BeingMollyBeth: April 2012

One of my favourite mantras: Visit one place per year that you’ve never been before.

I was lucky enough to fulfil this goal for 2012 just last week. Fusing two of my great loves – travelling and music – I embarked on the quest known as COACHELLA ’12. The mother of all music festivals, and I was there.

THE BACKGROUND:

Braving the 43°C heat – there was little that could stop me from seeing every possible band the stellar line up had to offer. Three days just didn’t seem long enough.

The annual music festival hosted by Goldenvoice is notorious for luring the hottest acts in the world in to one place; Palm Springs, California. This year was no exception. Headliners included The Black Keys, M83, The Rapture, Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Shins, Miike Snow, SBTRKT, Dre & Snoop, Florence + The Machine, Justice and Calvin Harris. This year a curveball was thrown at Coachella goers by offering identical set times and line-ups on consecutive weekends.

THE BABES:

The eye candy fell well short of disappointment. The vivid blue and yellow large-scale art sculptured provided a colourful and interactive entertainment not to mention a convenient meeting location for lost friends. A huge replica of a skeletal spine of a mammal also drew attention – particularly when it transformed to a beacon of neon spectacular after dusk.

Similarly – the fashions on the field were as diverse as the music. Spanning all types of dress – Coachella 2012 saw it all (provided it accommodated the desert heat, of course). Small feature details were favourable. Studs, feathers and swabs of fur bought attention to minimal outfits. Ripped denim shorts coupled with cropped singlets was almost the unofficial Coachella uniform. Crochet tees and dresses were a plenty – touching base with the hippy roots of Woodstock days. Those less conservative spend the day bikini clad. In terms of footwear the two extremes were seen. Either barefoot or ankle boots were braved. Everyone bought their own touch of pizazz.

THE BREAKDOWN

Unfortunately, when a music festival is as good as this – it is only inevitable that clashes between sets occur. I picked the artists that I thought would offer the best live performances and my gut instinct paid off.

DAY 1:

The first groundhog day of Coachella 2012. Some artists, such as Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach used this in their favour and joked to the crowd that “it had been so long” since he had performed. The festivalgoers had received tips from the previous week for who to see and what surprises lay in store. In some ways it proved extremely advantageous, in others, expectations fell short when performances weren’t matched to descriptions. American indie rock band Grouplove drew a sizable crowd and delivered a performance of a calibre well past a group of only 18 months.

The Arctic Monkeys played on the main stage, deserving of such a coveted position. The English rock band played mostly from their new album Suck It And See. It would have been nice to hear some of their older tunes although I doubt any band would miss an advertising opportunity as big as this.

The Rapture delivered a performance worthy of a world tour. Definitely a dark horse, the group combined old and new beats to fuse a unique group of dedicated muso's together.

DAY 2:

The thick heat was as overpowering as the noise. First honourable mention of the day went to American rapper Azealia Banks. With a personality as bright as her neon orange fishnet top, the signer known for hit “212” performed a poignant rendition of the late Amy Winehouse’s Valerie.

David Guetta performed as the sun set over the ferris wheel and welcomed the night with a consecutive set of his hits. Typically commercial, his songs well and truly translated to the crowd. Having invited Usher onstage the previous week, the high expectations were met when Australian fox Sia sang their collaboration “Titanium.”

Across the park, Swedish group Miike Snow blasted their set accompanied by a neon light show surrounded by palm trees. And what a spectacular view it was. Lead singer Andrew Wyatt invited the crowd to sing his single Sylvia alongside him. (If I was him – I wouldn’t want to hear such a beautiful song butchered… “SYYLLLLLLVVIIIAAA”) Nevertheless it was interactive as it was entertaining.

DAY 3:

One word: Hologram. The third and final (the actual final) day of Coachella 2012 boasted the best line up of all three. However, there was really only one moment that was being anticipated. The 2pac hologram.

Relative festival newcomer Santigold was one of the only artists who braved the 2pm blanket of heat and still managed to draw a crowd of proportions. Her collection of eclectic hits seemed to pay off, earning intense amounts of respect with the crowd. (side note – is also triple j’s feature artist this week).

Gotye was a priority on my list as I thought I needed to support local talent (okay – there was a tiny bit of patriotism involved) but I was obviously not alone in my sentiments. Fighting to get a decent view in the Mojave tent, the Somebody I Used to Know singer drew a crowd that rivalled that of major headliners. Experimenting with reggae sounds as well as grappling with older tunes such as Heart’s A Mess, Gotye really catered for all.

Honourable mentions to Bon Iver and Justice on the main stage. Although bipolar in musical genres, both offered their best collection of songs and vocal ranges.

Devastatingly – I had to forfeit the Florence + the Machine set (my only solace I was seeing her solo show a mere three weeks after) to get a grade A spot in the crowd for ultimate headliners Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. The rumours all checked out. It was a spectacular performance. As for the resurrection of 2pac, well, he genuinely could have been there. A word of caution – however – it has seemed to have opened the floodgates for years to come. Who will be reincarnated next? How will Coachella manage to top itself?

To me, the most incredible aspect of Coachella is its accessibility. And not in the literal sense, (it is held on a polo field in the desert) the figurative one. It discriminates against no one; age, gender, or political orientation. It is a collective group of thousands of people all wanting to bask in glorious live music - to listen and appreciate. The vast span of music genres seen at Coachella coupled with five different stages of performances allowed anyone to move at their own rhythm. Pun intended.