Coachella 2011 - DAY 1

The first thing you must realize about a massive festival such as Coachella, is that you're never going to see all the things you actually think you're going to see. While I would've loved to see many of the acts on the main stage, my approach this year was to purposely stay as far away from the main stage as possible. For me, the mission of this festival was to see things that I wouldn't normally be able to see in Seattle, or on such enormous stages/tents outdoors, on a grassy field, in 98 degree weather. Obviously, that still leaves a lot still on the table, and more importantly that means a hell of a lot of electronic to see. :)

What I wanted to see: Tokimonsta, Brandt Brauer Frick, !!!, Morning Benders, Cee Lo, Lauren Hill, Warpaint, Yacht, Black Keys, Cut Copy, Breakage, Magnetic Man, Nosaj Thing, Chemical Brothers & Boys Noize.

What I actually saw: Skrillex (for 2 minutes until I got bored of the novelty), The Morning Benders, Yacht, Kele, (some) Cut Copy, Magnetic Man!, Nosaj Thing, & Chemical Brothers.

The ladies & I arriving on Day 1.

The Morning Benders

Perfectly timed snap of the artist painting on stage during The Morning Benders.

Artist painting during MB.

Y△CHT

Y△CHT

Kele (of Bloc Party)

Giving Kele a 2nd chance (after Coachella 2006's fail of a performance from Bloc Party) turned out to be an excellent show!

Magnetic Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you go wrong w/ Skream & Benga?? MM was UH MAY ZING

Coachella staffed quite a few teams to record a ton of live sets (in HD of course). Head to YouTube to check out a few videos from this set in hopes of having at least the slightest idea of how wicked this was. This one reminds me why I spent the money I did to get into this thing....the LAZERS!! I also love that they dropped the dirty, heavy stuff to weed out the fair weather fans right in the beginning. This one is just too catchy...I've had this song stuck in my head for weeks.

The MC had the lights turned on while the music stopped to get the entire crowd onto the ground. A pretty intense "wait for it moment" while he was trying to calm everyone down enough to follow instructions and let the energy build. The boys on the decks lead in while we all crouched on the ground. When the bass line dropped EVERYONE jumped sky high and went NUTS!!! Such a great moment and definitely one of the best sets of the weekend.

I didn't take any pictures of Nosaj Thing, who I saw after MM, due to my inability to function as a human being after my face and mind had been melted by Skream & Benga. I honestly don't recall any of the visuals during his set as I'm sure my eyes were closed, whilst bobbing my head and vibing during this incredibly melodic set. There's something to be said about time and place, and this was exactly when I needed to hear this during after such a hectic day. I am happy to report that all rumors and expectations were met, and subsequently exceeded. This guy just has talent. I loved it. Check this vid out if you want to see what his set looked like.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS!!!!

Epic graphics during the Chems.

The Chemical Brothers were absolutely FLAWLESS!

I swear I've seen them at least 3 or so times back in the day. Maybe an Endfest in Bremerton, maybe at Qwest Exhibition center during the rave days...maybe I'm completely mistaken and am confusing them w/ The Crystal Method? Regardless, I was reminded why I started listening to electronic music in the first place during this set. Remember when house music wasn't just about the cheesy vocals and a bass drop? Well, I had forgotten until this night. Simply stunning. I strongly encourage watching the entire 10 minutes of this video on YT to see the most insane graphics you've ever witnessed during a concert. No joke.