Coachella 2009, day 2-part two

(ah sweet barrel cactus, holder of water, nemesis of the drunk...)

day 2, part two:
Riding high off the energy of AFP’s fantastic finish, it was on to the next infusion of Scottish goodness, the highly touted Glasvegas. When we got to the tent, there was an announcement that they cancelled;( someone was hospitalized...don't know the details, but i was really looking forward to them...) Better luck next time they're stateside, i guess...


And now, with the schedule suddenly clear & the sun on the downswing, it was time to camp at the outdoors stage...


The one and only Calexico, (go Tucson!), did a great job on the outdoor stage at sunset, really memorable, with a harder edge than their atmospheric records. One of the day's highlights was their amazing cover of the Minutemen's punk classic "Corona", reimagined for mariachi horns…brilliant and moving tribute to the late D. Boon, another founding father of what they once called 'college rock'. One only wonders what he would have made of this festival...
Like an audible recharging station, Calexico worked it's magic on the lawn full of sprawled bodies, their sonic bearings being perfect for this desert oasis. Sidenote: i first discovered Indio, CA as a pitstop on the endless I10 coming back to cali from Tucson, ironically. Never would have imagined at that time just how much i'd be back...

Next set was a little more problematic...Perhaps one of the more anticpated sets of the weekend, the Fleet Foxes came in riding a wave of good will on what was one of the best reviewed albums of last year, (that rarest of records that easily bridged generations of rock fans), but they were given a severe reality check in the festival setting. They fought the good fight against the Thievery Corp over on the main stage, but continually they found themselves on the wrong side of the old boom.bap, as it were...

Band of Horses put up a stronger fight for the couple of songs i caught, their ringing sound cutting into the early evening…but like Leonard Cohen on Friday, the call was made to cut it short to get pole position for M.I.A.,(p.s. avoid this link if you suffer seizures...), a late addition to cover for Amy Winehouse on the main stage, and one with just as checkered a Coachella history. Her first appearance was tentative but revelatory...last year in the Sahara was apparently a drunken trainwreck...so it was hold your breath & let's see time...

MIA hit the stage full of energy, and got off to a flying start, despite intermittent air horn blasts from her friendly neighborhood dj. Things bogged down when she felt a pronouncement coming on, and any straying from the tunes caused the bottom to drop out of the energy level. She seems to have sunk a good chunk of her new found earnings back into the act...one of the finer stage sets seen all weekend, but that alone was not enough to save the proceedings. A schizophrenic mood settled over the crowd, which finally gave it up when she broke out 'Paper Planes', her unlikely summer hit that mined a Clash sample over gunshot samples, and managed to bring up a kajillion people on stage to do their thang, (which mostly consisted of cavorting drunkenly, at least those who weren't filming each others moment in the spotlight...)
The set staggered to a close, as did we...

After such a full rich day, when faced with the prospect of Las Vegas' own The Killers repping the main stage, it was time to pull what is lovingly referred to as 'The Coldplay Option'...(i.e. pulling the plug in order to ensure a non.packed shuttle back, and find oneself reclining in a hot tub counting stars as your peers crawled in...), as opposed to say, watching the Killers....

Forward ho, and live to fight another day...