Six Fine Songs For Your Pre-4th Of July 2012 Weekend

Hey Rock 'n' Roll fans, just a couple of days 'til another Fourth and all the family, friends and nation-wide fun that entails...so this week's track list spotlights a few songs to help you get in the mood.

For some recent tracks...

Start with Neil Young and Crazy Horse's cover of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land from their latest, Americana.

Then, a celebration of some of the past century's greatest American country artists by way of Sweden, Emmylou, from the charming sister duo First Aid Kit off of their second LP The Lion's Roar.



Then for those dissatisfied with our presidential choices in the upcoming election, Ry Cooder offers an alternative with John Lee Hooker For President from his excellent 2011 protest album, Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down.



After that, another celebration of American musical greats, this time focused on the African-American side of the spectrum, with Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music from his fantastic, serious-minded El-P produced release of the same name.



And finally, to keep us focused on what ties us all together, Mr. America, Bruce Springsteen, with We Take Care Of Our Own from his 2012 LP Wrecking Ball.



For this week's forgotten little gem...

Dozens of songs I could have gone with...from the earnest (Neil Diamonds America), to the comical (Randy Newman's Political Science).  From protest songs (Jefferson Airplane's Volunteers), to the devastating (John Mellencamp's Jackie Brown) to the obvious (Jimi Hendrix's Woodstock performance of The Star-Spangled Banner).  But, despite all our nation's problems, I'm proud of my country, damn proud of my country, crazy proud of my country!

So there was only one real choice.


America, F--- Yeah! from the Team America: World Police Soundtrack.



As always, all these tracks and previous weeks' recommendations can be found on my two rotating Spotify playlists What I'm Digging Right Now, and Forgotten Little Gems. Be sure to subscribe.

And until next weekend, have a great Fourth everybody!

Six Great Songs For Your Summer Weekend - June 22, 2012 Edition

Greetings Rock 'n' Roll fans,

Another summer weekend, time to dive into six more excellent songs.

As always, Spotify links to all tracks and mentioned albums are provided, but you can also catch all the tracks listed here and in past weeks by linking to, or better yet, subscribing to, my two rotating playlists What I'm Digging Right Now and Forgotten Little Gems.

On the contemporary front, going a little edgier this week.

For those longing for the guitar glory of past decades, we start with New Jersey's Screaming Females, and the blistering opening track It All Means Nothing to their latest release Ugly.  Lead singer Marisa Paternoster's vocals take some getting used to, but if you've found yourself digging through your old Dinosaur Jr. or Sleater-Kinney discs as of late, you'll definitely want to check this band out.  Here's a look.



Next, for those looking for a Kid A-styled fix, No.1 Against The Rush from Liar's latest, WIXIW, for me one of the best releases so far this year.



Then, an absolute gem that's just dropped, Still Young from Allo Darlin's Europe, which may be the most immediately endearing album of 2012.  If you're a fan of Belle & Sebastian's lilting jangle-pop, especially those tracks fronted by Isobel Campbell, you will love Europe.



From super accessible pop to downright nasty rap, with Request Denied from El-P's 2012 release Cancer 4 Cure.  The beats on this album are really something, hearkening back to the experimental menace of El-P's mid-90s band Company Flow.  For those digging on Death Grips The Money Store, Cancer 4 Cure makes for an excellent accompaniment.



And for our last contemporary track, a song I haven't been able to stop playing since attending this year's Coachella festival, the title track to The Sheepdogs Learn & Burn. A wonderful Woodstock flavored jam, it sounds just like one of those harder-rocking Greg Rollie-penned numbers from the early Santana albums.



Finally, for this weeks Forgotten Little Gem, Paul McCartney's Smile Away from his just reissued Ram, a record which was absolutely derided at the time of its release, but which is now often regarded as his best and most playfully adventurous post-Beatles album.



And that's it for this week's installment.

Until next Friday, enjoy!

Nine Tracks For The Weekend - June 15, 2012 - Expanded Father's Day Edition.

Greetings Rock 'n' Roll fans, and to our Dads out there, Happy Father's Day!

