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Coachella 2008: Surfer Sounds, Electro Thumps and Rock Titans (Pt. 2)
Coachella 2008: Surfer Sounds, Electro Thumps and Rock Titans (Pt. 2)
- Genre : More Music
- Type: News
- Author : Super Admin
- Date : Tue, 29 Apr 2008
Day Two:
With Portishead deciding to share their tears with the world once again after ten years of crying in the dark, and His Purple Majesty, Prince, called in at the last minute to silence any lineup grumblings, Saturday looked like the day to beat at this year's Coachella. So with an increase in temperature to match the increased expectation, throngs of revelers hit the field ready to let loose.
Boys Noise may be this year's winner of the Coachella "Justice" award. Given a mid-afternoon set, and still battling the scorching dessert heat, the German electro-rock DJ had the tough task of getting the dehydrated masses up on their feet and letting loose to a sound that's probably more suited for nocturnal hours. Well known in certain circles but not yet a huge draw, as evidenced but his time slot, Boys Noize pulled off the same bit of daylight dance magic that French electro-kings Justice managed back in '07. Backed by huge projections of his signature blinged-out skull, he ran his grimy beats through filters on top of filters, tweaking the build ups to a laser point before smashing them back down on the crowd. It was exactly the kind of performance that vaulted Justice from a mid-day to a headlining spot, and it's sure to have upped Boys Noize's billing as well.
Quickly making my way over to see British phenom Kate Nash, I realized that I hadn't moved quickly enough as the I faced down a completely packed tent. Visibly happy with the turn out, but obviously affected by the heat she did her best to remain plucky playing tracks from her debut Made of Bricks. The heat of the packed tent only got worse as she went on and, a few songs in, even she commented that it was affecting her performance. She powered through like the adorable trooper she is though, and finished with crowd pleasing takes on hit songs "Foundations" and "Merry Happy."
Staying on the UK pop train, a huge Kate Nash contingent made their way over to hear Hot Chip put their electro spin on things. Both the crowd and the fans seemed to feed off of one another, as the intensity of the sun began to give way. Hands stayed raised as the band bounced through numbers like "Hold On" and "Over and Over." There's always a danger that so-called "dance" acts will have a hard time translating their computer manipulated beats to the stage, but Hot Chip somehow dug even deeper into the grooves from behind their instruments, and outdid their recorded material.
Rilo Kiley snagged themselves a great early evening time slot on the second stage and Jenny Lewis and co. took full advantage of the opportunity with a soulful set of solid rock tunes. Relying heavily on the songs from their newest album, Under the Blacklight, the band sounded bigger than their earlier, indie-er incarnation, and it fit well with the larger stage. Some fans who held up their noises at the album's more commercial sound had to be turned by the effectiveness of songs like "Money Maker" and "Dejalo" in their fully stacked glory.
The crowd then seemed to split into two main factions for the next set of performances. A huge herd made their way to the tent where future-shocking electronic princess M.I.A. was holding court, while those more interested in a history lesson that paved the way for acts like hers choose to go with German techno pioneers Kraftwerk. Choosing the later, I watched the four men-machine of Kraftwerk drop classics from their innovate repertoire, including "Pocket Calculator" and "Computer Love," all backed by giant digital displays that mirrored the super-stiff funkiness of their music.
Tiding my time between Kraftwerk and Portishead on the mainstage, I found my way to the Do Lab, where local Los Angeles crew Glitch Mob was spinning their signature brand of filthy gangster-electro rap. In a year when Coachella seemed less about discovering new acts, and more about solidifying established stars, Glitch Mob felt like the tip of this year's knife edge as far as fresh sounds were concerned. They dropped breaks so destructive they sounded down right illegal, and the only thing that might have made their set more brutal would've been cops rushing the place with nightsticks and tear gas.
After Glitch Mob's sonic mayhem, it was time to experience the beautiful depression of Portishead's first major U.S. performance in nearly a decade.
With Portishead deciding to share their tears with the world once again after ten years of crying in the dark, and His Purple Majesty, Prince, called in at the last minute to silence any lineup grumblings, Saturday looked like the day to beat at this year's Coachella. So with an increase in temperature to match the increased expectation, throngs of revelers hit the field ready to let loose.
Boys Noise may be this year's winner of the Coachella "Justice" award. Given a mid-afternoon set, and still battling the scorching dessert heat, the German electro-rock DJ had the tough task of getting the dehydrated masses up on their feet and letting loose to a sound that's probably more suited for nocturnal hours. Well known in certain circles but not yet a huge draw, as evidenced but his time slot, Boys Noize pulled off the same bit of daylight dance magic that French electro-kings Justice managed back in '07. Backed by huge projections of his signature blinged-out skull, he ran his grimy beats through filters on top of filters, tweaking the build ups to a laser point before smashing them back down on the crowd. It was exactly the kind of performance that vaulted Justice from a mid-day to a headlining spot, and it's sure to have upped Boys Noize's billing as well.
Quickly making my way over to see British phenom Kate Nash, I realized that I hadn't moved quickly enough as the I faced down a completely packed tent. Visibly happy with the turn out, but obviously affected by the heat she did her best to remain plucky playing tracks from her debut Made of Bricks. The heat of the packed tent only got worse as she went on and, a few songs in, even she commented that it was affecting her performance. She powered through like the adorable trooper she is though, and finished with crowd pleasing takes on hit songs "Foundations" and "Merry Happy."
Staying on the UK pop train, a huge Kate Nash contingent made their way over to hear Hot Chip put their electro spin on things. Both the crowd and the fans seemed to feed off of one another, as the intensity of the sun began to give way. Hands stayed raised as the band bounced through numbers like "Hold On" and "Over and Over." There's always a danger that so-called "dance" acts will have a hard time translating their computer manipulated beats to the stage, but Hot Chip somehow dug even deeper into the grooves from behind their instruments, and outdid their recorded material.
Rilo Kiley snagged themselves a great early evening time slot on the second stage and Jenny Lewis and co. took full advantage of the opportunity with a soulful set of solid rock tunes. Relying heavily on the songs from their newest album, Under the Blacklight, the band sounded bigger than their earlier, indie-er incarnation, and it fit well with the larger stage. Some fans who held up their noises at the album's more commercial sound had to be turned by the effectiveness of songs like "Money Maker" and "Dejalo" in their fully stacked glory.
The crowd then seemed to split into two main factions for the next set of performances. A huge herd made their way to the tent where future-shocking electronic princess M.I.A. was holding court, while those more interested in a history lesson that paved the way for acts like hers choose to go with German techno pioneers Kraftwerk. Choosing the later, I watched the four men-machine of Kraftwerk drop classics from their innovate repertoire, including "Pocket Calculator" and "Computer Love," all backed by giant digital displays that mirrored the super-stiff funkiness of their music.
Tiding my time between Kraftwerk and Portishead on the mainstage, I found my way to the Do Lab, where local Los Angeles crew Glitch Mob was spinning their signature brand of filthy gangster-electro rap. In a year when Coachella seemed less about discovering new acts, and more about solidifying established stars, Glitch Mob felt like the tip of this year's knife edge as far as fresh sounds were concerned. They dropped breaks so destructive they sounded down right illegal, and the only thing that might have made their set more brutal would've been cops rushing the place with nightsticks and tear gas.
After Glitch Mob's sonic mayhem, it was time to experience the beautiful depression of Portishead's first major U.S. performance in nearly a decade.
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