Best Bands at Coachella 2010
What and When is The 2010 Coachella Music Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire’s Coachella Valley. The event features many genres of music including alternative rock, hip hop, and Electronic music as well as large sculptural art. The event has several stages/tents set-up throughout the grounds, each playing live music continuously. The main stages are: Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, and the Sahara Tent. The Coachella Music Festival has a desert setting with little cloud cover or shade, with daytime temperatures frequently rising to over 100 °F so wear light clothes and lots of sun screen. The temperature drops drastically after sunset so bring warm clothes. This year has some of the top bands and artists around. The top 10 acts along with when and what day they perform are listed below.
Jay-z:
Performing on Day 1 Friday April 16th
Shawn Corey Carter better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having had a net worth of over $500 million in 2009, He has sold 40 million albums worldwide while receiving ten Grammy Awards for his musical work. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest MCs of all-time.
Birth name: Shawn Corey Carter
Born: December 4, 1969 Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres: Hip hop
Occupations: Rapper, entrepreneur, partial owner of the New Jersey Nets
Years active: 1988–present
Labels: Roc Nation
Associated acts: Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Big Daddy Kane, Amil, Big Jaz, Beyoncé, Big L
Website: Jay-Z.com
Vampire Weekend:
Performing Day 1 Friday April 16th
Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings.The members of the band met while attending Columbia University; they then self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs. Vampire Weekend’s name is derived from lead singer Ezra Koenig’s amateur film of the same name. Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson first collaborated as members of the comedy-rap band “L’Homme Run”. They are managed by Ian Montone, who also manages The White Stripes. They are signed to XL Recordings, of which the band said in an interview: “Before any labels had contacted us, we actually mentioned XL as the kind of label we’d ideally like to end up on. Just going on their roster alone, they obviously have good taste and support their artists well.”
Origin: New York City, New York, United States
Genres: Worldbeat, Indie Rock
Years active: 2006–present
Labels: XL Recordings
Associated acts: Discovery, Dirty Projectors
Website: www.vampireweekend.com
LCD Soundsystem:
Performing Day 1 Friday April 16th
LCD Soundsystem is the musical project of American producer James Murphy, co-founder of dance-punk label DFA Records. The group’s style is a mix of dance music and punk, along with elements of disco and other styles. LCD Soundsystem is particularly popular in Britain, with two albums reaching the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.
Origin: New York City, USA
Genres: Dance-punk
Years active: 2002–present
Labels: DFA Records
Associated acts: Hot Chip, Out Hud, The Juan Maclean
Website: lcdsoundsystem.com
Them Crooked Vultures:
Performing Day 1 Friday April 16th
Them Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, in 2009, by John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. The group also includes Alain Johannes during live performances. The band began recording in July 2009, and performed their first gig on August 9, 2009 in Chicago, followed by a European debut on August 19. On October 1 the group embarked on a worldwide tour titled Deserve the Future with dates going into 2010. The band’s first single “New Fang” was released in October 2009, followed by the group’s self-titled debut album the following month, debuting at number 12 on the Billboard 200.
Origin: Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres: Hard rock, alternative rock
Years active: 2009–present
Labels: Sony Music, Interscope
Associated acts: Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters
Website: themcrookedvultures.com
Muse:
Peforming Day 2 Friday April 17th
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon. Since their inception, the band has been composed of Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances and their fusion of many music genres, including progressive rock, classical music, heavy metal and electronica
Origin: Teignmouth, Devon, England
Genres: Alternative rock, Progressive rock, new prog
Years active: 1994-present
Labels: Warner, Helium 3, Taste, East West, Mushroom, Dangerous
Website: www.muse.mu
Faith No More:
Performing Day 2 Friday April 17th
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, frontman Mike Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Wade Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike Morris was ousted, the group began calling themselves Faith No More. After going through a series of singers which included Courtney Love, the band was joined by Chuck Mosley in 1983. The same year, Jim Martin was recruited to replace guitarist Mark Bowen. The band is best known for combining elements of heavy metal, funk, progressive rock, hip hop, hardcore punk, thrash metal, and jazz, among many others, and have been hailed as an influential rock band. They are also known for their trademark suit-and-tie attire during live performances.