In this week's expanded edition, here are five excellent contemporary tracks and four oldies to get you in the Father's Day mood.

Individual links are provided, but you can access all these tracks in one fell swoop by checking out the top of my two rotating Spotify playlists, What I'm Digging Right Now, and Forgotten Little Gems.

Now, for this weeks contemporary tracks...

For your Sunday night barbecue - two of the most festive songs of 2012...Japandroid's The House That Heaven Built from party rock album of the summer Celebration Rock, and The Shin's oh-so-breezey Bait And Switch (my favorite pop song of 2012 so far) from their latest Port Of Morrow.

Then, in celebration of all the willing sacrifices Dad's made on our behalf, Hot Chip's These Chains from their just released joyous look at familial commitment In Our Heads.

Then, for those that still feel aggrieved over some perceived slight of parenting, let it go...  with the help of Anais Mitchell's beautiful You Are Forgiven from her new folk release Young Man In America.

And finally, Dad, feel free to take that golf outing and Getaway...with Dr. John, whose 2012 Locked Down, all apologies to Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen, is the best geezer-rock release of the year.

And for some Father's Day-themed oldies.

Start with Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely from his 1976 double album classic Songs In The Key Of Life, to remind you of that moment this journey all started.

Then, as a cautionary warning to workaholic dads everywhere, Harry Chapin's cheesy but effective mid-seventies single Cats In The Cradle.

Then, though admittedly actually a sad break-up song, Mott The Hoople's I Wish I Was Your Mother, from their early seventies glam-rock masterpiece Mott, which within contains this beautiful kernel of a thought...that in most people's lives, there are only two individuals fortunate enough to witness a youngster's full childhood journey...Mom and Dad...so don't overlook those little moments, Dad.

And finally, for those individuals who sadly no longer have their father with them and for whom this is a difficult day, the most cathartic and touching look at a father lost and remembered I have ever heard, Rosanne Cash's The World Unseen, from her deeply, deeply moving 2006 release Black Cadillac.

Six Tracks For The Weekend - June 8, 2012 - Inaugural Edition

Hey Rock 'n' Roll fans, thought I'd try something new for the summer (or at least until I hit the road for my brother's wedding July 13), and profile 6 songs for your perusal at the start of each weekend, five from worthwhile new releases, and one Forgotten Little Gem.

For this inaugural edition...here are this week's contemporary track recommendations.

1) Destiny Feat. Pional - Jon Talabot: This ridiculously catchy number from Spanish house producer Talabot's debut album Fin is probably my favorite dance/electronic track of 2012 to date.

2) The Obituaries - The Menzingers: Gritty, lean punk with a warm late 70s bar band tone seems to be where rock's head is at at this moment, but one very, very good album in this vein few are talking about is this Philadelphia roots-punk outfit's third offering On The Impossible Past. This track here is the most immediate on an album full of immediate numbers.

3) Normal Song - Perfume Genius: My favorite track from one of my favorite singer-songwriter albums of 2012 (Put Your Back N 2 It). The sound of Simon & Garfunkel at their most delicate given a subversive gay spin.

4) Stay Useless - Cloud Nothings: I haven't had much chance to check out Japandroids' Celebration Rock yet, so for now, the youthful, slightly Nirvana-esque Attack On Memory remains my favorite straight-up rock album of 2012.  This track, though maybe not the album's best, is definitely its poppiest.

5) I've Seen Footage - Death Grips: Death Grips' The Money Store may not go down as the year's best album (though it's a serious, serious contender), but it's hard to imagine, even just five months in, a more important release for 2012.  Blending the most aggressive elements of rap and industrial into a radically fresh full force sonic assault...it's an album that will turn many off at first...but stay with it, repeated listens reveal it to be a remarkably hooky affair.  This track is without question the gentlest entry point...not that that means much where The Money Store is concerned.

All five tracks have been moved up to the front of my What I'm Digging Right Now Spotify playlist.  Check it out and be sure to subscribe!

For this week's Forgotten Little Gem, I've gone to The Zombie's classic 60s album Odessey And Oracle for Care Of Cell 44, which nearly fifty years since its release remains the happiest love letter to a con ever put to vinyl.

