Mobile Disco, Boys Noize, Soulwax/2ManyDJs, Erol Alkan, Klaxons, etc). I generally dig their track selection, but their mixing leaves more than a little to be desired. Jarring transitions, leaving two really busy tracks layered on top of each other for far too long, key clashes... these things really kill the vibe for me. Watching them in the past, it's often seemed that one of them (I think it's Dave P) is far better than the other in terms of straight up mixing ability (and, hey, that happens with a lot of duos. The time I saw Tiefschwarz at the Pawn Shop being a great example), but either way lack of flow is an easy way to kill the vibe. Still I did keep dancing as I dug a lot of tunes they dropped. The place was a sweat box last night though, and around 2AM, between the nasty uncomfortable feeling of jeans glued to my legs from sweat and a two song combo that completely turned me off, we called it a night. There are three songs that I find to be among the laziest songs to play. Yes, they are all solid tunes, but at the same time they are played so often and have been for years that the magic is really far from gone. The three tunes in question:
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Armand Van Helden - U Don't Know Me
New Order - Blue Monday
And hey, I have all three of those on vinyl (Hell, I've got like 5 different releases of Blue Monday on vinyl) and do find them to be great tunes. But my god do I never need to hear them out again. So to hear two of them back to back (Sweet Dreams and U Don't Know Me) irked me a bit.
I know I sound hyper-critical. And, well, I am (Hell, this is nothing compared to how I rip my own DJ sets apart) but all in all I did have a solid time. I constantly look for the complete package with dance nights. And it does exist. Just not always as easy to come by.
And now I dive back, head first, into the drudgery of my work week.
Still, lack of other options, plus a general appreciation for the space itself (and it's bar staff) led me to spend some quality time with the Old Irish Bastard (read: Jameson) and close the place down.
Fast forward to Friday night, we encounter new partners in crime (Mike & Dyanne) and head off to Muse (The Muse? The Muse Lounge? Muses?) for District Ignition's Rewired party. Featured acts of the night, Uberzone and Dances With White Girls. I've seen DWWG's name in the past and have always been tickled by his name, but never actually looked into him before. When asked what kind of sound he plays, I was told he calls it "Thug House". (which provided further amusement). Definitely enjoyed his set. His sound really isn't that much of a stretch from the electro vibe currently in vogue (somewhere along the lines of Kill The Noize, Fake Blood, and the like), dropping tunes ranging from Nadastrom to Proxy. I'd definitely recommend checking him out if you get the chance. Not life changing, but definitely will get your ass shaking on the dance floor.
I'd like to comment on Uberzone's set. I'd like to say it was fantastic and I shook my ass. Unfortunately, this is where one Mr Hendrick's distracted me. Suffice it to say, I over-indulged and the night got hazy somewhere shortly after he went on. I know I apparently made some bad choices. I know I now have an Uberzone t-shirt. And I know I had a relatively hefty bar tab. Beyond that I can't really comment. So, to summarize: first half of the night = awesome; second half of the night = Drunken Failure
A day of nursing a hangover later, Mike & Dyanne scooped me up and it was back to U Street Music Hall where the guys who run the Fixed and Making Time parties (in NYC and Philly, respectively) were playing. I've never made a Fixed party, but I've gone to several Making Time parties. Generally have a blast when at them. Granted, this is largely due to the headliners they've brought through (Simian Mobile Disco, Boys Noize, Soulwax/2ManyDJs, Erol Alkan, Klaxons, etc). I generally dig their track selection, but their mixing leaves more than a little to be desired. Jarring transitions, leaving two really busy tracks layered on top of each other for far too long, key clashes... these things really kill the vibe for me. Watching them in the past, it's often seemed that one of them (I think it's Dave P) is far better than the other in terms of straight up mixing ability (and, hey, that happens with a lot of duos. The time I saw Tiefschwarz at the Pawn Shop being a great example), but either way lack of flow is an easy way to kill the vibe. Still I did keep dancing as I dug a lot of tunes they dropped. The place was a sweat box last night though, and around 2AM, between the nasty uncomfortable feeling of jeans glued to my legs from sweat and a two song combo that completely turned me off, we called it a night. There are three songs that I find to be among the laziest songs to play. Yes, they are all solid tunes, but at the same time they are played so often and have been for years that the magic is really far from gone. The three tunes in question:
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Armand Van Helden - U Don't Know Me
New Order - Blue Monday
And hey, I have all three of those on vinyl (Hell, I've got like 5 different releases of Blue Monday on vinyl) and do find them to be great tunes. But my god do I never need to hear them out again. So to hear two of them back to back (Sweet Dreams and U Don't Know Me) irked me a bit.
I know I sound hyper-critical. And, well, I am (Hell, this is nothing compared to how I rip my own DJ sets apart) but all in all I did have a solid time. I constantly look for the complete package with dance nights. And it does exist. Just not always as easy to come by.
And now I dive back, head first, into the drudgery of my work week.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Final reflections on Coachella 2010
Now that I've had a week to recover, and am currently listening to bootlegs from the festival, it's time to share my final thoughts on the festival.
First off, I apologize for the notes on the first three days. They were all rough drafts, so they weren't really refined as well as they could have been. (not that this one is any different) Which made for a bit of rambling. Quite frankly, the whole process was rather self-indulgent anyhow, so I kind of figured "fuck it" and worried more about getting them out sooner rather than later.
