CoachellaMusic Festival2005

by Karen X + Paris

I hate it when I have to let my heroes go.

The Nine Inch Nails '93 Downward Spiral Tour was one of the best concerts i've ever seen in my life.

There was much anticipation and excitement among Trent Reznors fans for his Coachella Music Festival appearance. His new album is great and dig...I've flown from Dallas to LA to see him, and like everybody else there, had set aside much day's exhaustion — you have to drive about two hours from LA, walk about 20 miles — all that — for this privilege.

Anyway, NIN comes out hard guitar rocking one of the cuts from his new album. Ok=the new haircut on the cover of every music magazine — well, it's a" look" I guess. (Not that he's not gorgeous. But that's never been what it was about for me.)

Then Paris says to me "Uh oh, I'm getting kinda worried. I don't see any synthesisers on stage."

Uh oh, indeed.

To be fair, the Coachella performance for which he was still paid an unheard of amount of money —

— more than Radiohead who delivered an over the top fabulous concert there last year — AND did not confine their set to the stipulated 1 hour length=So, to be fair to Trent, who has mountains of well-loved material, (and a mountain of it re-mixed),since he chose to observe the bucks per minute paid for, it was an abbrevated set, difficult to juxtaposition the songs into a groove (at least he didn't resort to medley).

Question: is it possible for someone who is so worshiped to acknowlege or smile at his audience without loosing ambience?

It's not like we all don't know or mind that we've made him  (well-deservedly) RICH!!!but starting songs with improvisational echo-plexed exclamations such as "YOURE A PIG!" just didn't feel very appreciative.

Whatever. His set was rocky, guitar top heavy, and just lyrically fucking on and on about alienation, lending greats such I Hurt Myself Today a bit devalued.

I mean after you've been having to digest and sober up on his - I Hate You, Are You Still Listening - tone, lines such as "the needle tears a hole, the old familiar prick",I'm thinking...mmm, actually i'm not so familiar with that anymore.

Tho "Hurt" will always be a beautiful song, I realize that I was and the entire nation must have been epidemically high to have embraced that for a campfire song to gather around in the 90s-sfraternity of
more-than-just-a-stoner club.

I'm being Unfair again...Pretty Hate Machine/Pretty Hurt Machine: We will always be able to relate to someone hurt by their deep ability to love. But lyrically, Downward Spiral 's "Hurt" (which Johnny Cash recently covered) became just another War Story on Coachella night. None of the sincerity of the the Downward Spiral Tour shone.

Still, it wasn't a song like that that I did want to hear...it was the new stuff with lyrics like "I am so dirty on the inside" blah blah...

Well, I'm not, so I guess you'd say that the main problem for me about him is that he is no longer my spokesman.

Maybe he is yours. — GO TO REHAB!!!!!

Soon after the Downward Spiral tour, a model friend of mine who was sleeping with Courtney Love (yeah, I know she was married), asked me if I'd like to meet Trent Reznor. I decided then that I was just too in love with his music to keep from giving him all my money and dope and declined.

Now I'd like to meet him. I have a few things to say to him: Writing what you think about what you think is the domain of Zen Masters and Yogis; writing about what you feel about what you feel has as its only interested audience, therapist and groups at Esalen Institute.

Allen Ginsberg, trying to help me out of this sort of incorrect understanding of profound writing once said to me, "You know, there IS an alternative reality — It's the one in front of your face".

Oh.

My Ayurveda guru, Dr. Kevin Gregg would put it "What's outside of you is inside of you."
But He would have also remarked on Trent's apparent Ojas.

Ojas, (sanskrit), is the countenance radianced seen on the outside of a person that reflects their inner health-a kind of what's outside gotten into the inside look about a person.

Granted, this is the entertainment world and a certain amount of short term Ojas is for sale with plastic surgeons. But I don't think that's where his comes from.

Trent Reznor's appearance rather reminded me of Keith Richards — another  legendary more = than = just = a = stoner, who, 15 minutes into a set, appeared to be transformed into a radiant angel, even with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

The Ojas of both these people illustrates their natural spiritual connection-whether they want it or not and we who spend our lives meditating and practicing yoga (and quit drugs) for it may not understand how they got or keep it, but I'm willing to acknowlege a sort of spiritual quality in Trent Reznor's gits.

None of us would mind, however, if he were humble and grateful for these gifts. Really we wouldn't.

Realistically, there is nothing for him (or anyone else — make it new, as Wm Carlos Williams instructed) to further elucidate or illustrate in this art form about themes that have also been grandly written about, not only by him, but, for instance,Wm. Burroughs — who by the way, had a twinkling beautiful smile and acknowleged his fans with gratitude and accessibility.

