Show: James Morrison
Venue: Avalon- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/3/12
Show #28
I'm going to let this post be mostly photos, but just in case you're not familiar with James Morrison, let me give you a little background. He's a singer/songwriter from the UK. He was most well known for his song "You Give Me Something" in 2006.
He put on a great show! I was really impressed with him and taken back a bit due to the fact I was expecting this scraggly/nerdy shy guy because for some reason that's the impression I get from his first album cover from 6 years ago. I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover because he was charming, hilarious and had a cool swagger about him, far from the perception I had built up in my mind. The one pre-notion I had about him that was correct though, was that his powerhouse of a voice would be just as good, if not better in person. Highly recommend you see him if you get the chance!
By the way, you'll want to make it to the bottom of the post for a little surprise. :-)
His opening act was a band named HoneyHoney, a country/folk group from Los Angeles. An odd choice I thought, since it didn't seem like the same fan base between the 2, but people enjoyed it. They're a little too country for my taste, but appreciate that they seem crazy talented, and I see why people loved them. I recorded a video of their song "Ohio".
Show: Katie Herzig and Andrew Belle
Venue: The Troubadour- Los Angeles, CA
Date: 5/1/12
Show #27
A friend suggested I go check out these 2 singer/songwriters Katie Herzig and Andrew Belle, and seeing as I was bored and had nothing to do that night, I decided to go. I didn't know anything about either of them prior to going, other than listening to a clip of 1 song each before heading over.
Note- Sorry about the crappy pictures! I brought my Nikon in, only to find out that I left my battery at home charging. Womp womp. I took lots of video though to try and make up for it.
Up first was Andrew Belle. I hate calling him an "indie singer/songwriter" because I feel like that puts him in the same bucket as all the other million indie singer/songwriters, but he's so much better than that. He has such a soft, beautiful, soulful voice with just the right amount of grit to it. He reminds me a lot of Mat Kearney. Simple, beautiful, well written songs. He's also adorable and terribly charming.
I recorded a bunch of videos of him that night, see below!
Katie Herzig, also an indie singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice, was up next. You might know her for her song "Lost and Found", most recently heard on the season finale of Cougar Town. It's easily my favorite of hers. One of the reasons I loved her set was because of her crazy talented band. Any time I can see drums, guitar, cello and clarinet in the same set, I'm sold. I recorded 2 other songs from that night:
(The scene of everyone leaving after Snoop and Dre)
Show: Coachella Day 3
Venue: Indio, CA
Date: 4/22/12
Show #26
So I made it to day 3. Barely. But I made it. IP Profin was bar far my best friend that morning! But I sucked it up, and even made it inside for one of the first shows of the day at Noon.
Sleeper Agent Rolling Stone described this band as "Shaggy Kentucky kids whose songs are sweet, fizzy and combustible as a can of shook soda." Oddly enough, if you listen to them, it describes them pretty well. Unfortunately the sound that day on this stage wasn't the greatest. It was really hard to hear any vocals, but I went home and listened to their album and was impressed.
Lissie
Ahh Lissie! I've been obsessed with this girl since I had the pleasure of seeing her at Coachella. She sounds like... if Adele did indie folk music and grew up in the mid-west. She also did a cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" that's just amazing. Seriously, check her out.
First Aid Kit
First Aid kit is a Swedish indie-folk sister duo. Great voices, not the most entertaining. I found myself bored to tears during this show.
Fitz & the Tantrums
I had heard about these guys for a while so I was excited to finally see them live, and they did not disappoint! They're an indie-pop/Soul group from LA. They do a great job at putting a modern twist on big band/soul/disco all at once. The show was just a great time, check them out live if you ever get a chance. I recorded a video of one of their more known songs "Moneygrabber"-
Santigold
This was an interesting show to say the least. She's a mix of pop, reggae, hip-hop, new wave and electronica all rolled into one. She also had these 2 awesome dancers who were identical, never out of sync with each other, and I don't think they smiled once. At one point there was even a dancing horse on stage:
She even brought a ton of audience members on stage with her for "Creator".
Nero
Nero is an electro/house/dubstep duo from Britain. I'm normally not a fan of either of those things, but I listened to them as I was deciding on my schedule for the weekend and loved these guys. Their song "Doomsday" has such a sick beat to it, it makes you want to lean back to the beat with your eyes closed, further accentuating my white girl'dness but whatever. Also, they do a remix of "I've Got A Crush on You" thats pretty awesome.