I am still in shock from the whole experience. It was far better than I had expected it to be. I anticipated solid performances, but I expected the crowd to be full of douchebags. Which couldn't have been further from the reality of the situation. In my experience, people were friendly, talkative, and generally respectful towards each other. (save the cat fights during La Roux, at least). And the venue couldn't have been more ideal. The weather was pretty much perfect each day. The ground was so soft that walking barefoot felt amazing. And there was a fairly decent selection of food to choose from by way of the vendors.
Fever Ray's performance still stands out for me as the most surreal part of the event for me. Fucking amazing. Beyond that the big highlights for me were Faith No More, Miike Snow, Gorillaz, Little Boots, La Roux and Florence + The Machine.
I was upset last year that I went to SXSW instead of WMC. This year, I know I made the right choice by passing on WMC for Coachella. Going forward, Coachella is now going to be an annual trip for me. Although next year, we're likely going to need to avoid the parking fiasco and just camp. Showering is going to be a concern, but I can suck it up and just do the shitty trailer showers.
All in all there were only two things I wish I had done differently this year. One - While it makes for a great story, I really wish I hadn't been so intoxicated on the second day. There were plenty of other things I'd have liked to remember. As it stands the only thing I truly experienced from Saturday was Faith No More (thank GOD I was sober enough for that, however). Two - why didn't I get the number of the girl that was dancing with us to Fever Ray? At the very least, after talking to her a bit I think she would have been fun to hang with at other shows through the rest of the weekend. I blame my mind being blown from Fever Ray's set.
I also have to give a huge shout out to Mike here for just generally being awesome. I've gone to some great festivals in the past, but having him along really made the experience that much more brilliant. For one, he is as laid back as I am. Neither of us were stressed about anything and were just there to enjoy ourselves. Really that attitude makes all the difference in the world. In addition, most every trip I've made like this (save going to Germany for Zillo in '99), has been with a woman I was dating. Which has generally meant two things: one - drama because they felt I wasn't paying them enough attention during the shows. (And I won't apologize for that. I'm not going to ignore someone I'm dating, but a significant other of mine has got to know that I live for this sort of shit, so clearly I am going to lose myself in the performances. Sophie said it best... "music gets the best of me"); two - A bigger drain on my wallet. (this could probably go off on some sort of dovetail about my past dating choices, but that's really not a discussion I'm trying to have). So not having to worry about either of these things really helped the enjoyment of the festival. But even beyond that, it's also kind of great to just run around being, well, men. (here's where we queue the song I was singing all weekend).
So time to start thinking about Coachella 2011. Based off of the lineups from the last few years, I'm confident there will be plenty of awesome to be found. Maybe putting some extra cash aside to find ways we can make it "next level". I encourage others to come join us. Cause, really, the more the merrier!
First off, I apologize for the notes on the first three days. They were all rough drafts, so they weren't really refined as well as they could have been. (not that this one is any different) Which made for a bit of rambling. Quite frankly, the whole process was rather self-indulgent anyhow, so I kind of figured "fuck it" and worried more about getting them out sooner rather than later.
I am still in shock from the whole experience. It was far better than I had expected it to be. I anticipated solid performances, but I expected the crowd to be full of douchebags. Which couldn't have been further from the reality of the situation. In my experience, people were friendly, talkative, and generally respectful towards each other. (save the cat fights during La Roux, at least). And the venue couldn't have been more ideal. The weather was pretty much perfect each day. The ground was so soft that walking barefoot felt amazing. And there was a fairly decent selection of food to choose from by way of the vendors.
Fever Ray's performance still stands out for me as the most surreal part of the event for me. Fucking amazing. Beyond that the big highlights for me were Faith No More, Miike Snow, Gorillaz, Little Boots, La Roux and Florence + The Machine.
I was upset last year that I went to SXSW instead of WMC. This year, I know I made the right choice by passing on WMC for Coachella. Going forward, Coachella is now going to be an annual trip for me. Although next year, we're likely going to need to avoid the parking fiasco and just camp. Showering is going to be a concern, but I can suck it up and just do the shitty trailer showers.
All in all there were only two things I wish I had done differently this year. One - While it makes for a great story, I really wish I hadn't been so intoxicated on the second day. There were plenty of other things I'd have liked to remember. As it stands the only thing I truly experienced from Saturday was Faith No More (thank GOD I was sober enough for that, however). Two - why didn't I get the number of the girl that was dancing with us to Fever Ray? At the very least, after talking to her a bit I think she would have been fun to hang with at other shows through the rest of the weekend. I blame my mind being blown from Fever Ray's set.
I also have to give a huge shout out to Mike here for just generally being awesome. I've gone to some great festivals in the past, but having him along really made the experience that much more brilliant. For one, he is as laid back as I am. Neither of us were stressed about anything and were just there to enjoy ourselves. Really that attitude makes all the difference in the world. In addition, most every trip I've made like this (save going to Germany for Zillo in '99), has been with a woman I was dating. Which has generally meant two things: one - drama because they felt I wasn't paying them enough attention during the shows. (And I won't apologize for that. I'm not going to ignore someone I'm dating, but a significant other of mine has got to know that I live for this sort of shit, so clearly I am going to lose myself in the performances. Sophie said it best... "music gets the best of me"); two - A bigger drain on my wallet. (this could probably go off on some sort of dovetail about my past dating choices, but that's really not a discussion I'm trying to have). So not having to worry about either of these things really helped the enjoyment of the festival. But even beyond that, it's also kind of great to just run around being, well, men. (here's where we queue the song I was singing all weekend).
