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Coachella's Purple Passion
Topics: Coachella, 2008, Bakotopia, matt munoz, Review, prince, Indio, Music Festival
Posted by matt Sun May 25, 2008 09:36:30 PDT
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0 responses 1 comment Location: 81-800 AVENUE 51, Indio, CA 92201

Coachella’s Purple Passion
Bakotopia heads back to the desert to witness Prince saving the soul of a festival


April 25-27th, 2008 - Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio, Ca.

By Matt Muñoz, Bakotopia.com contributor

Another year for Coachella brought more than a few challenges to the mammoth festival in ’08.

<<CHECK OUT TONS OF PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE!

Coming off a huge ’07 line-up and topping it off with a Rage Against The Machine reunion, the anticipation for this year was maddening. When the announcement was made that Jack Johnson would be headlining this year, you could hear the nation in a collective state of shock and awe.

Sure, the rest of the line-up was hot (Madness, Turbonegro, Vampire Weekend, M.I.A,) but that wasn’t enough to convince me that I should spend three days in the sun waiting for the one or two acts among a see of indie sproutlings with strange names.


Bizarre art and Bakotopia stickers are always a Coachella affair

For the record - Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is a big deal, but this was to be a solo performance, not a reunion from the band in question, like Rage did the previous year. I’m not a Pink Floyd fan, but with an open mind I continued to ponder and question the mind of Coachella organizer - and by the way, “Where the hell is Radiohead?”

After a week of confused excitement, I began noticing changes in the Coachella bill - Madness was gone, Turbonegro gone, Jack Johnson still there …NO!

Then, along came a light of hope - Prince …

Adding Prince to a line-up comprised of acts that could learn a lesson or two from one of popular music’s last great all-around performers was a brilliant move by Coachella.



So the excitement resumed - Prince, M.I.A., Mark Ronson, Flogging Molly, Bonde Do Role, Café Tacuba, Gogol Bordello, Kraftwerk, and my faith in Coachella was restored.

On-site camping at Coachella is worth the admission price itself - one cheap price for three days, bring your own tent, ice chest, food, and sunblock.


Matt & MsJosey

By the time my partner on this adventure MsJosey and I had arrived to set-up camp (and help fellow campers setup their tents), we hustled to catch the end of The Verve’s set, with “Bittersweet Symphony” blaring from the mainstage. Walk-running all I could think of was how pissed Keith Richards was when the Stones sued The Verve for sampling “The Last Time.” Walking through the gates and hearing the opening strings of “Bittersweet” made for a pretty epic entrance. We’re here!

Unless you’ve attended before, there really is nothing like the Coachella experience.

With mini-program and cameras in hand, MsJosey and I ran to each of the five stages: the mainstage, outdoor theater, and the Gobi, Mojave, and Sahara tents. I had a wish list of groups to see, but it is impossible to see them all - Kate Nash, MGMT, Sia, Rilo Kiley, too many favorites. Making your way to each stage, you always end up stopping to snap shots in front of some bizarre art piece, or just marvel at the many show-goers - time escapes.


Coachella campgrounds                      Coachella mainstage when the gates open

Fatboy Slim at the Sahara Tent capped off our first night. My only problem with DJ sets is that there are so many layered mixes that once the song you recognize begins to surface, another wipes it out - back to the campground.

Saturday was all about Prince as far as I we were concerned, but the whole day wasn’t without its excitement. Let’s run it down…


Our cheesy "We're here" pics...

Brazil’s Bonde Do Role made the Gobi tent go wild with a combination of re-worked vintage beats and heavy metal guitar riffs. At 4 p.m., and at about 96 degrees in the shade, the Brazilians kicked off Saturday righteously. Some notables spotted onstage and in the crowd was Bako’s own Joel of Filami Clothing, while fashionista Jeremy Scott (remember the creepy guy from “Wassup Rockers?”) pranced around in a leather coat and shorts … yikes!




I missed Kate Nash (boo!); Café Tacuba made a melting mosh pit of Mexican rockero flavas; Dwight Yoakam wasn’t as good as Willie Nelson last year, but he did play “Streets of Bakersfield;” M.I.A. was way over packed at the Sahara tent, and I had to break up a fight between two photographers; Mark Ronson was fantastic with a full horn and string section and guest vocalists from his “Version” covers album; Flogging Molly was Flogging Molly; and you didn’t have to be near the stage to enjoy Kraftwerk - we took a break to look for celebs near the press tent (I saw the guy who was in UHF with Weird Al ... LOL).


Hey! It's Joel from Bako's Filami.com (right,) with a friend during Bonde Do Role's set!

Then Prince hit the stage, kicking off with “The Bird” and “Jungle Love,” with Morris Day and Jerome of The Time, who looked better than they did in “Purple Rain.” Contrary to popular belief, Prince wrote all those hits, including “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E., who also made an appearance at the beginning of the show.


