Arcade Fire leaves pretentiousness at door, rocks

Arcade Fire leaves pretentiousness at door, rocks
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


Last weekend during Arcade Fire’s set at Coachella, lead vocalist Win Butler got on his soapbox and denounced DJ sets and the VIP area at Coachella.

On the final night of weekend two, Arcade Fire and Butler left all of that at the door and humbly played a rockin’ set to help bring the 2014 festival to a close.

It isn’t to say they didn’t have their fun. The set began with an out of left field cover of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. This is interesting because Arcade Fire has commented on Daft Punk in the past and they were probably just trolling the crowd.

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Beck gives Coachella audience its final burst of energy

Beck gives Coachella audience its final burst of energy
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


Los Angeles-based singer, Beck helped give Sunday’s Coachella crowd their final burst of energy for the home stretch, ripping through a number of his recognizable dance tunes while also playing a number of songs from his most recent full-length release, Morning Phase.

Beck played through many of his 90s hits that first landed him on the radar of mainstream rock, from “Devil’s Haircut” to “Loser” before mixing things up with a variety of jams like “Blue Moon”, which Beck preceded by pointing to the sky and pointing out the moon.

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Lana Del Rey fans teach a course in being a terrible crowd

Lana Del Rey fans teach a course in being a terrible crowd
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


I’m still trying to figure out where Lana Del Rey’s fans got their superhuman strength to push their way to the front of a packed crowd to see their idol play her Coachella weekend two set at the Outdoor Stage on Sunday night.

I had the experience of being with a group of people set on getting as close as possible to the front. It was even difficult for the Neutral Milk Hotel fans to find their way out. “WE ONLY LIKE NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL!” said one guy trying to make his way out of the crowd, as though he was offering up the statement as some sort of peace treaty.

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Neutral Milk Hotel pitch perfect at Coachella sundown

Neutral Milk Hotel pitch perfect at Coachella sundown
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum has such a perfect voice live that it actually sounds like it has auto tune applied to it. No, Mangum was just pitch perfect at Sunday sundown at Coachella weekend two, though it felt a bit disrespectful to have their set lead into Lana Del Rey’s at the Outdoor Theatre on the final day.

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Naked & Famous blend rock and electro pop beautifully at Coachella

Naked & Famous blend rock and electro pop beautifully at Coachella
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


New Zealand band, The Naked & Famous put on one of Sunday’s best performances at Coachella weekend two and proved that they might be ready to start headlining the big arenas next time they tour a new album.

Their early evening main stage set was well attended and well received. “Punching in a Dream” and “Girls Like You” from their album, Passive Me, Aggressive You had a large portion of the crowd singing-along and dancing to their well-oiled synth beats.

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Poolside brings early afternoon chill vibes to Coachella

Poolside brings early afternoon chill vibes to Coachella
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


Described on their Wikipedia page as “daytime disco”, Poolside brought the right kind of vibes to an early afternoon Coachella audience on Sunday of the second weekend.

With a substantial number of attendees nursing wicked hangovers from partying hard on Saturday, Poolside provided laid back dance tracks that didn’t exacerbate those dreaded headaches.

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Bombino brings international flavor to Coachella

Bombino brings international flavor to Coachella
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 21, 2014


International axe man, Bombino helped get things started on day three of Coachella weekend two as he brought a different flavor to the festival than most.

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Nas celebrates Illmatic 20th anniversary to end Coachella day two

Nas celebrates Illmatic 20th anniversary to end Coachella day two
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Brooklyn rapper Nas shared a special anniversary with a sizable crowd at the outdoor stage on Coachella day two of the second weekend. April 19 marked the 20th anniversary of Nas’ legendary Illmatic album, and the emcee played through the entire album before being joined on stage by a couple of very special guests in Damian Marley and finally, Lauryn Hill.

Nas’ performance proved that even 20 years later, he’s still one of the best rhyme busters in a live setting. His verses were flowing like he’d been touring in support of his debut album for all of the past 20 years and hip hop heads old and new showed their appreciation by getting down past midnight of what undoubtedly was the longest day of the weekend for many.

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Pharrell pulls a bunch of special rabbits out of hat at Coachella weekend two

Pharrell pulls a bunch of special rabbits out of hat at Coachella weekend two
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Pharrell may have been the best all-around talent to be featured on the bill for Coachella 2014, and if that wasn’t obvious before Saturday’s performance on the outdoor stage, it became quite clear then when he brought out a star studded shuffle of A-listers like Jay-Z, Usher and T.I. (as well as Busta Rhymes, Pusha T and the Jabbawockees).

The talented producer and performer bellowed through an impressive set that covered all bases, also proving that it is possible to cut a perfect falsetto while dust is flying all around you.

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Empire of the Sun storms Coachella with sensational showmanship

Empire of the Sun storms Coachella with sensational showmanship
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Those that were still tripping off their psychedelics when they wandered into the Sahara tent at around 10 p.m. on Saturday night at Coachella day two were treated to an energetic set from Australia’s Empire of the Sun.

