April 22, 2012
Despite record-breaking heat, unhealthy amounts of secondhand smoke, and low Latin representation, Coachella was everything you heard/read/YouTube-d and more. There’s something about the desert that’s so healing, you can’t help but feel young, wild and free. (And yes, I was inspired by Wiz Khalifa’s guest performance with Snoop and Dre to write that.)
Sunday was, by far, the best day ever. Let’s start with the obvious: Le Butcherettes. Teri Gender Bender unleashes her animal instincts whenever she’s on stage. Word on the street is she sent her mom into a panic after climbing to the top of a lighting rig, locking her legs around it and bending backwards weekend 1. Backed up by the adorable music master Omar Rodríguez López (who later performed a killer set with his own recently reunited At the Drive-In) on bass and Lia Braswell on drums, Le Butcherettes are today what Nirvana meant to me in the ’90s.
Next up: Santigold. Homechick is such a genuine performer. The fact that she managed to draw the biggest crowd at the hottest time of the day proves her ability to connect with folks on a deeper level. I’ve loved this girl since she was Santogold—and for a second thought she was Latina—and love her still. So can’t wait to cop her new album Master of My Make-Believe out May 1. P.S. I was the girl to point out the guy who she hand-selected to come on stage and dance with her. Heyyyyy!!!
My Coachella sidekick-slash-hubby enjoyed a taste of Sean Kuti & Egypt 80 during Santigold’s set, and reported rave Afropop reviews.
I have to give it up to my girl Noelle Scaggs, who I actually went to high school with, of indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums for following up Santi’s set with a solid performance and killing it in a cute bright red romper. They did a cool cover of Eurythmics classic “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
Followed up back-to-back dope female performance with Dominican/Guatemalan hip hop producer/MPC drum machine master AraabMuzik’s set at the Mojave. His fancy finger work is a sight to be seen. The fact that he’s fine as hell doesn’t hurt either. Nice to see he had a good size cult following rocking out to the magic.
Missed Gotye. Opted for The Weeknd instead. How can you resist cheesy R&B made cool by an indie Canadian Ethiopian sensation? After watching a hot couple make out to his super sexy set, me and my own makeout partner took advantage of the surprisingly good festival food Coachella has to offer. Falafels, organic pizza, lamb gyros, Indian, hand-dipped chocolate ice cream bars?!!!! It’s the perfect place to P.M.S.
I got my headbang on to Girl Talks’ Guns N’ Roses mashup before being torn between Florence + the Machine and At the Drive-In. Thank God they were right next to each other because we literally stood in the middle and watched both.
Homies came out of the wordwork right before Snoop and Dre brought their L.A. thug lifestyle to the desert; a welcome relief from the monotony of hipsters. Snoop announced that he and Dre were celebrating 20 years of collabos, and then asked who in the crowd have been with them since the beginning. Guilty. I love me some gangsta rap and “Nuthin’ But a G Thang” pretty much sums up my high school experience. Yes, the Holopac was goosebump-inducing and the guest appearances impressive (Eminem, Warren G), but the real fun came when Dre and Snoop covered Cypress Hill’s “Jump Around” because it was the last day of Coachella and that’s exactly what you wanted to do.
The biggest starstruck moment at Coachella was…drumroll please…seeing Rob Fuckin Pattinson! I’ve been dying to tell my little sister and sister-in-law, who are all Team Edward, but have been holding out for you, Remezcla! Now, I’m just as Team Jacob as the rest of ‘em, but it was pretty damn cool standing behind Rob and Kristen during Justice’s badass set.
And with that, it’s back to post-Coachella blues. Why can’t life be young, wild and free every day?