DIGITAL JOURNALIST
I just ran into Paul Bahou from Temecula band Inverse and Ivan McClain of Ivan Promotions down in Temecula and they caught me up on who they’ve seen today:
The Aggrolites: Thumbs up.
Cage the Elephant: Like old AT the Drive In meets Weezer, meh.
We Are Scientists: The levels were WAY off from where they were standing near the main stage.
Let’s give a hand for the hometown boys in We Are Scientists. They met in Claremont at college and they are rocking the heck out of the Coachella Stage right now.
I am surprised that their live show is as rocking as it is. I thought it would be more dance heavy.
We’ll be blogging from Coachella here at the Audio File blog, but I’ll also be doing even more updates on Twitter.
Follow along.
There are two long rows of portable toilets south of the Mojave Tent, and dispensers for hand-cleansing foam, two facts of life for Coachella attendees during the next three days.
Nearby is a row of Mobile Money ATMs dispensing Franklins for a $3.95 fee. Maximum withdrawal: $200.
—Fielding Buck
fbuck@pe.com
After braving through the parking (it took me about 30 minutes to get from Jefferson to the press pass line) and the line out front, I am inside the Gobi Tent, rocking out with Ryan Bingham.
He blew me away at Stagecoach last year so I had to see him today. He’s playing a lot of stuff off his new record, which is coming out in June and is a bit more rock ‘n’ roll than his debut, “Mescalito.”
He’s getting the crowd nodding along and promised “foot-stomping music.”
I’m typing in time to the beat. It’s fun.
Plus, I think his bassist stole Paul McCartney’s bass.
CHeck out the cool reflection of the tent I got in Ryan’s shades.
Audiences filled the Gobi Tent for El Gran Silencio, the band from Monterrey, Mexico, that got the music started at the 2009 Coachella Festival. Their pulsing rhythms and driving accordion solos had many in the crowd dancing. Others seemed to be saving it up.
Nearby in the Mojave Tent, Pheonix-based Dear in the Headlights went on a little early for their 1 p.m. set. Their audience was smaller and perhaps more committed.
—Fielding Buck
fbuck@pe.com
One of the artists I’m most excited to see today is M. Ward. He’s playing later this afternoon at the Outdoor Theatre and I think it will be clap clap awesome.
Here’s my story that ran in today’s Guide about Ward, who has logged time in Perris and Temecula.
M. Ward believes there’s a tie between music, spirituality and inspiration.
Ward, who goes by “Matt” when he’s on stage, will bring his mix of indie rock, folk, pop and alt-country today to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
Musical connections happen all the time, Ward says, usually coming from older music.
Those warm vintage sounds strike a chord with Ward, who makes records that have a timeless quality.
“The process is pretty mysterious to me. I don’t exactly understand how the songs or the records really come to be. I take educated guesses,” Ward said from his home in Portland, Ore.
His theory is that the music comes to him from every record he has loved since before he could remember. Ward likes that he can’t put his finger on exactly where a specific song came from. The pieces come from tapes he’s made over the years, which he likens to journaling.
Story continues below
Growing up influenced by classical music, gospel, Johnny Cash and the Beatles, Ward started making his own tapes at age 15.
The first song he learned to play was by the Beatles and he would cross out the title in his Beatles’ chord book after each one he learned.
“That set me off in a good direction, I think,” he said.
One of Ward’s goals for Coachella is to try to meet Paul McCartney. He’s also excited to be on the same stage as Leonard Cohen.
Ward says he’s looking forward to the festival so he can visit one of his favorite places, Joshua Tree National Park.
Ward received critical acclaim for his album “Post-War” in 2006 and followed that up with another well-received project of covers and originals called “She & Him,” with actress Zooey Deschanel in 2008.
Ward’s newest album is “Hold Time,” which came out earlier this year. He collaborated with Tom Hagerman of DeVotchka, Jason Lytle, Lucinda Williams and Deschanel.
“It was just a fantasy. I started hearing her voice when I was in the studio,” Ward said about Williams.
He asked her to collaborate and she said yes.
The album combines many textures to achieve its Americana, timeless sound. Ward is pleased with the final result.
“I’m proud of these records I’ve made and I’m proud of the progression that they’re making, or the evolution, whichever way you want to see it,” Ward said. “Whatever it is, I’m proud of the product.”
Reach Vanessa Franko at 951-368-9575, vfranko@PE.com, www.myspace.com/Audio_File or PE.com/blogs/music
M. WARD
From: Portland, Ore.
Debut: 1999
Genre: Indie rock, folk, alt-country
Required Listening: “Hold Time,” “Transistor Radio”
On the Web: www.mwardmusic.com
Sample the music: www.myspace.com/mward
See it live at Coachella: 4:55 p.m. today, outdoor stage
Tent city is filling up outside of the gates of the Coachella music festival. Most of the tents are low, dome-shaped, “Globetrekker” types.
Tent city is fenced off, and guards aren’t being nice to people who try to sweet-talk their way inside without authorization. Tent city check-in is the first hurdle for campers attending the festival. The line rivals some of the lesser Fantasyland attractions at Disneyland.
The next hurdle is Ticketmaster, and folks trying to buy have been walking away empty-handed.
There is a backup at the entrance because everybody gets patted down. Single males get their own express lane.
Once inside, the first stop is the T-shirt tent, where people are in line up to four deep. Same goes for the ID tent for people trying to get into the beer gardens.
—Fielding Buck
fbuck@PE.com
From midmorning on, there has been a steady stream of cars turning into the Empire Polo Club for the Coachella Music and Arts Festival. They’re parking on a grassy field. Many are hanging out there, setting up barbecues, before they make the half-mile trudge to the entrance.
Scalpers are wandering around, trying to buy and sell tickets. Panhandlers are offering meditation books to arrivals in return for donations.
A few Paul McCartney fans look as if they were around for the first summer of love. Some twenty-somethings have painted their bodies as if they were. Some people painted their cars, too. There’s a black Toyota Prius with windows covered with messages such as “CARPOOLCHELLA.” It has an arts-and-crafts cone decorated like a palm tree sitting on top.
—Fielding Buck
fbuck@PE.com
We’ll be blogging from Coachella here at the Audio File blog, but I’ll also be doing even more updates on Twitter.
Follow along.