#FaithNoMore

The Second Coming of Faith No More (Spring/Summer2010)

Well I was coming off a pretty crazy weekend already with my layover in Dallas for a few days. And now I was going right into the San Francisco trip. I had some business in town, and also had been offered a few DJ gigs that were not really all that important but they were at the same time as a string of hometown shows from my favorite band in the world Faith No More. To dork out for a sec, the importance of these shows if you are into it, was huge. First off, just a chance to see them in San Francisco, let alone at the Warfield, but as you may already know, that this was reunion tour – not in the KISS/Cher variety that go on forever, but in a dignified we are gonna do a few shows and that’s that sorta way. To further up the ante these were the first American shows since they reformed over a year ago. The looming question of after awhile (in true FNM fashion) was well ARE they gonna be in the States? The answer was, kinda. They were gonna do a three night stand at the Warfield in their hometown, followed by a high-profile show at Coachella, then two shows in Brooklyn, NY and one in Philly…then goodbye. So only 6 shows in 4 cities, well I already had tickets to Coachella and I live in NYC so why not catch them all? haha I know I’m a dork
So that was the plan but American Airlines had other plans for me sadly. I had tickets to all three shows, and was leaving the morning of the first show when I get to the airport to see that their are a ton of canceled flights. What followed was an excruciating day of sitting at the airport watching my tickets become worthless and an awareness that everyone that travels have zero self-awareness. So all of that anticipation was shot down and back to my family’s home I trot. Try again tomorrow?
So, the next day I get a First Class seat (that was nice) and make my way to San Francisco with a quick layover in Los Angeles. I’m not a big drinker, but I also grew up poor so when someone is offering you free champagne, the fact that it’s ten ‘o clock in the morning is of no consequence to me. I get to LAX and am waiting for the next flight to SF when the ill-advised decision of drinking champagne with airline breakfast was probably a mistake, not to mention I hadn’t got any sleep the night before. Point being, I was probably quite the sight as I was so desperate to fall asleep, even just for a second that I was willing to do all of those positions that you do on airports that make you look homeless. As I’m sitting there in a half-slumper, somebody mentions FNM and it gets my attention and they ask me if I’m going. As odd as that was, the person to my left hears my voice and asks “hey…are you Roy Turner?” – WTF? I thought, and as I confusingly nodded, he reminded me of who he was and come to find out he was an old friend I hadn’t had any contact with in over 12 years. At one time I was close with his brother, who as I find out lives in SF and he was going there to visit him with the sole purpose that they could catch these shows together. We have a nice talk and exchange numbers and I looked forward to seeing him and his brother the next day. Small fucking world eh?

Faith No More – April 13th – 14th  – Warfield – San Francisco, CA

I get to SF and other than the obvious I’m very excited – I adore SF as its one of my favorite cities in the world and I’ve even seriously considered living here, and if and when I ever retire, I just might. The promoter put me up in this shithole downtown but it was within walking distance of the club and the Warfield. Again I love this town but the homeless situation is so out of control here and I live in freaking NYC and I’m shocked how everytime I come here it seems worse. I couldn’t walk a half a block without someone aggressively asking me for something.
I secure the hotel and call a few friends and let them know I’m in town. I already had plans to go to the show tonight with an old friend from Texas who lives here and let her know that I would meet her at the show. I get something to eat, walk by the ol’ OFarrell Theater, and head to the Warfield.
I see my friend straight-away and we excitedly catch up and head in to the show were openers Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine had already started doing their thing. How appropriate I thought, another weird and local legend to get things started.

Jello was as awesome as The Dead Kennedy’s without him are embarrassing. Now I know this motherfucker is crazy and I don’t always agree with everything he says, but they killed. Biafra had the whole School of Medicine thing going with the lab coat, and covered in blood and the band was just super tight, and as I looked closer I knew why. I recognized a familiar face from Ween-world in Andrew Weiss on bass and his brother Eric on drums. I called Claude from Ween right after to tell him what I was seeing, it was incredible. Of course they tore thru California Uber Alles, and Holiday in Cambodia and the crowd went nuts.
Neil Hamburger acted as the MC and this meant he told a few of his jokes, and then introduced each act. His act is pretty fascinating: he tells some of the most offensive jokes possible, and the crowd tends to react strongly to him. Sometimes people cheer the rape and drug addiction humor; sometimes, people boo and throw things at him. It’s interesting to watch a crowd respond to him that has never seen him before, but I don’t know why anyone would actually buy a ticket to see his own show. If everyone in the audience is in on the joke, there is no joke.
 What came next literally defies description – even by Faith No More standards of weirdness and perversity – but keeping the San Francisco vaudeville spirit going
was something called the Barbary Coast Cloggers. Fred Schneider of the B-52s in his wildest, homosexual dreams could not come up with a concept that was this gay. All I could think of was Roddy Bottum watching videos of them on YouTube and thinking “they must open for us!!”. Though a supporter, I’m not a member of the gay community but I don’t think even my gay friends have ventured into clogging. Think square dancing with the loudest country and western outfits ever. It was the opposite of vulgar, very upbeat and fun and the dancers were so queer they seemed to shoot rainbows out of their faces.
As I watched their first number, with my mouth wide open in a giant smile, I worried about the crowd reaction, but when the song finished, only half a breath passed before the audience broke into spontaneous, overwhelming applause. It was amazing. I looked over at my friend and said “This is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and Faith No More hasn’t even started!”
But now that time was upon us – I was finally seeing Faith No More in San Francisco and these were their first shows in the States in over 12 years. I had been lucky to see their first show back period over a year ago when I was in London at that was really something.
After all we had already seen, their was the definite anything goes vibe that is usually prevalent when these guys are involved. Given what was at stake I had a feeling that the set-list could be full of surprises. Starting with Midnight Cowboy and then right into The Real Thing you would have thought Slayer was onstage. A more fanatical crowd I have yet to see, and the music doesn’t exactly inspire the whole moshing thing in my mind, but it is chaotic and the place completely lost their shit, like the whole time.
A band known for also their odd choices of songs to cover, I was wondering what this would hold or how it would be different than London, or how the shows would differ setlist wise over the three nights, as I had confidence that they would change it up a bit each night and make each one special and they did just that.
Some of the rarities were: Michael Jackson‘s Ben and they finally did their cover of Sparks‘ This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.
Here’s the full setlist:Midnight Cowboy (John Barry cover)
The Real Thing
Land of Sunshine
Be Aggressive
Evidence
Surprise! You’re Dead!
Last Cup of Sorrow
Ricochet
Ben (Michael Jackson cover)
Midlife Crisis (included a section of Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke)
Epic
I Started a Joke (Bee Gees cover)
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Ashes to Ashes
Just a ManEncore 1 :Stripsearch (w/ Chariots of Fire)
We Care a LotEncore 2 :