"Doomsday"
Gotye
I know you all know Gotye by now from his song "Somebody That I Used to Know". He was the must see act of the day for a lot of people. I decided to head over there to catch some of the set after I saw Nero, and I couldn't even get close to the stage. That was the most packed I had seen that tent all weekend. I only stayed for a song or 2 because it was just ridiculous. Most people left after he did his big song. The rest of his album is awesome though. While I don't think he has any singles on there that will get anywhere close to "Somebody That I Used to Know", the rest of the album is worth a listen.
Girl Talk
Oh my god. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this show was. I had always heard about Girl Talk being a DJ that just mixes other people's songs together and I never saw what was so special about it, until I saw this guy live. He manages to seamlessly mix together songs you would never think of would go together in a million years. It's a non-stop, high energy dance party. So. Much. Fun.
Justice
I didn't see a ton of this set, but managed to see "D.A.N.C.E.", which had the whole crowd at the main stage going. Another non-stop dance party!
Florence and the Machine
This was my first time seeing Florence and I have to say, I wasn't blown away. Maybe I just had high expectations, but I wasn't feelin it for some reason. Maybe I didn't like going from 2 high energy dance shows, to slow power ballads.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
This was my favorite show of the whole weekend. It was just on another level of ridiculousness. Even though everyone on Weekend 2 knew the hologram was coming, everyone still flipped their shit when we actually saw it with our own eyes. It really does look as lifelike in person as everyone said it did. The whole show was a perfect blend of past and present, with songs like "Forgot About Dre" (w/ Eminem), "Gin and Juice", and Snoop even performed a newer song with Wiz Khalifa. 50 Cent even did "In Da Club". A+
And just like that, Coachella was over. My friends and I decided to drive back after the show, where we ended up sitting in our car in the parking lot for nearly 2 hours before they let us out of the Car Companion lot. Our driver actually got out of the car and slept on the grass for a little bit! Haha! We got home around 4am, and the first thing I did was take a shower. I may have stained my tub from all the dirt that rolled off of me. Yeah it's gross, but whatever, Coachella is worth it!
If you're one of those people who think they can go to work the next day, just don't. I took that Monday off from work and I'm so glad I did. I just slept all day and tried to recover. Everything hurt, and I mean everything. I can't wait to do it all over again next year!
Show: Coachella Day 2
Venue: Indio, CA
Date: 4/21/12
Show #25
By day 2, we were pretty settled in to the camp site, and had embraced the fact that at no point for the rest of the weekend would we feel cool, refreshed, or the least bit clean. If you've never camped at Coachella, here's a few things you should know:
- Car Camp. It's reassuring having a car there to store your valuables in while you're sleeping and at the festival.
- Don't camp with more than 6 people to a camping spot. We had JUST enough room with our 6, but I couldn't imagine being able to squeeze anyone else in, comfortably anyway.
- You'll quickly learn that baby wipes work miracles, and will gladly use those instead of waiting 2-3 hours in line in the early hours of the morning for a 5 minute cold shower.
- Bring a BBQ! We ate pretty damn well in our campsite:
- Bring a tarp, or something to put over the campsite to block the sun. Seriously though, you'll be miserable without one.
On to the shows!
Childish Gambino
If you're not familiar with this guy, Childish Gambino is actor Donald Glover's (from Community) rapper alter ego. When you think Donald Glover you might think it's just a joke, but he's the real deal. Check out the video I recorded of him free styling:
Awolnation
This was hands down my favorite show of Day 2. You might know them for their hit song "Sail". Not only were they amazing live, but I got to take part in my very first crowd surfing experience! During the show they go "Let's see how many ladies we can get crowd surfing for this next one." A guy next to me turns to me and says "Wanna go?" and I gladly accepted. Him and one other guy hoisted me up and I was on my way! Just see for yourself:
"Not Your Fault"
The Head and the Heart
The Head and the Heart are an indie folk group from Seattle who have a strong underground following. A friend strongly suggested we go see them and I'm so glad we did. The highlight of the set was their performance of "Rivers and Roads" to close the show.
"Winter"
Manchester Orchestra
I only went and watched a few songs of these guys and wasn't too impressed.
Andrew Bird
This was our "let's go over there and sit and relax for a minute" show. So we sat in the back and just listened to him. All I remember is lots of whistling!
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
I had listened to some of Noel Gallagher before, and I was kind of bored with it, but for some reason I was really in to him live. The only reason I went over to watch him was in hopes he would sing Wonderwall, but actually ended up enjoying the rest of his set!
David Guetta
Same issue with Black Keys. I know I was there, but unfortunately don't remember much, but I'm told it was a great time. :-)
Show: Coachella Day 1
Venue: Indio, CA
Date: 4/20/12
Show #24
I'm not sure how to begin describing one of the most fun weekends I've ever had to date. This was my first Coachella and it lived up to be everything I wanted it to be and more. If you've never experienced Coachella or a music festival in general, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's such a great way to discover new bands, and just party for 3 straight days with your friends.
