Coachella 2023 Recap

I returned from the desert about a week ago and I’m currently in that post-chella withdrawal mode. I’m constantly looking at pictures and videos from my time there while thinking about all the things that happened both good and bad. Even though this year wasn’t one of my all time favorite Coachellas, it was still the best month of the year. There were plenty of surprises, from the special Blink-182 appearances to Frank Ocean dropping out of Weekend 2 and being replaced by “TBA” aka Skrillex, Fred again…, and Four Tet. I didn’t get to see everything I hoped to see which was expected given that most things I wanted to see were on Friday.

I watched the livestream for sets from Yungblud, Blondie, MUNA, Wet Leg, and Blink-182 W1 on the Fridays that I was still working. When Blink announced, I expected it to be much the same as Arcade Fire in 2022, playing W1 on Friday only. To my surprise, Blink-182 was part of the Frank Ocean Sunday W2 replacement, so for the first time in my life I saw Blink-182 live. I messed up the set times W2 and missed the Two Friends set I wanted to see. I did get to see Gorillaz W1 though. I also went with a few people to see Metro Boomin W2, which was probably my least favorite Coachella set.

On Saturday, I saw boygenius and Calvin Harris both weekends. Both were such solid sets. I enjoyed a few afternoon Saturday sets as well, like ones from Horsegirl and Scowl. I discovered I needed to check out Snail Mail after walking by their W2 set. I also spent a little time each full day I was onsite at the Despacio tent. It was really one of the underrated features of Coachella 2023 and I always wanted to be in there watching James Murphy spin vinyl as the clearest, most perfect sound amplified from the McIntosh towers. I saw Chromeo W2, Elderbrook W1, The Kid Laroi W1 (and some major ketchup stains as a result…IYKYK), and a little of BLACKPINK both weekends.

Sunday brought Big Wild W1, Dominic Fike W1, Porter Robinson W2, Alex G W1 with a special appearance from Halsey in the crowd vibing to every song, LP Giobbi W2 with my favorite festival friend, the Danimal, and Jai Wolf W2. I saw a couple songs from Knocked Loose W1, which was one of the most insane sets I’ve ever seen at Coachella, especially in Sonora. I saw the beginning of Frank Ocean W1. It dragged so much that we decided to leave early. Then of course the music highlight of the entire festival was seeing Blink-182 into Skrillex, Fred again…, and Four Tet Sunday night of Weekend 2. The “OMG TBA” set was one of the best sets I’ve ever seen at Coachella and by far the best electronic set. It’s definitely going down in the history of Coachella performances. The trio turned the entirety of the polo fields into a massive Sahara rave from playing their set in the depths of the crowd on an unused Frank Ocean ice rink. A little under two days ago the full set was uploaded to Youtube and has already amassed over half a million views. I’m one of those as I had to watch it again. It was such a cool experience. I didn’t want to miss a second of it and I was already hyped from the Blink-182 performance.

Additionally in personal news, this past year culminated my 5th year working Coachella and I celebrated by getting a post Weekend 2 Coachella themed tattoo, as Coachella was the place where I came to the realization that I wanted to work in live music and help put on festivals. Two years after that moment, I worked my first Coachella, and now here I am, with 4 more under my belt. It’s truly my favorite month of the year and my favorite place to be even after all this time. I mean, whoever reads this knows that too. I barely blog much anymore, but as soon as that lineup drops in January, I’ve kept up with my weekly Coachella previews. I’ve done it since 2015, the year I attended and decided that the music industry was for me. It matters so much to me and I hope you can all see that even just from this, if not from how much I talk about Coachella and hype it up.

I’m not sure what Coachella 2024 will bring, but I know I’m already excited for it and ready for another magical two weeks on the polo fields. Until then, we take in the rest of what this year will bring and anticipate the next lineup drop! Honestly, with the way I feel about Coachella, Blink-182 says it best, “Let’s make this last forever. Forever and ever. Let’s make this last forever.”

Coachella Band Preview: Blondie

We’re currently less than 2 weeks from Coachella 2023 and I’m leaving for the desert in just a few days! I’ve been getting so excited by looking at pictures and videos from past Coachellas. I’m mostly packed at this point with quite a few outfits planned for fest days. I’ve also been listening to my 2023 playlist as much as I can. I hope you’ve been doing the same! With only a week and a half to spare though, we’re getting down to the wire with previews, so I saved a big one for this week, Blondie.

