Today in Music Coachella Captured

A crowd at Coachella awaits
photo by Dave Bullock

We’ve had an unbelievable week of live performances in the KEXP studios, with the likes of Sloan, A Gun That Shoots Knives, The Sea Navy, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Blonde Redhead, Rufus Wainwright, and The Cave Singers. If you missed any of these performances, you can go back and listen on our Streaming Archive. Also, be sure to check pictures of the bands snapped by our staff of amazing photographers. Just follow the links to the band listed above. And there’s much more to follow in the weeks ahead.

Seattle is infested with touring bands right about now, and it’s impossible to make acceptable decisions on who to go see. Jarvis Cocker or Viva Voce on Monday? Frog Eyes or Bright Eyes on Tuesday? (I know which I’d want!) Kings of Leon, LCD Soundsystem or Joseph Arthur on Wednesday? Arctic Monkeys or !!! on Thursday? Mando Diao or The Decemberists on Friday? Andrew Bird and Apostle of Hustle or Tapes ‘N Tapes on Saturday? Ridiculous! And among these traveling troubadours are another handful of more-than-worthy shows featuring local bands, like Friday’s “Seattle Does Elvis” benefit for 826 Seattle or Saturday’s Audioasis Live @ High Dive, which is a benefit for Seattle Works and is followed by the Sonic Reducer Anniversary show. Whatever city you live in, you too may be facing similar problems as musicians have hit the road for festival season.

And when it comes to festivals, Coachella attracts many of the best artists each year, and this year’s lineup was no exception. Reports are already coming in from the three-day marathon that ended literally hours ago. Bjork, Interpol, Arcade Fire, Happy Mondays, Amy Winehouse and too many others to list here, played to enthusiastic crowds who endured three-hour traffic jams for the privilege. (And, yes, Scarlett Johansson did perform with Jesus & Mary Chain).

If you weren’t lucky enough to be there, then hopefully you were smart enough to watch the performances from home, courtesy of AT&T’s Blue Room, which broadcast over 30 performances live from various stages throughout the festival. Missed that too? No worries — that’s the beauty of the Internet. Hundreds of video clips have already been added to YouTube, some good, some bad, and some downright pathetic. Here are a few of the good ones:

Everyone’s always hoping to catch a glimpse of Bjork and whatever kooky outfit she might be wearing, and in this performance of “Wanderlust,” from AT&T’s Blue Room, you can see that the Icelandic pixies didn’t disappoint:

Crowds clamored to catch Arcade Fire, who played songs from both Funeral and Neon Bible, such as “Antichrist Television Blues,” which was also broadcast by AT&T:

Major corporations were hardly the only ones capturing the magic at the festival. Sometimes it seems like more of the audience is filming the performances than watching them. Check out the number of cameras in the Amy Winehouse clip:

Of course, most clips are unwatchable for any more than 30 seconds, but the energy of the crowd is best captured from deep within it, as in this rousing sing-along with Peter Bjorn & John:

Seattleite Jason Grimes made the trek to the desert and shot this footage of Silversun Pickups performing “Lazy Eye” (thanks for the catch, Brian) “Kissing Families”:

Many, many more Coachella videos are sure to appear after the sun-wearied wayward concert-goers arrive back home, but if you’re anxious for more right now, check out these clips:

Andrew Bird
Regina Spector
Arctic Monkeys
Jarvis Cocker
Cornelius
LCD Soundsystem

And if you’re in the Austin area this month, be sure to check out the Hot Freaks + Gorilla vs. Bear residency we’re sponsoring at The Mohawk. The shows are 18 and over and will run you only $2 ($4 if you’re under 21). For more information, go visit Gorilla vs. Bear.

May 1: Peel

May 8: White Denim

May 15: Peel

May 22: White Denim

Here are a couple of songs to get you in the mood:

White Denim – ShakeShakeShake (MP3)

Peel – In The City (MP3)

If you see any good Coachella videos or have any music news to share, email us at blog@kexp.org.

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