This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us (Sparks cover)
Pristina

A freaking incredible show and one of the best shows I’ve ever seen period. What a weird, long strange trip, even for them.

Night 2

  Without giving anything away, I had told them a bit about the weirdness (and awesomeness) of last night’s vaudeville-style show. What surreal form of entertainment were we in store for tonight? The first act was called the White Trash Débutantes, I’m only assuming are from San Francisco, who did what you would think a band with that moniker would do, and alot of covers. Without too much calculation I’m sure FNM wanted something local, fun and legit.

Next in the “wild card” slot was yet another one of those things that could only happen at a FNM show, where when you tell your friends about it later, they shriek in laughter and go “gawd I wish I was there” but in the moment all you can do is shake your head and laugh and think: “What the fuck?”. 
That moment came with the fucking El Camino High School Cheerleaders came out to do routines. About 20 high school girls in full cheer regalia marched onto the stage. A pulsing techno number boomed its way through the theater, and the girls danced, made pyramids, leaped and bounded across the stage.
Now it was that time once again, the place seemed way more packed than the night before and we had trouble getting down to the floor. Neil Hamburger had been keeping his in-between-acts sets mercifully short; He tried to incite the crowd to bellow out “Smash Mouth!” repeatedly, and about 30 attempts at this went on before Hamburger suddenly stopped, paused for the smallest of moments, and growled out, “Ladies and gentlemen… FAITH NO MORE!” The resulting cheer, especially when the band was joined by Mike Patton — tonight clad in deep red, still sporting his cane — was almost earsplitting.
Starting with the Peaches and Herb cover, the appropriate Reunited like they did in London last year, and then when they finished that and went into From Out of Nowhere the place exploded into an absolute frenzy as we did right along with them. Looking at my friends as the crowd tore us apart with that smile of “See you after the show dude”.

Their were a few changes in the setlist for this show but the real surprise came, when they started the opening keyboard line to As the Worm Turns, when Patton was about to sing the first verse, he runs offstage, as he is simultaneously replaced by…Chuck Mosley – Holy shit, that crackhead who was the original singer before Patton took his place? Yes that one. How historic? to wrap up the history of this band to completion, didn’t see that one coming, and to be honest wasn’t even sure that Mosely was still alive. Now, not to be a cynic and who can really compete with Patton anyway, and I was excited by this gesture, he kinda overstayed as the planned four-song Mosely set was probably about two too many. Mosely was in bad shape, but not embarrassingly so, and it was awesome to hear some rare stuff and even kinda cool to hear the original sing it.
Patton returned and they did the Chariots of Fire/Stripsearch from the night before, but not before verbalizing what was on everyone’s mind as Mosely exited by saying into the mic “Chuck fucking Mosley?” but with great appreciation and a shared awestruck. Mosely returns at the end to close the set with Patton to trade off with Introduce Yourself. How insanely historic and totally fitting to end this never-to-be-repeated hometown swing. Just a honor to be a part of it.

Here is the setlist:

Reunited (Peaches and Herb cover)
From Out of Nowhere
Land of Sunshine
Caffeine
Evidence
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Chinese Arithmetic (with a bit of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face)
Last Cup of Sorrow
Cuckoo for Caca
Ben (Michael Jackson cover)
Ashes to Ashes
Midlife Crisis
Digging the Grave
King For A Day
Epic
Just a ManEncore 1 – Chuck Mosley on vocals

As the Worm Turns
Death March
We Care A Lot
Mark BowenEncore 2 – Mike Patton on vocals

Chariots of Fire / Stripsearch
Introduce Yourself (with Chuck Mosely)

So I met back up with Brothers Mitchell after the show outside, and we excitedly recanted the night’s events and surprises. I invited them to join me as my friend Gina, whom I went to the first night with, she was only a few blocks away and had invited me to a dance party with this DJ that was gonna be playing Coachella, whose name escapes me. The boys agreed and we headed uphill the 10 blocks or so, catching up and totally high from the night. Hipsters be damned, the minute we saw the velvet rope, we had doubts. I stayed and talked with them so more before they decided to bail. I thought I would go in and hang for few songs and say goodbye to Gina since I was leaving in the morning. Got totally raked over the coals by these pretentious doublefucks at the door and considered leaving. Finally made it in, and had a great time dancing and laughing with Gina before calling it a night and walking back to my hotel. On to Los Angeles in the morning.

