Archives

All posts by Michael Felci

Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Eazy-E follow Tupac hologram

Posted by Michael Felci on May 15, 2013
Posted in: Art, Bands, Coachella. Leave a Comment

The Tupac Shakur hologram was the story of the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, so you knew it was just a matter of time before it caught on. It just took a little longer than expected.

The Rock the Bells festival will feature both  Eazy-E and Ol’ Dirty Bastard holograms, rollingstone.com reported Wednesday. ODB will join his former  group, the Wu-Tang Clan (which performed at this year’s Coachella), while Eazy-E will be alongside Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, a group he signed in the mid-’90s.

Rock the Bells kicks off Sept. 7-8  in San Bernardino.

For more information, visit http://www.rockthebells.net/

 

 

 

Queens ‘Appear Missing’

Posted by Michael Felci on May 6, 2013
Posted in: Stagecoach. Leave a Comment

Queens of the Stone Age have released a new animated video clip titled ”I Appear Missing.” The track is from their upcoming album out June 4.

The three-minute video is filled with dark, desert-themed imagery. Check it out here: I Appear Missing

Led by Palm Desert -native Josh Homme, “… Like Clockwork” features contributions from Dave Grohl, Trent Reznor, ex-band member Nick Oliveri and even Elton John.

Stagecoach: Justin Townes Earle is his father’s son

Posted by Michael Felci on April 27, 2013
Posted in: Stagecoach. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment
Justin Townes Earle at Stagecoach 2013

Justin Townes Earle performs at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio on April 27, 2013. Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun

Justin Townes Earle performed to a modest but appreciative crowd in the in the Palomino Tent early Saturday afternoon.   Wearing a straw hat and light pin-striped suit, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter resembled a “Basement Tapes”-era Bob Dylan more than his famous father, alt-country legend Steve Earle.

But the Tennessee native paid tribute to his dad with ”My Father’s Son,” which mentioned his struggles with drugs and alcohol. The heartfelt ballad closes with redemption, though, in that he learns to see “right and wrong” with his mother’s eyes.

PHOTOS: See pictures from Justin Townes Earle’s Stagecoach set here.

Major Lazer: Changing EDM 1 party at a time

Posted by Michael Felci on April 18, 2013
Posted in: Tachevah. Leave a Comment

Major Lazer performs on day 2 of weekend 1 at the 2013 Coachella Valley and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club last Saturday Indio,

        By CHRIS TALBOTT
The Associated Press  AP Music Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  — Major Lazer is a work in progress.

Diplo’s part-time project, with a new album “Free the Universe” out this week, is ever-evolving as the producer and his cohorts tinker with a sound they think might provide a clue to the future of electronic dance music.

“Everything’s changing now. EDM’s shifting,” Diplo said. “The house music thing exploded two years and now people are looking for something different. … What we do as Major Lazer, we just incorporate everything. We’re just DJs at heart and selectors. We love all kinds of music.”

That’s reflected in the Caribbean-flavored “Free the Universe” with its reggae and dancehall influences, but the group that also includes Chris Leacock, the producer known as Jillionaire, and Walshy Fire (Leighton Walsh) pushes the envelope much farther on the follow-up to 2009’s “Guns Don’t Kill People … Lazers Do.” Continue Reading

Spin: Wu-Tang set the best from Weekend 1

Posted by Michael Felci on April 17, 2013
Posted in: Tachevah. Leave a Comment

Dust, cold winds, thick crowds and deadlines kept me from catching  most of Wu-Tang Clan’s Sunday night set at the Outdoor Theatre, which is a shame because  Spin magazine says it was the highlight of the first weekend (http://www.spin.com/#articles/coachella-2013-sunday-best-wu-tang-reunion-nick-cave-rodriguez).

I’m still scratching my head as to why the legendary hip-hop collective wasn’t a headliner, or at least on the main Coachella stage so more fans could get a better look.