So time to start thinking about Coachella 2011. Based off of the lineups from the last few years, I'm confident there will be plenty of awesome to be found. Maybe putting some extra cash aside to find ways we can make it "next level". I encourage others to come join us. Cause, really, the more the merrier!
Coachella - Day 3
So where the first day had the single most amazing thing I've seen (Fever Ray), and the second day was full of failure, the third day was the most consistent day of the three (read: this is likely going to be a long one).
Mike and I tried to get out fairly early, which was suprisingly easy to do (Surprising, at least, if you read the notes on day 2 and the copious amount of alcohol consumed on both our parts). Keeping the pit stops to a minimum, with a stop at Target and a stop to get gas (where the hero of this story bravely forgot to close the gas tank) we made our way to the venue with minimal traffic. Knocked back some Red Bull (which Mike obtained by hopping out of the car and chasing down a red bull car) and entered the venue.
Our first goal was still a few hours away, so we made our way to the oasis/DJ area they had set up in the middle of the grounds. The DJ playing, I believe his name was Patricio, played some breaks that would make Ian/Daniella Downs proud. Today, in addition to the water cannons and the misting islands, there was a slip'n'slide set up. After dancing for a bit (and both of us taking a ride down the slip n slide), we checked out some of the other huts we largely ignored for the first two days. Not a whole lot terribly exciting, although this would be where Mike may want to hang his head in shame (he received quite an ass whooping from yours truly in an air hockey match). Ultimately it was time for us to make our way to the main stage and get positioned for our first notable act of the day, De La Soul.
Caught the tail end of B.o.B. who were fantastic. Kind of wish we had rolled over earlier to catch the rest of their set. De La Soul came on and had a great vibe. Easily the two best jams they played while we saw them were 4 More and A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday. Would like to have stayed for the rest of their set, but we were on a mission, and that mission involved a woman named Florence and her machine!
By the time we got to the Gobi tent, people were already spilling out of every entrance way. This was apparently the place to be. Unfortunate for us, as our position was a little weak. We weren't in the best place to fully appreciate Florence & The Machine as the sound was not as crisp as it could have been (note: the ONLY time we had this issue all weekend). That said, her energy was amazing. Hyper and excitable, and god that woman has some pipes on her. Her energy was infectious, and made it easy for her to work the crowd till they were spent.
From there we rolled over to the Sahara tent to check out Club 75. I honestly had no idea what Club 75 was except that they were "Ed Banger-related". So we stroll up to the tent and I'm already feeling the urge to dance. Look up at the stage, turn to Mike and say "wait a fucking minute". I was like "that's Mehdi on the right, that's Busy P on the left, and I swear that's one of the guys from Justice next to him". Shortly after, Busy P got on the mic and introduced the lineup: Busy P, Mehdi, Justice and Cassius. Pretty wild set, there were a LOT of Ed Banger classics thrown in the mix. I was pleased, but we had to kick out early as we saw our last chance to grab some sort of sustenance.
A tasty steak fajita, strawberry lemonade and coconut juice later and we were back off to the Mojave stage. Fortunately, this was pretty empty and gave us ample space to get up close and prepare to get our dance on. After having a little moment to share stories and such with a group from San Francisico we were standing near Miike Snow took the stage. Each member came out wearing a white mask over their face, which I felt really gave a great "it's not about us as individuals, but us collectively as a band" vibe. I can only imagine this having something to do with the general misconception that Miike Snow is a person, when it is merely the name of the band. Their set killed, Mike exclaimed that they were his sleeper hit of the festival. The single biggest highlight for me was the live rendition of Silvia. Although there was an amazing moment when they closed out their set, finishing with Animal (which was to be expected) just as the beat hit, a dozen black beach balls with the logo from the album were released into the crowd, just pushing everyone's energy level that much higher.
With Miike Snow finished, it was time to make our way back to the Gobi tent where the stage was being set for Little Boots. Here's where, save the cat fights during La Roux, I encountered my first real negative vibe from people in the crowd. Granted there were only a few contributing to this. A solid fifteen to twenty minutes before her set was scheduled to start and one guy had an iPad scrolling the words "hurry the fuck up" while another was shouting towards the roadies that no one cared about the soundcheck. I know this seems relatively innocuous, but the way it came off just shouted "douche bag" (as a douche bag, myself, I feel qualified to pass this judgement) First off, if she were running late, that would be one thing but give it a rest we weren't remotely close to on time. Second, do you REALLY not think the soundcheck is important? Don't you think that just MAYBE it might work to our advantage that the techs ensure everything is working properly before shit falls apart mid-set?
Following Little Boots on twitter (twitter.com/iamlittleboot
A few songs into Little Boots's set, Mike rolled out to go catch Orbital, who were playing at the same time. Would have liked to see Orbital, but given that I've not seen Little Boots before, and she cancelled her DC show, and that I'd seen Orbital four times in the past (granted, it's been over ten years), I thought it best to remain where I was. That said, once both acts were done there was the challenge of finding Mike in a crowd of 75,000 people. Arriving at our designated meeting spot, there were too many people to find him quickly. That is, until I heard a woman's voice shouting "Ed Duffy". With a response of "I'm Ed Duffy" I find Mike with a couple people who decided to help him find me. Kind of an odd, you had to be there moment, but it was amusing and unexpected all the same.