 

Faith No More – Williamsburg Waterfront – Brooklyn, NY – July 2nd & 5th

So I’m finally back home in Brooklyn, after an almost month long adventure. NYC in the Summer time is so fantastic and I don’t care where I am or what I am doing I make it a priority to be back here for the 4th of July. It’s my favorite time to be in NYC. I love, love, love, the holidays in NYC for sure (though I despise the cold).

There is just something majestic about NYC in the Summer, the rooftop parties, and all the Summer fashion that the girl’s wear, and the outdoor bazaars and the parks are so alive with activity, I love it. My first night back, I go to my haunt (and sometimes DJ residency) Lit, for a party with VHS or Beta. I had’nt talked to those dudes since my Astralwerks days, so it was a fun first night back. But the next night continued my year long hard on for my all time favorite band:

This show was historic for a battery of reasons, for one, it was the first (and possibly the only) shows in NYC for FNM in over 12 years. Also it was the first of a series of shows at the awe-inspiring Williamsburg Waterfront, from Jelly NYC that replace their famed Summer Concert Series to this new area instead of Mccarren Pool. And if the shows I saw in San Francisco are of any indication, tonight was gonna be something special.
It was the first of two shows at this location with a show in Philly in between them, and the only scheduled shows other than the ones in SF and LA.
It felt like a pilgrimage making my way down there because after you got off the subway, and walked a few blocks down, their was no reason anyone would be down there if they were going to the show, so suddenly you were walking amongst like-minded people exclusively.
I get there, and check in and the FNM organization (i.e. Roddy Bottum) were gracious to leave me a VIP pass.
I get to my area and Rahzel was already on. The amount of bass he was able to produce was impressive, and his beats shook the speakers. . He somehow managed to do the verse and chorus of a song simultaneously. He spent a lot of time talking about hip-hop, the importance of women not getting impregnated by poor men, and why dudes should be sure to keep themselves wrapped. Some of the talking got old, but it was fun when he brought his youngest son up and told the crowd about him. His son alternated between looking like he was going to laugh and cry.

 

Next was Neil Hamburger, who I familiar with before I saw the SF shows and then got real familar with because of those shows, did the same as before as more of an extended introduction with his anti-humor thing. A big part of his act is chastising the hecklers that he knows he’s going to get. A lot of his taunts at the audience were funnier than his jokes, per usual.  He did that same joke he did in SF with the threatening that the band wouldn’t come out till the crowd yelled Smashmouth a hundred times.

It was still light out when Faith No More finally hit stage, but the crowd went freaking crazy. And that’s good as I’ve been to too many good shows in this town, only to watch the jaded, too-cool crowd just stand there. This time they were ready, as was I, and opening with From Out of Nowhere , after they did their now customary cover of Peaches & Herb cover Reunited was perfect.
What was not perfect was the way the “beer-drinkers” were sectioned far off from the rest of the audience. It seemed there were many unnecessary barricades, and all the grass near the stage was sectioned off, removing the only comfortable option for anyone who wanted to sit and watch the show. And did there really need to be separate lines for beer tickets and beer?
Mike Patton instructed the crowd several times to turn around and check out the incredible view by enviously saying “You fuckers live here!”

An unbelievable show in such an amazing setting on a perfect night. Weather was great, band was incredible. I’ve seen a few of these now, and they didn’t play anything too different from the other ones, but it didn’t matter, they could have played whatever they wanted, and that’s exactly what they do, and makes them so great. They play again on Monday and I’m just as excited about that one too.

Here’s the setlist:

Reunited (Peaches & Herb cover)
From Out of Nowhere
Land of Sunshine
Caffeine
Evidence
Surprise! You’re Dead!
Last Cup of Sorrow
Cuckoo for Caca
Easy (Commodores cover)
Midlife Crisis
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Ashes to Ashes
I Started a Joke (Bee Gees cover)
King for a Day
Epic
Just a Man

Encore:

Stripsearch (w/ Chariots of Fire)
Be Aggressive

Encore 2:

We Care a Lot

Faith No More (night 2) – Williamsburg Waterfront – Brooklyn, NY – July 5th

Here is a tweet from my Twitter feed to start the day:

“Oh Faith No More again? Tonight? Don’t mind if I do – this could perhaps be the last American performance of this band ever.”
But it was another Tweet by Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum, who in his ever helpful ways, sent this Tweet – that serendipitously changed everything:
“Faith No More play Brooklyn tonight (NO L TRAIN)”
Now normally this wouldn’t mean much, Brooklynites are accustomed to that piece of shit L train never running properly, but and I don’t believe in fate or that things happen for any particular reason, the cause of this would result in re-route, that would yield a meeting with another stranded concert-goer of epic proportions.
The detour was ridiculous even by NYC standards and took me to parts of Brooklyn that I didn’t even know existed on trains that I didn’t know still ran.
I was coming down the steps from an above ground J train to locate what I was told would be a shuttle bus that would take me sorta to the venue, at this point now surrounded by obvious other Faith No More fans, when this striking woman was making the same confused gesticulations that I was and actually in sync.
Clearly we were both looking for the same thing, but now I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Without a thought and I couldn’t even tell you why, I just looked at her and with a smile on my face said “Where is this fucking bus?!” – She smiled and I suggested we cross the street to find it. After some seriously comedic trial and error, we finally locate the bus and learn that we have to make two transfers. It was clear that we were both alone so we kinda formed our own little crew with immediate rapport. From her accent and minimal English, I learned that she was from Barcelona and was in NYC for the first time, having just arrived a few days ago and would be here for a month on an internship to the consulate of Spain.
We get to Will Call, and she already has her ticket, and of course their’s a problem with my ticket. She waited a great while patiently with me and I didn’t want the fun to end, so as I could hear the openers going on, I told her to go ahead and I would find her inside. What was I thinking?? as she walked away, I’ll never find her in this mob” Is what I was thinking regretably. Oh well, I tried to comfort myself with, I only knew her for an hour, sucks I didn’t get her number, hope I find her, but for now let’s focus on what will probably be the last time I ever see my favorite band of all time, as they finally locate my ticket just as I’m hearing the opening notes to their cover of Midnight Cowboy.

