Coachella 2010 Features Enhanced Car Camping, Ins and Outs, and Sly and the Family Stone

I'm actually considering Coachella this year. A quality lineup loaded with big acts like Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, Grizzly Bear, Pavement and SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, and bands I love, like Dead Weather, Dirty Projectors, Rx Bandits, and Yeasayer. There's enough quality to minimize the questionable (like Little Boots and Sunny Day Real Estate).

Line up aside, the camping situation looks to be a major improvement over past years. Before, you'd park your car and then lug all of your camping gear half a mile to the campsite in 100 degree weather. This year, Car Camping is being introduced, along with Ins and Outs to and from the campsites. You can now drive your car right into your site, and you can save money on food and booze and up the quality. I'm sick of paying $7 for a flat Heineken Light and $9 for a salmonella chicken sandwich. Plus, layaway tickets are also back this year. And, hopefully, the Coachella Robot returns.

Here's the full lineup:

Coachella 2010

My SXSW in its entirety

Reposted from Radio Free Silver Lake

The link to my article:  http://radiofreesilverlake.typepad.com/rfsl/2009/03/rachels-sxsw.html

It's taken many nights of sleep in my own bed and many giant cups of coffee for me to sit down and begin to recount my hectic, noisy, sunny, reverb-filled days in Austin. Here it goes:

Wednesday, Day 1

I had big plans for Wednesday. My flight from L.A. was set to arrive around 2:30 p.m., and I thought this would allow plenty of time to head to the Spaceland Party for Cut Off Your Hands, or maybe hit the Forcefield PR or Little Radio parties. So much good music in such a small area. I couldn't wait to get out there. I even ran into Foreign Born's Ariel at LAX, and we chatted a bit on our layover at the Las Vegas airport. I was psyched. However, there was a slight change of plans. Southwest Airlines oversold one of their flights (surprise!) and asked me if I would be rerouted to Austin for a $400 voucher. I complied (it's so hard to say no to money in my pocket), and instead I arrived in Austin 3 hours later. No Cut Off Your Hands or Bowerbirds for me.

It was going to be a one-show evening, and that show was the 4AD showcase, featuring Anni Rossi, M. Ward, Department Of Eagles, St. Vincent, and Camera Obscura. I took the bus from the airport to the Central Presbyterian Church downtown (a mere $0.75), and arrived at the church just in time to watch Department Of Eagles and St. Vincent soundcheck. Based on those one-song runs, I couldn't wait for the show.

After a quick empanada truck break, we headed back to the church for M. Ward. This was a stripped down set, very basic, with Ward's vocals and guitar or piano. I think there was a drummer as well, but only on a few songs. It was a beautiful, melancholy set. Sad, Sad Song was even more sad played with just an acoustic, as was his cover of Oh Lonesome Me.

Next up was Department of Eagles. For those who don't know, Department Of Eagles is Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear and his former classmate Fred Nicolaus. The live line up for this show included drummer Christopher Bear, also from Grizzly Bear, and bassist Matthew (I never got his last name). All of these musicians are pros, and that made for a perfect performance. Rossen is a master of the looping pedal. He looped layer upon layer of his own vocals singing crazy, eerie harmonies, and then he played them back at intervals throughout the song, creating this giant wall of sound. It was brilliant. Also, I've never seen Grizzly Bear live, but based on the Department Of Eagles performance, I can't wait for the June 19th show at The Wiltern.

St. Vincent blows me away whenever I see them. Annie Clark's music has simple, catchy riffs, but she accents them with strings and woodwinds, in addition to her violent guitar playing. It's incredible to watch. The new album Actor is due out May 5th, and the new songs are incredible. St. Vincent's set ended with a song from that album, Marrow, and it's the jam. It has the same feeling as Your Lips Are Red from Marry Me, which was the climax of the album for me, and Marrow equally climaxed the set. I can't wait to see them on tour.

Unfortunately, by the time Camera Obscura took the stage around midnight, I was done. I listened to their set from the lobby of the church. Tracyanne Campbell's voice is haunting and charming, so light and airy. It reminds me of Harriet Wheeler's (The Sundays). I've still got Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken floating around in my head.