At this point, we had heard a rumor (thanks to Erica, the woman putting her vocal chords on the line to call out for me), that Thom Yorke wasn't going to be Thom Yorke, but Radiohead. Turns out that was a bit off, it was Atoms for Peace on stage with him. Gonna be honest, I like Radiohead, but Thom Yorke's solo stuff hasn't blown me away. So after about two songs we had a choice, stay and watch more, or make our way through the throng of people and find ourselves a good location for the evening's main event. The latter seemed to make the most sense. Fuck all y'all, we were here to see the muthafuckin Gorillaz.
For an hour, we sat and waited, getting increasingly more excited until the string section took the stage. I keep reading negative comments on the show that seem to boil down to two things: They didn't play Dare, and they had no "surprise guests". Apparently Jay-Z having Beyonce come on stage meant that everyone had to have someone "unexpected" join them? I don't quite follow. As it stood, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, and Little Dragon all joined them. Granted, two of those acts were on the bill for Coachella that weekend, but really, there was nothing to be mad about. The visuals were amazing, they sounded exceptionally tight and their setlist was fantastic. Really the only big tune that wasn't touched on was Dare (for all we know, given the number of no shows at the festival due to the volcano, Shaun Ryder was supposed to come and got stuck in Europe). Highlights for me were easily On Melancholy Hill, O Green World, Clint Eastwood, White Flag, Superfast Jellyfish and Feel Good Inc. I recall one moment where Mike turned to me as if to say "What do you think" and I was at a complete loss for words. (If you know me, you know this is quite rare, I'm an opinionated asshole who always has too much to say).
From there, we battled our way, along with roughly 74,998 other people, to the exit. Made one final stop at Del Taco and returned to the hotel with enough time for two to three hours of sleep before having to leave in the morning (Needed to leave early to make sure Mike didn't miss his flight).
All in all, an amazing weekend. Later, I'll write some final thoughts on the weekend as a whole. For now, I am going to see about soaking my aching joints in my aunt and uncle's hot tub.
Mike and I tried to get out fairly early, which was suprisingly easy to do (Surprising, at least, if you read the notes on day 2 and the copious amount of alcohol consumed on both our parts). Keeping the pit stops to a minimum, with a stop at Target and a stop to get gas (where the hero of this story bravely forgot to close the gas tank) we made our way to the venue with minimal traffic. Knocked back some Red Bull (which Mike obtained by hopping out of the car and chasing down a red bull car) and entered the venue.
Our first goal was still a few hours away, so we made our way to the oasis/DJ area they had set up in the middle of the grounds. The DJ playing, I believe his name was Patricio, played some breaks that would make Ian/Daniella Downs proud. Today, in addition to the water cannons and the misting islands, there was a slip'n'slide set up. After dancing for a bit (and both of us taking a ride down the slip n slide), we checked out some of the other huts we largely ignored for the first two days. Not a whole lot terribly exciting, although this would be where Mike may want to hang his head in shame (he received quite an ass whooping from yours truly in an air hockey match). Ultimately it was time for us to make our way to the main stage and get positioned for our first notable act of the day, De La Soul.
Caught the tail end of B.o.B. who were fantastic. Kind of wish we had rolled over earlier to catch the rest of their set. De La Soul came on and had a great vibe. Easily the two best jams they played while we saw them were 4 More and A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday. Would like to have stayed for the rest of their set, but we were on a mission, and that mission involved a woman named Florence and her machine!
By the time we got to the Gobi tent, people were already spilling out of every entrance way. This was apparently the place to be. Unfortunate for us, as our position was a little weak. We weren't in the best place to fully appreciate Florence & The Machine as the sound was not as crisp as it could have been (note: the ONLY time we had this issue all weekend). That said, her energy was amazing. Hyper and excitable, and god that woman has some pipes on her. Her energy was infectious, and made it easy for her to work the crowd till they were spent.
From there we rolled over to the Sahara tent to check out Club 75. I honestly had no idea what Club 75 was except that they were "Ed Banger-related". So we stroll up to the tent and I'm already feeling the urge to dance. Look up at the stage, turn to Mike and say "wait a fucking minute". I was like "that's Mehdi on the right, that's Busy P on the left, and I swear that's one of the guys from Justice next to him". Shortly after, Busy P got on the mic and introduced the lineup: Busy P, Mehdi, Justice and Cassius. Pretty wild set, there were a LOT of Ed Banger classics thrown in the mix. I was pleased, but we had to kick out early as we saw our last chance to grab some sort of sustenance.
A tasty steak fajita, strawberry lemonade and coconut juice later and we were back off to the Mojave stage. Fortunately, this was pretty empty and gave us ample space to get up close and prepare to get our dance on. After having a little moment to share stories and such with a group from San Francisico we were standing near Miike Snow took the stage. Each member came out wearing a white mask over their face, which I felt really gave a great "it's not about us as individuals, but us collectively as a band" vibe. I can only imagine this having something to do with the general misconception that Miike Snow is a person, when it is merely the name of the band. Their set killed, Mike exclaimed that they were his sleeper hit of the festival. The single biggest highlight for me was the live rendition of Silvia. Although there was an amazing moment when they closed out their set, finishing with Animal (which was to be expected) just as the beat hit, a dozen black beach balls with the logo from the album were released into the crowd, just pushing everyone's energy level that much higher.