 

So like a fanboy teenager, I run as fast as I can to get situated. This time I didn’t have the luxury of the whole VIP nonsense, which was fine because I had planned to really flame out and go to the front and just be 14 again for one last time for as long as I could.
Now this band of course doesn’t have the sound or image of a band that you would equate with having crazy moshpits, and the like, but let me tell you this was my 6th of the reunion shows and 10th of their shows overall and they have some of the most brutal shit to handle at their shows.
I was in total bring-it-on mode, and made my way to the front.

This lasted for about half of the set, before I was so winded and close to puking, and so sick of people stepping on my feet and looking down and seeing my jeans ripped and my shoes a mangled, unrecognizable shape. Yes I am getting old haha.
Totally worth it – here is another one of my Tweets to capture the moment:
“After seeing 6 of these reunion shows 2night might have been the best – FINALLY As the Worm Turns w/Patton”

Their was just something about this show and I feel sorta high from it even after all these months removed.
Here is the setlist:

Midnight Cowboy (John Barry cover)
The Real Thing
Be Aggressive
Land of Sunshine
The Crab Song
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Last Cup of Sorrow
Chinese Arithmetic (w/ Rahzel)
Easy (The Commodores cover)
Midlife Crisis
Digging the Grave
Ashes to Ashes
Ben (Michael Jackson cover)
King for a Day
Epic
Just a ManEncore:
I Started a Joke (Bee Gees cover)
As the Worm Turns
We Care a Lot (w/ Rahzel)

Encore 2:
Stripsearch

So after the last note ended, I just didn’t wanna leave right away, and soak in what had just happened, take in the great view one more time, and then fall into my usual love of people watching. Then it occured to me, “wait a minute, that Spanish girl, I never found her” – Knowing that it was futile, and sorta silly to be furiously looking for a stranger and what would be the result even if I found her, but I had to satisfy the notion of at least trying. So I went and stood by the exit (like a loser) logically everyone must pass thru here, if she hasn’t already. And like in the movies, just as I was about to give up, she taps me on the shoulder from behind.
This was a good sign as she could have walked on by after seeing me and I would never have known. Both really excited about the show we had just seen and in desperate need for hydration, I ask her if she wants to grab a drink. She agrees, and we go to the Charleston and talk for what must have been hours.
We realize early that communicating through our phones isn’t really an option so we exchange email addresses with the promise to get together again in a few days. We get on the train together and her stop was before mine, so I offer her a hug to say goodbye. What is it between me and this girl? The second she was gone, I began to wonder if I have seen too many movies.

Coachella 2010 (April/2010)

Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival – April 17th-18th – Empire Polo Fields – Indio, CA

Day 1  

So Sam and I got up and got it together to take the long drive out to Indio and the Coachella Valley for the festival. With no traffic it would still be just under two hours, but with LA traffic and that of the hordes going to the festival, I knew it was gonna be a haul. I was super excited as besides the one-two punch of Prince and Portishead of 2007, in my opinion, today was going to be the single best day lineup in the festival’s history as far as my tastes are concerned, with Faith No More, the Dead Weather and Devo to look forward to. Usually you have to pick and choose as alot of your faves will be on at the same time, but these three had lined up perfectly for me. Pulling in I had no regrets about missing the first day yesterday, and I soon learned just what a good idea that was.
This was my 7th year at this festival, so I know my way around it very well, and I know it grows every year, but when we pulled up, something was truly amiss.
We didn’t even get there till almost 7pm and there were more people outside the festival, than I had seen inside the previous years. We started hearing stories about total chaos, the night before and people already calling it Clusterfuckchella. Apparently, they were way understaffed this year, and the ticket scanners were not working, so shades of Woodstock, for a brief time last night, the festival was free to get into. I think those outside got wind of this, and those without tickets thought it would happen again tonight. Parking was a logistical nightmare, and that was just the beginning of our problems. Once we were on foot headed to the grounds, to go to, like I always have, the Will Call window, to claim our credentials, the trouble really started. Nobody knew anything. The Will Call tent was not where it had been in previous years and not one staff member could tell me a thing. I finally find this makeshift building by the parking lots and they spill some bad news. This year, and no one had told me, they came up with the brilliant idea to have Will Call off-site, as in not in walking distance, at a hotel over 5 miles away.
Faith No More, our whole reason for taking this on, were going on in an hour – what the fuck do we do? – I tried to stay cool, because fuck just being some jerk off fan trying to see a band, this was a major inconvenience, regardless of the capacity. So we walked over a mile to the nearest cab stand and had him take us over to this hotel. Since it was late in the day and on the second day, things when we got there were in total disarray.
Of course they couldn’t find our wristbands, and it wasn’t without trying, as I can’t complain about so nice they were to us, and apologizing and getting us stuff to drink while we waited. You are gonna think by reading this that I’m a total celeb-whore, but I’m just trying to tell the story and make it fun, so while we were standing there feeling like losers, Sam looks at me and says “hey check it out, American Pie girl” – and to our left was Shannon Elizabeth, apparently in the same predicament we were in:

