This last weekend was spent with many music enthusiasts from all over the country. The Coachella music festival in Indio, California is one of the largest music festivals in the world. Ninety-five artists smashed into twenty-four hours of shows on five different stages. Headlining the festival this year was Tool and Depeche Mode, but that is hardly scratching the surface of all the bands that were there.

The festival is more like a really weird carnival, except instead of rides there are concerts and instead of carnies there are roadies. I would never think of riding the rides at the carnival for twelve hours straight, but at Coachella it’s very hard to turn down the rush of that next ride.

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COACHELLA: The Go! Team performs Huddle Formation at the Outdoor Theatre.

For those of you wishing to partake in this freak-fest of music, there are some general rules that you should follow, the fi rst being to drink enough to pee at least once during the day. For most this will not happen, but it is a goal to strive for. Next is to pace yourself. Figure out the concerts that you want to stand at and the ones you want to jump and yell and scream at. Lastly, you should take at least one trip to the food court to accompany your diet of energy bars and water.

For contriteness we will limit the reviews to the three bands. It was probably the hardest decision of my life to pick these three, but necessary. The three bands will be… Gnarls Barkley, Wolf Parade, and Cat Power.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: Indie kings perform in the Indio sun at Coachella

When you hear Gnarls Barkley you immediately think hip-hop, but this is not the case at all. The band plays crazy, crazy rock music.

The band of about fifteen members was all dressed up as Wizard of Oz characters. The opening track “Go Go Gadget Gospel” set the mood for the show.

The hot weather didn’t stop the over-crowded tent from going absolutely insane. The only letdown of the show was the single “Crazy,” which was played slightly slower and was over-hyped.

These guys are entertainers. They put on a show. If you ever get a chance to see them live, I would jump on that while they’re still small so that it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to see them.

COACHELLA: This music festival was filled with outlandish live acts such as The Octopus Project

Wolf Parade, the quartet from Montreal, Canada, also put on a great show. After going back and listening to the album, which I loved, I realized that it is nowhere near the sound of their live show.

Not only are their shows good, but they have the nicest fans of any of the shows there. If you ever need a favor, just go to a Wolf Parade show and ask around. Someone is bound to help you out.

Cat Power is known for leaving shows in the middle, getting very self-conscious and generally not touring much.

Knowing that she could possibly never play another show anywhere near me, if ever, I had to see her. Other members of bands seem very comfortable on stage. Not Chan. She spends her time on stage fidgeting with rings, dancing really silly dances and generally looks very skittish.

I think that this only adds to her “humanness” and makes her more of a star and makes her voice even more attractive.

OZ: Danger Mouse, one half of Gnarls Barkley performs as the tin man.

The best part of the festival was that everyone really, really wanted to be there. From the fans, who pay an exorbitant amount to be there, to the artists who are all in awe of the fans.

The small bands like The Octopus Project who were so enamored with the crowd that they nervously waved and thanked the crowd after every song. The large bands like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs exclaimed that Coachella was the largest concert they had ever played. The festival is a haven for music lovers everywhere, as long as you can afford it.

Thank you for reading Hollencomium Music Reviews!

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