I love going to concerts. Better yet, I am obsessed with going to concerts. I enjoy the thrill of having a ticket in my hand and being excited days, weeks, sometimes even months before the show. I like piling as many friends as I can in my car (OK, you can stop laughing), heading to the venue, finding parking, and waiting in line with fans that are all here for the same reason as me. Then comes the thrill of waiting for the headlining act to take the stage. Sure, there are some opening bands that you might like but all that matters is the real reason why you spend half your pay check to see someone play a guitar. It seems like nothing else matters until the lights drop and the crowd goes wild. That is a sheer sense of happiness for anyone who listens to music. A true “field of dreams” for any music lover.
Each year, outside of the shows that I see at the cliché venues like Verizon Wireless Music Center or Birdy’s Bar and Grill, there are certain shows that I like to go to that bring a whole new meaning to the concept of a concert. These shows are more commonly known as festivals. While our parents had festivals like Woodstock we get even bigger events like SXSW and Coachella. I cannot say if our festivals are necessarily better than that of Woodstock, but I can be sure to tell you that we still know how to throw a party.
Speaking of Coachella, the lineup for the 2010 festival was recently released. Now, I do tend to go to smaller one-day events like Warped Tour, and they are usually packed with no name bands and one or two bigger more national headliners. So when an event like Coachella, which is a three-day festival, comes along I tend to pay attention to the bands that fill the time slots. And let me tell you folks, this year’s list looks amazing.
This is the eleventh year for Coachella. I have not been to very many shows that offer three days of music like this one does; with bands like this it is hard to think that you can afford to miss it. This year’s event is featuring acts like Jay Z, Muse, and the Gorillaz. Each night packs a different lineup and while these names might all be from different genres and have completely different sounds, they all draw a similar crowd of bandwagon fans that just want to be a part of this epic event.
This year, on Friday, April 16th you can see the following acts. You can enjoy, all for the price of one ticket, Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Deadmau5, Public Image Limited, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Benny Benassi, Fever Ray, Grace Jones, She & Him, Erol Alkan, The Avett Brothers, Calle 13, The Whitest Boy Alive, The Cribs, La Roux, Yeasayer, Lucero, DJ Lance Rock, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Proxy, Ra Ra Riot, Deer Tick, Wolfgang Gartner, Aeroplane, Iglu & Hartly, Sleigh Bells, P.O.S., Baroness, Hockey, Little Dragon, White Rabbits, Wale, Kate Miller-Heidke, As Tall as Lions, Jets Overhead, Alana Grace, and Pablo Hassan. Some of those names are awfully familiar while some I am sure you have never heard of. But the idea for the creators of this epic event is not to showcase America’s top forty but rather to give you the widest mix of music that you can fit on one stage. On Saturday, however, you get a whole new set of artists to please your eardrums.
On Saturday, April 17th you can sing along with Muse, Faith No More, Tiësto, MGMT, David Guetta, The Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Coheed and Cambria, Kaskade, 2Many DJ’s, Major Lazer, Dirty Projectors, Gossip, Z-Trip, The xx, John Waters, Les Claypool, The Raveonettes, Mew, Sia, Camera Obscura, Tokyo Police Club, Porcupine Tree, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aterciopalados, Bassnectar, Frightened Rabbit, Dirty South, Flying Lotus, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pretty Lights, Shooter Jennings, RX Bandits, The Almighty Defenders, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Craze & Klever, Zoe, The Temper Trap, Portugal, The Man, Band of Skulls, Girls, Beach House, Steel Train, and Frank Turner. While there are a lot of names on that list that I truly enjoy it is Tiësto that excites me the most. I had the chance to see him this past New Year’s Eve but decided to forgo the insane plane ticket prices. Perhaps this is my chance to see him with some more of the industries best.
Oh, we are not done yet. On Sunday, April 18th be prepared to end this massive party in style. Take your day of rest to honor Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, De La Soul, Julian Casablancas, Plastikman, Gary Numan, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, MUTEMATH, Deerhunter, Infected Mushroom, Club 75, Matt & Kim, The Big Pink, Gil Scott-Heron, King Khan and the Shrines, Florence and the Machine, Yann Tiersen, Little Boots, Miike Snow, Talvin Singh, Ceu, B.o.B., Babasonicos, Owen Pallett, The Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Rusko, The Middle East, Hadouken!, The Soft Pack, Kevin Devine, Paparazzi, Delphic, and One EskimO.
For all of these bands to meet in one place, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, is a feat in of itself. But for you to be able to pay one price, $269, for all of this is just incredible. Jay Z, for instance, is coming to Indianapolis later this year. Tickets for his show started at over $100. You cannot even get close to the stage for less than $200. You mean to tell me that I can see not only Jay Z but also all of these others artists for only $269? That is insane. Plus, they have portable showers so if you want to freshen up you don’t have to leave the festival to do so.
So, if you are a fan of any of these bands above, make sure you go to the 2010 Coachella Festival. There are some big name sponsors that will be there giving stuff away as well. This is an event that you cannot afford to miss. If you do get the chance to go, I want to hear about your experience. This truly is a Woodstock for our generation. Let’s try to enjoy it as much as we know our parents did.
