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The Dust Devil has returned from the 2009 Coachella Festival. Let’s get rolling with the concert reviews!

April 21st, 2009 Posted by: Dust Devil

WOW!

My goodness, I have been to some amazing concerts over the years, went to the first ever Lollapalooza show at Compton Terrace in Phoenix and have been to the Monolith Festival twice. My first experience at Coachella may just rate above that, I still have to process the whole weekend.

One thing I do not have to process is the fact it was an amazing weekend! If I would not have been an idiot, worn walking shoes instead of my Bad Brains style Vans (great shoes by the way!), I may have lasted all three days. Alas, I had to skip Day Three. What a bummer, I missed My Bloody Valentine, Paul Weller, The Cure, X (with Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction on drums) and from what I have read an unbelievable set from Public Enemy, playing all of their classic sophomore effort It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.

However, I can honestly say that I got more than my money’s worth. In just two days I had the privilege of seeing parts of sets from seventeen different artists, and of those saw five in their entirety. I was exhausted, did a ton of walking, drank a lot of water, bought a lot of merchandise, and when it was all said and done I was the happiest camper in the world. I went into this experience a complete rookie, alone, not knowing what to expect. I learned a lot about how to better enjoy the experience next time, and trust me, there is a strong chance this will become an annual affair for me. I had that good of a time!

Eight of the seventeen sets I will post separate reviews about, the other nine would not do the artists justice, simply because I did see enough of those sets to give an objective appraisal of things. Here is a quick overview of some of the acts I saw during the weekend:

FRIDAY
M. Ward; Outdoor Theatre; 4:55pm. This guy has started to receive a lot of media exposure, well deserved on his part. A good set, Chinese Translation sounded real good. Infectious, mellow pop is the formula here, I would be intrigued to see a full set one of these days.

Leonard Cohen; Outdoor Theatre; 7:30pm. An extremely proficient songwriter, a class individual, and I respect the heck out of this artist for all he has done in music and poetry, but this set just did not ring with me. Perhaps in a more intimate arena I would have enjoyed things more, but personally I was a bit bored. Everybody Knows is a great song, but sorry, I like the Concrete Blonde cover of it much more.

Morrissey; Coachella Stage; 8:30pm. I have always enjoyed The Smiths much more than the Moz’s solo offerings, but this was a set I definitely wanted to see at least the beginning of, and when he led off with This Charming Man from the Smiths I was in shock, happily so! I only caught three songs before heading off to the Outdoor Theatre. A friend of mine I met later that evening told me Morrissey played around five Smiths songs, including How Soon is Now. Wow! Unfortunately, I also have read reports that he threw a fit when he smelled meat cooking. You’re at a concert festival, you think everyone there shares your vegan attitude?

Silversun Pickups; Outdoor Theatre; 9:05pm. The only reason I left this show so early was to get up front for A Place to Bury Strangers on the Gobi Stage. Bummer for me, because Silversun Pickups put on a monster show every time they play. Having just released Swoon a mere three days earlier, the band was primed to destroy, and the little bit I had a chance to see was absolutely stellar. This band smokes, go see them when you have an opportunity!

SATURDAY

Blitzen Trapper; Gobi Stage; 3:45pm. Melodic indie-pop with a bit of a country and folk slant to it, these guys managed to attract a big crowd. Gobi was overflowing with people, so I sat under the tent next to the stage and was at least able to hear things.

Henry Rollins; Mojave Stage; 5:05pm. I have seen Rollins in Black Flag and the Rollins Band, and have seen him do his spoken word thing twice. Now in his late forties, this guy STILL has more energy than the majority of people half his age, and is still pissed off! The difference today compared to the days of the Flag is how he channels that energy. Henry probably infuriates most conservatives, which is too bad because if you listen to what he is saying he has a lot of intelligent observations to offer. The guy has great stories to tell, and the fact he is so active in supporting our troops in spite of his views of the current war is a testament to his character. I only stayed for about 30 minutes, but as always was blown away. My favorite part was when he ended his spiel about the legalization of marijuana by stating he still believes smoking pot is stupid. It was beautiful watching all the druggies react when they heard that.

Michael Franti and Spearhead; Coachella Stage; 5:10pm. Hip-hop with a rock and roll flair to it, set to the socially and politically charged vocals of Michael Franti, Spearhead delivered an inspired and intense set. The music doesn’t grab me the way the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy did, but I have a lot of respect for their work ethic.

TV on the Radio; Coachella Stage; 6:25pm. A good set, but maybe the way this band blew me away at Monolith last year affected my objectivity this go-around. Personally, the addition of the horn section did nothing for me. I just wanted to hear these guys rock out, and seeing David Andrew Sitek, someone I really respect as an artist, camping out behind the horn section took away some of the power in my opinion.

Calexico; Outdoor Theatre; 6:10pm. Hailing from Tucson, AZ, these guys started before TV on the Radio, so I only caught the last couple of songs. I liked what I heard, fun, melodic Tejano country rock, what a fun blending of styles! It was nice to see an appreciative crowd taking them in, they played well.

Folks, Coachella is like Disneyland for the indie crowd; lots of great music, art and an energetic atmosphere. I loved every second of it! The scary thing is I did not even spend any time in the Sahara Tent. With lots of great bands and DJ’s, such as Ghostland Observatory, the Chemical Brothers and Crystal Method, this tent was hopping all weekend long! I heard the set Girl Talk put on there was incredible.

We have only just begun folks! The remaining eight Coachella posts will focus on individual artists that I was fortunate enough to see most, if not all of their set. We will lead off with the best concert of the weekend, the legendary Bob Mould, complete with the Bob Mould Band in tow this time, delivering an incredible set Saturday afternoon. I could have left after that show and returned home totally content, it was that amazing!

Cheers!
The Dust Devil

Filed under: My Take, Event Reviews