LIVE BLOG: Coachella Day 1

2:45 AM

I was going to write this post when I got back to the hotel, but due to the gate in the parking lot being closed, it looks like we’re gonna be here for a while. It’s going to be a LONG night before we end up back in the comfort of our luxurious hotel.

Click more to hear about Echo & The Bunnymen, LCD Soundsystem and Jay-Z and see the rest of the blog!

Echo & The Bunnymen represented old British post-punk and delivered a solid set with plenty of classic songs. I never really got into them at all so I didn’t stick around there too long. LCD Soundsystem had a pretty interesting set though. James Murphy is a showman and knows how to bring the party. I then wandered down to the Sahara tent to catch the beginning of Benny Benassi (the guy who made “Satisfaction’). The Sahara tent is a special place, in that it tends to be occupied with a very “friendly” mix of people. It’s definitely the place to be to dance and party the night away.

Headed back over to the main stage to see Jay-Z. He performed a variety of songs from several different albums, and was joined on stage by his wife Beyoncé Knowles towards the end of his set. Some Alicia Keyes look-a-like also made an appearance on the song “New York.” He had a full band backing him so that was pretty awesome.

That pretty much wrapped up night #1 of Coachella. As we sit here in our cars waiting to leave (we’ve been here at least an hour already and haven’t moved an inch), I remember hearing horror stories today from friends who said it took them 5 hours to get into their camping spot. That’s brutal. Hope to be back at the hotel by 4, but that’s beginning to look like a long shot…

See you in the morning with photo galleries from day 1 and a live blog of day 2.

8:30 PM

Passion Pit performed on the Outdoor stage and put on a great show. Their set was at dusk so the skies started becoming illuminated with the lights of the festival. Bright green lazers and a giant lit-up ferris wheel are just some of the things projecting dizzying lights on the crowd. Glow sticks were being thrown around everywhere!

Click more to see the rest of the update!

Them Crooked Vultures were next up on the Main stage. The crowd went WILD when the camera first went on Dave Grohl. They opened with John Paul Jones on a slide guitar and had the crowd going nuts instantly. As I’m sitting here typing this, I can hear the rest of their set going on and people going wild. Heading back out, Echo & The Bunnymen and LCD Soundsystem are coming up soon…

It’s a beautiful night here at Coachella, and it’s just getting started!

Pictures will be up in the morning.

6:45 PM

As it gets later, the masses continue to come…

Caught a few songs of indie-rock band She & Him at the packed Outdoor stage. Zooey Deschanel is a great singer and the duo make some pleasant music.

What drew me away from them was the sound of some heavy double bass and a mad man screaming his lungs out…

The Dillinger Escape Plan were playing next door at the Gobi tent, which was packed with a very “KROQ” kind of crowd. Dillinger is insane! The singer was down in the crowd screaming with fans into the mic, the same mic that he would later shove in his mouth and produce deep, heavy screams. He then proceeded to climb onto the side of the stage and hang from it like a stripper would. Another classic Dillinger show.

Headed over to the Main stage to check out The Specials, a band you may have heard Kat Corbet mention. The English ska band had the main stage packed, and there were checker patterns EVERYWHERE!

More action coming soon!

6:00 PM

Sorry for the lame pictures so far, I’m having trouble meeting up with our photographer who has all the awesome close-up pictures. Don’t worry we’ll have them soon!

I missed Perry Ferrell, but everyone I talked to said it was really good. We’ll have pictures up later from his set. I did, however, get to catch As Tall As Lions as they performed “You Can’t Take It With You,” their title track off their latest album. It was a slower song compared to the rest of their set, but there were a good number of people singing along and loving it.

As Tall As Lions filled up most of the Mojave tent, so I had to stand way in the back!

Next door at the Gobi tent, Sleigh Bells was killin’ it! Sleigh Bells is a mix of drum machine, guitar and a pretty good female singer…. good enough that she caught my attention as I walked by and kept me there for 3 songs!

Before I go on to Hockey, let me tell you something. There are TONS of beautiful women here. TONS. Photo gallery tomorrow!

When you hear the word Hockey, you’re first impression might be cross-checks and half-toothed smiles. The BAND Hockey is awesome though! They seemed to draw an older crowd to the Gobi tent, but people were spilling out of the back dancing around in the grass. They had an awesome vibe and I caught myself watching more than I was expecting!

I stopped by the Mojave tent for a minute to check out Yeasayer because a bunch of the promo guys were talking about how cool they were, and they definitely had the entire tent clapping to the sound of the beat. Great vibes early on at Coachella…

Next, I made my first stop by the main stage to catch the always amazing Street Sweeper Social Club. TOM MORELLO KILLS IT!!! The aggressive flows from frontman Boots Riley match incredibly well to the powerful sound that Morello produces. They even did a cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” with Morello using his guitar as the “gun” on the chorus of the song. He amazed people when he started making that classic “Wha Wha” sound by turning his guitar’s tuning knobs to produce the sound. I’m still blown away after seeing him!

Back to the action, keep checking in for more coverage!

4:30 PM

Finally got to the venue and set up so I can share all the action with you guys! Here’s what’s in store for you:

• Pictures from around the venue
• Inside look at the KROQ tent and backstage (like the picture above)
• The low-down on bands like Street Sweeper Social Club, Dillenger Escape Plan, Them Crooked Vultures, LCD Soundsystem, Jay-Z and more.
• Tons more of exclusive content!

The KROQ Promo team was hooked up by Rebel 8 and artist Mike Giant with these sweet t-shirts for the weekend. Pretty cool huh?

Keep checking back for all the latest Coachella action!