Here’s the Wu performing their classic “C.R.E.A.M.” from their 1993 debut, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”.

http://stupiddope.com/2013/04/15/wu-tang-performs-c-r-e-a-m-coachella-2013-video/

 

Best record store, ever

Posted by Michael Felci on April 14, 2013
Posted in: Coachella. Leave a Comment

The dusty, chilly conditions on Sunday night forced many scantily-clad festivalgoers to make a run on Coachella merchandise — specifically hoodie sweat shirts were at a premium. Long lines could be seen into the night, with exposed attendees dropping $50 or more to warm up.

 

If you didn’t find a hoodie of your favorite band, ZIA Records had a supply generic hoodies for a relatively reasonable fee of $50.

Even some journalists poney’d up to warm up.

Coachella: James McCartney opens up

Posted by Michael Felci on April 14, 2013
Posted in: Bands, Coachella. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

James McCartney opened his short acoustic set Friday with a song called “Mexico.” Turns out, Paul and Linda’s only son was conceived in Puerto Vallarta 35 years ago.

“I once went to  Mexico City with dad, mum and the family on tour, and we were in a jet circling,  and I remember looking down and looking at all the [VW] Beetles cars – which is  kind of ironic,” the younger McCartney told Rolling Stone magazine in his trailer after his set in the Gobi tent.

Read the full Q&A, in which McCartney discusses his music, the lasting  influence of his mother, the photographer Linda McCartney, and life with  dad here.

 

Coachella wraps up — but don’t miss these acts

Posted by Michael Felci on April 14, 2013
Posted in: Coachella. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

Wu-Tang Clan on Jimmy FallonThe main Coachella stage is pretty strong today with Gaslight Anthem, Lumineers. Social Distortion, Vampire Weekend and  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds leading up to festival closers, Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  

But there are a lot of other fun retro acts I’m hoping to catch at least a bit of today, including:

– ’90s alt-rockers Dinosaur Jr. at 5:10 at the Outdoor Theatre

–  ’70s folk rocker/recently unearthed gem Rodriguez at 6:35 in the Gobi Tent

– ’90s hip-hop collective, Wu Tang Clan.  Probably won’t be an ODB hologram, but you never know.

 

Off the 2 Chainz

Posted by Michael Felci on April 13, 2013
Posted in: Coachella. Leave a Comment

Pairing artists with the right venue and time slot is, well, an art that Goldenvoice has pretty much perfected. But sometimes even they underestimate the interest in a performer.

Such was the case for hip-hop star 2 Chainz’s 4 p.m. set Saturday in the Mojave Tent. By the time the Georgia rapper took the stage (20 minutes late), the crowd has spilled over onto the polo field in anticpation of such hits as “No Lie,” “Birthday Song” and “I’m Different.”

The booming beats and Southern-tinged flow could be heard in the neighboring Gobi tent and beyond.

Coachella Saturday game plan

Posted by Michael Felci on April 13, 2013
Posted in: Bands, Coachella. Leave a Comment

MyDesert's Xochitl Pena interviews the Dropkick Murphys. (Photo by Kate McGinty, The Desert Sun)

As expected, I didn’t come close to catching all the artists I planned to yesterday, but that hasn’t deterred me from setting all-new, albeit slightly more modest,  goals for today. Let’s run through them, shall we:

3:35: Dropkick Murphys on the main Coachella Stage. A Nazi-saluting fan was tossed from the stage by the band at a recent show. Good call.

4:45: The Selector in the Gobi tent. Coachella officially has everything with the inclusion of vintage British  two-tone ska.

7:40: Grizzly Bear in the Mojave Tent.  Brooklyn-style psychedelic-folk pop, but more experimental (obviously).

10:15: Franz Ferdinand in the Mojave Tent. Scottish band is a former Coachella headliner. Caught them last summer at Outside Lands and they were still solid.

11:35: New Order in the Mojave Tent.  End the night with ’80s synth classics.