Amanda Palmer - Coachella Diary 2009, Part One
By: Amanda Palmer
Oh, Coachella.
It was strange being there without Brian. The last time I played this festival was in 2006, with the Dolls. Same stage. (It was one of those landmark events for us . . . We killed the set. Killed it. We also wound up on the coachella DVD . . . The Coachella folks asked if they could come into our trailer and film right before we hit stage. Usually we never allow people to film us getting ready for something important, but we said what the hell. Here for your refreshment. (I hadn't watched this clip for a while. It made me feel all nostalgic.)
Anyway . . .
Festivals are hit and miss, hot and cold, pros and cons, always, for the touring band.
Pros:
- you get to meet other bands and see lots of other acts, which is actually very hard to do when you're touring and playing five or six nights a week. 80% of the bands I've seen and met in the past six years have been at festivals.
- you get to grab at an audience who wouldn't bite the bullet and see you in a club
- free beer
- if it's good, the food.
Cons:
- the lack of placefulness. Often, you only have a trailer for a few hours before your set and no place to put your stuff if you're not in a tour bus. So you are forced to hang around poorly-lit catering areas and mope if you don't feel like being out in the sun watching bands, which (when you've been touring at festivals for a few weeks) can be about as fun as dental work
- you are acting as a commercial for yourself or your band. you usually get a 30 minute slot to say: "HI! THIS IS WHAT I'M KIND OF LIKE! COME SEE THE REAL THING SOMEDAY!"
- free beer
- if it's bad, the food
Coachella wins at most festival things – they take WONDERFUL care of their artists and the food is phenomenal. And they decorate your trailer with Christmas lights and tinsel 'n' things.
I stole most of the trailer decorations and added them to my outfit.
However . . . there is a definitely an icky Los Angeles vibe with a huge buy-in VIP area where the rich and the botoxed pay huge bucks to be close to celebrities and swill $12 cocktails and wear heels and leave via limo at the end of the night when the rest of the plebeians head to the camp grounds for the night. Really, guys?
But I shouldn't talk for Christ's sake – I'm one of the lucky fucks who has an actual indoor place to stay here thanks to an amazing fan named Rob who lives a mile from the festival and not only volunteered to house me, Zoe, the crew, my tour manager, my assistant, my manager and HER assistant, and my art director, Larisa, BUT has been making us ceviche and waffles and guacamole and keeping an ongoing stream of coffee for us in exchange for tickets. We're getting the fair end of the deal BY FAR. Air mattresses all around, baby. I feel guilty that I got the bed. Thank you, Rob (and Rob's family :)
I've said it once and I'll say it again: fuck hotels.
So, photos galorrrre. I Twittered a storm all weekend (and still ain't done . . . about to head out now and see My Bloody Valentine and The Cure . . . )
Eeenway
Got to Coachella friday afternoon. Staked out the Moz dressing room backstage. But never ran into him. Probably good:
Friday night I watched Conor Oberst (kinda boring, but he was sporting an AMAZING hat), Leonard Cohen (sublime) and Morrissey . . . oh Moz. He looked so unhappy. I Twittered some choice quotes and offered advice:
morrissey at coachella=unhappy. Choice quote: "the smell of burning flesh is more than I can bear....and I hope its human"
12:30 AM Apr 18th from TwitterBerry
Everybody bring hairdryers and fans to the coachella hamburger stand and point them AWAY FROM THE MOZZER!!!!!
12:32 AM Apr 18th from TwitterBerry
morrissey, assuming everyone hates him, to coachella audience, woefully, before starting song: "can you bear any more??"
12:36 AM Apr 18th from TwitterBerry
Conor by Wendy Lopez
LEONARDDDDD
Why is this big gay sailor punching my mozzy hair?
(Leonard and the Moz by Kristi Highum)
The morning of the show we went to a few radio stations who had trucked out to Coachella and had rented houses in gated communities (SO WEIRD). I played a few songs, did interviews, checked out their backyards.
This was one.....SURREAL:
(beth hommel)
We met up with a bunch of people (thank you, Twitter) a few hours before my show and we painted them up, black and white in front and with the letters AMANDAFUCKINGPALMER on their backs. Then we paraded over the the stage and, to the beautiful sounds of "Thus Spake Zarathustra", they unveiled themselves. Epic.
(beth hommel)
The result:
Everyone was so awesome. If you painted people are out there reading this: I LOVE YOU!!!!!! Thank you. Thank you. We ruled.
Then in the trailer. Belly power.
(beth hommel)
Last minute geek-out before leaving for stage . . . I love how Coachella has white picket fences to separate each artist's trailer. Totally quaint.
O go.
Me & Zoe, about to hit stage
The fucking:
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/vonlohmann/3454512923/)
Zoe.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/vonlohmann/3454512923/)
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/belouxs/3454470123/)
Here's a clip Beth grabbed of part of the crowdsurf and the on-the-shoulders-of-the-hot-men-from-lucent-dossier "creep":
she had to run around the back so some of the crowd surfing gets lost, but you'll get the idea.
. . . and yes. Zoe and I are totally dorks.
We took this picture of the crowd at coachella with my Macbook. I was very honest. I said I would Twitter it, and Twitter it I did: http://twitpic.com/3l537
Then we paraded over the do lab to hang out and love . . . and reunite with Katie Kay (!!!!) who I hadn't seen since fall.
Somebody asked me to sign Bob Mould's setlist . . . So I did.
Random.
Here's me and Zoe doing "Time Is Running out" by Muse . . . Beth filmed it:
I felt so so good after the set. My agents and peeps were all very proud and told me I killed it. Lots of random people who had never seen me before ferretted me out and thanked me for making their weekend. I felt grateful.
