so, it’s on, my fellow effs. music season is in full swing. last week i went to the first two shows of the year (tegan + sara–they were awesome! recap soon!–and muse with silversun pickups–also amazing with a recap to come) and it got me all excited for all the shows we have coming up in the next few months… especially the dirty hippie adventures (i think we might need a whole nother column just for those strange fun times!!) that we will soon call coachella and bonnaroo. exciting! i mean, this girl? camping? mud?? roughin’ it??? whoa boy. i will definitely have a new respect for life in general after that madness. but i’m really looking forward to all of the great music, whether i get to shower or not 
oh.... god....
for the next little while i’ll be showcasing some of the bands i’m most looking forward to seeing at coachella (since that one comes first) so that you can live vicariously through me. first things first though… just heard this today and i’m thrilled. guster is coming back to the ATL in just under two months!! they’re gonna be closing out an amazing weekend of music at the end of april… playing april 25th at verizon ampitheatre with ben harper. how awesome is that! the night before will be phoenix at the tabernacle, and the night before that is my morning jacket at chastain. w00t! gonna be like our own fancy music festival here in the ATL. get ready, peeps. life is coming.
so, coachella! i really think this is gonna be one of the most overwhelming weekends of my life. i thought the john mayer cruises were a bit overwhelming, especially when o.a.r. and guster were involved, and that was only trying to juggle three bands! this is gonna be completely insane, with upwards of 130 bands that are more than likely going to be overlapping in ways that will prevent me from seeing all the people i’d like to see. *sigh* i already mentioned my top 5 (phoenix, passion pit, local natives, mgmt, and vampire weekend) to you a month ago so i’ll start to branch out a little bit more here with my second tier.
.::the avett brothers::.
{{FRIDAY}} these guys are a new favorite… i got their album i and love and you a little over a month ago after seeing them on austin city limits and have easily listened to it a couple times a week ever since. the avett bros are a folk rock-ish americana group out of concord, nc, that’s actually been around for years. i seem to have barely missed their presence for a while now… they opened for dave last spring (when have i actually been inside for a dave opener? tailgating, people!) and i know a lot of people that have been talking about them for a while, but never saw or heard a thing from them til their single “i and love and you.” it’s all good though… they have great stage presence from what i’ve seen and i love what i’ve heard so far and i’m thrilled to be able to catch them at coachella! check out: * i and love and you * january wedding *
from youtube
.::hot chip::.
{{SATURDAY}} this british electropop group will be making coachella into a dance party on saturday, and i hope i’m not distracted by some other big name playing at the same time. i think that’s my worst fear… with three stages that are pretty far apart it’ll be impossible to see every band i want to see. hot chip, like my other dance party friends passion pit, does a lot of remixes of songs you may already know (well, on the indie front anyway), including some by kate nash (favorite!), gorillaz, and queens of the stone age. they do a lot of DJing as well– definitely that euro club atmosphere type stuff, but it’s fun for dancing if you’re into it. super excited to catch these guys on saturday. check out: ready for the floor (one of my all-time favorite fun songs)
from youtube
.::matt & kim::.
{{SUNDAY}} you may have read my post about matt & kim last summer, and if you did, perhaps you got a feel for their fun sound. if not, here’s your chance. their debut album is short– at only 25 min, it beats out the vampire weekend collections, both under 40 minutes (didn’t think that was possible didja?). it’s definitely fun to listen to, there’s a lot of percussion and echo-y scream-a-long vocals that kinda make you wanna grab a pickle tub and some sticks and just go at it, angel-style (RENT reference!! who’s with me??) . i’m sure you’ve heard the song “daylight,” and if you liked it, you’ll pretty much love the rest of the album. it’s just the two of them, matt & kim, some drums, and a keyboard. fun stuff. check out: * daylight * good ol’ fashioned nightmare * lessons learned *
from youtube
so that’s your coachella update for the week… also, before i forget, if you’re in the mood for free music (aren’t we always??) you can download a ‘best of bonnaroo’ compilation here to speak out for climate change. sweet deal. some great songs by some of my favorite artists for one of my favorite causes. also, in case you want something to live up to (or just want to laugh at me for suggesting that my list is that quality), i finally have, in print, the list of shows i’ve been to in my life (even though i keep thinking of more every day)… including the 18 dave shows i have to my name (i’m gonna surpass 20 this year, y’all!). check out my list on my blog… perhaps it’ll inspire you to make your own & add lots to it! the year of music is either gonna kill me, make me never wanna go to a show again, or leave me broke & homeless have a great week my friends, stay tuned for more festival-featured bands next week.
peace,
james
{ 3 comments }
btw can you make me & shaniah a lucero sampler? we wanna see them too~!
yeah i saw he was gonna be there! you gave me some of his stuff a while back & i liked it. just hope he isn’t playing at the same time as some of my other peeps..!
You should try to catch Frank Turner at Coachella if you get a chance. Right up your alley, great british accent too!
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