Blondie is a new wave, punk, pop rock band formed in New York City in the mid-70’s. The band was co-founded by lead singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein and included Clem Burke on drums amongst other members through the years. The band released 6 studio albums from 1974 to 1982, Blondie, Plastic Letters, Parallel Lines, Eat to the Beat, Autoamerican, and The Hunter. These albums brought some of their greatest hits including, “Heart of Glass,” “Call Me,” “One Way or Another,” “The Tide is High,” “Atomic,” and “Rapture.” They disbanded for about 15 years due to Stein being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, until getting back together in 1997. They’ve continued to tour ever since and were even inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Since getting back together, they’ve also released 5 more albums, No Exit, The Curse of Blondie, Panic of Girls, Ghosts of Download, and Pollinator.

Despite being a Grammy award winning legendary rock band, they have yet to play Coachella. The band plays Friday at the festival and I expect to see them at Mojave or Gobi. I bet you’ll find them playing a late afternoon or early evening set. They definitely check the box for legacy act at the festival and will surely bring out the Coachella veterans as well as anyone else interested in hearing some new wave rock music. Their songs are so iconic too that anyone who comes to the set should hear something they know. Here’s a few of those in case you didn’t want to have the “Hey! I know this one!” moment at their set:

1. One Way or Another
2. Call Me
3. Heart of Glass
4. The Tide is High
5. Atomic
6. Rapture
7. Maria
8. Hanging on the Telephone
9. Dreaming
10. Sunday Girl

Coachella 2023 Lineup Review

10 days into January and the Coachella lineup has dropped. After balloons in the sky showed up in LA and NY and Coachella billboards popped up in cities worldwide last week, we knew the drop was coming at any moment. Shortly after 3 PM EST/12 PM PST yesterday, the 2023 Coachella lineup dropped. At the moment of the release, I was about to start a team meeting and I dropped to my knee with joy exclaiming, “The Coachella lineup just dropped!” I can’t say I remember much from our meeting as I was distracted the entire time. I also can’t say I’m surprised or impressed with this year’s mix of artists.

I feel like every year since I’ve started this blog has been an ongoing trend of the lineup getting worse and worse. This year feels like it takes the trash cake for me. For the first time since I started being interested in Coachella, there’s no standout act for me. There’s no top artist. It’s just a handful of artists I barely listen to. I could go on about it generally or talk about it in depth so here it is, the Coachella 2023 Lineup:

The Headliners: Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK, Frank Ocean, Calvin Harris

The true headliners based on the poster are Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK, and Frank Ocean. I included Calvin Harris based on his solo poster spot because we all know he’s going to be a headliner. Frank Ocean was scheduled to play in 2020 and of course the covo ruined it all. In the months that followed the inevitable 2020 cancellation, news of Frank skipping 2022 and playing 2023 circulated. Frank Ocean last played Coachella in 2012 so his highly anticipated return is very overdue. Calvin Harris was also scheduled to play 2020 as the first name under Friday night headliner Rage Against the Machine. His last time playing the festival was 2016. Meanwhile both Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK played in 2019 as highly billed acts with BLACKPINK playing an 8:00 p.m. set at Sahara on Friday night and Bad Bunny playing the main stage at sunset Sunday. These headlining performances for both acts will mark Coachella firsts as BLACKPINK will be the first K-pop group to headline the festival and Bad Bunny will be the first Latin artist to headline.

Am I excited? Not really. If I see anyone, it’ll be Calvin Harris. I don’t know a single song by any of the other artists. I’m not into Latin music. I may or may not enjoy some K-pop because I had a friend obsessed with BTS a few years ago and Frank Ocean just hasn’t ever hit for me. However, I might give him a second chance because he doesn’t often perform. Generally though, I’m disappointed with this selection, but it seems to be what’s in right now and Coachella has always set the bar with that.

The Other Highly Billed Performers: Despacio, Gorillaz, Burna Boy, the Chemical Brothers, Kaytranada, Blondie, Becky G, Metro Boomin, FKJ, Pusha T, Tobe Nwigwe, Wet Leg, SG Lewis, Yves Tumor, the Garden, TESTPILOT, Angèle, MUNA, Maceo Plex, ROSALÍA, Eric Pyrdz presents HOLO, boygenius, $uicideboy$, the Kid LAROI, Charli XCX, Labrinth, Underworld, Diljit Dosanjh, Eladio Carrión, SOFI TUKKER, Remi Wolf, Chromeo, Tale Of Us, Yung Lean, Mura Masa, Yaeji, 070 Shake, Björk, Kali Uchis, Porter Robinson, Fisher + Chris Lake, A Boogie, Dominic Fike, Jai Paul, Jackson Wang, Latto, the Blaze, Willow, GloRilla, Jai Wolf, Boris Brejcha, 2manydjs, Christine and the Queens, Rae Sremmurd

