Coachella - Day 3

Day 3 you're always running on pure adrenaline. After surviving several years of festivals, nothing quite compares to making it through day 3 of Coachella. I often liken it to the last night in Vegas after one hell of a weekend. The exhaustion has set into your body but if you don't let your brain know it you can make for a epic day full of energy you forgot you had. The motivation behind all of it, aside from pure dedication to simply make it all weekend, was that the lineup was going to make you work your ass off if you were going to even begin to skim the surface. In other words, best lineup of the festival.

What I would've seen had I had the energy to arrive pre 4pm (and acts I'm still dying to see): Phosphorescent, Twin Shadow, Plan B, Menomena, Tokimonsta, Delorean.

What I actually saw: Jack Beats, High (Fucking) Contrast, Joy Orbison, Trentmoller (albeit a hard hard decision to skip The National...again), Duck Sauce (more like weak sauce), Chase & Status, Ramadanman (for couple songs), The Strokes, & Kayne.

The hippie, the raver, the lady, & the rocker

Ravers during Jack Beats

.................



Too good to be true...except that it's real!!!



High Contrast!!!!!

As a longtime supporter and self proclaimed poster child for all things Hospital Records it was a massive treat for me to get to see High Contrast. The Seattle drum and bass scene has tapered in recent years and I've had to survive on the Hospital Records podcast in the meantime. High Contrast is definitely my favorite artist on the label.



I was dancing so hard in the midday desert heat that I had to remind myself to slow down, drink water or I was going to literally hurt myself. So amazing!!!

Joy Orbison

An unimaginable sunset



during Trentemøller

 On the heels of hearing that Trentemoller's set in Seattle just a few days prior to his Coachella debut was phenomenal I made one of those pivotal decisions that one must make at a festival. "The National vs. Trentemøller" Having skipped The National at Sasquatch 2009 due to my minimal interest level at the time, and another summer 2009 event due to a scheduling conflict after getting heavy into them, this was by far the most difficult decision of the entire weekend. I should also mention that Kode 9 were on in the dome at the same time, though I had finally, after 3 days, become a little 'raved' out. While I am still dying to see the National, I am confident that my decision to see this show was one of the best festival decisions ever made. I wandered in nearly 3 songs into the set and The Mojave tent was barely half full. As the band continued on the crowd gradually grew. 20 minutes in during the most beautiful sunset a Coachella (or anyone on the planet Earth) has ever seen the song  "Miss You" only lured more concert goers in.

The icing on the cake for one of the best sets of the weekend.

Now armed with a packed tent of full blown believers Trentemoller took flight. The sound was impeccable, the band was executing flawlessly, and the vibes were all at a level 11. With only a few more tracks to go we all knew "Moan" had to be just around the corner. The energy could've only been cut with a steak knife. With the live vocals and a completely amped band we were lead on an intense joyride to the finale. I was left speechless by the end of this and could've walked out of Coachella at that moment knowing that there was nothing I was going to see for the rest of the night that would've come CLOSE to the epicness that I just witnessed.



Wandering the outskirts during Duck Sauce

After seeing Trentemoller nail it, I attempted to go see Duck Sauce. Absolutely horrendous. The novelty has worn off for me.


Chase & Status



Chase & Status

The aftermath of the energy high from Trentemoller made it an easy transition to get down with some dirty dirty drum & bass right after. Chase & Status came out swinging and didn't let up for even one second. In a weekend spend amdist a sea of 19 year olds awaiting the now mainstream hits from the likes of Skrillex and Duck Sauce, it was a refreshing change of pace to hear such deep, true basslines as a main event at a festival like Coachella.

Kayne. The man certainly knows how to make an entrance.