Coachella Trip Day 3 (the festival continues)

It's not a party until someone fires up the Tesla Coils

The second day of Coachella Festival was full of higher highs and lower lows than Day 1. The bands that were good, were crazy good; the bands that were not crazy good were thoroughly mediocre. The weather is starting to take it's toll as well. Yesterday temperature was in the mid 90's and the heat was taking it's toll on festival goers, also the grounds were getting pretty well trampled and any time the crowds would start dancing, a cloud of dust would choke the air like a stockyard. By the end of the night my lungs were so full of dust that it reminded me of how I felt when I used to smoke, and why I quit.

Reignwolf

The day started off with a bang... or rather a savage, bluesy snarl. Reignwolf took the Outdoor Stage and brought the crowd immediately to life. Most bands that play early in the day are trying to cajole the crowd out of there hangovers and back to life. But not Reignwolf, they were not there to stoke the embers, they were there to light the fuse. They tore through a gritty, blues-centric set that left the crowd screaming for more. Keep your eyes open for this emerging talent (especially my Seattle friends, where the band hails from) and if you see they are playing you need to run, not walk, to get tickets. This band is the genuine article.

Unfortunately such a pace could not be sustained by the rest of the festival, and the next couple of shows that I saw were pretty pedestrian. I hesitate to say they were bad, because they were both talented, but I just felt like I had seen a dozen acts like them before, or maybe it was lofty expectations, or the heat.

Vintage Trouble

But for whatever reason I was wandering around a little aimlessly, feeling unfulfilled, and I made my way over to the main stage a little earlier than I had intended (because of the heat, one must carefully plan how long you want to cook in the sunshine at the main stage). I could not be happier that I did. The music scene has seen a resurgence of neo-soul acts in recent years, and Vintage Trouble fits into that category. But it's never fair to pigeonhole acts that are as unique as this. Their lead singer, who brought to mind the vocal stylings of Wilson Pickett, managed to dance his pants off... literally. Midway through the set he pointed out to the crowd that he had torn out his pants from knee to crotch, laughed about it then carried on with the show, their next song was appropriately named, "Pelvis Pusher."

Dropkick Murphys

Directly following Vintage Trouble on the main stage was the veteran brawlers, and native Bostonians, The Dropkick Murphys, who were playing the final show of their tour. They played a solid show and had an enthusiastic and active crowd. It was a great time, but exhausting in the heat, so, after that show, I had to retreat to a shady spot to listen to the next band, The Violent Femmes from a distance.

Franz Ferdinand

There were a couple other gems during the day as well before the sun finally went down as I was watching the ska band, The Selector. Then I caught the EDM act, Simian Mobile Disco before finishing the night at Franz Ferdinand, a band that I have been looking forward to for a long time, and have always just barely missed out on for one reason or another. I'm glad that I finally got a chance to see them and they did not disappoint. After Franz Ferdinand finished up, Phoenix was closing the main stage and I had originally planned on trying to catch that show, but after the long day spent in the oppressive desert sun and breathing a sand dune of dust for 12 hours, it was time for me to call it a night and I headed back a little early.
Just one day of Coachella left to go. I'm sure that tomorrow will be as stellar as the two previous days. See you all then!

Heineken Beer Garden