The day began with ABE VIGODA who were very good and not really how I expected them to be live. Then, I was off to a brief stint into L.A. RIOTS which was kind of fun. WOLF GANG were good, not amazing but pretty good. HONEY HONEY were WAY better than I expected for some reason and I really enjoyed them. Next up: one of the BEST highlights of the day was OTHER LIVES. OMG they were amazing!!!!! I'd no idea they would be that phenomenal live. Wow! Next up GIVERS gave a much better appearance than I expected. Their debut was a love/hate relationship for me but they were definitely better live than I anticipated. EMA was next. She didn't disappoint either. She brought the punk rock that the day was definitely missing. After that YUCK obviously had issues. Apparently they needed a place to stay and were really unprepared. Such a shame. I saw them last year at the Troubadour in L.A. and they were great so I think they blew it for a festival crowd. SEBASTIAN in the dance tent was good, just like L.A. RIOTS. Off to the "big stage" for JAMES. Now, I've always loved them since way back in 1983. I was truly underwhelmed. Tim Booth just wasn't what I expected him to be even 30 years later. I was disappointed in their set. NEON INDIAN were another disappointment of sorts. They just didn't quite connect and I think this was a BIG opportunity for them. The next AMAZING highlight of Day 1 was definitely GARY CLARK JR! OMG he and his band were super amazing. He can play that guitar and his voice was stunning. This was a set not to be missed. Expect great things coming from GARY CLARK JR!!! After that I saw GROUPLOVE and then GIRLS. Both were good. DAWES had the smallest turnout I'd been to and they were great! Back to the big stage for ARCTIC MONKEYS. Ok, I'm a fan. However, their last album didn't light the flame with me that apparently every critic thought was great. I was underwhelmed and I saw them at the Palladium in Hollywood before that album came out, with The Coral and they were great. They were excellent this time too! They seem to be a band that could go either way and I'm hoping on their next album they go the right way. They were great live and looked great too! Another excellent set was from WU LYF who I was quite excited to see and they lived up. Very exciting new band I highly recommend their debut album. After that it was M. Ward. Well it started off good. First 3 songs were excellent and then it kind of pooped out. At this point he had the oldest band of the day. Just an interesting comment. After that on the main stage was the return of PULP. Well, being a big fan I was looking forward to seeing them. They may have been older than M.Ward's band perhaps. Thank goodness that Jarvis can still work a crowd. However, he wasn't overly engaging and all that gabbing between songs just blew the momentum and I ended up bored and really not that impressed (he was better solo at Coachella a few years ago), only to head to the next stage to see MAZZY STAR and not only be bored, but infuriated! What happened to Hope Sandoval? First of all, she looked like a bus ran over her and she couldn't have been more bored. It was sad. The band sounded good, her voice was mic'd way too high and she was just lost.... What a waste of an opportunity. I couldn't stay for more than 5 songs, the point was made: she was wondering where the hell she was - and then so was I!
Now, the weather was HORRIBLE on Friday. Cold, super windy, raining. By this time I'd had enough. It made me sad to leave and go home to a warm bed because I missed 7 more bands I really wanted to see...but I'm old and I'd had all I could take that day. Here's who I missed Friday night after leaving during Mazzy Star. : ATARI TEENAGE RIOT, M83, BLACK KEYS, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, BLACK ANGELS, REFUSED AND THE HORRORS. Oh well, I didn't make that mistake on Saturday and Sunday. Those days will be on next posts....
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