Catch this song, and other great oldies, on my Forgotten Little Gems Spotify playlist

STRANGE MERCY - St. Vincent (2011)

For three albums now, St. Vincent's Annie Clark, the one-time Polyphonic Spree/Sufjan Stevens band member, has been slowly honing in on a singular sound, a bizarre stylistic combination that pairs her love of old orchestral Disney songs with what she calls "gnarly guitar."

It's a seemingly impossible marriage of styles, a diametrically opposed merge of beauty and noise, and to date, I feel she's only intermittently succeeded at pulling it off.

But if anyone can bring this blend to fruition, it's Clark.

Armed with an angel's voice, exceptional talent as an ironic lyricist, and master level chops on multiple instruments...she doesn't always hit the mark, but when she does, watch out.

In her first two flawed but fascinating releases, Marry Me and Actor, the juxtaposition of styles worked more side by side, song to song...a primarily orchestral number here, followed by a clear rocker there, followed by a breezy jazz number with deceptively dark lyrics.  But with Actor, especially on tracks like Marrow, you could feel Clark coming to terms with how she wanted to marry these elements within a single song.

With Strange Mercy, the stylistic marriage feels complete.

The orchestral and jazzy arrangements and those vicious guitar runs feel compressed onto each other tighter than ever, striking harsher and crazier, struggling to find a way to co-exist at every turn.

The end result is a dynamic, combustible, exceptionally bold album that has earned many high ranking inclusions on a number of 2011 year end best lists.

But however perfected this stylistic juxtaposition may now be for Clark, it's still only works in fits and starts for me, and I feel the frustration more on Strange Mercy than either of St. Vincent's prior two releases.

For every number like Cruel or Strange Mercy that hypnotically pulls me in, there's a twisting, slicing track like Dilettante or Chloe In The Afternoon or Cheerleader that I respect but just can't bring myself to love.

So color me confused by Strange Mercy.

It's an ambitious, highly intelligent album that will give aggressive listeners plenty to absorb, but for me, though I'm impressed by all of it, I have to admit I only enjoy about half of it.

Status: Solid Recommend.

Cherry Picker's Best Bets: Cruel, Surgeon, Northern Lights, Strange Mercy.

Here's the official video for Cruel.



Component Breakdown:
1. Chloe In The Afternoon - 7
2. Cruel - 9
3. Cheerleader - 7
4. Surgeon - 8
5. Northern Lights - 8
6. Strange Mercy - 8
7. Neutered Fruit - 7
8. Champagne Year - 8
9. Dilettante - 6
10. Hysterical Strength - 7
11. Year Of The Tiger - 7
Intangibles - Average
Listen on Spotify/Purchase on I-Tunes




What are your thoughts on St. Vincent's Strange Mercy? Let readers know!

SNOOP & DRE, BON IVER, BRITS, REUNION ACTS & HOLOGRAMS LEAD THE WAY - Assessing Week One Of Coachella 2012

2012 Week One was my fifth consecutive Coachella, so I'm reaching a point where memories of the different events start to blur into each other, but on a whole, these would be my general comparative impressions.

2012 boasted the best collectiion of headliner performances I've seen since the 2008 double whammy of Prince/Roger Waters.  The Black Keys were excellent if a bit monochromatic, Radiohead up-and-down but jaw droppingly good in their best moments, and Snoop, Dre, Enimen, Whiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and yes, that Tupac Shakur hologram were just an event - not the weekend's top musical highlight (that distinction belongs to Bon Iver), but without question a show for the ages rating right there with the best the festival has ever offered.

Logistically, this was as good as the festival has ever been...all those kinks they hit in 2010 now seem a distant memory, and a brilliant ergonomic decision to break the day parking lot up into fenced-off units of 200-300 cars worked wonders at cutting down bottle-necking and speeding up the exit process...I stayed all three nights to the end and it never took me more than 5 minutes to get out of the lot and free and clear of traffic.  Additionally, from a stage management standpoint, very few delays...Justice had some technical difficulties, and Bon Iver was 10 minutes late, but otherwise, every set started on time...even Snoop and Dre.

