that rosebud girl

Coachella 2010 rocked out!

Another awesome year at Coachella with Ed and Edgar. We really lucked out with good weather this year … it wasn’t brutally hot. And we saw a ton if bands, even more than last year.

The complete list of whom we saw:

Friday:
* Calle 13
* Hockey (partial)
* She & Him
* The Specials (partial)
* Them Crooked Vultures
* the last three Echo and the Bunnymen songs (including Lips Like Sugar)
* Jay-Z

Saturday:
* Old Crow Medicine Show (partial)
* White Rabbits
* Tokyo Police Club
* Coheed and Cambria
* Faith No More
* Muse
* Devo

Sunday:
* De La Soul
* Sunny Day Real Estate
* Spoon
* Pavement
* Thom Yorke
* Gorillaz (most of it)

It was a pretty solid three days. Saturday might have been my favorite, what with the awesomeness that was Muse (I was going insane in the pit). But my favorite next to Muse might have been Faith No More.

We were at FNM mostly because we wanted a good spot for Muse. (well, we camped out four bands before to ensure good spots.) We didn’t know what to expect, since Faith No More hit its heyday when we were in middle and high school. But they rocked, got the pit warmed up, and really had fun. Great stage presence, great showmanship. They kicked things off by covering Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited,” which was a nice touch. But overall, they really were a lot of fun. Especially when the lead singer decided to crowd surf and wound up above me. And when they played “Epic” and the moshing was, well, epic.

Thom Yorke on Sunday was also another favorite of ours. He went from rave party to solo acoustic set back to rave party seamlessly. He did one song that he sampled right on stage, which was awesome. The two Radiohead songs he did solo and acoustic were solid choices: “Airbag” and “Everything in its Right Place.” Oh, and Flea was his bassist. Uh, yeah. That kicked ass.

Other highlights:

* Muse puts on a hell of a show. Whether you love or hate their latest album, if you like them at all, they are a must-see live, if only to marvel at the fact that they have just one traveling musician and can produce such a full sound with only four dudes. The crowd at Coachella was also pretty lively, which just added to the experience.

* We got really close for Them Crooked Vultures. Dave Grohl is crazy to watch in person, and Josh Homme is terrific, but the real treat was watching John Paul Jones play a million instruments. He was amazing. I want to be that talented. Maybe I’ll get there when I’m 80.

* I don’t go to a lot of hip hop shows usually. I end up seeing those kinds of acts at Coachella (like Lupe Fiasco last year). I am continually amazed by the backup bands that perform with the hip hop acts. Jay-Z’s band was terrific. Of course, he was pretty awesome too.

* On Friday, we went from Hockey (fun stuff) to She & Him, and Edgar commented to me, “We just went from the 1970s to 1950.” It was funny. Seriously, both acts were solid and I’ll be checking them out.

* In the quest to get as close to Muse as possible, we camped out at the main stage on Saturday. The first act we were treated to was White Rabbits, whom we knew nothing about. We were fans by the end. Lovely, textured sound, great percussion, and their lead singer plays a mean piano. As Ed put it, they might have been the best band we saw that we had never heard of before this weekend.

* I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see Phoenix. I could hear their set in the distance in between Spoon and Pavement. It sounded pretty sweet.

* One of the coolest things we saw this weekend: During the Old Crow Medicine Show set – pretty cool bluegrass – one guy busted a string on his guitar, ran to the side, took it off, replaced it, tuned the guitar, and returned to singing and playing with the rest of the band in about 20 seconds. Now that’s a pro.

This is what makes Coachella the event I look forward to every year. Already waiting for next year.

And of course I’ll be buying a ton of music in the next day or two.

The journey across the Pacific

Sadly, my vacation was over a week ago, but a few random thoughts after 10 days across the other pond in Guam and Japan:

* Guam heat is nothing compared to Sacramento summer heat. It makes a 100-degree Sacramento summer day feel like a day at the North Pole. I don’t know how Mom and Dad function. I don’t know how I managed to function there for 17 years.

* I miss swimming in the ocean. Going to a Guam beach also reminds me why I am a beach snob. Sorry, Hawai’i. You have nothing on Matapang Beach in Guam. Or Ritidian.

* The more things change, the more they stay the same. Guam has a few new buildings and additions, but it really is more or less the same place. It was a fun trip back in time.

* There is something about sleeping in your childhood bed and walking around your childhood house after 12 years that is … weird. I really can’t describe it.

* The Japanese are unparalleled in their politeness and hospitality. You could walk into a convenience store here and buy a bag of chips and every single person on the staff will thank you and greet you at least twice. And everyone says “sumimasen” a lot (that means “excuse me”).

* Japanese baseball is a crazy and fun experience that all baseball fans should take in. They know how to do this baseball thing right: Every team has a pep band, they bang drums, fans chant and wave flags the entire time, there are cheerleaders, you can buy mini bottles of Suntory whiskey in the stands, and I managed to munch on edamame while watching the game. Awesome. Oh, and every team has a ridiculous mascot, which speaks to my love of ridiculous mascots and characters. (The Hiroshima Toyo Carp’s mascot looks like the Phillie Phanatic, so of course I had to buy one…)

* Japanese food is amazing and delicious, and I could live inside a Japanese bakery. And yet, I never saw a single fat Japanese person in five days here — except the sumo dudes on TV.

Man, I want to go back to Japan. Badly. Not that Guam was chopped liver or anything!

It was a refreshing break. But the photo editing has barely begun!