Coachella Trip Day 4 (The Festival Ends)

Beach balls gone wild at Wu Tang Clan

Coachella's final day was a big one for the two large outdoor stages as far as the lineup goes. That meant being exposed to the desert sun pretty much all day. It took some careful water planning (and some help from a generous festival policy of giving away free water bottles to people standing at the front of the stage) to make it.

The Airbone Toxic Event

For myself, the band that I was most looking forward to seeing was not a headliner but an early day act, The Airborne Toxic Event. I have seen Airborne on two previous occasions, in Austin, Texas, and again in Boston, Massachusetts.

Seeing them again was like a long anticipated visit from an old friend. If you have not listened to this band, I cannot recommend them any stronger. They are beautiful musicians and lead singer Mikel Jollett is one of the most effective lyricists I've heard in a long time. My strategy for navigating the festival and getting the best spot was to choose only a few bands that I really want to see, then show up for the show before them, that way I'm seeing something random that I normally would not see followed by an act that I'm really jazzed for. In this case I showed up early and watched Ghost BC, a goth theater act which seemed like a pretty bizarre choice for a bright sunny summer day, but a little variety is

Dinosaur Jr

After Airborne played I went to the Outdoor Stage to see Dinosaur Jr, and again got there one show early, and saw the young folk/jam band Kurt Vile and the Violators who I enjoyed, but I think they would have been better placed on one of the smaller stages. I often feel like singer/songwriter acts are better presented in more intimate settings. Dinosaur Jr on the other hand was right were they belonged. Let me say this about Dinosaur Jr: the wings of the stage was riddled with long haired ruffians wearing black band t-shirts and bandannas. What does it say for you that you are the band that all the roadies make a point to see? I would like to think that the guys in Dinosaur Jr would take that as the highest form of a compliment.

Tame Impala

When Dinosaur Jr wrapped up I decided that I would be content to just finish the day out at the Outdoor Stage, and just held my position at the front rail for the next band, Tame Impala, an Australian jam rock band that I didn't even know that I knew. It was several, "Oh, they wrote THAT too?" moments. They were followed by Pretty Lights, an EDM act whose stage show proved that he was appropriately named. I see the lighting spectacle of an EDM show to be akin to a fireworks display set to music. Instead of the artist doing the entertaining, they let the stagecraft do the work for them, it's just as entertaining as traditional shows, just in a different way.

Wu Tang Clan

Finally, as the crowd began to sense that the headliner was approaching there was a huge rush to the front of the stage, and then a full orchestra began to file onto the stage, and the crush of humanity got worse, and then, finally, Wu Tang Clan took the stage and the whole place turned to bedlam. That crowd was nothing short of CRAZY! I feel a certain journalistic responsibility to confirm the reports that Wu Tang ain't nothin' to fuck with. That is absolutely true. Thanks Coachella, it's been a great time.