Of course, one of the things people will remember most about 2012 week one was the weather.  While I'm sure nothing compared to what our brethren at Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza have been through, Friday brought rain, cold, and most significantly, some brutal winds to the festival grounds.  Several of the fests major artworks didn't go up until Sunday as a result, and some midday Friday artists, especially Yuck, Neon Indian, James and Jimmy Cliff had to bring it under some very tough conditions (which James and Jimmy Cliff were able to do impressively, Yuck and Neon Indian not so much), and Radiohead's Saturday night crowd was seriously dampened by the cold.

Which brings us finally, to the music.

As always there were a number of great sets, with two genuinely exceptional sets from Bon Iver and Snoop & Dre that top anything I saw in 2010 or 2011, and fantastic performances from a surprising number of the weekend's many reunion acts...but top to bottom, I'd have to say 2012 had less of a wow factor than any other Coachella's I've attended.

To start, the under-undercard is much, much weaker this year, with only Saturday's gem of an 11-2 stretch ranking with the awesomeness Goldenvoice has compiled in these time periods the previous two years.

And many of 2011's top critical darlings (Destroyer, Wild Flag, Tune-Yards, Yuck, Laura Marling, Florence & The Machine) while not bad, came nowhere near meeting or exceeding expectations the way the likes of Foals, Elbow, Robyn, Cut Copy, Black Joe Lewis, PJ Harvey, Phosphorescent, Twin Shadow and others did last year.

The more I think about it, the harder it is to deny, that taken a pure music performance perspective...2012 is probably the weakest of the five Coachella's I've attended.

But it was still freakin' awesome.

Here quickly are brush strokes on my favorite sets and songs of the festival...then we'll get into each day in specific later this week.

McQ's Top Coachella Sets of 2012 Weekend 1

1a. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog - No other way to describe it, this was an event...will go down as one of the legendary Coachella sets...right there with Daft Punk, Prince, Portishead, McCartney.
1b. Bon Iver - Shockingly, shockingly good - the best set I've seen from a purely musical perspective since McCartney in 2009. Justin Timberlake's Saturday Night Live impression couldn't have been farther from the truth Saturday night...this was emotionally potent music delivered with overwhelming force and power. Weekend two-ers, think long and hard about skipping this one. A tour-de-force.
3. The Buzzcocks - Reunion, older acts are going to dominate this best sets lists, and Sex Pistols/Clash brothers in arms were the best of the bunch.  A riotous, blazing set...I think the played almost everything off of Singles Going Steady.
4. Refused - Tremendous emotion, humility and graciousness from this band, not things you'd associate with a 90s hardcore punk outfit.  Incredible how tight they were after such a long layoff.
5. The Rapture - No other way to put it, a "rapturous" set. This New York dance punk act was just on.
6. Death Grips - You don't need to see all of this assaulting Rap-Punk act's set, a little goes a long way, but this was without question "the breakout set" of this year's festival.
7. The Saturday Undercard - The artists that make up Saturday's 11-2 stretch are just a collective joy.  Heavy on the brit-rock side, favorites were the super sexy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Elvis-Costello-like Suedehead, Pulp-like Spector, Frightened Rabbits-y We Were Promised, Jetpacks, the passionate We Are Augustines, and the excellent garage act The Vaccines.  Weekend two-ers control your partying...this is one of 2012s best stretches.
9. The Hives - For humorous chatter between songs, Pulp and Spector came close, but otherwise, no one is in the ball park of this reliably fantastic live act.
10. Jimmy Cliff - The reggae master had the irony of performing his sun-drenched hits during the worst weather of the festival.  He couldn't entirely pull the crowd out of their frozen, shivering state, but he did his damnedest, and his 69 year old voice has lost none of its appeal.  This one should be even better in the sun on week two.
11. Gary Clark, Jr. - Austin-based guitar virtuoso delivered this year's top blues set.  Not as much fun as last year's Black Joe Lewis romp, but some incredible pyrotechnics.
12. WU LYF - They need to get some stronger songs, but the charisma and arena-sized potential for this unusual Manchester act are highly evident.  Opener was phenomenal.
13. Squeeze - They took a bit of time to warm up, but final 25 minutes of this set were pure joy.
14. First Aid Kit - The most charming set of the entire weekend, a pair of Swedish sisters delivering gorgeous folk and alt-country ballads.
15. EMA - Intensity, cooler-than-shit sonics, and tons of charisma from this Goth leaning singer-songwriter whose edginess reminds a lot of PJ Harvey.
16. Radiohead.

