Coachella.(Sunday).2011.

Coachella.(Sunday).2011

Indio, Palm Springs, Ca

April.17.2011

Well it's the last day and I am getting drained. I think 3 days is more then enough because once that 3rd day hits, the heat and the dust gets to you. Once again, it was quick to get in. I am liking this fast system. Showing your wristband stops the extra people who don't have tickets and who try to sneak in. They really don't let you in if you don't show it. Right on.

The first band I went to see was Twin Shadow. They where okay. I need to see this band one more time. I headed over to the Sahara Tent to catch Green Velvet and he was good. He brought out some dancers to shake it up. I liked his show because it was amateur, but entertaining. He played "La La Land" and "Shake and Pop". I stuck around for a couple of songs to checkout MEN and this time they where good. MEN got rid of the props and the sound was polished. I love that JD Samson (Lead Singer and she was in Le Tigre) said "Alright, who is on Grinder right now, raise your hand?". I looked around to see if anyone one raised there hands, but no. That was funny. Then of course, it's not MEN without props. It was a pink triangle with helmets on each point that was placed on there heads. I was glad to stop by the tent to check them out once again. I saw them open up for Gossip and they bored me. I was gonna see Delorean, but the sound coming from the tent is what stopped me. It felt good to be there. A band that tells us to standup and be proud. We need bands like this for kids could look up to who are proud and out.

I stuck around for CSS. They always throw a good show and I wanted to hear the new stuff. They sure did and it sounded VERY promising. Lovefoxxx (Lead Singer) announced that the new CSS album was coming out in August, nice. Lovefoxxx came out with her face painted (kind of like a clown) wearing a bull fighter's outfit. After a couple of songs, she stripped down to a rip t-shirt that read "Trash" and cut off Levi shorts. Lovefoxxx is another female rock star. She has some big BALLs because she kept throwing herself into the crowd. Rock On!

After CSS, I took a break for awhile. I got something to eat and I people watched for about a hour and a half. I was gonna check out Ellie Gouldin, but I decided not to go. I wanted to rest my feet for my very long hour stand at the main Coachella Stage to see DFA1979, Duran Duran and The Strokes.

Death from Above 1979 (DFA1979) Kicked A$! It's very impresive to me that two people on stage had us glued to there performance. They rocked the Coachella Main Stage. The last time I saw two members kill that stage was The White Strips in 2004. People around me wanted to start a mosh-pit. FCVK. They did not succeed, but a few feet in front, there was one starting to form. DAM, here we go.

Duran Duran was up next and people started to clear. I moved up trying to reach the barricade, but no chance. This is gonna be my second time seeing DD and I am so excited. The new album is good, "All You Need Is Now" compared to the last one. There was this young kid in front of me and he was talking to this older guy that was from Ohio. The Ohio guy asked the kid if he was here to see Duran Duran and the kid said, "FCVK NO!". "I am here for The Strokes, why are you?". The Ohio guy (was maybe 40 something) was a bit embarrassed to say after the way the kid answered him. For the guy not to feel a bit silly, I said "I am here for DD and I cannot wait to hear the new stuff live". The Ohio guy felt a bit relaxed when I said that. Sure enough, when Duran Duran came out, the kid was taking photos. I tapped the Ohio guy and pointed at the kid and told him, "look, I thought he said "FCVK Duran Duran". We both laughed. $H!T like that brought me back to my childhood when I was picked on and called names for liking DD. I cannot believe some people are ashamed of liking them still. Get over it or you could be questionable.

Duran Duran opened up with "Planet Earth" and I felt like a teenager for about an hour. They played my song "The Chauffeur". I was hoping for "Save a Prayer", but no. WTF!!! They did play, "Girls On Film", "Hungry Like The Wolf (not a fan of that song, never was)", "Rio", "Notorious", "A View To A Kill (HELL YEA!)" and a couple of new ones. They brought out Ana Matronic (from Scissor Sister) for the song "Safe" that she sings in with Simon Le Bon. Did Simon Le Bon get a face left? It kind of looks like he did or did he just Botox his forehead? He looked a bit pulled, but other then that, Duran Duran Kicked a$$! The crowd was mellow and friendly, until DD played there last song. Kids out of nowhere started to rush and push to the front. The grown ups where trying to get out, but it was CRAZY if you where trying to leave. Some started calling the kids names and some pushed them. Welcome to peace and loving Coachella.

The Strokes where up next and I was still on my same spot. Once the rush of kids came, I just stood my ground. I did not see anyone who was here next to me for DD. The crowd has shifted to young. Once The Strokes came out, the madness started. I have never seen so many crowd surfing in less then 10 minutes. Bodies after bodies passing over my head. There was still people trying to push themselves to the front, but it was tight. I couldn't move. Some kids around me where giving up and ended up leaving. It's crazy how a band like them with so much energy in there music, just stand around and play there instruments and gets this crowd insane. They sounded amazing and "Games" (my favorite track on the New album "Angles") sounded...Awesome! After The Strokes, it was a mission to get out because Kanye was up next.

I headed to the Mojave Tent to catch The Presets. They don't hit the stage until 11:05p and it was 10:50pm and they still have not cleared the stage after Leftfield. I caught the last 10 minutes of there set and it was good. They had really cool visuals. The tent was not to crowded. Perfect. It was easy for me to get up front. I was 5 feet away from the stage barricade.

The Presets hit the stage around 11:35 pm and they KiLLED iT! Once again, they did not disappoint and the beats where, SiCK! I FCVKn love this band. All three days I did not dance until now. If you have not heard of them, you should. If you had and have not seen them live, you are missing out on a great show. They played two new songs and they sounded very promising (can't wait). Someone behind me talked about Kanye's performance. That it sucked a$$ and he was worse then Cee-Lo, ouch! Thank God I scratched him off my list. That reminds me, I have not heard anything about Ms Lauryn Hill. I heard she got slammed in the papers about her concerts in New York City. So that turned me off and I scratched her off my list. I came close to doing the same to The Presets because of the time. I just did not want to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic leaving the Coachella grounds. That $H!T is a nightmare, but it was the last night and it's The FCVKn Presets. They speed through there set with almost no breaks. One song after after the next, mixed in perfectly. I was happy to hear them play "This Boy's in Love" (my favorite track from them). Nice.

It's 12:30 am and The Presets ended there set, nooooo! I wanted more but that was it. Coachella has come to an end and The Presets (for me) ended this year's festival in a high note. So many great bands this year compared to last year. Can not wait to do this again and again and again. Until next year. Peace.