If you do Coachella, there is a definite list of things you'll want to make sure you have to make your experience as great as it can possibly be.
Below is what I called my Coachella Survival Kit. Some of the important items were:
- Sun Screen
If you think you're bringing too much sun screen, grab another bottle. Seriously, you have no idea how much sun screen I went through in 1 weekend. Due to the heat, and excessive sweating, it ends up just being sweated off so you're constantly re-applying. I recommend the spray type by Neutrogena, it's great and not messy!
- Baby Wipes
These bad boys are what kept me from feeling and smelling like a homeless person the whole weekend. Before bed at the campsite everyone wiped down with these to remove the layers of dirt we had accumulated on our bodies throughout the day. Even throughout the day, they were great to just wipe down your face with. You NEED these at Coachella, put these on your do not forget list, you'll be glad you brought them.
- Hand Sanitizer/Wet Ones Wipes
Coachella is in the middle of no where, in the desert which means you better get used to the smell of port-o-potties baking in the 106 degree heat. But to make you feel better after you step out of the rancid sweat box, you can sanitize yourself with lots of hand sanitizer and hand wipes.
- Hat
The weekend I went, it reached 106 degrees. Being outside in it ALL DAY, any extra barrier you can put between yourself and the sun is a good thing.
- Large empty water bottle
Security doesn't let you bring beverages inside, but you can bring an empty water bottle in and there are water bottle refill stations throughout the grounds. You'll find yourself drinking more water in one day than you might usually drink in a week and never have to go to the bathroom due to the fact you just sweat it all out.
- Solar Powered Phone Charger
I saw people actually attach these to their backpacks so it would charge as they walked around the festival. So if you have a phone you know doesnt have the best battery life, you'll want to get one of these. Fair warning though, they require A LOT of sun in order to do anything to your phone.
Enough about sun screen and port-o-potties, on to the bands!
The first day, I hit the ground running and I was inside at shows starting at 12. I saw 9 shows on day 1, not bad!
Bands seen Day 1:
Wallpaper.
This guy was SO MUCH FUN. It was the perfect way to kick off day 1 of Coachella. If you like LMFAO and fun party music, you'll love Wallpaper. They're known for their song "FUCKING BEST SONG EVERRR" and "#STUPIDFACEDD". You can't help but want to dance and let it all go when you hear either of those songs. In addition to those 2 songs though, they also did some funk inspired tunes as well. I recorded one of them, called "Trouble"
Wolf Gang
I was really excited to stumble upon these guys, they've quickly become one of my favorite new bands. The best way to describe them is symphonic pop-rock. They're from the UK, so there's naturally a little European influence there as well. My personal favorite song is "Lions in Cages"
Givers
I left this show with my jaw on the floor. I was thoroughly impressed with these guys (and 1 girl). Listening to them at home just does not do them justice. It was one of those shows where everyone was looking around wide-eyed and in awe at each other admiring what it was that we were witnessing. When you listen to their album you might think they're just another indie pop band, but they bring it to another level when played live. I recorded a video of them, see below:
SebastiAn
My friend and I decided we weren't hot enough already in the 106 degree heat and headed over to the Sahara Tent (All DJ's) to join in on the early afternoon dance party. Besides the sometimes unnerving and political themed images on the screens behind him, it was a fun set!
Grouplove Ahh Grouplove. They were #1 on my list for the weekend as my must see set, and they did not disappoint. Forget the Sahara Tent, this is where the dance party was at. If you're not familiar with the name Grouplove, and you don't live under a rock, you've probably heard their song "Tounge Tied" or "Colours". No one cared about how hot they were, or the sauna like conditions under the tent during this set. They had everyone dancing and sweating like they've never sweat before. People began shedding every ounce of clothing they could!
Watch Hannah draw some of their signature album artwork live on stage during the song "Slow":
"Naked Kids"
Dawes
This was probably my least favorite set of the day. They're a band from San Diego that has a decent following, but I wasn't having it. Just an overall boring set.
Black Keys
I won't lie, I only saw maybe 5 minutes of this set, and I remember even less than that. I was having a great time at this point in the night if you know what I mean. But from what I remember, they sounded great, and everyone was having a good time.
Explosions in the Sky
Same comment as Black Keys.
Datsik
All of my friends had dispersed through the night and we all met back up at the Sahara Tent at the end of the night for a group dance party. I had never heard of Datsik, but we all had an amazing time. Lots of dancing, jumping and laughing. Just an all around good time.
I think that sums up Day 1 of Coachella. On to day 2!