Prince - photos courtesy of LAtimes.com

Proclaiming Coachella as “Prince’s house,” the purple one - dressed like a cast member from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, threw down with songs from the Prince songbook, as well as covers with Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice,” The Beatles’ “Come Together,” Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel,” featuring back-up singer Ledisi who made me think of those sad SPCA TV ads, and Radiohead’s “Creep.” Could it get any better than Prince? Extended guitar solos, “Controversy,” and a shout out to Jehovah before leaving the stage, Mr. Nelson left MsJosey and I in a purple daze. I could go on forever - but you had to be there. Then, back to camp…


"OEOEO!"



The walk from the campground        The crowd waits for Flogging Molly

A warning to any future Coachella campers - don’t forget your earplugs. Trying to sleep through an army of 60 people marching through the tent grounds with trash cans, noise makers until 5:30 a.m. is not nice. The cops ended up making an appearance for a peaceful break-up, then there was sudden stillness until 6 a.m.


The bee that stung me..damn!         We have no idea who this dude was..LOL!

Killing time in the bloody mary/breakfast burrito campground lounge until the gates open is a highlight. You’ll always get an earful from the people you’re sharing a table with, including international travelers - some of whom spend up to $6,000 just to come every year.


Bloody Mary morning          Bizarro art

Then it was back to the music. It’s amazing how organizers manage to keep the grounds so clean. There’s always a “green” message and recycling is preached everywhere you look - not to mention the temporary employment of about 3,000 clean-up workers, which no doubt helps locals.


Peace...                                  Cafe Tacuba ruled!

Sunday was a no-pressure day to catch acts since most I didn’t recognize, which made it even better. Discovering my next favorite unknown act was the mission of the day.


Perry Farrell                      Nerdy devil dude from I'm From Barcelona

Perry Farrell - who, in my opinion, started the idea of the alternative music festival with Lollapalooza - had a new trio performing at 2 p.m. inside the Sahara tent. Gotta hand it to Perry - he’s still as strange as ever and judging by audience reactions to his serpentine dance steps on stage and smile - he is very much still loved.



I'm From Barcelona and the balloons that wouldn't leave

We ended up at the wrong tent and missed Sean Penn’s 15-minute political speech, but as luck would have it made a new band discovery in the form of I’m From Barcelona. Entering the stage with inflatable red balloon-like balls for the audience - the more than 10 piece orchestra walked from behind a curtain looking like a group of art school geeks, complete with a nerdy guy dressed like the devil singing a song about building a treehouse. They were fun, but after getting hit in the head the giant balloons that kept coming back again and again, we admired their sound from outside.


Gogol Bordello amazed and sweat

Hanging in the press tent is another experience all together: journalists scrambling to file photos and reviews for the rest of the world - this about 30 feet from the VIP section where the scenesters rub elbows with the actual fans. I claim to be a part of the latter group, as I did run into actor Giovanni Ribisi, who looked like the rest of us - sunbaked and smiling - and I saw that guy from the Weird Al movie again!


MIA - Put me on the mainstage!

By the time I had soaked in all the art, took millions of photos, met everyone - from dudes dressed in Native American headdresses to some Bakersfield mates - it was time for Roger Waters and his Pink Floyd opus - “Dark Side of The Moon” in its entirety, but not just yet.


"Get the pig, get the pig!"

Mind you, I was still high on Prince. I already made up my mind that there’s no way you could eclipse a performance like that.

Once Waters’ entered the stage with a band of proficient musicians, the crowd was mesmerized in a way that even I could appreciate. During some Pink song gems, I spotted a huge inebriated concert-goer walk up to a group of guys singing along to “Comfortably Numb,” joining all together just like a choir of jolly party guys you see at your local watering hole when “that song” comes on at the right time.


Dark Side O' The Luna

Unlike ’07, when Rage put the audience into a literal rage, the mood of ’08 was the opposite. Prince brought the crowd together without the politics, Waters sprinkled his set with a little politics - but I doubt anyone paid attention, it was all about the music.

And Jack Johnson? Yes, we saw him. The mainstage wasn’t exactly the right place for his campfire repertoire, but the dude can sing and chicks dig him - I can’t hate on him for that. Plus, he did the “Curious George” movie soundtrack - a favorite of MsJosey’s son Brendan. You can’t expect me to hate on Jack after finding that out, could you?

Cheers to another year of Coachella! I’m counting the days ’til next year…


Encore: Cheesy "Last night at Coachella pic" Huzzah!



Story also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 28, 5-15-08

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Comment From: SamG

Awesome! I'm so bummed I couldn't go this year... I would have killed to see Portishead, Rilo Kiley, The Swell Season, Metric, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, St. Vincent, and OF COURSE Prince and Roger Waters! Thanks for letting the rest of us live vicariously through your article & photos :D