By: The Graviest Dave
The long awaited lineup for Coachella 2009 has been announced. Feast your eyes...
If you've lived in a cave for the last 10 years or so, then you might not know what Coachella is all about. For you cave dwellers, it is quite simply one of the largest music and art festivals that you will ever have the opportunity to feast your eyes upon. It takes place in Indio, CA at the Empire Polo Club which is basically a massive outdoor space that get's filled with tents, bands, art, food, and booze. One of the things that makes Coachella really unique is it's crowd sizes. Only at Coachella would 60,000 people be considered a small turnout, as it's not unheard of for the crowds to reach figures topping 130,000 strong. What brings the masses out in hordes? Why, the bands of course...
I have been to Coachella a few times...once in 2004, and once in 2005. Usually the event is so packed with exceptional bands that you have to make some really tough decisions on who you want to see. Should I see famous indie rockers Mogwai, or hip hop legend MF Doom? Broken Social Scene, or Sage Francis? And while you may have to make some really hard calls, you will no doubt get to see a few bands that take no consideration at all to decide to watch There's headliners which are usually the last bands of the night, but also just big name bands where you don't give it a second thought. For my trips, it was Radiohead, The Cure, The Pixies, M83, Bright Eyes, Cursive...what an amazing 2 years.
This year's event is going to have a bit more sprawl then I would like to see. There are some really epic bands, but they are sprinkled over 3 days instead of the traditional 2, which really leaves me hard pressed to find the "winner" show date. Friday boasts such bands as Leonard Cohen, Beirut, Crystal Castles, and A Place to Bury Strangers. Some of 2008's finest will be in attendance on Saturday...TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes, and hip hop's finest, Atmosphere are sure to make that day quite unforgettable. Sunday will be a day of some legendary acts including My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, and Public Enemy. Seeing any one of those bands in a single day would certainly leave me smiling for days to come, but seeing all 3 in one day? I am not sure if there is an emotion in the English language that can describe the feeling...I suppose that's what Coachella is all about.
Wow, yeah - I really want to go to Coachella this year. Bad. Real bad.
Posted by: Alex | February 03, 2009 at 02:53 PM