Review by Elise Dawson
"Hey, where's Indio, California?" That is the question that started my adventure of sorts to an incredible two-day music festival called Coachella. Luckily, I sort of had an idea of where Indio was, since I'm from Bakersfield, CA, so I gave him what few geographical details I could. "Indio, hmmm, somewhere out by Palm Springs, I think they have some sort of polo grounds there, but otherwise I'm not sure what else is out there.” For some reason I avoided the obvious "why do you ask?" question. I'm used to my buddy Brian asking me out of the blue questions. Admittedly, it sounded strange. Why would he want to know about this desert town on the outskirts of Palm Springs? Seconds later, he sends me an email that announces NIN headlining the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California. Hey, it's a week after we all get our tax refunds, we are gloating in extra dough. Or at least a little bit... What better use of it than to fly across country to see NIN and a few dozen other great bands? We made sure not to give ourselves enough time to change our minds and bought tickets that Saturday, as soon as they went on sale. My boyfriend Carlo and I, and our friend Brian, took the plunge and haven't regretted a moment since.
Coachella
was amazing, I have to admit. The weather could not have been better.
Usually it's in the 100's+ around that time of year, but it was mid-to-high
80's during the day and low 60's at night. Bauhaus (even if you aren't
a fan) was spectacular. Peter Murphy sang “Bela Legosi's Dead”
(first song of the set) suspended by his feet from the scaffolding above
the stage. His voice is so amazing and "true" may be the best
way to describe it. Hard to believe those mid-to-late 40's something guys
still sound so tight.
Weezer was a little bit of a disappointment, a little thin sounding if
you ask me. They have such potential for big guitar sounds and some much
better written songs, but they seem to wallow in thin Marshall-amp driven
guitar sounds and really lame/goofy songs (especially the lyrics...oooffff!).
Coldplay, although I'm not a big fan, was really good. There was audience interaction by the singer (Chris whatever-his-last-name-is), but it was a little cheesy. He was a bit overly thankful. Thanking Americans so much that it almost came of as disingenuous. They sounded great, but again, I grew weary of the same song themes over and over and over again.
The next night was the real crown jewel anyway and that's what we had flown all this way for. When we arrived, we caught the tail end of The Bravery's set. They sounded really good in their quirky-80's style, but I'm not sure if they can have much longevity off such a stylized-quirky sound. Who knows… At any rate they are riding the 80's wave and loving it.
New
Order, one of the bands of my youth, was the opposite of Coldplay when
it came to audience interaction. Well, let me describe that a little better.
They interacted with the audience, but it was more of a typical British
attitude towards Americans. Which was fine, a lot of that was just tongue-in-cheek.
They had a great set, but at the end something went awry with Blue Monday
so it was a bit of a let down at the end of that.
By this time we were midway to the front of the stage in a huge field.
I wanted to be Closer (haha) to the stage for NIN. So Carlo grabbed my
backpack, held onto the camera for dear life, and I became the embodiment
of Earl Campbell. Any football team would be happy to have me as I shouldered
our way down as far as I possibly could to the front. We were 3 people
back, on the left side of the audience (stage right). The stage was still
pretty far away because of the way it was set up, and there were jumbo-trons
for our viewing ease, but it was important to me to feel like I was enveloped
in the music. I wanted to actually see their expressions when they performed,
rather than squinting from afar. I have no regrets for my bruised toes;
it was worth it to be up front as close as I could get us.
Imagine this setting – beautiful clear night in the desert, millions
of stars, a desert wind blowing through the field, the back of the stage
framed by four perfect palm trees. The audience was packed shoulder to
shoulder just waiting with anticipation for the first note. Anxious as
the stage hands set up lights, guitar stands, drum risers, camera crew
prepares their places for their close ups of faces and fingers. Any minute
now, NIN would take the stage...
Stage lights were dimmed all the way down after the set up was complete. We knew it was coming, so soon. And so it began. The first delicate, plaintive notes of “The Wretched” cry out from the stage, the rest of the band picks up the bar like a surprise wave and the crowd roars. Perfection. There could not have been a better song to start the show off with. From there it was an incredible mix of the old and the new. Each song situated within the set list perfectly to achieve maximum impact and maximum satisfaction. To put it quite simply, NIN delivered.
I am such a huge fan of every musician in that band, the chemistry was so obvious. The person who really made an impression on me the most was Jeordie White/Twiggy Ramirez. I had seen him perform a couple of times, but never had I seen such an amazing connection with the music from him as I did that night. The bass "tone" that he was able to achieve truly took my breath away. Within the first few phrases of “With Teeth” vibrating throughout the field with such profound depth, I was certain my uterus was going to plop out. It was just that deep.
His bass became the womb broom. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little here, but it really was such a great thing for me to see a bass player who is not reliant on the overuse of finger work or the overabundance of intricate notes which only distract from the structure of the song. Because he plays bass like a guitarist, he seems to understand the effect of a sustained chord played with a rich depth and authority is going to imprint itself in your mind so much more than wasted notes. Every note counted and had a place in each song. His passion for performing with the amazing group of musicians and of course Trent Reznor, was so evident. What a great addition to NIN, hats of to Trent for making such a wise choice.