@AndyShore Jay Z was the obvious favorite for MVP of Coachella 2010 after Friday night. Nobody told Matthew Bellamy that. From note one, Bellamy and Muse were in it to win it. So much rock hasn’t come from just three people since Rush hit the scene in the 70s. I didn’t think it would be possible for anybody to rock harder than Street Sweeper Social Club and Them Crooked Vultures did on Friday. Muse didn’t only do that, but their rhythm section keeps you dancing the whole time. The thumping bass of Christopher Wolstemholme and the beats laid down by Dominic Howard provide the danceable groove that Bellamy wails over with his voice and guitar. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom I was worried we’d have to sneak in every day. At least we had a man on the inside. Two actually. Rob and Andy both bought tickets, so we figured maybe if we printed an extra out, they wouldn’t check. We convinced Matt to go at the last second and made sure he didn’t bring his own car so he wouldn’t puss out. He almost did anyway.

I hoped that a separate person would scan the ticket from the person putting the wrist band on. No such luck. But there was a catch. They didn’t scan the tickets. Not all of them. That was the key. Only half the people who scan your 3-day print out had scanners. Some just folded the piece of paper up and put it away. It didn’t matter that two Rob Shore’s were on the print-out in a row. She wasn’t looking.

As always, the key was finding the hole in security. We may have been able to walk by, but getting the wristband was massive. It makes today and tomorrow a breeze. We have the official wristband. I can’t even count it for #30 and #31 like I did for Jazzfest, because we’re no longer crashing. There’s a victory dance that’s been recorded. We’ll upload as soon as we can. Happy crashing.

@ZackTeibloom Jay-Z took over. He was the A1 perfect headliner we knew he’d be. Every part of the set was perfectly orchestrated. Jay came up on a rising platform for “Run This Town” and he did.

The most impressive thing bout HOV is how he didn’t waste a second. He played everything. No songs stalled. If all it took was a verse or two and a hook to get the point across, that’s all he’d play. You forget how many hits he has. He played ‘em all. Old stuff too. Only if we’d sing along.

HIs LED building backdrop was phenomenal. The insanely uber high-res screens transformed constantly and each design was inspired. The buildings  displayed live video of Jay-Z on stage, the NYC skyline, glowing iTunes visualizer-esque orbs, helicopter shots of New York, Marshall speakers that looked like they were pumping the music, and some pre-made videos. Astounding.

Jigga worked us and we were happy to do it. He made us throw up the diamond. And bounce it. And bounce with him. Made us wave hats and shirts in the air before we were ready for “Big Pimpin.’”  Made us yell “HOV” and the left side sang “Jigga What” and the right side sang “Jigga Who.” Jigga everything. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom It was a tasty first day at Coachella. The crash was easy and painless and I got a wristband so it’ll be easy the rest of the way. We caught pretty much everyone we wanted to see and they were delicious. (Listen to the Podcrash recorded Saturday morning for a full recap in just 9 minutes.)

Jay-Z’s closing set was the steak of Friday night at Coachella. Just ask James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. The bearded, boisterous Murphy called his band the vegan option of the headliners, anointing the raucous, raw rock of Them Crooked Vultures the chicken and decided Vampire Weekend was the fish. OK, let’s push this a little further.

The appetizers were light early on: We started with an amuse bouche of Wale, our first set of the day. I bet Andy we wouldn’t get into the fest in time to see Wale start at 2:35. He went on at 3:10. An Amuse Bouche is supposed to be that small, but not a rap set. How did everyone else taste?

Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Rob, @MattSilver and I wandered over to the Coachella stage a little early for Them Crooked Vultures. We wanted to make sure we had good spots. The three of us settled into a spot dead center, a little in front of the sound board. Once Zack met up with us, we wouldn’t move from that spot for the rest of the night. It was too good of a vantage point to give it up for Jay Z. Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones and the other guy took the stage to a roar from the crowd. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Ra Ra Riot and She & Him had conflicting set times. I like both bands. Ra Ra Riot had one thing counting against them. They don’t have Zooey Deschanel. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a bit of a crush on her. Shhh. Don’t tell Ben Gibbard. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Live from our hotel room, we drop a quick podcrash on all the happenings of day one. Can anyone top Jay-Z? Is Tom Morello more valuable to a band than anyone else at a fest? What did we think of the grounds?

@AndyShore Yeasayer was the first band I saw at Lollapalooza 2008. I remember being impressed with their mix of funk, soul and world influences with an electronica base. I really dug their new album when it was released. I recommended them, when anybody asked me who they should see at Coachella this weekend. We needed a good set from them, after a brief appearance from Wale. My brother, @MattSilver and I got a good spot under the tent for the tail end of As Tall As Lions. They were pretty good, except for one slower song. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore There almost wasn’t even a set to review. We stood in the hot sun, anxiously awaiting Wale to take the stage. At first we chalked it up to rapper being fashionably late. Then it got to be ridiculous. Security had no idea what was going on. I took turns trading explanations with one security official. My theory was that he was pulling tubes on Jay Z’s tour bus and couldn’t be bothered. Zack gave up and wandered off. I had nowhere else I wanted to be, so Rob and I hung around. Finally, with about ten minutes to go in his set time, Wale took the stage. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom The top 5 is one creamy crop of bands. At one point I had the thought: “Am I really working on a list where the lowest ranking band features Jack White?!” Good lord. We’ve got two supergroups, my favorite live act of ’09, the best rapper alive and the dance-rock band that sets the standard. Even if Andy doesn’t know it yet.

Without further ado, it’s time for Jack White and the top-5 bands I can’t wait to see at Coachella. Read the rest of this entry »