MOGachella Day 1 - ... and on to the show!
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First, a song from one of the bands that grabbed my attention at Friday's Coachella show, and has not let go. More on them later.After a restful night's sleep at the deceptively-named Vagabond Inn Executive, and a bit of morning beverage (juice for me, thanks), it was high time to meet the ladies and hit the road. Which we did in style, courtesy of Amber and the shortbus AKA the biggest SUV I've seen in some time. Huge carbon footprint, but at least we're carpooling, right?There were a few mishaps along the way: Blair has difficulty with the car stereo (key navigator function) and Kate's coffee and the backseat don't quite agree with her, so a swap of positions happens. This works out well, as Kate assumes the role she was apparently born to play this weekend: Magellan incarnate. There was an interlude with some slick shoulder-driving by Amber (let it be said that it was a HUGE shoulder), and the weary travelers ended up making it to the timeshare by 1PM, and had soon unpacked and were ready to rock.Two problems: August and Lizzie had not yet arrived at the timeshare, and we weren't real keen on having to have them keep their stuff in the cars, so we waited. And waited.Little-known fact: I can be unbelievably impatient when waiting to do something fun. Don't be around me at Disneyland, just saying. Anyway...Finally, about 3PM, our final party members made it. Lizzie caught a ride with Mark (Pop Savant), and August drove himself from NorCal. We get everyone settled, and hit the road at last. With eight people, even the shortbus is a tad crowded, but we're going to the show, so all's well.We get there at about 4:30, and split from there. Blair, the Coachella veteran, is gone in a flash, with Henry in tow. The rest of us decide to start with something light: Jens Lekman.Jens is immensely charming live, as much so as his latest album, Night Falls Over Kortedala. Jens plays guitar and keys, while the rest of the band consists of a sampler, bass, drums, violin and cello. The enduring image for me was Jens playing air chimes at the end of "The Opposite of Hallelujah."While nice, we decide that we need to see something a bit peppier, so we mosey from the Mojave tent to the Gobi tent, where Cut Copy are just starting. Excellent choice!Cut Copy have trimmed away the fat from their sound tremendously since their debut album. If you haven't heard In Ghost Colours, and have any amount of affinity for synth-pop, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Live, the songs crackle with energy that you wouldn't expect from a group that features synth so heavily. Guitar also gets quite a bit of play, and the lads know how to work the crowd into a lather. Blair informed us later that the whole tent was jumping. I had heard them before Coachella, but became a HUGE fan after their set.Next up, it's time for a bit of grub. I made the unfortunate choice of a vegetarian wrap for $10. I say unfortunate not due to the taste, which was excellent, but the weak paper plate couldn't hang with the amount of juice coming from the food, so at the end I was left with a soggy plate and crumbled tortilla. Poor Mark and Lizzie (who watched me eat) must have been horrified, poor dears. :-$Next came cleanup and more water, followed by a jog to the second stage to see The National. How was it? Here, "+go read Amber's post with pix+":http://mog.com/amber/blog_post/159605, and know that I agreed with everything she said. Yes, even the sexy part.After The National wrap up, I had initially decided to see Aphex Twin, but then a wild idea hits me. The Verve are the next band I want to see, but they're at the main stage, where The Raconteurs are playing. I decide that, since there's little crossover between those bands, that I'll sneak up close to the Raconteurs' set, then powerplay for the front for The Verve.So, the Raconteurs were, in a word ... excessive. (Sorry Blair!) Jack White looks like he's packing on pounds, and his solos stopped serving the song and went on far too long. Soon enough, they finished, and I was able to get to about 10 spots back and stage left for The Verve.The Verve, on the other hand, took the stage and sounded as if they had never left. Richard Ashcroft remains a mesmerizing frontman, always cool and confident. He introduced new song "Sit and Wonder" by telling us how The Verve would not be like "those other bands" that reunited but did not write new material. It would fit happily on Urban Hymns. They played a variety of songs from their last two albums, topped off with a storming rendition of "Bittersweet Symphony" and a rocking new song, "Love Is Noise". Well worth the powerplay. Here's a video for it:Next, I worm my way out of the crowd and head on to the Sahara tent, where I intend to dance myself silly to Fatboy Slim. He starts a bit late, but no matter. He immediately gets the party started by sampling "Praise You", before pummeling the crowd with dance-friendly tunage a-plenty. The crowd eats it up, especially the girls in front of me, which I realize quickly are tripping on E. All the classic signs are there: the non-stop dancing, blowing on each other, lollipops; it was almost textbook.A half-hour was all I could handle (curse my advancing years), so I head out, only to find that the phone I'm borrowing is alight with messages to congregate at one of the sculptures. We spend a happy few minutes catching up on everyone's experience. Kate says that Jack Johnson was actually good, August says Aphex Twin only did a DJ set (whew!), everyone's tired but happy and exhilarated. So, it's off to the shortbus, and into the long LONG drive home, so we can crash and start all over.
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