Day One: Coachella

wandered the desert, hitting stage after stage of very exceptionally high quality music, i thought i'd write about my first ever day of coachella.

was sorta in a daze and a little withdrawn even, during the day.

until the verve hit the stage. oh my god. i finally let my defenses down and danced super hard, letting the most ethereal, most beautiful music i have heard live in a very long time wash over my heart and soul. one of my friends at the warfield Verve show asked me how seeing the verve (at the warfield) would compare to seeing my favorite artist, ryan adams, say at...the fillmore. i said, "close. it comes very close."

that's how good and how much i love the verve. and now after seeing them 2 times in one week, i know neither show was accidentally good. they deliver their notes by not overdoing any of it and simply finding the perfect place to hang their harmonies and melodies, strung together by the most outstanding front man leadership of richard aschcroft. wow.

okay. besides the verve, here is my itin(erary) from yester:

slightly stoopid: fine enough. def sunshine party music. very sublime (same label even). take it or leave it for me, but in the right mood, sure.
architecture in helsinki: gypsy alt lite punk/rock troup. it was really cute. the few minutes we saw them, the singer/guy with the mic said he was at coachella in 04, but in the crowd, and how it was a dream to be on the stage there, and that if you have dreams, you can make them real. it was cute. this guy was so stoked and not afraid to say it. i love that.
jens lekman: had just heard about this artist from my most awesome hairstylist (whom i always hear of great new artists from), and was pleasantly surprised to stumble onto a tent with his tunes, on my way to adam freeland. light rock. but kinda cute. he'll prob get some more attn soon
adam freeland: party in the mo'fo' desert. he had his tent raging. he is so frickin hot, too. that doesn't hurt.
the breeders: impressive set. they were so excited to be playing, it was adorable.

took a break and skipped vampire weekend. needed a rest after that first part.

tegan and sarah: walking to see the national, heard some of their sound. pretty. good for them. i recall when they were opening and playing with ryan (adams), so landing a headlining spot at coachella. good for them.
the national: really fucking good. they are tight and i would gladly see a whole show from them sometime.
goldfrapp: like my friend said, mermaid music from outer space. she is yummy.
the verve: see above
sharon jones and the dapkings: truly the female james brown, and thats a compliment to him.
serj tankian: could not pay attn to anything else really at this point. might have sounded good, might not have. i was ready to go.
jack johnson: ya know. fine. we left.

oh my. needed to get all this down before today. excited for so many shows today.

be good to each other out there, both in the cyber world and real world.

THE VERVE THE WARFIELD FOUR TWENTY THREE OH EIGHT

well well well

my first time seeing THE VERVE.

i thought that the second song of the sonnet would be the highlight because it was so fucking pretty and so fucking good. and we even got to hear the intro twice because richard ashcroft somehow thought that it should be started over.

he was so charming, not scared, or maybe just scared enough. i dunno. but it was a magical night of music. for me.

what seemed to be a very psychedelic show, more than i was expecting, the verve played for a solid 1 hour, 45 minutes, before leaving a satiated warfield sold out crowd.

whatever, that sounds like a commentator.

i felt like a rookie tonight. i felt like i was in high school, hearing boston for the first time. i guess this was the equivalent to something like me being able to see boston. but being my age. boston the band. whom i also love. but have never seen (don't look back ;-)

oh god. i have to go. i'll be trying to get my highlights of coachella posted here. if not for anyone else, to remind my own damn self what i love and what turns me on.

everyone else will do what they do. like what they like. as they/we should!!! its such a weird thing, to write stuff that maybe people will read.

this photo is compliments of kent

2 GREAT thursdays & a goodlooking wednesday

#1 of aforementioned GREAT thursdays: its already been almost 2 weeks since i saw jackie greene and friends at the fillmore. that was a fun show! per usual, i was reluctant to leave my house (just cuz sometimes its hard to motivate) but was sooo glad i did.

joined by barry sless for most of the show, jackie would also later be joined by nicki bluhm, phil lesh, and steve molitz, thus the "jackie and friends" reference. really solid performance. the show was capped by, what was for me the highlight of the show: a solo acoustic performance of sweet somewhere bound. super nice touch. also a nice touch is this fine jackie pic from our very own "sf notable", jay blakesberg.

second GREAT thursday: MUDCRUTCH at the fillmore. it was the second night of a sold-out double header of mudcrutch at the fillmore. again, reluctant to leave my house, i ended up there, and was completely filled with gratitude for having been coerced to get a ticket.

i was impressed with every single person in the band, but particularly MIKE CAMPBELL...woah~ that guy plays the guitar eXACTly the way i like to hear it, with the "less is more" type of playing. i was seriously so pleasantly surprised by this show. anyone who can catch this gig, DO IT!

goodlooking wednesday: april 23, the verve play their first show in the U.S. in nearly 10 years at the warfield and i am coMPLETELY freaked out about seeing it...CANNOT wait for this. and it really better be great because i am skipping death cab for cutie at the fillmore AND the racounteurs at one of my favorite venues in SF, bimbo's.

all of this is really just my way of catching up before i bust out of norcal to head down to coachella. WHAT A FREAKY MONTH OF MUSIC!!!!!!! so glad i got that frickin' cleanse out of the way ;)

gosh, if i can squeeze in seeing MGMT on thursday night before blasting off to coachella, i'll be soooo stoked. fingers crossed but i am not holding my breath.

I Like What You Say

"they say you have to have somebody
they say you have to be someones'
they say if you're not lonely alone
boy there is something wrong" ~Nada Surf, I Like What You Say

in the last few weeks, i saw a SUPER nada surf show at the fillmore here in SF. seriously. second time seeing them, and second time OVERLY impressed by their energetic simple melodies.

i can't remember how to post an MP3, so this is much easier...not the best video, but i do like the lyric in this song that i posted at the top here.

its so weird. sometimes, i think, "Gosh, this is so cheesy," and then in the very next moment i think, "but I really like this!" strange...do you feel that way sometimes?

...the wind blows high...

a favorite version of a song (Divided Sky by Phish) from one of my most favorite shows (10.31.94) EVER! i credit the camera person, because i will tell you for certain, there was absolutely no possible way i could have handled any kind of responsibility that night, like videoing the show. THANK YOU, kind person who captured this incredible memory for me!

simple minds

i may have watched this movie more times than any other movie to date. haven't seen it in probably over ten years (i don't have a TV so i miss the reruns), did a google search on "simple minds" (cuz a friend recently reminded me of that song "don't you forget about me") and i got vortexed in this trailer. like a trip down memory lane. thought i'd share it here. just cuz.

Shine A Light, #2

"underwhelmed" was the word i used to describe seeing the martin scorcese rolling stones concert movie, shine a light. bummer! i was looking forward to this, then couldn't wait til it was over. honest, though, i can't imagine doing what those guys are doing for as long as they have. i really respect that they can still rock. i think the trailer is all you need to see, unfortunately. oh well!!! here for first post about this from january

check out this related, hilarious improv song from ryan adams and the cardinals 10.25.07 columbus ohio show (listen to the whole epic show here)