McQ's Top Individual Tracks Of Coachella 2012 Week One

1. Vomit - Girls - A remarkable song on record as well, I lucked into catching this closer to Girls set after leaving Death Grips a few minutes early.  As on record, the transitions from slow, intense brooder to bristling  jam, to "reaching for the heavens" Great Gig In The Sky-styled gospel blowout were extraordinary...Death Grips was one of the weeks most impacting sets, but I urge everyone attending Week Two to try to catch the last fifteen minutes of Girls set to take this number in.
2. The Wolves Part 1 & 2 - Bon Iver - The youtube video on the Coachella website does a pretty decent job of conveying the force with which this closing number hit.  The most emotionally powerful song of the festival.
3. Common People - Pulp - It was Common People, nothing else needs to be said.
4. LYF - WU LYF - Intoxicating, slow-building opener to one of the weekend's best sets.
5. The tUne-YaRdS Construction Method - While no one song rated among my top festival favs, watching Merril build these songs out of the most miniscule of parts was fascinating - if only it hadn't pulled her attention away from her voice.

For a more detailed breakdown of each day and rankings of each day's sets, click on the links below.

Friday Day 1 / Saturday Day 2 / Sunday Day 3

Coachella 2012 Week One Day Three - Sunday April 15

Compared to the two days that had just transpired, Sunday was, as I told a friend, weak sauce.

Over-stocked with electronic acts, who took over significant portions of the day in the Mojave and Gobi along with the Sahara, not to mention Justice's and Girl Talk's Coachella Stage and Outdoor Theatre appearances, the rock 'n' roll segment of Coachella 2012 effectively ended at 6:55 with the conclusion of The Hives excellent set save for the exception of At The Drive-In's pre-Dre burst, and a few scattered soft-indie shows (Gotye, Beirut, Florence & The Machine).

Worse, three of the days top performers...Santigold, Seun Kuti, and Wild Beasts...we're all scheduled head to head in "pick one of the three fashion," and other acts I had hoped would deliver top flight sets didn't quite hit the mark (Wild Flag, Fitz & The Tantrums, Florence).

A couple endearing surprises...First Aid Kid was an absolute charmer, Lissie, now backed by a full band, was much more engaging than when I saw her opening for Ray LaMontagne a year ago, and The Weekend delivered a solid if unspectacular set, but overall, one of the weakest day's in the five years I've attended...not as bad as the over-progged Muse headlining Saturday 2010, which is easily my least favorite Coachella day of all time, but not far off pace.

At least until Snoop and Dre.  That changed everything.

Here's a look at the Sunday acts I was able to see.

SET OF THE DAY

1. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog - 10:35 to Festival End - The Coachella Stage: The undeniable "biggest moment" of the festival.  Though I knew I would catch this set, I hadn't built up expectations for it like I had some other shows on the lineup, but the moment Snoop and Dre took the stage in a slight cheesy Golden Globes MC like Manner, and those beats started flying, I, along with what seemed like every other individual left on the fields, was hooked. Honestly, I've never seen the Coachella crowd so uniformly anchored around one performance, like they were here...not even for Prince or McCartney...and of those three sets, this was the one that had providing a straight up good time most on it's mind.  This was a party rap set for the history books...great before the parade of all-stars came on...with a sharp live band and wonderful, projection-oriented set design full of vibrant colors...but then something epic when they did...Whiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, later Eminem, and then, of course, the moment everyone has been talking about...Tupac.  I had heard the rumors, but I have to admit to being completely duped the first few moments the hologram came on...rising out of the floor with its head lowered, I actually thought it was a shirtless Kanye for a few seconds before coming to grips with what I was actually seeing.  The hologram looked remarkably believable from my fairly distant vantage point...drifting right or left a few times and emitting a soft, white glow, but otherwise seeming very natural and solid  And when Snoop joined in for a rap duet, well, there's been a lot of opinions expressed on this matter,  but I found the whole thing hugely entertaining.  Glad I was lucky enough to catch this new technology the first time act before it becomes a cliche concert gimmick in the years to come.  Anyway, while not my top purely musical set of the weekend (I'd have to give Bon Iver, Buzzcocks, Refused, The Rapture and Death Grips a higher nod in that department), this was without question my favorite set overall, and ranks right up there the greatest performances to ever grace the polo fields.

