With the annual audial escape almost upon us, it is time for a touch of intra-retro-spection. In two months I will visit the plush, green polo fields of Indio, California. Greeted by thousands of my fellow audiophiles, I will sleep under the desert sky and sweat under its sun. During the time in between, however, I will be entertained beyond measure.
These are the top fifteen most entertaining shows of my five year experience. Few of them are amazing solely for their performance alone, but rather the culmination of events leading up to the show or the significance of the set.
I started with 20 moments. I whittled it down, but ten didn’t seem big enough to encapsulate all the different stuff that has happened over the years. The list has yet to be finished, but I instantly knew which would be number #15 and the perfect way to start the countdown.
It all starts with Moon Pies.
It is a Thursday night, April 29th in Antioch, CA. Road Warrior Travis and I are about to set out upon a great adventure. The goal was a choice that took months of training and funds and energy to create. So many questions and mysteries awaited us, but nothing prepared us for the gas station stop before hitting the open road.
Neither one of us had tasted such an American treat like the Moon Pie in many moons. I bought one as I felt it to be an omen for the following 72-hours.
Back on the road, we readied ourselves for San Francisco, as tonight was the night that we would witness the complex insanity of Mike Patton and Fantomas. Fantomas is one of Patton’s many personalities and stars Dave Lombardo (Slayer) on drums while Maestro Mike hits all bells and whistles imaginable.
The show was at The Fillmore in SF and the trip home had us back in Antioch around one in the morning. Meeting up with Road Warrior Josh at Jack-in-the-Box was our last duty before the road to Coachella. That road happens to take around 10 hours, when mixing in stops and traffic. Not very fun, especially when you are riding in the middle of two dudes in a truck.
Flash forward a dozen hours or so, and the three of us are walking into the concert area for the first time. This was their first experience like this (I had done Bonnaroo previously), but all of us were overwhelmed…in a good way. With so many options, it is sometimes hard to see even half of what you want to see.
What we did want to see, more than anything else that night, was The Chemical Brothers.
The stage right next to The Chemical Brothers had started its act an hour or so before. Wouldn’t you know it, but Fantomas was playing exactly 24 hours after we had last seen them. We should have just taken the tour bus with the band instead of riding in that truck. Truth is, we actually did not realize the Chemical Bros had started until we looked over and noticed some gigantic bug images moving across the raving Sahara Tent.
Travis and I had been up since Friday morning, and it was now almost midnight on Saturday. We were tired, we were overwhelmed, we were out of our minds on many levels. Then the bass dropped and life changed forever.
The life I was living the few hours before that moment seemed like a parallel universe that I had just been sucked out of. I was dizzy and happy and confused. I recognized music I had been hearing for many years, but never understood until that night.
The Sahara Tent is Coachella. This gem houses thousands of sweaty people and dozens of professional smile makers. Daft Punk, Crystal Method, Oakenfold, MSTRKRFT, The Prodigy…all chose the Sahara tent to showcase their best material. Its close quarters and unrivaled sound system makes this home base for the entire weekend. No matter what type of music you like, the Sahara Tent will make you dance. Guaranteed.
The Chemical Brothers brought the ruckus on many planes. The video was out of this world, with rapid, odd images blowing past screens surrounding the stage. With people flipping around and images becoming distorted, it felt like the Steamboat tunnel scene from Willy Wonka. When “Block Rockin’ Beats” started, the crowd became hyper-sensitive and a wave of emotion wound through all in attendance. I searched hard for some good quality video to show you what I mean, but this performance is one filed under “You Had To Be There.” Sometimes you have to put the camera away and just soak it in.
The lasers, oh my lord in heaven, the lasers!
Green lasers, blue lasers, big lasers, small lasers, cool lasers, annoying lasers….more lasers then George Lucas’ biggest wet dream. They entered our pores and shot out of our fingertips. I think I sneezed out a laser while walking back to camp.
After the show we walked passed all the cool kids at Coldplay, wondering what in the hell were they thinking. Everyone’s Coachella is different, but some shows must be seen by any means necessary. This was the first.
Metal Riot
I remember this, it was the exact moment when my life changed. very good article, you tell like it was.