Thursday, Day 2

My Thursday SXSW session was extremely abbreviated. I'd arrived at the place I was staying late Wednesday night, and so I opted to sleep in and catch up on rest. I did not want to get sick. And I'd made plans to head to the little town of Fredericksburg in the evening. I basically only had time to take the bus downtown (again, only $0.75) and hit one party. I went to Peckerheads, because the line up looked great, even though I only got to see two of the bands.

Dark Meat was weird. Really weird. And noisy. They sounded like a crazy dark rock opera. And it all somehow fit together. And they had a brass section, which I love. After seeing them, I downloaded two of their tracks on Daytrotter, and I can't stop listening to When The Shelter Came. Further exploration of this band is warranted.

Next up was Megafaun, a North Carolina trio that was also the backing band for Akron/Family. I guess they're doing their own thing now, which is great, because they're so good. I'd be seeing their southern, folky, bluesy rock again on Saturday, but not in all of its amplified glory. They are so much fun to watch. I wanted to sing along to all of the songs, even though I didn't know them. They rocked hard, and they were so much fun to watch.

I left just as The Henry Clay People were setting up. Le Switch was set to play later on in the evening. It's a good thing I can see either of these bands at my leisure, at least for now. Then, it was off to Fredericksburg where I had a date with some wine and cheap cigars.

Friday, Day 3

Early Friday afternoon, I headed to the Force Field PR/Asthmatic Kitty party at Okay Mountain. The show featured Benjy Ferree, Dent May, and a few others, but I arrived in time for the tUnE-yArDs performance. I know that looping pedals are all the rage now, but some artists make it look so easy. Merrill (I can't find her last name) makes it look easy. Her setup was minimal: a ukulele, a snare drum and floor tom, and a keyboard. The looping was used a lot for the percussion, which she would then play back and sing along with. She's got a powerful, strong voice. It's a great folky sound, and I really enjoyed her performance. I grabbed some of the free coconut water from a cooler and headed back towards the Iron Gate for another show.

On the way back, I accidentally stumbled upon the Danish Dynamite party at the Vogstberger house. This party had been on my hit list, but I'd somehow forgotten about it. The roster included Efterklang, Slaraffenland, and Murder. I walked up just as the 18th Dye was beginning their set. This is a Danish trio, hard rock, metal tones, with male and female vocals. I was refreshing to walk up to such a powerful rock band. I had to miss Efterklang and Slaraffenland, but I'd be seeing Slaraffenland on Saturday, so I could deal with that. I was bummed to be missing Efterklang, even though I'd just seen them at Spaceland on March 10th. This band is incredible. In addition to the guitar, bass and drum set, they utilize woodwinds, brass, strings, and lots of backing vocals for the live show, and they create this giant sound. But it's not noisy; it's textured and complex, and it goes down like honey. Their music is straight from my dreams. And I learned that "efterklang" means "reverberation" (efter = after, klang=sound). For a taste of the live show, check out the Take-Away Show/La Blogotheque video: http://www.blogotheque.net/Efterklang,4430

Back at the Iron Gate, The Physics Of Meaning had just started. I've seen this band a hundred times, and they're beautiful every time. Daniel Hart writes most of the songs on violin instead of guitar, and this gives the songs an added depth. I could gush about this band forever, so I'll stop here. These guys had one more Friday show to play, so we made our way to the North Cackalack Strikes Back! house party, which featured only bands from North Carolina, including Annuals, Megafaun, The Physics Of Meaning, and their current tour mates Felix Obelix.

Just before Felix Obelix took the stage, the cops showed up. Well, it was really just one officer who told us that we couldn't play amplified music if we didn't have a permit. Who calls the police on a house party in Austin during SXSW in the middle of a sunny afternoon? So, of course, we did not stop playing amplified music. We just turned it down a bit. Felix Obelix sounds like creepy circus music. They lay out these collages set in window frames composed of old photos and plastic baby doll heads. The melodies are carried by Wendy Spitzer's voice and an accordion, and there's also a xylophone thrown in for good measure. It's bizarre and lots of fun.