Here's the full week one show.

OTHER HITS

2. The Hives - 6:05 to 6:55 - The Coachella Stage: I missed the opening ten minutes of this set catching the end of Wild Flag, but caught the rest, and it was just great, hammy fun.  For those who haven't seen The Hives before, it's a comedy routine as much as a rock 'n' roll show, with lead singer Howlin' Pelle Almqvist pulling out all sorts of crowd interaction tricks and killing as much time ranting like a Bapist preacher as the band does playing...but Almqvist's theatrics work perfectly for this band, elevating a very energetic but hardly memorable song catalog (save for '08 garage masterpiece Tick Tick Boom, with which they closed, and a few earlier classics).  For sheer fun, this was the second most entertaining set of the weekend after Dr. Dre and Snoop. 

Here's Tick Tick Boom.

3. First Aid Kit - 2:15 to 3:00 - The Mojave Tent: After Death Grips, I would probably rank First Aid Kit's set as the biggest breakout performance of the festival...but the two acts couldn't have been more perfectly aligned polar opposites.  Where Death Grips was all testosterone and violence and brutal imagery, this set was all gentle feminine sweetness and charm.  Two cute as a button, chipmunk-voiced Swedish sisters (one a dead ringer for Modern Family's Sarah Hyland) and a able drummer decked out in flower-power garb and delivering their earnest take on classic folk and Americana.  I missed the first half of the show catching Metronomy and Band of Skulls, but walked in just as they were starting one of my favorites, Emmylou, which they delivered beautifully, and from there the set just continued to get better, concluding with the joyous King Of The World...which very well may open next year's Coachella starters mix. I hope every 16 year old girl at the fest that weekend got a chance to see this set...there was something very empowering about what these very young women pulled off.

Here's Emmylou.

4. Wild Beasts - 3:25 to 4:10 - The Mojave Tent: 3 pm Sunday was in my opinion the festival's second worst clusterfuck after the Black Keys/M83/Explosions In The Sky logjam on Friday night.  As with that Friday Night scenario, there was no win-win option here, so I opted for Wild Beasts, who I felt were the more accomplished album act of last three years over Santigold, and squeezed in a few minutes of Greg Ginn and Seun Kuti before the start.  Sound was an issue throughout this set...sometimes excellent, sometimes awful...but the jazzy flow and 80s textures of the bands smooth but sensual songs play far better than I expected them to live.  Surprisingly, it's bassist and second lead vocalist Tom Flemming, with his deep baritone, who makes the more charismatic impression live over the far more unique and idiosyncratic Hayden Thorpe, who sang wonderfully, but just wasn't quite as strong a presence...and boy does he look a lot like Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe when he shaves and dons his specs. But in the end, what really helped this set differentiate itself is in a weekend that saw a lot of excellent performers doing their best to enliven mediocre songs (Fitz & The Tantrums, The Hive, Wild Flag, Florence & The Machine's, Band of Skulls, and Justice all come immediately to mind, and that's just Sunday) Wild Beasts were working with some genuinely great material to start with, and it was the strength of their song craft that ultimately shone through.  None one song stood high above the others, though Hooting & Howling's brilliant opening 90 seconds had every bit the pull it does on record, and Flemming's spastic singing on Two Dancers was also memorable.

Here's the official Coachella coverage of Hooting & Howling.



