The Coachella 2006 Reflection: Part I (The Words)

Alright brothers & sisters....here it is. The unofficial Coach '06 review from a different point of view. The journey takes us some 1700+ miles from one moderately average St. Louis, MO to beautiful Indio, CA. Total driving time: 24hrs. & 11 minutes....according to MSN.

Let's break it down into simple sections so this bad boy doesn't drag out all day. We do eventually want to get to the pictorial review now don't we?

After my virginal experience at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, I was slightly disappointed that I was unable to catch more performances than I did. This year, I faired rather well and was fortunate enough to watch the majority of each performance.

I Was There For:
Infusion
Joey Beltram
Carl Cox
Daft Punk
Kristina Sky
Gabriel & Dresden
Hybrid featuring Perry f----n' Farrell (25 bonus pts.)
Louie Vega
Ladytron
Minus the Bear
The Go! Team
Digable Planets
Bloc Party
Depeche Mode
Scissor Sisters (dirty rumor spreaders)
Matisyahu
Franz Ferdinand
Madonna (-15 pts.)
Derrick Carter

Unfortunately, there were a few performances sacrificed in order to catch what I considered a more poignant performance. Priorities have to be made when there are 90+ acts on the bill.

Missed:
Massive Attack
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (I did catch a song or two)
The Walkmen
Sigor Ros
Imogen Heap
Eagles of Death Metal (big bummer)
Mylo (DJ set)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
Jazzanova
Tosca
Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley
Wolfmother (alot of buzz about regarding this band)
Sleater-Kinney (another big bummer)

The Pros:

• Beautiful setting. Polo fields are surrounded by palm trees illuminated with multi-colored spotlights after sunset. Mountains surround the Coachella Valley along the west making the festival grounds even more scenic.
• The weather was stunning with exception to the temps (see below). Clear, blue skies throughout the majority of the expedition & festival.
• Superphat performances across both days.
• Three words.... DAFT F______ PUNK! Best peformance of the festival.
• Great to see Dave, Martin, & Fletcher again under the starry CA sky
• Joey Beltram & Carl Cox with 2+ hour sets on the same day?!? Are you flippin' kidding?
• The most excellent & cordial camping neighbor ever. Wine, cheese, dates, & stellar conversation on top of a 'home/campsite' cooked breakfast. Outstanding.
• The Sahara Tent...plenty of room, shade, and live DJs/electronic acts all day long.
• Madonna helped deter some of the crowd which made other simultaneous acts slightly less tedious to watch.
• $6 chicken quesadillas that nearly lapped over the edge of the plate.
• Being there...it's as simple as that. It's Coachella and a part of music history.

The Cons....unfortunately, there were a few.

• What the hell is with all the trash? There are receptacles located ALL over the festival grounds yet the trash on the ground is outrageous. This is a negative on the people who attend vs. those who provide. Show some respect for f*ck's sake.
• Stupid people that feel inclined to get piss drunk first thing in the morning & stand out in the sun all day only to end up puking their guts up in a porta-potty. I don't need to hear that sh!t. Alcohol in the CA heat = BAD.
• The Madonna hype....and the horde of people pushing their way around to get closer. Go sit on a popsicle & sing.
• Paul Oakenfold. Need I say more?
• Tool. I get bashed for despising Tool, but I shall stand by my words. I LOATHE TOOL.
• Paris Hilton & Nicole Ritchie cruising around the festival. Boo.
• Several great acts scheduled for the same time or damn close, but hey...that's just part of it. Prioritize & sacrifice (see above).
• Kayne West covering a-ha's 'Take On Me'. What the frock, dude?

Oddities & Endsies

• Danny Devito was chilling in the Sahara Tent digging Daft Punk. How did he see over all those people? Wonder if Rita was in tow.
• Andy Dick digs Madonna.
• DJ Irene was standing behind us in the Sahara tent waiting out the crowd for Madonna. I was informed of this after I ditched the Madonna crowd to catch Bloc Party.
• Madonna fans were actually scaling the porta-potties to watch her performance. I read later that some of the roofs started to bend and give but no poo drownings were reported.
• Watching the surge of fans push their way to the Sahara tent just before she was SCHEDULED to come on. It was a little frightening.
• The freaky robots & their strange yet lovable creators.
• The infamous Tesla Coil - it fascinates me...what can I say?
• 120,000+ in attendance across both days.....a Coachella record.
• Depeche Mode has announced that they will soon release a live album featuring their Coachella performance.
• Only 15 arrests made in total....not bad considering the amount of people & kind things I smelled throughout the day.
• The 1st actual music I heard at the festival was none other than former Catherine Wheel frontman, Rob Dickinson, performing an acoustic version of Catherine Wheel's 'Crank'.

Could This Be An Annual Thing?

• It really comes down to the lineup, but I will warn you. It is a highly addictive event.

Who Would I Like to See at Future Coachella Events?

Blur - The Cure - Jamiroquai - Dieselboy - Pet Shop Boys (yeah, right) - Manic Street Preachers - Pretty Girls Make Graves - David Bowie - ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead (I actually gave up my TOTD tix last year in order to attend Coachella) - Crowded House - Elefant - Eurovox - Garbage - Interpol - The Killers - Morcheeba - Radiohead - Smashing Pumpkins (hey, reunions do happen. Look at the Pixies.) - The Smiths (OK...discard my previous reunion theory) - Morrissey - The Stills - Felix da Housecat - The Kaiser Chiefs - and a handful of others...

Stay tuned for the review in pictures...