 I honestly wouldn’t have recognized her if Sam hadn’t pointed her out to me. One of the skinniest people I have ever seen. So that was fun, and then we waited, and waited, and keep in mind the cab driver is still waiting to take us back. Our spirits started to diminish as Faith No More’s start time came and went, as we knew even if we had left that second it would take us most of their set to get back and get settled. So literally after waiting for over an hour, they found our wristbands, gave us a premium parking pass and apologized profusely. NOW we were golden,but how much was this cab gonna cost? In NYC it would have been over 200 bucks easily and I was prepared for the worst, when we find out that this gentlemen was so kind to us that he turned the meter off when we got there and the fare was under 40 bucks! Sam tipped the man very well and he dropped us off behind the main stage and we used our All Access passes to catch the end of their set.
We only got to hear about 4 songs, and I felt most sad for Sam as I had just seen them and knew I’d be seeing them again this Summer, but Sam had never seen them.
Still a great fucking show – they killed, and oddly alot of people had no idea who they were.
Here’s the setlist -Reunited (Peaches and Herb cover)
From Out of Nowhere
Caffeine
We Care Alot
Last Cup of Sorrow
Ben (Michael Jackson cover)
Surprise your Dead
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Midlife Crisis (- this is where we came in at)
Epic
Ashes to Ashes
Just a ManSo, yes, quite disappointed, but totally fucking relieved to be inside the festival and the place was our oyster with our access passes. So we said fuck it, hopped on one of the golf carts and headed to a side stage to see Major Lazer. If you are unfamiliar, its Diplo‘s new project with a crazy reggae singer/dancer with his troupe of backup singers in booties shorts. As far as a visual it did not disappoint, and the tent they played was freaking packed.
It was nuts, with these giant Chinese New Year dragons, and the dancers were flying through the air. At point, she even climbed up this ladder and jumped into a freaking kiddie pool onstage. One of the more what the fuck moments of the festival (but their would be more).
So after that settled down, Sam and I were lamenting the events of the day and having a good time, and we are standing side-stage waiting for Les Claypool to come on. Sam works in film and knows that I am huge fan of the Police, and was telling me about his experiences working on a recent documentary on Andy Summers, when as if we had somehow summoned him, a tall figure with easy to identify, full head of gray hair walks right by us, and Sam and I look at each other like “Damn that looked like Stewart Copeland right there ironically!” – So again, I guess I was in fanboy mode on this trip as I would normally never commit what I was about to do. Having no real confidence that it was actually him, I just strolled over to where he was sitting and lo and behold, there he was. One of my biggest idols and the reason I started playing drums and was ever in a band, Stewart Fucking Copeland. As big of a dork as I could have been, I was actually alright. It felt good to be excited again and even a bit nervous. Doing what I do, you can get used to this stuff and I don’t want that. I always want to retain that feeling of excitement or otherwise I’ll just do something else. So I made some bullshit small talk, and when that ended I broke my cardinal rule and asked for a photograph and he obliged. He was sitting there with his young daughters, can you believe that I was wearing that offensive Les Savy Fav shirt?
I had forgotten for a second that he was in a band, Oysterhead, briefly was Les Claypool, to explain his attendance. The plan was to watch 30 mins of Les Claypool and his new project, the Fancy Band before heading over to the other stage to see the Dead Weather.
Les was cool, I hadn’t seen him in awhile, and his new band was as weird as you would expect. I didn’t recognize any of the songs, but what I heard was good.
Now it was time to hop back on one of the golf carts and get over to the Outdoor Theater for the Dead Weather.  To know me, is to know of my adoration for all things Jack White. I had seen this band several times already, but I was excited to see what they would do here, as most bands make this appearance unique.
The driver dropped us off behind the stage, and that was cool as I can’t complain that I’m 3 feet from Jack White’s drum set, but that’s all I could see. We try to squeeze in on this tiny ledge to the side of the stage and that’s when I learn that these bands were pulling that shit I experienced at Lollapalooza last year, where the band’s have their own stage passes, making anyone else’s worthless as far as watching side-stage. I thought that kinda shit would be below someone like Jack White, but you never know if he was even aware of it. While we were squeezing in, I saw another familiar face/drummer as I looked over and Tommy Lee was next to me, talking to Perry Farrell and his wife, and some chick with the grossest and clearly botched boob-job I’ve ever seen without the presence of mind to not be proud of them and not show them off. I don’t know if she was him or not but check this out:
Isn’t that dark? – I spoke to him briefly and I hadn’t realized that he had performed the night before as the drummer for deadmau5, until he told me.
So the show starts and I decide I wanna go out front so I can see the show proper. It was the perfect time of the night, when everyone is in full swing and the vibe is there and the Dead Weather came out and just killed. Oddly, the wind and the palm trees proved to be a perfect setting for the band and did nothing to offset their gloominess and only gave it a better place to flourish. Think about all that we had seen already and what the crowd had witnessed over the past two days, and it was understood that this was the real deal. Playing most of their debut, Whorehound and a few off their new record, their set was flawless.
During their set and while I was talking to Tommy Lee, Sam went to find his friend Nicole, who had come out from Texas for the festival, and I met back up with them towards the end of the Dead Weather. We snuck her backstage and hopped on a golf cart to go, and finally see – Devo.
I have waited a long time for this. I’ve seen tons of shows and so its not often that I get to see a band that I love for the first time, and for whatever reason, Devo had eluded me for too long. So this was my time – again, we can’t complain but we had that standing behind the stage issue again, but still happy to be there at all.
I had waited a long time for this, and it was freaking awesome! Their about as smart and as funny as you would expect. Updating their look did everything to re-establish this:

 and only made it that more awesome when they came out for the encore in their old outfits. A couple of funny things happened in between. When they were on, there was a small child asleep right by my feet (we were standing behind the drumkit) and when they came back to change into the old outfits, the guitarists was checking on the kid. When they returned after the encore, the kid was gone, and he looks at me as says “Have you seen my son?” – half joking/half serious. I told him I think his mom rescued him from the noise.

