Fashionistas you have arrived 3-25-03 - 10-3-03

[Jack Manfred]

Sunday
Again, I'm late. This tme because I finally could get some sleep after the Saturday show. Groups I wish I hadn't missed: Tortoise, Ben Folds, the Polyphonic Spree. Questions I would have liked answered, "If Dirty Vegas had an hour set, did that mean they played a one-hour remix of "Days Go By"?"

Jack Johnson was busy entrancing the ladies in the audience with his set. He's married to a tall blonde, so the supersized masses should stick to fantasy.

The White Stripes had the set of the weekend. There's was the only set where I had no desire to check out another act, or see if something better was on later. If for some reason I forgot that their set was awesome, there was always some woman a few feet behind me who was happy to shout "This is fucking awesome!" or "That was fucking awesome!" after each song so I wouldn't forget how fucking awesome it was. I also liked the Fred Durst wannabe who wanted me to move so he could get a better view. I was cranky enough without needing his scorn. Luckily, there was a big wave of people rushng the stage, so I was pushed away from him and closer to Jack and Meg.

Jack had two mics set up: one facing the crowd, and another by the drum kit, facing Meg. He'd switch from one to another during a song.

Let's focus on Meg for a while. Str8 mentioned that she's not a technically proficient drummer. Some would consider that a polite way of saying that she sucks, but she doesn't. In fact, Jack built the set up to a call-and-response climax with Meg where I was convinced that she was a great drummer (even though she isn't). Meg also got a big crowd response when she sang "In the Cold Cold Night." I have a theory about this.

Meg White is the apotheosis of the hipster chick. Consider the facts. While she has the musical chops and singing voice of an amateur, she's in one of the most heralded bands of the past 10 years. Not only has she been with the lead singer of the band, he changed his last name to hers, and he formed a band with her knowing that she lacked professional musical ability. It's a hipster chick's dream come true. I have no talent, yet I'm in the band. I've been with the singer/guitarist, but that's all in the past so I can just brag about it, instead of living with it. That's why women like Meg so much. They want to be her.

Anyway, we've covered the White Stripes rule ground before in this forum, so if they come to your town, just see them and rejoice. After their set ended, I wanted to see the last of Thievery Corporation, who were doing a live set. Unfortunately, the live set focused on the reggae influences of the duo. I had no interest in seeing a reggae set, so I wandered off.

Johnny Marr and the Healers had a set in one of the smaller tents, but I just couldn't get into them. He's a terrifically underrated guitarist, but his new album and band are nothing to get excited about. As I mentioned before, G. Love and Special Sauce had an enthusiastic, overflow crowd.

Iggy and the Stooges had a great set, though I did watch part of the Blue Man Group set to see what I had missed from last nght. They did credible covers of Venus Hum (that 70's disco "I feel Loooooove" song), White Rabbit, and Teenage Wasteland.

I'm not a big RHCP fan, so I only listened to a few of their songs before drifting off to the second stage for Interpol. Interpol had a sizeable crowd patiently waiting for them to come to the stage even after the Chili Peppers had started. (Compare them to Gomez who had an audience that might have consisted solely of family members.) I'd like to know if any Interpol fans are not fans of Joy Division. The lead singer's voice is a dead ringer for Ian Curtis. After their first song got the crowd interested, they spent the next couple of minutes tuning their guitars. I listened to a few more songs (and tunings) before heading to the tent to see Fischerspooner.

I saw Fischerspooner for the same reason I saw Ladytron: just to see what all of the fuss was about. When I got to the stage, I saw two women wearing what appeared to be black-and-white prom dresses imitating Deborah Iyall from Romeo Void. One of the women was large, the other was smaller, and both seemed to have Kabuki makeup. There was a cadre of female dancers, and then there was Casey Fischer urging everyone in the audience to applaud the dancers. Like a low-rent Madonna performance, there were costume changes, only Casey did his onstage. As the dancers showed up in white T-shirts with black fishnet stockings, Warren Fischer came on the intercom to tell Casey that the set was coming to an end, so they'd have to do "Emerge," but Casey could stop it if he wasn't happy with it. Casey then told the audience that they would all have to sing the "fucking pop phenomenon" at the top of their lungs, otherwise he'd stop the show. True to form, after 3 lines, Casey stopped the music, told a heckler at the front of the stage that he'd kick his ass, wondered aloud if he could get the RHCP and Interpol to turn their music down because "there's nothing subversive about a guitar," and then resumed. In the end, there was confetti for everyone, a Casey Fischer stripped down to black bikini underwear for 10% of the audience, and their one-hit wonder status was secure. I think the guy standing next to me said it best, "He has the look of Marilyn Manson and the attitude of a Jazzercise instructor."

And that was Coachella.

Tourney Rankings
1. The White Stripes
2. Iggy & The Stooges
3. Blue Man Group

Honorable Mention: Queens of the Stone Age
Most Disappointing: Beastie Boys