With Miike Snow finished, it was time to make our way back to the Gobi tent where the stage was being set for Little Boots. Here's where, save the cat fights during La Roux, I encountered my first real negative vibe from people in the crowd. Granted there were only a few contributing to this. A solid fifteen to twenty minutes before her set was scheduled to start and one guy had an iPad scrolling the words "hurry the fuck up" while another was shouting towards the roadies that no one cared about the soundcheck. I know this seems relatively innocuous, but the way it came off just shouted "douche bag" (as a douche bag, myself, I feel qualified to pass this judgement) First off, if she were running late, that would be one thing but give it a rest we weren't remotely close to on time. Second, do you REALLY not think the soundcheck is important? Don't you think that just MAYBE it might work to our advantage that the techs ensure everything is working properly before shit falls apart mid-set?
Following Little Boots on twitter (twitter.com/iamlittleboot
A few songs into Little Boots's set, Mike rolled out to go catch Orbital, who were playing at the same time. Would have liked to see Orbital, but given that I've not seen Little Boots before, and she cancelled her DC show, and that I'd seen Orbital four times in the past (granted, it's been over ten years), I thought it best to remain where I was. That said, once both acts were done there was the challenge of finding Mike in a crowd of 75,000 people. Arriving at our designated meeting spot, there were too many people to find him quickly. That is, until I heard a woman's voice shouting "Ed Duffy". With a response of "I'm Ed Duffy" I find Mike with a couple people who decided to help him find me. Kind of an odd, you had to be there moment, but it was amusing and unexpected all the same.
At this point, we had heard a rumor (thanks to Erica, the woman putting her vocal chords on the line to call out for me), that Thom Yorke wasn't going to be Thom Yorke, but Radiohead. Turns out that was a bit off, it was Atoms for Peace on stage with him. Gonna be honest, I like Radiohead, but Thom Yorke's solo stuff hasn't blown me away. So after about two songs we had a choice, stay and watch more, or make our way through the throng of people and find ourselves a good location for the evening's main event. The latter seemed to make the most sense. Fuck all y'all, we were here to see the muthafuckin Gorillaz.
For an hour, we sat and waited, getting increasingly more excited until the string section took the stage. I keep reading negative comments on the show that seem to boil down to two things: They didn't play Dare, and they had no "surprise guests". Apparently Jay-Z having Beyonce come on stage meant that everyone had to have someone "unexpected" join them? I don't quite follow. As it stood, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, and Little Dragon all joined them. Granted, two of those acts were on the bill for Coachella that weekend, but really, there was nothing to be mad about. The visuals were amazing, they sounded exceptionally tight and their setlist was fantastic. Really the only big tune that wasn't touched on was Dare (for all we know, given the number of no shows at the festival due to the volcano, Shaun Ryder was supposed to come and got stuck in Europe). Highlights for me were easily On Melancholy Hill, O Green World, Clint Eastwood, White Flag, Superfast Jellyfish and Feel Good Inc. I recall one moment where Mike turned to me as if to say "What do you think" and I was at a complete loss for words. (If you know me, you know this is quite rare, I'm an opinionated asshole who always has too much to say).
From there, we battled our way, along with roughly 74,998 other people, to the exit. Made one final stop at Del Taco and returned to the hotel with enough time for two to three hours of sleep before having to leave in the morning (Needed to leave early to make sure Mike didn't miss his flight).
All in all, an amazing weekend. Later, I'll write some final thoughts on the weekend as a whole. For now, I am going to see about soaking my aching joints in my aunt and uncle's hot tub.
Coachella - Day 2 (Fail Day)
So we rolled up to Coachella today, and decided that we needed to do the following on the way over:
1 - get jamba juice
2 - get alcohol
3 - get me new flip flops
4 - get there in time for the Gossip
The upside is that we didn't fail on any of those objectives. The downside, we may have done a little TOO well on objective number two. We swung through Jamba Juice, and I got myself a tasty smoothie with pomegranate juice, strawberries, mangoes and other things. Then we walked over to CVS and bought one fifth of absolut citron, and one fifth of bacardi. Mixed in some citron with our smoothies and off to the stores. After some searching, Mike pointed out the most amazing pair of flip flops. Shit's like walking on a cloud, so I happily bought a pair and was ready for Coachella.
Traffic seemed a bit worse today than it was yesterday. At some point I decided it was time for a rave break and jumped out of the car to dance (yeah, I was driving). Finally get to the venue and park. And this is where it gets hazy. By the time we entered the festival grounds, we had polished off the bottle of citron and like 90% of the bottle of bacardi. We were trashed. Here's where things get blurry. (which will make for a LOT shorter update)
Here's what I know of the fuzzy part:
1 - I apparently had a spill and landed face first in the ground (have I mentioned how soft the ground is at Coachella? seriously, we were walking around barefoot and it was divine)
2 - Somewhere along the way this happened: http://twitpic.com/1gm9q6
3 - I vaguely remember falling over people while the Gossip played Heavy Cross (my one disappointment was that I was too drunk to remember them)
4 - Brief flashes of the XX.
When I finally came out of this haze, I was sitting at a picnic table, eating a chicken wrap I had no recollection of buying, wearing Mike's shirt, talking to a bunch of kids who were apparently excited for Tiesto. I'm happy to say I sobered up enough to catch my main highlight for the day, Faith No More. Fucking amazing. I would have liked it if they played a longer set. But overall, they were amazing. Honestly, I think they're better live now than they were before they broke up. Some things made me really happy in that set, From Out of Nowhere, Surprise You're Dead, We Care A Lot, Midlife Crisis, Caffeine. Would have really liked to hear Evidence. But overall, I can't complain. Here's to hoping they record a new album and tour more.