The other thing was, its become common knowledge that for whatever reason, actor Danny Devito is a fan of this type of music, namely he’s been seen at any project Mike Patton is involved in, even appearing in a Peeping Tom video, so spotting him at Coachella, is like spotting David Byrne on his bicycle if you live in NYC, its just bound to happen, and its no less a little entertaining each time. This time in particular, as he and Patton and FNM’s Tour Manager, Tim Sweetwood, were watching and grooving behind the stage next to us.
I would have liked to have seen a bit of Die Antwoord, as I just recently been turned on to them, and I saw them backstage and they looked like total freaks, but that was the only scheduling problem I had. Let’s hope tomorrow goes as smoothly. As we were leaving, Nicole takes a pic of Sam and I, and I know we were tired, but this might be the worst pic of me yet:

   We still had to get back to our original parking spot and we knew it would be hours before we could even move. We sat and and laughed for about an hour until I had remembered from being there so many times, and easier way out. We were gonna stay with some friends nearby, so that we wouldn’t have the long drive back, just to drive right back here a few hours later, but we lost touch with them. I think Sam was eager to get back too, so I hit the back way, and about two hours later we were back in Los Angeles around 4am.

Day 2

  So Sam decided not to go today as he had a bunch of stuff to do before starting the work week. He called his friend Nicole and offered her the wristband I gave him, and I was to meet her at the festival. Thank goodness, I already had my wristband, parking pass, knew the score, and all I had to do was just get back out there. Sadly, again their really weren’t any bands playing that would have really warranted this effort in my opinion, other than maybe Sly Stone, but with his reputation, I wasn’t even sure if he would show, but after all I had been through yesterday, I was going to go and enjoy the day and the pampering of the credentials. I get there and I’m parked and inside by 4pm, easy breezy. I would have liked to have seen a bit of Mayer Hawthorne after getting turned on to them at SXSW last month, but I just missed them, but I was in time to see De La Soul.
Freaking 23 years into a career that’s outlasted everybody, they rawked the main stage, showing that they’re not only showing no signs of slowing down, but that they’re in peak form. A perfect time slot for their sunny, throw-your-hands-in-the-air- vibe, MCs Kelvin (“Plug One”) Mercer and David Jude (“Plug Two”) Jolicoeur effectively played half the crowd (“Say hip-hop!”) against the other (“Say par-ty!”), dropped their hits (“Me, Myself and I”), covered Run-D.M.C., and proved an inspired choice for a Sunday Coachella afternoon.

  After they were done, I walked over to one of the side tents to see this fun couple (who actually live around the corner from me in Brooklyn) Matt &Kim, who always put on a fun show. Their music is silly and almost circus like, not anything I would ever listen to at home, but live they are always a blast. They had a huge crowd, mostly of the younger, hipster variety, but a good time was had by all:

   This is where I was to meet Nicole as well, as she had text me to let me know she had arrived right after they were done. We meet and I give her the wristband so you can come backstage, and I was starving and thankfully, the catering tent for Artists was not on the other side, but right behind the stage we were already at. A nice spread by anyone’s standards – amid hardly anyone was in there, so it was a blessing to be in the shade and comfort of a private tent having a great meal and with all the beverages we could consume. I knew this would probably be the only meal of the day so I stocked up.
Thankfully, the next three acts I wanted to see were all at that same side tent right across from the catering tent. Flagging down a backstage shuttle got to be a bit taxing the night before and I was happy to not have to do it as often. Still the big question still lingered: Would Sly Stone show up at all, and if he does, what condition will he be in? –
After eating we walked over and caught a bit of Charlotte Gainsbourg – I got her record this year, and in spite of her famous father and all the privileges she’s been given, I think she is quite talented, and to-die-for gorgeous:
I enjoyed her set way more than I thought I would. I bet it would be better in a dark night club at like 1am however. Now clearly the producers of the festival had the same amount of confidence as I did sadly about Sly Stone’s arrival – Based on his contributions, he could easily headline the mainstage, but based on his reputation, for a cracked-out no-show, they put him in a side-tent at 7pm, scheduled right after Gainsbourg. So we waited…and waited…until an announcement was made that he wouldn’t go on before anyone and would be going on after Little Boots. Here we go, I thought – so we had some time to kill, so we headed over to the backstage compound behind the mainstage. It is literally paradise back there, with sculpted grounds, a man-made lake and a swimming hole and a nature walk. Just the thing to literally get away from it all. How spoiled are these fuckers? but that’s why playing here has the prestige that it does. I show Nicole around a bit, and they were consistently out of beer. I made a joke openly about it and after everyone laughed this guy kept bugging me to take my picture. I didn’t mind so I have no idea why I look so pissed here:
     We waited…and waited…and waited. Until now another announcement was made that “Sly didn’t like this stage and insisted on playing in the tent adjacent to this one” – whatever, this is getting browner by the minute. I waited another 45mins and during that time was when we lost her friend, and then briefly I lost her. When she returned we went over to the stage where Sly Stone had supposedly switched to and their was no sign of him. We still had an hour before Gorillaz were going on, and I did want to see Plastikman, and we were at the stage where he was about to begin.
These DJ’s have really upped their game to make it a visual experience and really give people something to look at:

