Coachella Trip Day 8 (Woodinville, WA)

The restocking of my wine cabinent continued today as I went with my sister and brother in law to the wineries in Woodinville. There are more than 90 wineries in this area, most represented by a small tasting room, some by restaurants as well and a few, like Chateau St Michelle by a large estate. This is a wonderful side trip any time you visit Seattle. I picked up a nice white wine from Goose Ridge Winery, and a syrah from Airfield Estates, but the one that I am the most excited by is a petit verdot from Zerba Cellars, who were the 2011 Wine Press Northwest winery of the year, and the only winery that I've ever seen that makes a petit verdot, and I am excited to see what Ursa thinks of it when I get it home.

Spotted Towhee

After wine tasting we returned to my sister's house and had a wonderful evening enjoying the gorgeous weather, drinking more wine, playing with my niece, (my niece also took great care in helping to plant some herbs in the garden) and bird watching in the small thicket of native growth land that borders their house. (They have a gorgeous view out of their back lawn and kitchen window. We were all thrilled to see a red tailed hawk who had been circling the skies for a while finally land briefly in a tree across the field (we had an excellent view of him through the binoculars) and we had fun identifying a spotted towhee that had been hanging around the area all day and a brown headed cowbird as well. There were also groups of dozens and dozens of swallows that would meander through.

Coachella Trip Day 7 (Seattle, WA)

I packed up my stuff and hopped on an early morning flight up to Seattle to visit my sister and her family. We had a good lunch from this little teriyaki place and got settled in at their new house in Bothell. That gave us a nice opportunity to chat and to play with my niece.

In the evening we drove downtown to Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, one of the finest jazz clubs you will find anywhere, to see a performance by Martin Taylor and Amy Fox. The two guitarists intermingled their sound in an thrilling and fascinating way. The detailed ranging of Ms Fox had a way of drawing you in emotionally while the more melodic Taylor projected to the listeners. The effect was a lovely free flowing performance that was rejuvenating to the spirit.
We finished the evening up with a late dinner and cocktails at 13 Coins.

Coachella Trip Day 6 (Palm Springs, CA)

A view down to on the Coachella Valley

After the marathon of festival going and road tripping, it was really tempting to just hole up at my parent's place and have an easy day, but we decided to head out of the house, bright and early, to enjoy one of the favorite activities of Palm Springs, hiking in the San Jacinto mountains. My parents have a favorite trail they call "the cross" (the trail has an actual name but I never have heard it). It was a great way to start the morning before the heat of the day began to take over.
A nice cup of coffee after the morning hike is a tradition; a great way to relax and chat after some morning exercise. From there we went downtown to see a new public art instillation, a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe, and explored Palm Springs a little.

Coachella Trip Day 5 (Temecula, CA)

Picking up some vino in Temecula, California

This morning I woke up stiff and soar, nursing blisters and coughing up half the desert. But fortunately for me we would not be doing anything too strenuous, other than persuing another one of my favorite things to do... drinking.

As that I will be in wine country in both Southern California as well as Washington, it is time to restock the wine rack. So my parents and I made the 70 miles of twisting, winding roads through the mountains to the wine town of Temecula that has 35 different wineries to choose from. We made stops at Baily Winery which was probably my favorite but the Mount Palomar Winery was certainly the most beautiful. It was a small wine haul, but it will suffice. I picked up a white blend from Baily, and a nice grenache from the oldest winery in the Temecula Valley, the Van Roekel Winery, and a wonderful dessert wine from Mount Palomar. Those combined with a few wines from Washington here in a few days should have the wine rack looking better in no time.

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.

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

Coachella Trip Day 2 (The festival begins)

The Snail creeps it's way across the festival grounds

Welcome to Coachella Festival 2013! I planon putting up a more comprehensive post on all the bands that I saw the "Destinations" page, so for now I think that I'll just touch on a couple highlights from yesterday then scurry off to the shuttle bus for Day 2.

Metric

The middle of the day act that I was excited to see and did not disappoint was Metric who put on an awesome performance on the main stage. It was interesting that the band that preceded them was a good example of how a band could be very good on a smaller stage but looks very pedestrian on a larger stage. So after one disappointment, Metric took the stage and went in the exact opposite direction and positively owned the stage and the crowd putting on an exceptionable mid day performance.

The Palma Violets

After that I made my way back to the Mojave Tent (which had a stellar lineup all day long, and is where I spent most of my time) and caught a band that I had sorely underestimated, The Palma Violets who proceeded to unleash one of the best performances of the day! Their bass player thundered through their set like a pissed off Matt Smith and drug the crowd in with an unstoppable intensity. An unexpected and fantastic show.

Nick Caves performs with Grinderman

Both of the headliners on the Mojave Stage were also a better option than either of the main stages (which were featuring either Blur or Jurassic 5). The first was Grinderman. The promoters that booked the festival, in their infinite wisdom, decided to bless us with a Nick Caves double feature. His band Nick Caves and the Bad Seeds will be headlining on the main stage on day 3, but his other project came out to rock the smaller venue last night which was incredible. Nick Caves is a legendary showman and thrilled the crowd with his rawkus performance.

How To Destroy Angels

The final show of the night was one that I have been looking forward to for some time. Trent Reznor's side project, How To Destroy Angels has been much anticipated around the country, and this would be their third performance. Their stage show featured the band performing most of the set behind a semi-transparent screen, which added a mysterious and beautiful component to the performance. The audience was only able to see the artists as a series of silhouettes which focused more attention to the music. The final product was less a rock concert and more of a performance art project which once again places Trent Reznor firmly in the category of "genius".
There was much more to see and describe but I've got to hop my shuttle bus and get back to the festival. One thing to look forward to is that I got some excellent video to also post up so get ready for that as well. See you all tomorrow!

Coachella Trip Day 1 (Palm Springs, CA)

Getting to spend some time with the folks in Palm Springs

It's been a long couple of days traveling that have gotten me here to Palm Springs. Describing travel days is always difficult as that it is simultaneously the part of a trip that everyone can most relate to while also being the most forgettable. I usually try to pass my time by people watching but even that failed me, as that there were no truly curious characters to watch, even at Anchorage's Ted Stevens International Airport which is usually the Walmart of airports. My travel days consisted of me leaving work in Prudhoe Bay, AK, bright and early on April 17, and got to spend the day in Anchorage before jumping on a red-eye flight to arrive in Palm Springs on the morning of the 18th.

After the tedium of traveling all night it was a wonderful treat to get in and spend the day hanging out with my folks. We are planning on a nice Mexican dinner tonight at a place called Las Casuelas Nuevas with my Uncle and Aunt. That is one thing that I've always missed living in Alaska is quality Mexican food, so I'm really excited for dinner.

So I'll be taking it easy for the most part tonight, then tomorrow at noon the festival begins. I'll keep you all posted on how that goes.