5. Thundercat - 5:20 to 5:55 - The Gobi Tent: I can't claim to be a huge fan of these ridiculously talented bassists debut album, finding it too soft and mushy for my tastes in a 1970s Jean Luc Ponte jazz/fusion sort of way, but the ten or so minutes I caught of this set before heading over to Wild Flag were a gas.  Felt like I was in the presence of some monster musicians, and the outlandish costumes, right out of a P-Funk show, only helped to amp the cool groove of the show.

Here's one of his mellower numbers.



6. Company Flow - 8:20 to 9:10 - The Gobi Tent: Up against uber-popular DJ acts Girl Talk and Justice and fan favorite indie act Beirut, this El-P fronted mid-90s experimental rap act...reunited for the express purpose of revisiting tracks from their highly influential debut Funcrusher Plus...had no chance of drawing a large crowd, but the 300 or so acolytes who crowded the front of the stage brought as much energy and enthusiasm for the rap trio as most full capacity crowds.  Spinning wickedly eerie beat and highly literate raps, this was an artier, more intimate rap warm-up for the juggernaut that was to fall two hours later.

Here's a couple of tracks.

7. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - 3:10 to 3:55 - The Outdoor Theatre: I only caught the long opening number before heading over to the Mojave for Wild Beasts, but from what I saw, this set was exactly what one would expect...excellent afro-pop, delivered with great energy from the son and aged original band of the genre's master of masters, and perfectly scheduled mid-afternoon on the warmest, sunniest day of the festival. A different kind of dance fest from what was going down in the Sahara, this was one of the festival's most joyous shows.

Here's a sample!



8. Housse De Racket - 12:55 to 1:30 - The Gobi Tent: This drums and guitar duo sounds a lot more like countrymen Phoenix on record...but in person they brought the "racket" like American stars The White Stripes, transforming several of their dance-oriented tunes into thundering rockers in what was easily the best of Sunday's pre-2pm sets.

Here's a good example of the set's heavier guitar lean.

OTHER SETS OF POSITIVE NOTE

9. Greg Ginn And The Royal We - 3:00 to 3:45 - The Gobi Tent:  I've probably got this show rated 100 spots higher than anyone else, for what the Black Flag's original guitarist brought here was nothing less than a classic, old school experimental rock intentional room-clearer reminiscent of 70s efforts like Brian Eno and Robert Fripp's No Pussy Footing or Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. Playing to track while manning two instruments simultaneously, his guitar and a theremin, one of which I am assuming was the "Royal We," as Ginn was alone on stage, Ginn pounded out one crunchy oddball groove to the next in front of the smallest crowd I have ever seen at a Coachella show.  Even heard rumors the tent was completely empty later in the set after I had moved on to see Wild Beasts.  The interesting thing though, is the music wasn't that difficult, just avant-garde and from another age.  Had this festival been stage in 1974, my guess is the proggier audience of that era would have eaten this stuff up, and in all honesty, of the twenty or so albums I picked up during the weekend from the festival's lower billed acts, I like Greg's the best.  So breathe easier, Greg, it wasn't a complete waste of time...you may have played for stretches of your set to an audience of zero, but know at least one passer-by bought and has enjoyed your merch.

Here's a long sample of the prog-slaught.

10. The Weeknd - 6:55 to 7:45 - The Outdoor Theatre: Prior to the festival, a lot of fans were pinning this set as most likely to be a train wreck.  This was the edgy, mysterious R&B artist's first ever show in the states, and rumors of Goldenvoice's concerns over the acts reliability ran rampant.  Fans sensed the potential for another Sly Stone / Ariel Pink-styled meltdown, but the show they ultimately got couldn't have been more professional.  I can't say I loved this show...the band's energy wasn't particular high, and so much of what makes this act's music so interesting is best processed in the most intimate of settings, which The Outdoor Theatre definitely is not...but the band sounded fine, and I loved the closing acoustic version of House Of Balloons' Wicked Game.

Here's the full show.

