thenewyorkgroove

Coachella essentially cloned itself this year— two weekends, identical lineups— and still sold out in about an hour.  I wouldn’t necessarily be jumping to pay $800 for a ticket but having watched the majority of the headliners and sub headliners on the impecable youtube live steam I would have to say that the performances were beyond compelling. 

Favorite Acts: Pulp, Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky, Radiohead, and Azealia Banks. 

Ocean, Banks, and the Weeknd’s presence felt particularly important to me because they come from a pop-esque/R&B sector that Coachella has previously ignored. Ocean’s performance drew a crowd almost as large as that of Pulp, but his relative inexperience as a live performer was evident. Needless to say his performance of “Novacane” was exquisite and the crowd absolutely lost their shit when Tyler, the Creator made a cameo to perform “Analog 2.” 

Being a huge fan I still have to acknowledge that the Weeknd’s set was entertaining but had a huge disconnect. His performance sadly made it more clear that he should reamin in the studio. Unfortunately in a live-band setting, “High for This” and “D.D.” lost their sense of tyranny. 

Her performance on Saturday confirmed that Azealia Banks is clearly a star. Unfortunately she performed for less than half of her allotted 45 minutes, and while she certainly left an impression, she could probably use a little live seasoning outside of Karl Lagerfeld’s living room. 

Pulp’s comeback performance at Coachella was evident that the band still has actual popularity in America amongst non-rock critics.  Jarvis Cocker remains an absolutely compelling frontman. “This is Hardcore” and “Something Changed” were the best numbers.  And of course classics like “Do You Remember the First Time?”, “Sorted For E’s & Wizz”, and of course, “Common People” had the crowd raging. 

M83, Bon Iver and The Black Keys made clear that they can fill whatever space they’re in and had crowds bopping, obviously. Radiohead’s set leaned a bit to heavily on material from the past decade but it’s almost impossible to imagine someone walking away from their show disappointed with perfection renditions of “Karma Police” “Just” and “Paranoid Android”. 

What was great about this year’s festival is that Radiohead kind of came off like classic rock. Last year Coachella was subject to an increasing shift regarding electronic music- artists like AVICII, and Swedish House Mafia were viewed as minor acts within Coachella’s rock heavy lineup yet this year, they were advertised as equals.

Flying Lotus debuted new material that suggested he’s gearing up to compete with electronic music heavies. AraabMuzik appeared on Sunday to solidify his credentials as an electronic producer. He’s quickly becoming dance music’s Van Halen— you can stare at him in awe as he completely changes the game with his hands. SBTRKT mixed electronic and diva-led pop and put on one of the most flat-out entertaining performances of the weekend. 

Hip-hop was definitely present with Kendrick Lamar as the first rapper to appear at Coachella and he put on an intense 40-minute set where “A.D.H.D” and “Fuck Yo Ethnicity” were treated like proper radio hits. A$AP Rocky had the mixed blessing of grabbing an 11:30 p.m. Saturday appearance…which just so happened to run up against Radiohead. Needless to say he performed “Purple Swag” under the glorious desert moon with the utmost skill.

Coachella on closed Sunday with Snoop and Dre, and it was obvious that they just wanted the crowd to have a fucking blast. 

Despite Coachella’s reputation as being a soulless parade of people spending two week’s income for the off chance of bumping into Kate Bosworth…. it’s actually as listener-friendly as a rock festival could hope to be. While I’m not sure I need to actually be there to enjoy it, Coachella marks a  reminders of the strides made by bands to break down listening barriers between indie rock and dance music of all stripes.

 FLEETWOOD MAC

“We’re doing something for sure,” Lindsey Buckingham told Rolling Stone in August.” Stevie Knicks just finished her solo tour this summer, I’m sure she’s eager to be back with the boys. 

           PHISH

1. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The track hardly makes any rational sense. It’s six minutes long. There’s no chorus. Yet it has transcended all these constraints to become a bona fide classic.

2. His massive chompers. In this age of neon-white, geometrically correct pearly whites, it’s nice to remember Mercury’s massive, massive teeth that added to his trademark bold look.

3) ‘Under Pressure’. A flawless duet with David Bowie which has, over time, gained a special place in people’s hearts because of the all too relatable nature of the lyrics and that bassline (just ask Vanilla Ice).

4) THAT jacket. We’re talking of course about the famous yellow one. Oh yes it was rather silly, but can we ever separate that shiny yellow leather number from the iconic image of Freddie? No we cannot.

5) ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’. A rockabilly, Elvis Presley tribute? In a chart full of cheery pop cheese? It would never do well in the charts… In fact it topped charts across the world and became a Queen classic.

6) The dwarves and cocaine parties. A “nightcap” at the Mercury mansion involved cross Atlantic flights and parties where dwarves had bowls of cocaine strapped to their heads. Which makes you wonder what was in the party bags when they left…

7) ‘Live Aid’. Having not performed live for a few years, Queen’s comeback at Live Aid was an amazing reinvention. For many the highlight of the charity concert, Queen showed the other older timers how it should be done.

8) ‘Another One Bites The Dust’. Like Blondie, Queen managed where others had failed: to incorporate bits of disco and r’n’b into the music with sounding faddy or desperate. In fact ‘Another One…’ was a brilliantly modernist effort for 1980, in the best sense of the term.

9) ‘Flash’. Firstly it was an expert lesson in ‘how to do a song for a film’. Secondly it was a brilliant, highly influential (sampled by Public Enemy, pre-gig music for My Chemical Romance) song in its own right.

10) The ‘I Want To Break Free’ video. Dragged up and living in their own private soap, this video was funny along with being a perfectly judged promo for the MTV-era.

11) His onstage persona. In life Mercury was a complicated, multi faceted character, onstage however his persona was commanding, iconic and hugely influential.

12) The ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ video. Considered by many to ‘the first ever music video’, director Bruce Gowers created a simple but wonderfully effective combination of lights, shadowing and 70s special effects to create something unforgettable.

13) Of Course….The voice. Freddie’s outstanding voice was a four octave stunner which influenced everyone from Muse’s Matt Bellamy to The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins.

RIP FREDDIE, 1946-1991