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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
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Monday, May 5, 2003
Coachella 2003: The Drive, The Arrival, The Beer
Editor's note: It's a brave soul who, in 2003, is willing to venture into the no-man's-land of a "rock festival." Even a well-mannered rock fest such as the annual Coachella event. Such a soul is Neumu contributing editor Jesse Zeifman, who risked it all for the sake of journalism (and a good time). This week we'll be running his reports from the front lines. Enjoy.
Neumu's Jesse Zeifman reports: Friday, April 25 — Indio, Calif., (population 51,000 and change) is the unlikeliest place one would expect to find what is quickly becoming the Mecca of American music festivals: Coachella. About 125 miles southeast of Los Angeles, this desert town has, for the fourth year running, just seen its population almost double as people from all over the world descended upon the Empire Polo Fields for two wall-to-wall days of music made by more than 70 bands and solo artists.
The pilgrimage south from San Francisco went from brisk to epic once we swooped down the Grapevine and into the L.A. basin. The heat and the traffic forced us to earn the next few hours and made our exit onto Indio Boulevard, much later, that much sweeter.
Anticipation among my traveling companions had been high for the days leading up to the journey. Some had attended the festival before, most had not. From the veterans to the neophytes, no one had been sleeping much. The insomnia and excitement were often equated — and never more so than the Friday we arrived — to the way sleepless childhood nights before Christmas used to feel.
We pulled into town at dusk on Friday, April 25. Looking south toward the Santa Rosa Mountains, we could see, in about a dozen white lights shooting straight into the sky, that final tweaks to the concert site were well underway.
With a night to kill in Indio, the "City of Festivals," there were really only two things to do; have an enormous Mexican meal at the local spot, Piñata's, and buy as much liquor and beer from the cavernous Food-4-Less as our cars would hold. Of particular popularity among the throngs of other Coachella shoppers lining the aisles were the very large square cases of 30 Pabst Blue Ribbons for about 16 bucks. Indeed, 50-cent cans of beer were, on a weekend when vendors sold small cups of suds for six bucks a pop, something to behold. We transported our supplies to the budget country club we, and many other concert-goers, had rented condos from, and waited for the rest of the team to convene.
Luckily, Chuco the Selector brought his PA system and an MP3 player with about 4,000 songs, so we had everything from "Yoshimi..." to "Summer of '69" to "The Rainbow Connection" to serve as soundtrack.
Saturday, April 26 — After a night in which great contributions were made to Indio's recycling effort, Saturday morning arrived with clear skies and a blazing desert sun. We began our trek, on foot, to the concert grounds and, after traversing several holes of the Indian Palms golf course (eliciting frowns from the gray-hairs teeing off) found the main road, already lined with cars speeding toward the gate.
Upon arrival, we parted ways as I checked in as press and was directed, with my gear, through a separate entrance. After about two minutes waiting to pass through security, I found myself on the sprawling and, at that point, sparsely populated grounds.
Unfortunately, for my friends and others in a line that hadn't looked so bad from afar, their joy was about to turn to rage as the first and, seemingly, only major mishap by festival organizers unfolded in the sweltering heat.
The security hired to search those entering the grounds was, initially, a disaster. The attendees were lined up alongside the outer fence and there they stayed, without shade, for hours, as those up ahead had things as small as wallets and key chains checked for drugs, weapons and whatever else. Everyone understood that security was necessary and vital at an event like Coachella. That wasn't the dispute. According to many otherwise level-headed people who were steaming upon entry, the overzealous actions taking place at the gate came close to provoking a riot among concert-goers who, throughout the weekend, proved to be anything but rowdy or belligerent.
It's a credit to Goldenvoice, that by day two, the problems had been fixed. (On Sunday, security was thorough and brisk, the line moved quickly, and no music was missed.)
Coming Tuesday, May 6: N*E*R*D* Blows It
The InsiderOne Daily
Report appears on occasion.
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