Shortly after, I found Mike. We laid down in the middle of Coachella and napped for about 20 minutes, while Muse provided the soundtrack. Decided that maybe it would be better if we just left. The only thing left to see that day was 2ManyDJs, whom I love, but having seen them multiple times I felt that it wouldl be better to go track down pain killers (interesting experience to start feeling your hangover BEFORE you go to sleep), and Del Taco (oh Del Taco, how I love thee. Your chicken soft tacos are heavenly, but you tempt me with your fried jalapeno rings, tasthy things that they are, but they hurt. The day after eating those is never a pleasant day).
Of course, there was a slight problem with this plan. Where the fuck did we park? Somehow, Mike recalled the parking lot number we were in (keep in mind there's like 20 different parking lots here, we were in 13A). So we ambled up and down the rows, hitting the panic button on the fob. After about 20 minutes of this, we found the car and set out for pain killers and del taco.
So now I look back and reflect on yesterday, feel the pain in my neck from headbanging (yes, I headbanged) to FNM, see the blood stains all over my brand new flip flops from whatever the fuck happened to my toe (seriously, how the fuck did that happen?) and look at today's schedule while calmly reminding myself that I will not drink tonight. Not a single drop... at least not after I finish this beer.
Highlights of this, the final day of Coachella: Miike Snow, De La Soul, Florence & The Machine, Little Boots and Gorillaz!
1 - get jamba juice
2 - get alcohol
3 - get me new flip flops
4 - get there in time for the Gossip
The upside is that we didn't fail on any of those objectives. The downside, we may have done a little TOO well on objective number two. We swung through Jamba Juice, and I got myself a tasty smoothie with pomegranate juice, strawberries, mangoes and other things. Then we walked over to CVS and bought one fifth of absolut citron, and one fifth of bacardi. Mixed in some citron with our smoothies and off to the stores. After some searching, Mike pointed out the most amazing pair of flip flops. Shit's like walking on a cloud, so I happily bought a pair and was ready for Coachella.
Traffic seemed a bit worse today than it was yesterday. At some point I decided it was time for a rave break and jumped out of the car to dance (yeah, I was driving). Finally get to the venue and park. And this is where it gets hazy. By the time we entered the festival grounds, we had polished off the bottle of citron and like 90% of the bottle of bacardi. We were trashed. Here's where things get blurry. (which will make for a LOT shorter update)
Here's what I know of the fuzzy part:
1 - I apparently had a spill and landed face first in the ground (have I mentioned how soft the ground is at Coachella? seriously, we were walking around barefoot and it was divine)
2 - Somewhere along the way this happened: http://twitpic.com/1gm9q6
3 - I vaguely remember falling over people while the Gossip played Heavy Cross (my one disappointment was that I was too drunk to remember them)
4 - Brief flashes of the XX.
When I finally came out of this haze, I was sitting at a picnic table, eating a chicken wrap I had no recollection of buying, wearing Mike's shirt, talking to a bunch of kids who were apparently excited for Tiesto. I'm happy to say I sobered up enough to catch my main highlight for the day, Faith No More. Fucking amazing. I would have liked it if they played a longer set. But overall, they were amazing. Honestly, I think they're better live now than they were before they broke up. Some things made me really happy in that set, From Out of Nowhere, Surprise You're Dead, We Care A Lot, Midlife Crisis, Caffeine. Would have really liked to hear Evidence. But overall, I can't complain. Here's to hoping they record a new album and tour more.
Shortly after, I found Mike. We laid down in the middle of Coachella and napped for about 20 minutes, while Muse provided the soundtrack. Decided that maybe it would be better if we just left. The only thing left to see that day was 2ManyDJs, whom I love, but having seen them multiple times I felt that it wouldl be better to go track down pain killers (interesting experience to start feeling your hangover BEFORE you go to sleep), and Del Taco (oh Del Taco, how I love thee. Your chicken soft tacos are heavenly, but you tempt me with your fried jalapeno rings, tasthy things that they are, but they hurt. The day after eating those is never a pleasant day).
Of course, there was a slight problem with this plan. Where the fuck did we park? Somehow, Mike recalled the parking lot number we were in (keep in mind there's like 20 different parking lots here, we were in 13A). So we ambled up and down the rows, hitting the panic button on the fob. After about 20 minutes of this, we found the car and set out for pain killers and del taco.
So now I look back and reflect on yesterday, feel the pain in my neck from headbanging (yes, I headbanged) to FNM, see the blood stains all over my brand new flip flops from whatever the fuck happened to my toe (seriously, how the fuck did that happen?) and look at today's schedule while calmly reminding myself that I will not drink tonight. Not a single drop... at least not after I finish this beer.
Highlights of this, the final day of Coachella: Miike Snow, De La Soul, Florence & The Machine, Little Boots and Gorillaz!
Coachella - Day 1
We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day to kick off our weekend at Coachella. Sun was shining (clearly, it's the fuckin desert), nice breeze blowing and the temperature was somewhere close to perfect. Between traffic and a bit of a late start, we arrived a few hours later than we intended. After a short wait in line and a near scare over Mike's ticket we got in and made our way over to the Sahara tent to check out "Perry Farrel vs Steve Porter". Found Steve Porter was throwing down a pretty solid set with no sign of Mister Farrel. About 15 minutes later, Perry Farrel came on stage and things just went weird. Not really a good weird either, so we took this opportunity to do some more exploring.
In our exploring, we came across an additional stage with DJs that had a pretty cool water theme. Little mist towers set up, fountains shooting across the crowd, people on stage shooting water into the crowd. Proved a nice little refresher (although I should note it wasn't nearly as hot as I've been told it's been in the past).