 Which is important because unless the DJ is someone like Rob Swift, or a turntablist doing tricks, their really isn’t much to look at. This one was exceptional, as in like pioneering so. The giant cage opens and with the visuals it starts to look like its transforming into a monster’s mouth – opening and closing. I was cold sober and it was freaking me out, Nicole’s troublesome friend, had taken god-knows-what earlier and was clearly overwhelmed.
We left the set just a bit early so we could get a beer and get in position for Gorillaz. As you may know they have this rule that you can’t drink outside the designated areas in the general population. I could have just gone backstage, but I actually hadn’t walked the grounds yet and it was the last band on the last day and I felt like I was being snobby and missing the atmosphere. We grabbed drinks as they started and we were in the beer garden next to the stage, so we just said fuck it and stayed there as that was probably the best view we were gonna get. To be honest, though I find the Gorillaz to be interesting, I really couldn’t have cared less. Our obstructed view kinda cost us the visual element that is so important to their performances, but we had a good time and it was a good show. I only know the singles, and I know that one features De La Soul, so I had a good mind to think that we would get something special and hear that song performed live and with De La. And that’s exactly what happened:

…and that was just the beginning – of course this festival is famous and carries the prestige that it does because bands will make their appearances here legendary (unless your the Cure) and though I had previously underestimated this show, this proved to be one of the most epic in the festival’s history.  I learned that their set was marked by a lot of firsts. It was their first live performance in five years, the first time they had the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon (in sailor suits, too) on stage with them and the first time they didn’t perform backlit behind a giant screen. Then out-came freaking Bobby Womack!

Little Dragon’s Swedish-Japanese vocalist Yukimi Nagano crept up onstage during Empire Ants also marking her first live performance with the band. I even saw Flea, who performed with Thom Yorke an hour prior, rocking out in front of us. Just an awesome, unbelievable show. I always thought Damon Albarn was overrated, now I’m not so sure 🙂
After they played I started hearing stories about what actually happened with Sly Stone – and this story got national attention so you may have heard about it, but in case you didn’t – what I am about to unfold is seriously the brownest shit I’ve ever heard. Keep in mind, I didn’t see any of it (their was a Twitter update saying Sly Stone – Mojave Tent 10:45pm – but I was getting zero service out there) as per the story I had given up on Stone, but I saw the Youtube video so it can’t be disputed. Like you knew that if he showed at all, it could have been dark, but no one could have predicted just how much this person has no business walking around unassisted in regular society, let alone performing on one of the biggest stages in the world. I blame his handlers for being greedy to push him out there, and it was sad and downright disturbing to see the video and hear what had gone down. Between the video and stories I heard here is what happened:” He came out in a blonde-and-black streaked wig and a navy cop’s outfit (complete with badge) and black sequined smoking jacket.
He then launched into a diatribe about a lawsuit against his former manager, Jerry Goldstein, saying, “I didn’t know I was being stolen from,” as well as something about now being able to buy his own shoes. Then he sat down on the edge of the stage and sang a preview of a new song – which ended when he rolled back and laid down on the stage.
Things started looking up when he got through most of “Dance to the Music.” Then his keyboard when awry. The band immediately kicked into “I Want to Take You Higher.” Then he walked to the front of the stage and fell on his face into the photo pit and was carried out after less than 30 mins.”
And that was that – another Coachella down, this one seemed to go by super fast. I said goodbye to Nicole and her intoxicated friend and headed for the car and back to Los Angeles. Maybe I’ll make it number 8 next year 🙂
Photographers:

Roy Turner

UK Adventures: Return of Faith No More + Clutch & Anthrax rawk the HMS & more (July/2009)

I hadn’t been to London in almost 5 years, and this one my first time over there as a new business owner. I have friends there that I hadn’t seen in way too long, so the work kept mounting, and the pressing need to do some biz over there became too much and off went, to the allure of fresh fish and alot of great shows.

Faith No More – July 10th – Brixton Academy – London, England U.K.

Well I slept in pretty late as you can imagine, but then I got it together to make my way to Brixton for something I’ve been greatly anticipating, the Faith No More reunion. This was their first show anywhere in 11 years, and also the venue from their much beloved  Live at the Brixton Academy LP.  The show was incredible and I was totally in awe of getting to see these guys again. I haven’t felt compelled to let it all hang out like that in some time, but I went ballistic and was one of the wilder ones down front. Bonded with these three rad Polish girls, who kept looking over at me to see if I knew the words, and when I consistently did, apparently I had passed initiation. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited. Felt good. Afterwards, my new Polish crew invited me to have some post-show drinks with them. Took a bus to Liverpool St. in the constant rain, and then caught the overground back to Eric Clapton.
The show was unbelievable without any kind of partisan. There was just something in the air, and the crowd was so appreciative and grateful that I (along with the band was taken aback) this went very very well.

Setlist –

Reunited (Peaches & Herb cover)
The Real Thing
From Out of Nowhere
Land of Sunshine
Caffeine
Evidence
Chinese Arithmetic
Surprise! You’re Dead!
Easy (Commodores cover)
Last Cup of Sorrow
Midlife Crisis
Cuckoo for Caca
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
RV
King for a Day
Malpractice/Jizzlobber
Be Aggressive
Epic
Mark Bowen

Encore:

Stripsearch (Chariots of Fire Intro)
Just a Man

Encore 2:

I Started a Joke (Bee Gees cover)
Pristina

I had wished I had remembered to take a pic of the marquee at Brixton, as I logged into Blabbermouth the next day that problem was solved and I was even in the pic. How embarassing?

Metal Hammer Cruise w/ Clutch & Anthrax – July 15 – River Thames – London, England U.K.