I'd like to think what was in front of Trent Reznor's face back then is not in front of face now, but sadly his aversion to admitting any kind of happiness or gratitude for his musical genius says differently.

Sad — all the way to the bank. — With Teeth Tour SOLD OUT all around the world.

Though my friend Kristen just called up saying, oh no, there not sold out in Mexico City and should we hook it up? (Do YOU think I will?)

Obviously Trent does have, but can never can find the word to share his more appreciative states,
or maybe it's really the fault of his record deals squeezing last blood out of a money=making image.
Yeah, like a good addict, I'm looking for someone to blame.

It can't be Trent Reznor's fault.

Can it?

Paris said he felt like there just wasn't enough volume power at Coachella to handle what NIN was doing, and what with next stages bleed through it was just doomed.

Oh, you Masters of Coachella, when are you going to resolve this next-stage bleed through to the headline act problem. Remember last year when Radiohead was occasionally being multi-tracked with an unknown rapper?

First Thought/Best Thought

More thought...Better!) — (Rinpoche Chogym Trungpa)

Here's more thought about Coachella Music Festival: That it was like our fever for gas over-consumption. Full tank of gas and aimless driving.

5+ stages of music and not enough concentration to listen to one with full attention.

Where are we going with consumption — some parallels to random play ipod — (&can't we do this festival in LA already?)

Anyway, here we are at the multiple venue-cellular phone text message in the middle of anything Attention Deficit Disorder Festival and I hear the Faint starting on the next stage and begin to wander in that direction. There's something very heady about an open field walk where you glance up and can be
blaise about "oh, it's Trent Reznor destroying his equipment. Guess there won't be an encore — good I can go to the bathroom before checking into half of The Faints set."

It's late, we are about to faint too. I've already seen The Faint with good results twice, so I just lay down to listen before hopping up and onward to the Prodigy.

For me the Shining Star of the festival — what relief — was Prodigy — I thought I was so gothic i was dead by now, but they got me and everyone else Dance Frenzied. Same substance abuse as Trent Reznor, but these junkies like to have fun!!

Def Jam was playing as we walked out. engaging, but we too tired. (this always happens at the end of this festival — last year we walked out on Le Tigre and The Cure, of all great bands;the year before Iggy Pop).

One has long since stopped finding the Oom Pah Pah Parade of Beautiful People entertaining. At this point humanity is clearly just annoying and in the way of the epic to walk to and find the car. Prizes are given out to whoever finds it.

Dresden Dolls: Beautiful. Making it New sounding. This kind of presentation of not well known great music is what this festival is supposed to be about I thought. Not nearly enough of great New Music this year..I guess after paying off Trent Reznor, there wasn't alot of cash to spare and don't blame other bands declining. I'd definitely go out of my way to see Dresden Dolls again. (uh, maybe not Coachella outomyway tho).

Z Trip — much anticipated DJ — made you understand (if you didn't already) the god like reverence received by DJs such as portrayed in the new film It's All Gone, Pete Tong — you outa ck out this movie about how a self destructive world class dj goes deaf — indeed all his senses are dead — cleans up and
learns to produce music by feeling the vibrations in sound and touch. — anyway, Z Tripp, NOT out of touch with reality iincluded spoken word, anti war and vote speeches — ending in duo with a guest solo by Linkin Park's singer tho? Actually I thought he was good, but my companions were heavy on the diss for that finale.

Kasabian: actually pretty good. obviously inspired by and not as good as Primal Scream, but Listenable, lookable danceable.

New Order: Lush and big.

Uh, did we only see 5 or 6 bands? What happened? Or what didn't happen was the story at Coachella this year.

Last year I said I wasn't going back to Coachella because of the 106 temperatures. (But the memory of the great music feast, coupled with anticipation over Nine Inch Nails caved me in.)

This time it was Paris who said he's taking a year off from Coachella. He said he's not going next year even if Swervedriver is playing.

Coachella Music Festival Break- Down

Ready Or Notby Karen X and Paris

I can't go into my band revues until I address the issues of Our Civilization's Incorrect Understanding of Nature and How We Fit In, which goes something like this....

While sitting outside in the already 103 degree desert heat at 10 am, I looked around at the community there at Indio and thought about my bit of study of ancient civilizations and how, you know, the book would say something like ... well, we don't know why this civilization dissapeared and we have these few artifacts to try to piece together their lifestyle, blah, blah....

well....air conditioned malls, watering huge tropical foliage installations — water, water, everywhere in the middle of this desert!!!from where? WHY HAVE THESE PEOPLE AGGRESSIVELY moved here?????

