Blood Orange | Coachella | 4/13/14 (PHOTOS)

IMG_5683

Devonté “Dev” Hynes is a British singer/composer/songwriter and producer who performs under the stage name “Blood Orange”. What you may not know about him, however, is that he is a prolific song writer who has worked with high profile recording artists like The Chemical Brothers, Florence and the Machine, Sky Ferreira and Britney Spears, to name a few

He performed at Coachella in support of his fourth solo album “Cupid Deluxe”. Critics have described his music as alternative dance, “chill wave” or indie electronic, but his 80’s and 90’s influenced music can simply be described as … for lack of better words … “sexy-time” music. The mood Dev Hynes sets with his compositions is amazingly seductive. I would have preferred a set time in the evening- that would have really enhanced the overall mood of the set- but even under the blazing, desert sun, I noticed couples grinding to the music.

For his performance at Coachella, he was accompanied by several of the vocalists who appear on “Cupid Deluxe”: Caroline Polachek of Chairlift (on “Chamakay” and “Chosen”) and Friends‘ Samantha Urbani (on “You’re Not Good Enough” (my personal favorite), “It Is What It Is” and “Always Let U Down”).

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!

Tom Odell | Coachella | 4/11/14 (PHOTOS)

IMG_4844

 

The first act I caught at Coachella at noon on Friday was British, Singer Songwriter, Tom Odell. A solid singer songwriter who I believe can have a long and fruitful career so long as he can keep writing songs that his fans can relate to.

I couldn’t find a setlist online, but I happen to stumble across it, I’ll add it here. If any of you Tom Odell Fans know the names of the songs that he performed that afternoon, please let me know.

 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT BLOG ENTRIES OF OTHER BANDS I SAW AT COACHELLA!

The Stone Roses Headlining Friday Night of Coachella!

Image

The lineup for Coachella 2013 came out last night, and the first band listed, to my immense joy, was The Stone Roses.

There are other notable acts that were listed: Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand (2004 anybody?), Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Hot Chip and Passion Pit (Coachella 2010 revisited?), Lou Reed, Postal Service, OMD and New Order (British New Wave contingent?), Descendents, Violent Femmes and DInosaur Jr (80s, early 90s, throwbacks?)… BUT, my quest for the a “golden wristband” (Coachella issues wristbands instead of tickets) is ground in the fact that The Stone Roses are headlining Friday night.

Their self-titled debut album was a sensation. From the moment you pressed play, there was no reason to fast forward or skip through tracks because, as a whole, that album was perfect. Their brand of indie rock fused guitar pop with dance culture, but it’s attitude was all rock and roll.

Lead singer Ian Brown’s vocals assumed a laid back and nonchalant approach which seems almost to be contradictory in style to the underlying music, but it all meshed together. “I Am the Resurrection”, “I Wanna Be Adored” and “She Bangs The Drums” are highlights from the album.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the “kids” responding to the line-up news seem to be disappointed with some of the selections. They seem to be more upset that Daft Punk or other “dance” acts aren’t on the bill. What they don’t seem to understand is that The Stone Roses have musical, historical relevance in that they created an album that brought, and in late 80s and early 90s, “dance music to an audience that was previously obsessed with droning guitars, while it revived the concept of classic pop songwriting and the repercussions of its achievement could be heard throughout the ’90s.” (quoted from http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-stone-roses-mw0000653335)

It’s too bad that the younger generations can’t understand how big this act is in the context of music history. Hopefully, newbies at their crowd at Coachella will hear and feel the the amazingness of their music like I did when I first pressed play on that used cassette tape that I bought back in high-school.

Cheers, Goldenvoice and Coachella. You’ve made one hopeful patron very happy.

UPDATE: Click here to read my blog entry about Coachella and The Stone Roses performance.