Back to the Sahara tent where they were setting up for Proxy. Proxy came on and fucking killed the place. Dirty, nasty bass. If there were a competition, he definitely "won" the dance tent. Man had the crowd going crazy. Couple highlights from his set: He dropped his remix of Tiga's What You Need and the entire tent went fucking nuts. Shortly after killed it with his tune Who Are You? Then closed the set out with 8000. Fucking crazy set. At some point we strolled out cause Mike wanted to check out Yeasayer, quickly decided that wasn't worth getting excited about and needed to get our asses back so we could jump around some more to Proxy.
Video of Proxy playing 8000: http://www.flickr.com/phot
Stayed for a little bit of Aeroplane. I generally liked what they were playing, but we both agreed that it was a bit fail in terms of following Proxy's energy.
Slipped over to catch a bit of She & Him. If only cause I am apparently a hipster boy and think that Zooey Deschanel is adorable. They sounded pretty good, but we only stuck around for a few songs before deciding to search out some food and beer.
A chicken wrap and some Heineken in me (hey that was all they had for beer), and we strolled back over to the "Outdoor" stage to check out Passion Pit. It was a mob scene over there. A ton of people congregated, so we thought "huh, this might be pretty decent". Passion Pit come on, launch into their first song and... HOLY FUCKING HELL WHAT IS THIS ASSAULT ON MY SENSES? Seriously, how do so many people have so little taste? Their shit was fucking god awful. I mean, not even remotely approaching the realm of good.
Wandered around, caught a little of Wolfgang Gartner who was dropping a set of generic electro house, for the muthafucking lose! Strolled over to catch the end of Gil Scott-Heron. Not cause we wanted to see him, but because we wanted to get prime position for La Roux. Squished up near the front (the crowd that came to see La Roux was MASSIVE) and finally they came out opening with Tigerlily. Which you can see here: http://www.flickr.com/phot
There must be something about La Roux though. Not ten minutes before getting into that tent, Mike and I reflected on how amazing the crowd was. Very passive, hadn't seen one scenario that looked like it might escalate into hostility. Then we got to La Roux. It wasn't so much just that there was hostility, it's that it was all straight cat fights. No fewer than three fights broke out (one before they started, one in the middle of the show and one as we were fighting our way out of the tent). Each one involved women tearing each other's hair out. Kind of odd.
Stroll back over to the Mojave tent where Imogen Heap is about to come on. I love her. She has a pretty unique approach to her live show (I still say her and Jamie Lidell need to collaborate. I suspect the result would be the most amazing thing to ever be recorded). Unfortunately, that approach doesn't work quite as well in a festival setting when you've got Erol Alkan booming a few hundred yards away. Add into that some technical difficulties and it was a little less than extraordinary, but even still she was delightful. Coming out with a rendition of Speeding Cars that was just her and a piano pretty much made me feel anything else she did was just icing on the cake afterwards. Short setlist, nothing from I-Megaphone, and nothing from the Frou Frou release. Hoping she'll be back to DC soon. Her last show sold out before I even saw any info on it, so I feel I haven't seen a proper show from her since the few shows I saw in 2006.
After Imogen was done, we stayed put. There was an hour break between her set and the next, so there was time to run around but hell no. We wanted a solid spot for the next act, Fever Ray. When the lights finally went down we were greeted with this: http://www.flickr.com/phot
I think the best way to picture Fever Ray live is to imagine your living room is haunted and the ghosts start chanting and singing. It may be the single most amazing live show I've seen. The costumes, the lighting, the way things came together live, the setlist all blew me away. Opening up with If I Had A Heart into Triangle Walks they pretty well spanned the album in its entirety, but the biggest surprise that blew me away... A cover of what is easily my favorite Peter Gabriel song, Mercy Street! They had the crowd in a trance. Just one big mass writhing in the tent. The only disappointment about this set, it may be the last chance I'll ever have to see them live. If you do ever get the opportunity, however, do not pass it up. Beg, steal and borrow to see this show.
After Fever Ray finished up, we bounded back (ok, *I* bounded back. Mike followed behind but I literally "bounded") to the Gobi tent just in time to catch The Whitest Boy Alive play 1517. No Golden Cage, but I was pretty happy with the three songs we were able to catch. They sounded fucking amazing. Wish I would have been able to see the full set (but not at all regretting missing it so that I could see Fever Ray).
We strolled through the campgrounds a bit to kill some time before heading back to the hotel. Really neat setup they have there. A lot of activities going down to keep you entertained after hours. Probably going to have to do that next year, because the parking situation was a cluster fuck and a half. Listened to an entire album in the car before we even moved.
All in all a pretty amazing day. I can't believe there are still two more to look forward to. Things I'm excited for today: muthafucking Gossip (love Beth Ditto), The XX, Faith No muthafuckin More (yeah I like to say "muthafuckin". I also sweat FNM something fierce and haven't seen them live since 95), Muse and 2 Many DJs!!
In our exploring, we came across an additional stage with DJs that had a pretty cool water theme. Little mist towers set up, fountains shooting across the crowd, people on stage shooting water into the crowd. Proved a nice little refresher (although I should note it wasn't nearly as hot as I've been told it's been in the past).
