Overview
This was one of the stronger Coachellas I can remember. All sensory experiences for me become more muted as I get older, so it comes down to Happy Moments vs. Annoyed Moments. I was seldom annoyed compared to past years.
When I returned to camp around 10:30pm, the Coachuggalos were nowhere to be seen, their camp site tossed to bits by gale force winds. They had turned out to be kind, considerate guys. I’d have liked to say goodbye. What became of them? The sands and the winds aren’t telling.
By the middle of the day Sunday, I was ready to go home. Most years I leave the festival early, around 4:30p or 5:00p, but I had to cover Wu-Tang Clan’s late set. All the bands before 6:00pm were disappointing except for Kurt Vile, who made for a lovely nap in the sun.
The sixer of Coachuggalos brought back to camp late last night a harem of sorority girls. I wonder how that went for them. I put in my earplugs and passed out after a phenomenal festival day.
The sixer of Coachuggalos in my campsite have settled in to a consistent mellow. Very good.
You can’t overstate how much EDM has taken over the music landscape. Nobody is talking about the bands, and almost every rock act I saw yesterday at least mildly disappointed. It was a tough day to make the case for rock tradition’s lasting importance.
I’m back at that enigmatic pop-up utopia, The Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival. This is my ninth year attending. I’ll be covering the fest for Buzzbands.la, so be sure to check that site all weekend for some of the best Coachella coverage on the web. I don’t know my assignments as of this posting.
I’m car camping again…
This post is three months late, but I wrote most of it back in December. I just never got around to finishing. For the twenty of you still reading… may it be said I always follow through. (Eventually.)
I just didn’t catalogue my consumption this year. There were but 21 measly posts on CGT in 2012.
What new music did I listen to? I’m not sure. That probably says more about me than new music. I know Morrissey, The Cure, Oingo Boingo, Madness, Against Me!, The Buzzcocks, GBV, R.E.M., The Vaccines, Yuck, and Refused got a lot of play off my ‘pod this year. I wasn’t interested in new music for whatever reason. I listened to a lot of podcasts, though.
I probably went out to see local music five times, and four of those (at least) were The Henry Clay People. I didn’t even bother to see touring bands outside that Thing Out In the Desert that I love to go to every year.
I thought it was a pretty great year for movies, a terrific mix of good dramas (Lincoln, The Master) and nerd fare (The Avengers, Skyfall).
The big news in 2012 for me was that I got engaged and married. What the what? This blog used to be a chronicle a young, drunken single man’s late night exploits through the dark and twisted corridors of underground indie rock. If I still blogged about my nightly exploits, it would involve a lot of Seinfeld rerun recaps.
The Henry Clay People (and friends) played a show at Seafood World in Westminster, Orange County because I was getting married that day and I asked them to play at the reception. They said yes. It turned out to be their third-to-last show ever. (So far.)
I spent the past two Monday nights at The Satellite for The Henry Clay People residency. They have one more free show this Monday, December 17th and the New Years Eve show, and then… well, this email was sent from the band to their list last month:
“This residency marks the end of an era for the HCP. We will be taking some time off after these shows to regroup, reevaluate, and catch up on some much needed sleep. We want to thank everyone who has helped us out over the past ten years: all the bands, all the folks at the shows, all the people who have shared their floor space. You are all Henry Clay People. We feel extremely lucky that we got to turn our little rock and roll hobby into a full-time thing. It was a complete accident but a very happy accident and we remain eternally grateful for the adventure.”
Ho there, Classical Geek Thespians! Remember when these beer-stained internet pages were a music blog? Yeah, me either. Remember when they were to be the homebase central for my burgeoning screenwriting career? Oh, the best laid plans of Mice and Men!
Duncan Idaho Nguyen, born in April of 2010, died suddenly and unexpectedly of unknown causes in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 10th, 2012. He was a devoted climber, sleeper in crotches, stealer of pretzels, and a bane to all cricket-kind.
Sometimes the small unassuming forces in life have the most to teach us about ourselves. He was loved by his momma, his poppa, and his adopted big brother Marvin Harrison, all who will terribly miss him.
Flickr
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Twitter