ten years in the desert

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Coachella and I'm looking forward to telling the old lady happy birthday when I see her in April. Anyone who has attended a Coachella over the past 10 years can attest to the changes it's gone through but staying true to form in bringing diverse groups of people together. Now, some might argue that Paul McCartney is not "diverse" but having the opportunity to see him, Mike Patton, Dear and the Headlights, Crystal Castles, Morrissey and the Black Keys in the same day gets me amped up and wondering how well it will fit together.

My first year time at Coachella was 2002, the third year of the festival. This was the first large festival that I had ever been to and for me, it was a dream come true. I had always been envious when I read about all of the UK fests, Northwest fests and east coast fests that I would never be able to go to without spending a fortune. Plus, it felt like everyone I knew in Phoenix had gone the first two years so i had to catch up and catch on. Finally! A chance to see some of the best new bands ever? and it's 5 hours away? yes...let's get in the car now! 2002 was the biggest year of attendance up to that point in time for Coachella and it was amazing.

It's funny looking back on the lineup that year and how some things don't change. I can still remember everything from that year really well since it made such a great impression. Here's a taste of what we had....

The Beta Band. I had been reading a lot of Nick Hornby around this time and I remember saying "I am now going to sell 5 copies of the Beta Band album" over and over. It was annoying, I'm sure.

Bjork. This was the year she wore the bird dress thing. it was cold outside and all i can remember is seeing a white fuzzy thing on stage from 1000 feet away.

Charlatans UK. I love the Charlatans and it's always odd to see a pale English band playing in the desert sun. It elevates it somehow.

Elbow. I was elated to get to see Elbow since they had barely toured the US at all, some things don't change :) The lead singer was hammered, had a sunburn and was bantering on about why on earth anyone would ever live in the desert. it was delightful!

Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. Both could blow your faces off. On the second night, as we were making our way out and slowing going across the field as Prodigy played their last song, the ground shook from the bass. it was like a mini earthquake, i kid you not. just incredible. breath with me.

Folk Implosion. They played at twilight and it was great to see Lou twice in one week. He had just played at Stinkweeds.

Jurassic 5. Always holding onto what's golden.

Queens of the Stone Age. Now, I have to say that seeing QOSTA at that time, in that place, at that moment was one of the best experiences of my life. They played right before twilight and we had been making our way up to the front of the line since we knew we were going to have to stake out for good positioning. Low and behold, we get right up to the front and have the best view I could have asked for. This was 4 months before "Songs For the Deaf" was released and it was one of the first performances with Dave Grohl playing live on drums. If you love QOTSA, you already know that if you're in Coachella, Palm Desert area, you are on their home turf. Add to that that SFTD is a concept album about the driving through the desert listening to all the songs. Now add sunshine, leaning palm trees, thousands of people, Mark Lanegan on vocals, Dave Grohl, Nick Oliveri, Josh Homme...it doesn't get much better.



Foo Fighters.
QOTSA on Saturday, Foo Fighters on Sunday with Tenacious D doing a couple of songs before they went on. It was a trifecta rarely seen! :)

The Pharcyde. Tha Alkaholics.
they were in a tent. it was hot and sweaty. there was a giant 40 ounce blow up thing.

Ian McKaye. Michael Franti.
Both of them did a spoken word thing that year. I saw TD Jakes walk past me in the crowd, that was weird. Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson were both in the tent at the time. Mike made a bunch of Mickey and Mallory jokes.

Siouxsie and the Banshees.
I never in a million years thought I would get to see Siouxsie. she was great!

Blonde Redhead. BRMC.
My first time seeing both bands.

MixMaster Mike and Z-Trip.
Two of my favorite DJs in one year! I have to say that seeing MixMaster Mike is like seeing an alien. It started to get really windy when he was DJing so you could see him fighting the wind and it was amazing to watch him recover.

Stay tuned for my ramblings about 2003 Coachella and then what I'm excited for in 2009! yeah!