Empire had the misfortune of going head-to-head with part of Pharrell’s set and was noticeably disappointed when a large portion of his crowd began moving towards the outdoor theatre from the rave tent that they were performing in. Empire set down the battle lines against Daft Punk last June when he told NME that their album was outselling his because of salesmanship and not better music.

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Lorde delivers in front of biggest crowd of Coachella weekend two

Lorde delivers in front of biggest crowd of Coachella weekend two
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Saturday evening, New Zealand pop princess Lorde brought in the biggest crowd of Coachella weekend two to that point at the Outdoor Theatre.

Lorde has come a long ways as a performer since just a year ago and delivered the goods to what seemed like 50,000 people or more.

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Future Islands help give Saturday crowd their second wind

Future Islands help give Saturday crowd their second wind
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Saturday, Baltimore synth pop trio Future Islands helped give Coachella weekend two attendees their second wind at the Gobi stage as their dance-fueled tunes got people up off the floor and back to moving their feet.

A 9 p.m. set is right around the time many people hit a wall at a music festival, having been drinking or ingesting a wide variety of substances since the sun beat down on them early in the afternoon. Anyone who went into the Gobi tent for their set with their head hanging a bit was instead moving it to the unique voice of Samuel T. Herring and his interesting on stage antics.

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Julian Casablancas provides a different Stroke with new material

Julian Casablancas provides a different Stroke with new material
Mark E. Ortega
April 20, 2014
GrimyGoods.com


Frontman of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas was a late addition to the Coachella bill just a few weeks ago, and brought with him some new tunes that he has in the works for an upcoming solo project.

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Warpaint's brooding girl-rock ignites Coachella crowd

Warpaint's brooding girl-rock ignites Coachella crowd
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Los Angeles all-girl quartet Warpaint were a perfect selection for the Mojave Tent at right around sundown on Saturday night at Coachella weekend two.

The band’s brooding melodies and vocal harmonization made new fans out of many who may have been unfamiliar with their work. Vocalists Emily Kokal and Theressa Wayman provide a nice one-two punch as they alternated lead vocals throughout their set. The crowd appreciation for their set built as time wore on, and Warpaint was very appreciative and perhaps even blown away from the response they received.

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BANKS cashes in at Coachella on Saturday

BANKS cashes in at Coachella on Saturday
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 20, 2014


Talented emerging female vocalist BANKS showed her vocal range on Saturday in the Gobi Tent, hitting all the high and low notes all throughout a heart-stopping set at Coachella weekend two.

The American-born, L.A.-based singer has some pipes and she showcased them in front of a still arriving crowd ready to kick things into high gear. BANKS brought it in a number of ways, often with a sultry sound yet she also carried her range well when she needed to climb a few keys.

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OutKast rights a wrong, aces Coachella weekend two

OutKast rights a wrong, aces Coachella weekend two
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014


OutKast’s weekend one Friday headlining performance left a lot of people scratching their heads as to what they had been witness to. Their sloppy set had weekend two’ers wondering if they should make other plans. When the time had come for the Atlanta hip hop duo to take the stage, Coachella fans put their faith in their hands and were not disappointed.

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The Knife at Coachella - no drugs included

The Knife at Coachella - no drugs included
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014


The Knife just seems like a band that, instead of handing out free three dimensional glasses upon purchasing a ticket to their show, you should be gifted with some sort of psychedelic drug in order to digest their set.

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Bryan Ferry proves to Coachella that he still has it

Bryan Ferry proves to Coachella that he still has it
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014

Former Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry did it all on his own Friday night – had a sizable crowd dancing and singing along on Friday at Coachella weekend two to hits that span a more than forty year music career.

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HAIM the darlings of Coachella day one

HAIM the darlings of Coachella day one
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014


The aptly-described “three sisters and a mister”, Valley band HAIM rocked their set just prior to the sun setting on day one of Coachella weekend two.

HAIM’s live show sounds a smidge different from their studio work. It’s more rock than R&B, a rock n roll Wilson Phillips if you will. Surprisingly, oldest sister Este toned down the Blink-182 style between song banter, restricting most of her talk to how crazy it was for them to be playing the festival after a decade as just attendees. The talented trio of sisters proved Friday night why all three are the type of girls you’d want to bring home to your mom. Danielle is killer on the guitar and she possesses an attractive high amount of confidence. Youngest sister Alana has the best moves as she swayed back and forth while playing the keyboards and also banging a drum on occasion.

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The Replacements get by with a little help from their friend

The Replacements get by with a little help from their friend
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
April 19, 2014


Unfortunately, I missed the first 25 minutes of The Replacements because of the Grilled Cheese Truck booth that I made the mistake of stopping at to eat on Friday. I ordered a grilled cheese and waited 20 minutes for them to make it as there were at least two dozen people still waiting for their orders in front of me. Amazing given that a grilled cheese sandwich should only take 1.5 minutes TOPS to make and it was pretty much all they served. But I digress.

Minnesota punk rock pioneers The Replacements delivered a memorable set that also saw them get some assistance from Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, who often cites The Replacements as a huge influence on his band.

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