More of The Physics Of Meaning, including some unrehearsed additions from some local birds added at just the appropriate time. Then, Annuals played their southern-influenced indie pop. I hadn't seen them play in over a year, and it rocked. I love to watch people enjoy themselves while they're performing, and these boys and girl definitely do.

The last show of the day was the Billions Showcase at Antone's. I missed Dent May, but we reached the venue as Theresa Andersson was playing. Andersson performed alone, and she also used a looping pedal, along with playing violin. The music is filled with jazzy, R&B and hip hop beats, and while she sings, she dances, stomps her feet, and her arms flail about. It was quite a spectacle. Mirah followed, but I only caught a little of her set. I've got a couple of her albums, though, and if I can catch her on tour, I will. Then St. Vincent played again. I think they were having trouble with the sound during the line check, but once they started playing, everything sounded amazing. NOMO was playing as we headed out of the venue. They're this Antibalas-like ensemble, and they sounded great.

Saturday, Day 4

I only planned to attend two shows on Saturday: The Physics Of Meaning's official showcase at Lambert's, and the huge "Friend Island" blowout put on by the Hometapes label. It began at 11 a.m. with free pancakes, and continued through the evening with free beer and nachos, with about a dozen acts scheduled. I was able to see Balmorhea, Megafaun, more Physics, Peter Broderick, and Slaraffenland. I only glimpsed the tail end of Balmorhea's set, but I'm a fan. I'm a sucker for pretty rock with strings. Megafaun did a twangy acoustic set which included a kick tambourine. Then came Peter Broderick's set. Broderick is on tour with Efterklang, opening for them and also playing in the band. His solo stuff features, you guessed it, a looping pedal, which he has mastered. He also plays violin and piano, and he sings, and he loops everything. It's very impressive and humbling to witness such beautiful results. Slaraffenland ended the party for me. They won me over when I saw them play at Spaceland last year, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. Their music is like Efterklang's, but heavier on the rock. They also do the choral singing and shouting, which adds more weight to the sound.

After the showcase at Lambert's, I was officially done. I don't think I could have processed another note.

Sunday, Day 5

On Sunday, I had two options: I could either change my flight and head to the Hometapes house where Vincent Moon was filming one of those Blogotheque shows featuring Slaraffenland, Megafaun, Balmorhea, Murder, Stars Like Fleas, and The Physics Of Meaning, or I could go home and sleep in my bed. I went home. Just as with my flights to Austin, the flight home was also filled with SXSW participants and patrons. I overheard a flight attendant say that practically everyone slept for the entire flight, which she appreciated because she didn't have to hand out as many peanuts. I ran into Brian from Silversun Pickups after deplaning, and we chatted for a minute, commiserating over the chaos of the past week. I caught the flyaway back to Union Station, and I headed home from there. I vowed to take a long break from shows, at least until the Bishop Allen show at the Troubadour the next evening.

For next year's SXSW, I plan to make the following changes: more Home Slice Pizza, more BBQ, and hitting more shows by myself instead of with a group (if you want to see as many acts as possible, this usually works best for festivals). Also, arriving in Austin on Tuesday instead of Wednesday would give me time to rest and hit some Wednesday day parties. Although, based on this recap, I think my trip was pretty awesome.

My SXSW is delayed for 3 hours...

It does seem like half of LA will be in Austin for SXSW.  On my connecting flight to Vegas, I ran into Ariel from Foreign Born, who was traveling with a couple of friends.  I, however, will be making a detour.  The Southwest Airlines attendant at the counter was offering a service credit of almost $400 for anyone who would step off the over-sold flight to Austin and take a later flight routed through El Paso.  I took it.  Hey, that's another free round trip flight.  St. Vincent doesn't play until midnight, which leaves me with plenty of time.

New Jeffrey Lewis Song And Video

Aside from my upcoming move which will allow me to sleep past 8:30 a.m. without being awakened by my neighbor singing karaoke to such classics as The Beatles' "Blackbird" and Don McLean's "American Pie", the most wonderful thing in my life right now is the new Jeffrey Lewis song "To Be Objectified" and accompanying video...