Coachella: Hot acts under the blazing sun

Big names draw fans, but fronting new music is Coachella's aim

By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
May 1, 2006

On any other day, the sand surrounding Palm Springs serves as home for desert rats, meth freaks and golfing retirees. For two days a year, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival welcomes backpacker rap lovers, indie rockers sporting thick black glasses and long-haired retro rockers – everyone trotting out their version of cool and getting scorched in the blazing sun.

Held on the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, 104 bands spread across five stages congregated Saturday and yesterday to represent a wide swath of modern music. From Cat Power's mellow soul to Kanye West's popular brand of rap, familiar names and new music mingle under the desert sun. The formula works: Coachella sold out 60,000 tickets for each day.

Beyond the name recognition of headliners such as Tool and Depeche Mode, the seventh annual Coachella finds itself struggling to expose large crowds to new music while pulling in mainstream audiences with big-name acts. While organizers generally succeed in accomplishing both objectives, the festival at times felt like two separate gatherings.

During the afternoon on both days, smaller crowds gathered to hear buzz bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Metric and The Magic Numbers. Audiences were rewarded with worthy performances, also discovering innovative groups while wandering the expansive grounds.

As the light faded and day turned to night, brand name bands took the stage. Crowds grew larger, and the effects of a long day in the sun took its toll on concertgoers: Space became a premium, and lines grew larger for the beer tent and bathrooms. The focus shifted away from the music to a more party atmosphere.

Saturday's lineup offered a bevy of opportunities to see iconic groups and artists embarking into brave new worlds. Great Britain's The White Rose Movement – named after the German resistance group opposing the Nazis during World War II – gave people a fresh name to remember from the festival. Most people had never heard the band's music. But the U.K.-based five-piece ripped through a half-hour set of fiery keyboard-driven New Wave that injected a bustling energy into the Mojave Tent crowd. Lead singer Finn Vine set the tone for the day with his stage banter: “Maybe later we can all get naked and eat some mangoes and have some fun in the sun.”

Later on the same stage, Wolfmother's muscle car rock found guitarist and vocalist Andrew Stockdale cranking raw power chords on his Gibson SG, much like fellow Aussie Angus Young (AC/DC). The trio busted out '70s-inspired van rock: part BTO, part Black Sabbath.

Standbys like Depeche Mode and Franz Ferdinand delivered inspired sets on the main Coachella stage, giving people the name recognition and familiar songs audiences crave at the end of a long 12 hours of music.

Yesterday's lineup was packed with diverse artists such as the Malian blues of Amadou and Mariam and the ballistic theatrics of Tool. The festival's second day also provided the toughest choice of the weekend.

Five extremely different and talented artists at five different locales graced stages at 8 p.m.: Brazilian crooner Seu Jorge in the Gobi Tent; retro alt-rockers The Editors in the Mojave Tent; classic jazzy hip-hop trio Digable Planets at the Outdoor Theatre Stage; the infectious vocals of Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the main Coachella Stage; and, of course, pop icon Madonna in probably the most hotly anticipated show of the entire festival.

If it was up to me, I'd probably chill with Seu Jorge. But I'd be remiss on my duties here if I didn't poke my head into the Sahara Tent to check out the Material Girl in action.

Probably the largest crowd of the festival gathered around the Sahara Tent last night for Madonna's performance. Was it devout fans finally seeing Madonna's first festival appearance or vague curiosity? The latter, I think.

The huge crowd made for the worst sight lines of the entire two days. After making the audience wait 20 minutes beyond her scheduled start time, the queen of pop finally graced the crowd with her presence.

A guy near me sarcastically squealed, “Oh my God, it's Madonna!” The Material Girl rubbed herself all over a few male dancers and pulled off a few tired choreographed dance moves.

After a couple of new songs, most of the overflow crowd standing outside the tent wandered away in boredom. So did I.

For the generation of kids that grew up in the '90s listening to alternative rock, Coachella and its headlining bands serve as a nostalgic look back. Tool, Depeche Mode and even a sugary sweet dose of pop culture with Madonna provided known quantities musically. The big names bring the people in; hopefully, they get exposed to new music along the way.

With the sheer volume of cutting-edge bands weighing down the early part of the bill, Coachella's sweaty masses discovered bands like Deerhoof, the White Rose Movement and Amadou and Mariam. After the high ticket prices (close to $100 per day after charges and fees), the hot sun and massive crowds, the festival can take endurance and a hearty soul. But discovering new music along the way makes it worthwhile.

Chris Nixon is a San Diego writer.