This mix of big names is where you’ll find all the legacy acts with names like the Chemical Brothers, who last played in 1999, the first year of the festival, Blondie, and Björk, who was the first female artist to headline Coachella. There’s a few names in this list that I listen to occasionally who I plan to check out at the festival. I can’t help but be excited about this small group of legendary artists, but I can’t hype myself too much because Blondie and the Chemical Brothers both play Friday night and I work until 8 p.m. From this list, I’m most excited that LCD Soundsystem frontman, James Murphy, will be playing with his side project Despacio all weekend according to the poster. Another notable from this mix for me is indie rock supergroup, boygenius, composed of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus. They don’t often perform together so this should be a special one in Indio. Alternative rock band Gorillaz, who last played the festival when they headlined in 2010, will be fun to check out as well. I’ll also probably want to check out Wet Leg, MUNA, Chromeo, Remi Wolf, Porter Robinson, and Jai Wolf if I get the chance too. I’m sure I’ll discover other indie/alternative rock or electronic artists to listen to in this mix but for now, these are the names that stick out.

The Undercards: Two Friends, YUNGBLUD, Jamie Jones, Ashnikko, Malaa, TV Girl, Whyte Fang, Doechii, BENEE, Idris Elba, Magdalena Bay, Vintage Culture, Domi & JD Beck, Dombresky, DannyLux, Nora En Pure, Overmono, Uncle Waffles, ¿Téo?, Mochakk, Gabriels, Saba, Dennis Cruz + PAWSA, Soul Glo, Lava La Rue, Sleaford Mods, the Comet is Coming, Oliver Koletzki, Kyle Watson, the Murder Capital, Chris Stussy, Jupiter & Okwess, Lewis OfMan, Juliet Mendoza, Desert Cahuilla Bird Singers, Marc Rebillet, Hiatus Kaiyote, Dinner Party, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Elderbrook, Kenny Beats, Flo Milli, Keinemusik, Snail Mail, Rebelution, Hot Since 82, EARTHGANG, UMI, Shenseea, the Breeders, Monolink, Ethel Cain, Bakar, Donavan’s Yard, the Linda Lindas, Sunset Rollercoaster, NIA ARCHIVES, Jan Blomqvist, DRAMA, WhoMadeWho, Destroy Boys, Elyanna, DJ Tennis, Carlita, AG Club, Mathame, BRATTY, Horsegirl, Colyn, Chloé Caillet, Scowl, Francis Mercier, Weyes Blood, Alex G, DPR LIVE + DPR IAN, Stick Figure, Adam Beyer, Big Wild, MK, Cannons, Romy, Gordo, Fousheé, Noname, Sasha & John Digweed, Sudan Archives, Knocked Loose, Camelphat, IDK, Sasha Alex Sloan, Mareux, 1999.ODDS, Pi’erre Bourne, Cassian, Joy Crookes, TSHA, El Michels Affair, Paris Texas, LP Giobbi, Momma, Ali Sethi, Minus the Light, Los Bitchos, Conexión Divina, Airrica

The undercards this year have a handful of names I’d like to see, such as YUNGBLUD, who was scheduled to play in 2020. I missed him at ACL this past fall and I like a few of his songs so I would love to check out his Coachella set. I’ve listened to electronic artists, Two Friends, here and there as well and hope I can catch their performance. However, it’s another Friday set and everything Friday will be TBD for me until the set times get released. I think out of all the artists playing this year I actually listen to Elderbrook the most. I’ll likely want to check out Alex G too. I started getting in to him in anticipation of his 2020 appearance, but that was short lived. Big Wild, MK, and Sasha Alex Sloan are a few other artists I’d like to catch as well.

Coachella has always been ahead of the game when it comes to new music and pushing a multitude of genres. Unfortunately for me, the kind of music I listen to isn’t what’s hot these days. Like I’ve mentioned in years past, Coachella has become a place of music discovery for me. I wish I could hear a ton of bands I already love and listen to, but this does help me stay fresh. I usually have a few acts that I love. This year though Paul missed the mark for me. I’m still incredibly excited. Even when the lineup isn’t great, it’s still great. It’s Coachella. It can’t be bad. The vibes are always immaculate. There will be surprises, guest appearances, and celebs for days. I think the fashion faded away from flower crowns, but we’ll certainly see the finest in festival fashion come April. I can’t wait to be out there. Until then, look forward to weekly blog posts previewing all these bands I just mentioned. Happy Coachella season everyone! Let’s get back to the desert!

Legendary Venues: The Stone Pony

The reason I started this Legendary Venue series was because I was scheduled to work a show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. I was stoked about it because The Stone Pony is pretty well-known and because I’ve never been there. It’s is actually a street away from the Asbury Park boardwalk on the east coast of New Jersey. Originally the venue was a restaurant named Mrs. Jay’s. In the 1960’s the restaurant began allowing bands to perform, but after the restaurant moved to a new location in 1968 the building became dormant.