The streets all had names like Frank Sinatra Dr., Dinah Shore Drive, (we stayed at a hotel on Bob Hope Drive), all pretty charming performers, so I don’t know if that’s a clue, unless they had to go all the way to the desert to get away with what they were doing for recreation….?

Building communities in environmentally unsustainable areas and further eroding its resources is somewhat or should be a crime. — the water that is syphoned off to make places like LA livable is enough of a liability without adding the greedy consumer disregard — The Insufferable Darkness of a Will to Ignorance if it conflict with Desire — ah, Integrity….

I realized of course that we too were totally guilty of enabling this
insidious folly by paying big money to be part of a cultural attraction there and ironically enough, one that embraced the counter culture of peace movements and environmentalism. This depressing thought was not nearly as depressing as the actual reality of my body fighting for its survival for two days in the 103plus heat at Coachella Music festival.

The festival was sold out — mostly due to Radiohead's inclusion, which i'd just seen last fall anyway — at the time, paying $50 and driving all the way to houston seemed pretty extreme — This year's festival redefined EXTREME     enough — here's the skinny: (I added Paris's reviews at the bottom.)

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RADIOHEAD: I LOVE THIS BAND — deliver, deliver, deliver/
Make me delieriously happy. There may be a few bands that are As Good, but No one is Better — don't even try to argue the point with me — However, there are multiple venues at Coachella and this beautiful beautiful way rockin performance (with tom yourke going into body spasms singing "Arrange us, arrange us" was tainted by the next stage-over's sound, bleeding through — so
that you'd have, like tom yourke: "karma po.." — -next stage "yo..yo..scratcha scratcha scratcha" — quite comedic actually — but also just unkool organization— and so it went for anything on the main stage — Letting It Bleed.

PIXIES: this was another band highly anticipated and didn't disappoint — i've seen them before (in the day) and still thought they sounded the best i'd ever heard them — but i can't understand why they look older and more dragged out than say fleetwood mac — I'm personally aware that they couldn't have done more drugs and alcohol than those guys — age of Macdonald's? — maybe just less money to pull it together after rehabs.

KINKY: this was the most original band we saw last year and had played on a small stage, but were back and on the main stage with a lot of appreciation — only caught the last 2 minutes of their show — sorry we missed it.

BRIGHT EYES: not my favorite band, but i like one of their albums pretty much, but when i got there, i couldn't believe my ears: twanga twanga twanga, he was playing a country set!!!!!!! (and johnny cash he was not). Also it was like he’d stolen Rhett Miller’s (Olds 97) soul, so i made an abrupt about face and walked back over to

BELLE AND SEBASTION: actually I thought Belle and Sebastion were quite good — and I admired their uncompromising gay mannerisms, style, their peculiar and understated band's accompaniment to the songs — they have beautiful voices — so.... peculiar, but quite palatable...really there's nothing wrong with Belle and Sebastian...very listenable.

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB: well, as some of you know, I'm a huge fan of this kinda jesus and mary chain/swervedriver-lite trio I always feel like one o their moms looking on and urging them on, so I was very sorry for the unbelievable sound meltdown they experienced, reduced to no guitar, bass and singing with the drummer playing a tambourine — that's right. wow. I think it was
because of the hugely hi-tech hookups that Basement jaxx had already in place and rerouted things — who knows, but apparently it was worth it as

BASEMENT JAXX could be heard to Rule in the next set from where I was, with another temporary sinkin spell, waiting for The Cure.

BECK: well...I tried, but the tent was hot, overpacked with twice as many  people standing outside, further decreasing the amount of air coming in and I felt the strangest feeling come over me and realized i was going to faint — i was so dizzy i was scared — i left beck — crawled outside and stumbled into the shade where other people that’d already fainted were and could barely hear him — paris was still in there tho — read below

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Too Many DJs — I agree with Paris, it was a disappointment, but still...I love watching the dancers who are always so good and creative at this type of music (as opposed to Lame Rock Dancers).

AIR: Dallas’s (BTW grad) Earl Harvin was still with them!!!!!! and it was so wonderful to see him featured on the big screens. He'd obviously started influencing them, evidenced by the more
complex jazzy improvisation that they got it on to — yo Earl-You da Man!!!!!

FLAMING LIPS: oi..Singer got in a bubble and got bounced around the audience, they threw out a lotta colored balls for everyone to play with, went into a very UNFOCUSED schpeel, I think intended as politically influencing — Bad speech, Bad music — sorry-i know alot of you are going to have your feelings hurt when i say this-i mean personally i'm sure they're stand-up and witty people — but this is a stoner fraternity party band and i wish they'd graduate already.