Coachella sidebar: High-energy music mix at Coachella

These bands put up the best shows at this year's Coachella Festival:

Deerhoof (Saturday): San Francisco's Deerhoof proved to be the discovery of day one. Satomi Matsuzaki's high-pitched chirping, combined with the band's herky-jerky rock, made many instant fans. Drummer Greg Saunier steered Deerhoof through choppy waters and odd time signatures with aggression and joy. Awesome.

Lyrics Born (Saturday): MC Lyrics Born (aka Tom Shimura) spits in front of a live band so his set felt more fluid and less scripted than loads of hip-hop shows. Lyrics Born fits nicely into the conscious style of rap coming out of the Bay Area these days.

Kanye West (Saturday): Kanye West drew a huge crowd to his main stage show, and he couldn't help but mention the Grammy Awards' snuff of his single, “Gold Digger”: “Here's the national anthem. Even though the Grammys got it wrong, this was the song of the year.” Some fans didn't feel it and were lukewarm, but West put on a great performance.

Amadou and Mariam (yesterday): Bringing joyful African beats and good-natured dance music, blind Malian husband-and-wife duo Amadou and Miriam mixed old and new. “Dimanche a Bamako” was set in a stunning mix of traditional American blues and Malian traditional styles. The band shifted easily from bluesy rock with touches of electronica to straight-ahead percussion-rich African tunes. Amadou mesmerizes on the guitar, and when the couple harmonized it was blissful.

The Magic Numbers (yesterday): This British brothers-sisters act added a little sugary pop to the party. The Numbers know their Brian Wilson, and the band is clearly sincere about its music .... and it shows.

Metric (yesterday): Emily Haines knows how to put on a show. The Metric lead singer jumped, danced and struck her best rock 'n' roll poses against the Canadian band's muscular New Wave. Metric seems to blow up bigger with each stop in SoCal. The crowd knew all the words, and Metric's words are worth knowing. So is its music.

– CHRIS NIXON

The happy wanderer: Devendra Banhart

Devendra Banhart gets a lot of mileage out of his songs and his lifestyle

By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
April 27, 2006

'I'm painting a rhinoceros,” said psychedelic folk singer Devendra Banhart from his current home in Topanga Canyon, north of Los Angeles. “My dad was recently living in Nairobi. He sent me some pictures of him next to a rhinoceros, so I decided to try and paint a rhinoceros.”

Packed with beautiful, nonsensical images and nuggets of wisdom, a conversation with the 25-year-old bearded singer-songwriter feels like listening to one of his songs. You find yourself following him on his nonlinear yet pleasing path. By the end of a song or a conversation, Banhart's words draw you into his world.
“I haven't lived anywhere for three years and I've always wanted to live in Topanga,” said Banhart. “It's like my home. But really I'm not based anywhere. We're all just based within ourselves.”

Accented by gentle finger-picked acoustic guitar and his high-pitched wavering vocals, Banhart's songs capture a wistful playfulness and an endearing innocence. He first came into the national spotlight after his 2002 recording “Oh Me, Oh My,” brimming with 22 tracks with titles like “Roots (If the Sky Were a Stone),” “Legless Love” and “Lend Me Your Teeth.” The long-haired musician has released an album a year since his debut: 2003's “Rejoicing in the Hand,” 2004's “Niño Rojo” and, most recently, “Cripple Crow” in 2005.

Released on XL Recordings and recorded in Bearsville, N.Y. (just outside of Woodstock), “Cripple Crow” furthers Banhart's Donovan-style mystique with his unique vocals and 1960s folk low-tech approach. The beauty of Banhart's songwriting comes in the psychedelic imagery and simple, stripped down approach to songcraft: “What I do is beyond rudimentary.”

Since he was a kid, Banhart has lived the life of a wanderer. After his birth in Texas, he lived in Venezuela, San Francisco, New York and Paris between traveling and tours. He comes by the wanderlust honestly.

“My mom, I grew up with her,” remembered Banhart. “We would travel and just show up anywhere. The first thing we would do is get lost. She would say, 'Look at something on the horizon and let's walk there.' Basically, we would walk until we were lost, and then we'd walk until we were found. Those were my formative years. Those were my first experiences with travel.”

Despite living the life of a musician and artist, Banhart admits he doesn't really obsess about his art too much.

“I just look at (music) as another form of travel,” said Banhart, who will travel to the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach tonight. “I can't show up at a venue, look at something on the horizon and get lost because I have to play a show. I look at the music as this field where I'm going to go and totally get lost in. That's a pretty cheesy thing to say, but that's the way I look at it.”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.