11. Florence & The Machine - 9:45 to 10:35 - The Outdoor Theatre: If push came to shove, I would still claim Florence's mid-afternoon 2010 Gobi set as my favorite show of that year's festival. Having just broken in the states, young and eager, she threw her out-sized voice and personality into her killer debut album Lungs' best songs with everything she had. It wasn't the most professional of performances...Florence can be quick to fall off key live...but it was overpowering nonetheless.  Unfortunately, a lot has changed for Florence over the last two years, and much of it not for the better.  Having toured relentlessly and now approaching Whitney Houston/Madonna-esque diva status, she's stopped consistently singing out, saving her pipes for a few select moments each show like the road-hardened veteran she now is.  Worse, she's at present committed to performing the far less interesting songs from her disappointing sophomore effort Ceremonials. Combined with a more bloated, stain glass window stage design, and backup singers to stay in harmony with that further prevented Flo from singing out, this show, though still highly entertaining in spots, lacked the fire, spontaneity, momentum and sheer vocal explosion that made that 2010 set so extraordinary. Of the individual songs, Dog Days proved the ever reliable crowd pleaser, but her closing performance of Cermonials's No Light No Light was the night's standout, the one number that matched the peaks of her previous Coachella performance. Let's all hope album number three sees Florence returning to the level of song quality and variety that made Lungs one of 2009's best albums, because a near-future headlining spot seems almost inevitable.

Here's a fan captured video of that closing number.



12. Fitz & The Tantrums - 4:45 to 5:35 - The Coachella Stage: Caught most of this set, and it brought the booty-shaking fun as any good midday retro-soul set should, but having sat through some other genuinely transcendent Soul/Funk/R&B knockouts at Coachella in recent years...most notably Gary Clark Jr this year, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears and some wonderful snippets of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu in '11, Gil Scott Heron in '10, and especially Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings crusher in '08...it was hard not to feel a touch underwhelmed by this slightly cheesier, Hall & Oates-y act.

Here's L.O.V.




13. At The Drive In - 9:10 to 10:00 - The Coachella Stage: I've never been a huge fan of this band specifically, or the rap-rock genre as a whole, but I've got to admit, I caught the opening twenty minutes of this set, and rather enjoyed it.  Good energy, some solid riffage, and great snark from lead singer Cedric Bixler mocking some of the Hollywood hipster stars cushing in the VIP section by name.  Fans of the band I spoke to later felt the band was sort of mailing it in, and didn't seem like they wanted to be there, but I didn't sense that at all.

But I'll let you be the judge. Here's the full show.

14. Fanfarlo - 12:00 to 12:35 - The Gobi Tent: I wasn't expecting much from this UK indie-pop act, whose latest release, Rooms Filled With Light, sits on Metacritic with a composite score in the low 60s, but they were actually quite good.  Boasting a rich, contemporary sound best described as a 50/50 cross between the Arcade Fire's orchestrated anthems and Beirut's twee, Balkanized pop, the band sounded very well-rehearsed, and lead singer Simon Balthazar had an impressive croony voice.

A nice, warm, ebullient set to kick off the day...here's the only fan capture video of their Coachella performances I could find.

15. Lissie - 12:50 to 1:30 - The Outdoor Theatre: Another pleasant surprise! I had seen Lissie once before, opening for Ray LaMontagne at the Los Angeles Orpheum Theater in a solo-acoustic show.  She wasn't bad that night (to be honest, she was better than La Montagne), but what I saw that night didn't lead me to believe she would make much of an impression at Coachella.  But this was an entirely different affair.  Backed by a full band this time out, she came on like a younger, slightly less raspy Lucinda Williams, and her opening few numbers before I skittered off to catch some of Housse de Racket, packed some real punch. Sleepy Ray should take notes.

Here's a fan video that captures the spirit of the show.

16. Sleeper Agent - 12:00 to 12:30 - The Outdoor Theatre: Up-and-coming Cage The Elephant pals Sleeper Agent and their energetic, overstuffed pop-rock ditties were a fine way to open the Outdoor Theatre on day three. Nothing spectacular, but a very lively, at times infectiously catchy show.

Here's Bottomed Out.