BANDS I REGRET MISSING BUT DO NOT REGRET GIVING MY LIFE IN ORDER TO SEE BECAUSE THEY WERE BOOKED AT HIGH NOONS: Stereolab Cursive

KRAFTWERK: Quite the avante-garde tour de force still!!!! Can't even describe it — very high tech with actual robots, never seen before lighting on clothing techniqes, laptop roulette, — the music, again, kool to watch dancers with those dayglow thingies on. late nite AFTER late night Radiohead - Low Point for me: - we all lost from each other and I was worried we'd never find Paris's
younger sister and her friends ever again.

THE CURE: o I believe some of the best concerts i've ever been to were The Cure—their kind of grateful dead-with-lipstick 15 min. jamming versions of things like Fascination Street are the stuff my dreams (or introduction to heroin addiction) were made of — and i'm sure they were still just as good, but the sound was very poorly mixed at first and they've become irrelevant,in a fashion sense — looking gothic, but like they NEEDED to  drink some blood to keep from decaying — & after two days in the desert, Kurt Cobain coulda joined them onstage and  we woulda said Fuck This/We're Outa here — also the inevitable bleed through of the next stage — this time:. that saucy LE TIGRE bunch-& why would anyone in their right mind put Le Tigre on the next stage and make you choose who to see — I don't think the answer is to just let both bands music mix together in the night air — I wasn't on psychedelics and just wanted to hear One or the Other — tho I was past the ability to walk Anywhere Other Than Where I Was. Why? because the logistic nightmares of this festival were a complete pain in the ass, even and especially to the young audience that it drew. Bumper to Bummer traffic from LA — 6 (SIX!) hours to drive 130 miles bumper to bummer for 2 hours to park bumper to bummer 2 hours to even get outa the parking lot —

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As we left Day II, it was kinda amusing (tho it wasn't amusing to be among them) to see all these people trying to find their cars in the haze of
dust, — very surreal, like Night of the Living Dead — woulda made a great video with scary soundtrack, only to reveal later that they were just a bunch o concert goers looking for their cars — it took us a Solid Hour to find ours. I read somewhere that the concert promoter was going to just be in the crowd and eat at the stands and do everything that the regular person who bought a ticket did sos he could see if this Sell-Out thing was groovy (Nine Inch Nails Is a shoo-in for next year) or to cut it back next year— Uh - That would be a good idea.

Also, I’da liked to’ve see more black people there and would like to see, say, Erika Badu there or Prince? Yeah Prince would be good.
( somehow I think survival-saavy LA Brothers gonna say… Drive to the desert so we can listen to music—say what?) and anyway, why can't they just have this thing in LA instead / I seriously  never want to go to Indio, California ever again.

I leave LA at 6:30, meaning I have to get up by at least 4 tomoro
morning — kinda intense— but i just keep saying to myself: At least i don't have to walk 10 hours in the desert today just to see
Radiohead!

Yours,
Karen X

PARIS: hhh...ok... Driving into the middle of friggin nowhere just to sit in traffic is lame.. Standing in a desert field with temperatures over 100 degrees is also pretty lame...

That being said: Saturday Beck: tried to make music with a gameboy and auditioned members of the audience to be "tambourine players"... whatever.

The Pixies: Frank Black is fat... the drummer is bald... but they were cool

Radiohead: pretty good except that the adjoining stage had some godforsaken hip hop that was bleeding into their sound

Kraftwerk: Oooooh...THIS is what I paid 70 dollars to see! Amazing videos...same ol' rockin Kraftwerk tunes Sunday: skipped out on the first part cuz I'd rather see a movie then hang out in the 105 degree heat

2ManyDJ's: prolly my biggest disspointment of the festival...I came in to see they were DJIng...hello...your name is 2 Many Dj's

Air: same ol' rockin French goodness Crystal Method: it was breakbeat... everyone was on ecstacy ... I felt 18 all over again Bassment Jaxx: YESSSSSS!!!! the biggest surprise and by far and away the best thing at the festival (Prefuse 73 did sound pretty good in passing but i didn't give a full listen) Wailing Divas ... live drummer ... sweet Dizzee Rascal cameo ... badass visuals ... CHEERS MATES The Cure: uhhhh ... those extreme close ups of R. Smith's face are unnecessary and actually quite horrifying

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So there you have

it.

 

Stoney Burns refused to publish a much more previous story by Ms.X in Buddy because he only used stories from this planet... Obviously, we don't care ... DARts published that one in Volume One ; Number One of this rag on paper, but at least it had something to do with art. I think this one has to do with music but hardly anything to do with Dallas, so it's here in the O for Other directory.