Back to the Sahara tent where they were setting up for Proxy. Proxy came on and fucking killed the place. Dirty, nasty bass. If there were a competition, he definitely "won" the dance tent. Man had the crowd going crazy. Couple highlights from his set: He dropped his remix of Tiga's What You Need and the entire tent went fucking nuts. Shortly after killed it with his tune Who Are You? Then closed the set out with 8000. Fucking crazy set. At some point we strolled out cause Mike wanted to check out Yeasayer, quickly decided that wasn't worth getting excited about and needed to get our asses back so we could jump around some more to Proxy.
Video of Proxy playing 8000: http://www.flickr.com/phot
Stayed for a little bit of Aeroplane. I generally liked what they were playing, but we both agreed that it was a bit fail in terms of following Proxy's energy.
Slipped over to catch a bit of She & Him. If only cause I am apparently a hipster boy and think that Zooey Deschanel is adorable. They sounded pretty good, but we only stuck around for a few songs before deciding to search out some food and beer.
A chicken wrap and some Heineken in me (hey that was all they had for beer), and we strolled back over to the "Outdoor" stage to check out Passion Pit. It was a mob scene over there. A ton of people congregated, so we thought "huh, this might be pretty decent". Passion Pit come on, launch into their first song and... HOLY FUCKING HELL WHAT IS THIS ASSAULT ON MY SENSES? Seriously, how do so many people have so little taste? Their shit was fucking god awful. I mean, not even remotely approaching the realm of good.
Wandered around, caught a little of Wolfgang Gartner who was dropping a set of generic electro house, for the muthafucking lose! Strolled over to catch the end of Gil Scott-Heron. Not cause we wanted to see him, but because we wanted to get prime position for La Roux. Squished up near the front (the crowd that came to see La Roux was MASSIVE) and finally they came out opening with Tigerlily. Which you can see here: http://www.flickr.com/phot
There must be something about La Roux though. Not ten minutes before getting into that tent, Mike and I reflected on how amazing the crowd was. Very passive, hadn't seen one scenario that looked like it might escalate into hostility. Then we got to La Roux. It wasn't so much just that there was hostility, it's that it was all straight cat fights. No fewer than three fights broke out (one before they started, one in the middle of the show and one as we were fighting our way out of the tent). Each one involved women tearing each other's hair out. Kind of odd.
Stroll back over to the Mojave tent where Imogen Heap is about to come on. I love her. She has a pretty unique approach to her live show (I still say her and Jamie Lidell need to collaborate. I suspect the result would be the most amazing thing to ever be recorded). Unfortunately, that approach doesn't work quite as well in a festival setting when you've got Erol Alkan booming a few hundred yards away. Add into that some technical difficulties and it was a little less than extraordinary, but even still she was delightful. Coming out with a rendition of Speeding Cars that was just her and a piano pretty much made me feel anything else she did was just icing on the cake afterwards. Short setlist, nothing from I-Megaphone, and nothing from the Frou Frou release. Hoping she'll be back to DC soon. Her last show sold out before I even saw any info on it, so I feel I haven't seen a proper show from her since the few shows I saw in 2006.
After Imogen was done, we stayed put. There was an hour break between her set and the next, so there was time to run around but hell no. We wanted a solid spot for the next act, Fever Ray. When the lights finally went down we were greeted with this: http://www.flickr.com/phot
I think the best way to picture Fever Ray live is to imagine your living room is haunted and the ghosts start chanting and singing. It may be the single most amazing live show I've seen. The costumes, the lighting, the way things came together live, the setlist all blew me away. Opening up with If I Had A Heart into Triangle Walks they pretty well spanned the album in its entirety, but the biggest surprise that blew me away... A cover of what is easily my favorite Peter Gabriel song, Mercy Street! They had the crowd in a trance. Just one big mass writhing in the tent. The only disappointment about this set, it may be the last chance I'll ever have to see them live. If you do ever get the opportunity, however, do not pass it up. Beg, steal and borrow to see this show.
After Fever Ray finished up, we bounded back (ok, *I* bounded back. Mike followed behind but I literally "bounded") to the Gobi tent just in time to catch The Whitest Boy Alive play 1517. No Golden Cage, but I was pretty happy with the three songs we were able to catch. They sounded fucking amazing. Wish I would have been able to see the full set (but not at all regretting missing it so that I could see Fever Ray).
We strolled through the campgrounds a bit to kill some time before heading back to the hotel. Really neat setup they have there. A lot of activities going down to keep you entertained after hours. Probably going to have to do that next year, because the parking situation was a cluster fuck and a half. Listened to an entire album in the car before we even moved.
All in all a pretty amazing day. I can't believe there are still two more to look forward to. Things I'm excited for today: muthafucking Gossip (love Beth Ditto), The XX, Faith No muthafuckin More (yeah I like to say "muthafuckin". I also sweat FNM something fierce and haven't seen them live since 95), Muse and 2 Many DJs!!
purpose
I've been meaning to start this for some time. It seems I always think to set this up only when I have something to talk about, and then it's never the right time to start a blog up. So instead, I'm taking what I've already posted to facebook about my last weekend at Coachella and using that as a base.
The general purpose here is to talk about dance events in DC (or where ever I go) and music both old and new. As well as discuss gigs upcoming and past.
Read it, or don't. Love it, or hate it. This is about the biggest exercise in self-indulgence I can conceive of.
-Spig
The general purpose here is to talk about dance events in DC (or where ever I go) and music both old and new. As well as discuss gigs upcoming and past.
Read it, or don't. Love it, or hate it. This is about the biggest exercise in self-indulgence I can conceive of.
-Spig
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