David Hasselhoff was at this year's Coachella festival in Indio, California. Although he looks happy and sane, I think there was something going on behind the scenes at the show.
I've got no problem with Dave. In fact, I am all about “Knight Rider” and “Baywatch,” I guess. “America's Got Talent,” eh ... But what really makes me happy is that this dude is a parrrrrrrttttyyyy animal. Remember when he drank his dignity away and showed us how a real man eats a cheeseburger — off the floor? I do. Read more...
By Alex Shapiro
It's only February, but music lovers across the country can already start planning their summers: After months of speculation surrounding Coachella and Bonnaroo, the initial lineups for both have been announced, and they are amazing!
The Coachella lineup is made up of some heavy hitters: Former Beatle Paul McCartney will kick off the fest, followed by '80s goth-rockers the Cure, with synth-rock group the Killers closing it out on the last day. The other 116 announced acts make up a smorgasbord of techno, rock and rap acts that will prevent anyone from saying, "There isn't one band there I'd pay to see." If I was anywhere near Indio, California, I wouldn't miss this one. Read more...
By Joseph Patel
The best four hours of live music I've ever experienced took place at the Coachella festival in 2004. It was a Pixies/ Radiohead/ Kraftwerk/ TV on the Radio back-to-back-to-back-to-back string of sets that only Coachella or a European festival could have offered. The Empire Polo fields in the California desert have been sacred ground for U.S. music festivals ever since Coachella's inception in the fall of 1999, and that spring afternoon in 2004 — my fifth time at the festival — was so epic, I have yet to return.
My day started much earlier than the Pixies' set but that's what I remember kicking off my "Afternoon Not to Be Forgotten." The Pixies' reunion tour had started about two weeks earlier, and I had already seen them three times, having flown myself to Minnesota to catch their first reunion show. (Yes, I know I have a raging battle with the concept of moderation.) I needed to see them with 40,000 people, and it was wonderful. Not a bad appetizer for Radiohead, who took the stage just as the last bits of purple sunset were ducking out of site in the desert sky. They made a majestic offering to the gods. They're one of the best live bands in existence right now and, fan or not, they're worth seeing. I suspect that is why they're performing on the Grammys, to give those who have never seen them a little taste.
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It's beginning to feel like I write this same thing every single year (and, lo and behold, I have), but, wow, the lineup for Coachella 2009 is super underwhelming. Again.
Perhaps it's due to the inflated expectations from previous years, or the constant stream of hype, speculation and false-starts that accompanies the unveiling of the lineup each and every winter, but once again, I am let down by the spate of bands the promoters at Goldenvoice have lined up for Coachella '09. For the second year in a row, there are no big-ticket reunions (long a 'Chella staple), no "Man-I-gotta-see-'em" headliners (Paul McCartney, probably playing stuff from his crummy electronic side-project! The Killers! The Cure!). There is Franz Ferdinand. And the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. And, Amy Winehouse, provided she makes it until April. Oh, and there is Leonard Cohen, who should actually be pretty rad now that I think of it.
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If it's mid-January, then it must be time for the fake Coachella lineups to begin fluttering down like so many synthetic snowflakes. A combination of pure speculation, delusion, outright lies and fifth-hand inside information from a-guy-who-knows-a-guy-who-dated-the-promoter's-cousin, the premature lineups for the fest (held April 17-19) are typically more wish list than reality, but they always make for a good laugh. (Read our roundup of other music-festival rumors here.)
As we await the actual announcement, which is reportedly due this morning on Los Angeles' KROQ FM, here's who is not playing (or not yet, officially):
Faith No More: The 1980s alt-rockers will, alas, not reform for the fest, but leader Mike Patton will perform with Rahzel the human beatbox, according to Billboard.com. So that's something.
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