Coachella 2011, How was it?

Coachella 2011 Highlights

Coachella 2011 was awesome!!!

There was no band that I really wanted to see, however, the overall feel and vibe was great. Everything flowed much better than the years' previous... getting into the venue was no problem at all, (then again, I magically got a special space). They even enlarged the venue making more room to walk around compared to last year.

Now on to the artists.

Artists I've seen.

Friday (arrived late)

Kings of Leon (sort of)
I was walking past the mainstage when they were playing, so not much of a listen here.

Robyn
Awesome, probably my highlight of the weekend. Wasn't expecting much, but she was fun and kept the tempo up throughout her set.

The Chemical Brothers
Still awesome, they came on late though, and I left early, since I've seen them quite a bit already. Glad to see them on the mainstage.

Friday artists I missed but wanted to see:
Cut Copy, Beardyman, Magnetic Man

Saturday

Chuckie
Pretty fun, liked some of his songs, then delved off into a lot of harder trancey music.

Mary Anne Hobbs
Interesting... a few of her tracks had way too much low end that I couldn't hear anything but constant bass.

Yelle
Reminded me of Robyn(in that fun style), but French.... So I didn't understand what she was singing about.

One Day as a Lion
I've only heard one of their songs, so I guess I am not their biggest fan. But they were good.

Fedde Le Grand
Didn't know what to expect... but the outcome was awesome... he killed that dance tent and I stayed there longer than expected. And I must say, the visuals were amazing in that tent.

Empire of the Sun
So I guess they have a huge fan based and could have easily played on the mainstage instead of Animal Collective (which were on at the same time). So, I could only see Empire of the Sun from afar, but enjoyed most of their set. I might have to see them whenever they come through LA to get a better experience.

Arcade Fire
You know what? I actually liked Arcade Fire... They sounded great on the mainstage.

Scissor Sisters
I didn't know what to expect from this band either, but they were pretty fun. They got the crowd into their upbeat disco flamboyancy.

Steve Angello
I've seen him a ton of times, and by the time I got to the Sahara I was burnt-out-tired... However, he played some banging tracks and I wanted to stay longer. Great DJ to close out the Sahara for Saturday.

Saturday artists I missed but wanted to see:
Big Audio Dynamite, Daedelus, DJ Marky, Two Door Cinema Club, Animal Collective

Sunday

Wiz Khalifa
Well, really just made it in time to hear Black and Yellow.

High Contrast
Wanted to see him for the longest time (since he never makes it to this side of the States), and he didn't disappoint... Awesome set, one of the few artists that I stayed for the entire set.

Sven Väth
He was good, although I don't think he needed to play a two hour set.

Death From Above 1979
I was standing in line for that Creator's Project installation while hearing them play... They're good, but not close to the music I like.

Duran Duran
Awesome!!! They sounded great. I was eating dinner in an amazing place listening to them play. Just nostalgic and awesome!

Chase and Status
Lots of bass. I went to the bathrooms nearby (actually it was kinda far from the front of the Sahara stage) and felt the bass rattle them. I liked them.

The Strokes
They were everything I thought they would be. If you're a Strokes fan, then you, like me, would have not been disappointed in the least.

Kanye West
Great over-the-top cheesy opening (it works for Kanye)... however, I got bored after awhile. With all the hype that Rihanna and Katy Perry were spotted at Coachella and could possibly guest vocal on a couple tracks, I had some expectations. However, when All of the Lights and E.T. went by, I was disappointed that they didn't show up. Kanye even played Stronger (yes, also expecting a Daft Punk cameo(this is Coachella!!!)). He started off great, but I left an hour in his set after my disappointment started to come alive. The most amazing thing that I took away from this, was watching the crowd. It was like the entire Coachella watching Kanye West... That was pretty amazing to watch an endless sea of people throng their hands back an forth. I would probably get an inflated ego too if that happened for me.

Sunday artists I missed but wanted to see:
Jimmy Eat World, CSS, Trentemøller, LeftField, The Presets (at that hour, I honestly didn't want to cross the sea of Kanye West fans and then come back), Duck Sauce, Axwell (also Kanye conflict).

So, overall I had a great time at Coachella 2011... Definitely looking forward to Coachella 2012.