In February 1974 The Stone Pony opened its doors as a music venue. It was opened under the management of John P. “Jack” Roig and Robert “Butch” Pielka. The first year was rough for the new venue, but it was the “house bands” that kept the venue going. The first notable “house band” was The Blackberry Booze Band which later became Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, whose founding member Steve Van Zandt became a member of the E Street Band, the famous backers of rock and roll legend, Bruce Springsteen. Many other members of the E Street Band frequently played at The Stone Pony, including Springsteen himself. The venue is credited with giving Bruce Springsteen his rise to stardom. Springsteen has been known to drop by the Pony from time to time. He’s played there more than any other venue, yet none of his appearances are ever billed.

Before Sayreville native, Jon Bon Jovi, had the status he has now, he played some of his earliest gigs at The Stone Pony. Many other famed artists and bands have made stops at the venue during their prime as well, including Elvis Costello, KISS, The Allman Brothers, Blondie, The Ramones, The Replacements, and Patti Smith. It has also given the rise to local Jersey bands like The Bouncing Souls and Gaslight Anthem.

The Stone Pony went through periods of opening and closing, but in 2000 after it closed its doors, it was refurbished and reopened by an effort from the local community to keep the venue open for good. It was noted to be a staple, not only to the Asbury Park community, but to so many all over the country as a legendary music venue.

As you know by the fact that I was supposed to work a show there a few weeks ago, The Stone Pony still exists to this day on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ. Although I didn’t have a chance to work there recently because my position at the show was cancelled, I may have the chance to at least check it out from the outside next week since the venue for a show I’m working was recently changed from a place in Toms River, NJ to another venue in Asbury Park. I’ll definitely be stoked to check it out and if you ever have the chance to, you should too. You never know, you just might have the chance to hear Bruce Springsteen play some time since his appearances are never planned.

 

Legendary Venues: CBGB

About 2 weeks ago I was hired for a gig at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. My position for the show was since cut, but at the time I was super stoked to work a show there. For those who don’t know, The Stone Pony is a legendary venue known for launching the careers of famed New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. It got me thinking about music venues. There’s plenty of famous venues across the country and I should probably write about them some time. So here we are. I thought at first I’d write one epic blog post about a bunch of them, but then I figured it would get too long. Instead, I’ll be doing a new blog series spotlighting each one. The first on that list is one of the most legendary venues I can think of, CBGB (& OMFUG).

The now defunct CBGB was founded in 1973 by Hilly Kristal. CBGB, which stands for “Country Bluegrass Blues” (& “Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers”), was located at 315 Bowery in the Bowery neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, NYC. CBGB originally was opened to house the genres it was named for but became a haven for late 70’s punk rock bands. It is often referred to as the birth place of punk rock. The venue gave rise to many bands who frequented it’s grounds like The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, Misfits, The Dead Boys, and Joan Jett. It’s decor was somewhat legendary too. Graffiti covered the walls of the venue making CBGB look just as edgy and original as the bands who played there.

In the 1980’s it became a mainstay for hardcore bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Agnostic Front, Youth of Today, Sick of It All, Cro-Mags, and Murphy’s Law. By the 90’s, bands like Green Day, Sum-41, and Korn became synonymous with the famed venue.

CBGB operated until the mid 00’s when rent became an issue and forced its closure in October of 2006. Patti Smith played the final show at CBGB on October 15th of that year. Since its closure, the site where CBGB once stood has transformed into a John Varvatos retail store, but remnants of its existence still stand. Outside the store, the pavement is engraved with the marker “CBGB 73” to commemorate the venue’s existence and the year in which it was founded. The store itself pays homage to the venue through its decor as well.

I first learned about CBGB shortly before it closed in 2006. At the time my music of choice was from alternative genres like indie, emo, punk, ska, and hardcore, so the venue had a significance to me. Although I listened to more modern bands from those genres I went through a period where I listened to classic punk bands like The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash. Besides the music, the culture of punk rock really stood out to me, making the CBGB seem like the coolest venue ever. After learning about The Ramones and more about punk rock history, I added The Ramones classic logo band tee along with a CBGB t-shirt to my collection. I wore both with pride. By the time I realized I wanted to visit the CBGB though, it was about ready to close its doors. After it closed, I remember thinking I should just go see it, even if it was only from the outside, but I didn’t visit NYC much then so it never happened. In fact, even though I visit NYC more now, I always forget that I still need to make a stop at 315 Bowery even if it is just a John Varvatos store.

Though the venue ceases to exist, it’s still a prominent tourist spot in NYC. There was also a music festival honoring the legendary venue from 2012-2014. I actually had CBGB feels while writing this because I just watched my favorite band play a “Blitzkrieg Bop” cover last night knowing I’ll never get to see The Ramones play it in the place that made them famous. Even though the venue isn’t around anymore, its spirit is still alive and well making CBGB & OMFUG one of, if not the most legendary music venues ever.