This day will go do in history as one of the best musical days of my entire life. Had meetings all morning with Rough Trade, but then I made my way to the pier for the Metal Hammer Cruise with Clutch and Anthrax. I arrived and barely made it on the boat in time before it sailed. To gain access to the boat, everyone was given samurai headbands and you’ve not lived until you’ve seen 300 metalheads banging their heads while looking like Daniel Laruso. This was incredible. floating down the River Thames on a boat seeing my old friends do their thing, and I hadn’t seen an Anthrax show in over 10 years so that was fun too.

After a three hour tour (see what I did there?) it docks at the 02 Arena for that night’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. It was cool see this already famed arena from the outside, where Prince did his 21 night run, Led Zeppelin had their reunion and to see all of the hoopla for the upcoming unthinkable 50 date run from Michael Jackson (R.I.P. MJ WE LOVE YOU)
I had an invitation and would normally have attended but I had bigger fish to fry.

( Tues July 15th

Still in utter disbelief over the events of the previous day, I set out to continue the adventure. I had meeting in Knightsbridge in the morning and then I made my way to the University of London Union, where I met with the professors of their Music Business Program. Given the current state of the Music Industry, the old model as we now understand is obsolete and the students of these Universities who have been studying the old model for the last several years need to be re-educated via crash course. I’ve spent the last year and a half speaking at Universities and at Music Conferences around the world speaking on a variety of specific topics as well as the Music Industry as a whole. ((for more info and how you can book Roy Turner for a speaking engagement you can click here)
Unexpectedly they gave me a full tour of the campus, treated me to a generous lunch , and even introduced me to a Summer session in progress and I spoke to the class unscheduled (and unprepared) briefly, as I will be back in London in the Fall to speak formally and conduct a few workshops there and other Universities all over Europe.
Now, back to the Rock N Roll, also at their invitation, Anthrax was playing on campus that evening. This was one of their first shows featuring their new singer and he totally sucked (UPDATE: APPARENTLY THEY THOUGHT SO TOO, AND HE HAS SINCE BEEN FIRED!)

 

 

 

 I had a few hours to kill before the show started, and I had promised my new Irish friend that we would get together at some point and I was within walking distance of her place of employment. So I go over and pick her up, and she is a delight.  I always the class act, take her to a sweaty metal show at a college campus with cheap beer and even cheaper Chinese food afterwards. Ran into this guy who had the entire Faith No More King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime cover tattooed into an entire sleeve. Although not perhaps her first choice of musical fare, Irish girl is a total trooper, and was totally down and we had a great time.

Setlist –

Indians
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
Antisocial (Trust cover)
Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
Caught in a Mosh
Safe Home
Room for One More
Only
What Doesn’t Die
I Am the Law
Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC cover)
Earth On Hell

After we ate she gave me a nice tour around Soho London before we called it a night. It takes forever to get anywhere in this town and the cabs are just too outrageous and the subway stops running at 11pm and only has routes in less than 10% of the city, so its another hour + bus ride back to Eric Clapton.

So tonight it was back to the rock n roll, as I made my way to Queen Elizabeth’s Hall to see a rare Mike Patton performance as part of the Meltdown Festival. On a night off from the Faith No More reunion (see above) the alway prolific Patton decided to spend his doing a one-off with Fred Frith. the show was really bizarre as expected; and a real treat. The were almost upstaged when they were joined by the U.K Beatboxing Champ, Shlomo After the show, I started chatting with some Italianl that had come over 2 hours by train just for this show (for the uniniatiated, Patton fans tend to be obsessive) and they were showing me the pics they took, that later they were kind enough to email to me (thanks Liu).

It was a great night and again I was facing the River Thames. I went inside to see the Patti Smith film Dream of Life, which was really interesting. I’ve never been an obsessive over her, and the film was as abstract and uncomfortable as she comes off sometimes. These old punks from waaaay back chatted me up after the movie and invited me to go have some tea across the bridge. After two glasses and a nice conversation discussing the film, at an outdoor cafe I headed to the bus stop. What I thought would be a routine ride back to the Clapton actually turned violent and could have been alot worse.
I tend to have more than my fair share of inherent male bullshit, where I think I’m exempt from most things. Pickpocketing and flat out mugging seem to be at the top of my male Darwinian mind. I had been warned about the violence in London, especially in the neighborhood where I was currently presiding. However in NYC I just put in my Ipod and let shuffle shield me from harm or direct eye contact. I was on the top level of a double-decker bus rocking the fuck out, when I looked to my right and saw a young vargrant mocking my enthusiasm. Innocently I took my earphones out and embarrasingly asked if he could hear it. Right then, a much older, much scarier vagrant pops up from the seat behind me. I realize I am on the only one up here besides my now potential assailants. He answers for the other by threateningly saying in thick cockney accent (right into my )ear ” If we could fooking hear it, I would tell you to turn it off because it sounds like doo doo” Its then I realize their’s a third stick-up kid who is now blocking my path to exit/safety. I stood up and right then, scary guy behind me grabs the cord to my earphones that thankfullly were under my shirt. I instictively pulled away, and just bamboozled the kid in my way by pushing him as hard as I could, as I ran down the stairs like a little bitch. If you know me, you know that I’m a skinny bitch, with a big mouth, who does dumb shit like this often as I prob should have just handed it over and saved the risk, but I just got the new Atmosphere album uploaded and wasn’t ready to part with it 🙂 I run toward the busdriver and cool it as the bus rolls to a stop. The Boondock Saints upstairs come running down and out the bus to catch me, not realizing I’m still on the bus as we roll away. They yell to stop the bus as I yell even louder not to and off we go. One problem, THAT WAS MY STOP. So I had to get off at the next one, double back and hope I didn’t run into them. Thankfully I didn’t and I and my Ipod lived to rock another day.

Thanks London, Ill be back soon.

Photos –

Roy Turner