Origin: San Francisco, California, United States
Genres: Alternative metal, funk metal, art rock
Years active: 1981–1998, 2009–present
Labels: Slash, London, Reprise, Mordam
Associated acts: Imperial Teen, Mr. Bungle, Brujeria, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Bad Brains, Ozzy Osbourne, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fear and the Nervous System
Website: www.fnm.com
Tiesto:
Performing Day 2 Friday April 17th
Tiësto OON born Tijs Michiel Verwest on January 17, 1969 is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto. On his latest productions, however, he has dropped the “DJ” label and is now known simply as “Tiësto”, an alias which is a twist of his childhood nickname.
Birth name: Tijs Michiel Verwest
Also known as: DJ Tiësto, Allure, Da Joker, Drumfire, Handover Circuit, Paradise In Dubs, Passenger, Roze, Steve Forte Rio, Stray Dog, Tom Ace, Wild Bunch
Born: January 17, 1969 Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands
Genres: Electronica, trance, house, dance, progressive trance
Occupations: Musician, disc jockey, record producer
Years active: 1985–present
Labels: Noculan (1994)
Basic Beat: (1994–1997)
Lightning: (1995–1996)
XSV Music: (1997)
Black Hole: (1997–2009)
Musical Freedom: (2009–present)
Ultra Records: (2007-present)
Associated acts: Current: Jedidja, Clear View, Taxigirl
Website: www.tiesto.com
Gorillaz:
Performing Day 3 Friday April 18th
Gorillaz are a British virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. The band is composed of four animated band members: 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs. The band’s music is a collaboration between various musicians, Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of their influences including: dub, hip hop, alternative rock, electronic and pop music.
Origin: London, England
Genres: Alternative rock, alternative hip hop, electronica, trip rock, trip hop
Years active: 1998–present
Labels: Parlophone, Virgin, EMI
Associated acts: Bashy, The Bees, Blur, Neneh Cherry, D12, Dan the Automator, Danger Mouse, De La Soul, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Ibrahim Ferrer, Terry Hall, Miho Hatori, Dennis Hopper, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kano, Kid Koala, MF DOOM, Little Dragon, Mos Def, Phi Life Cypher, Lou Reed, Gruff Rhys, Roots Manuva, Mark E. Smith, Snoop Dogg, Spacemonkeyz, Martina Topley-Bird, Ike Turner, Tina Weymouth, Bobby Womack
Website: www.Gorillaz.com
Pavement:
Performing Day 3 Friday April 18th
Pavement is an American indie/alternative rock band. Although they experienced only moderate commercial success, they achieved a significant cult following and were one of the most popular and influential lo-fi rock bands of the 1990s. In their initial ten-year career, they released five full length records, and nine EPs. The group remained signed to an independent label throughout their entire career. The group disbanded in 1999, but after a nine year hiatus a reunion was announced in late 2009. They reunited to play their first show in ten years in March 2010 and have embarked on a world tour.
Origin: Stockton, California
Genres: Indie rock, lo-fi
Years active: 1989–1999, 2010–present
Labels: Drag City, Matador, Big Cat, Pony Canyon, Domino
Associated acts: The Crust Brothers, Ectoslavia, Free Kitten, Gary Young’s Hospital, Marble Valley, Spiral Stairs, Preston School of Industry, Silver Jews, Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Thom York:
Peforming Day 3 Friday April 18th
Thomas Edward “Thom” Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar. In July 2006, he released his debut solo album, The Eraser. He is also the lead vocalist of the rock supergroup Atoms for Peace, which he formed in late 2009.
Birth name: Thomas Edward Yorke
Also known as: Tchock, Tchocky, Dr. Tchock
Born: 7 October 1968 Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Genres:
Alternative rock
Electronic
Occupations: Musician
Instruments:
Vocals
Guitar
Piano
Keyboards
Percussion
Bass guitar
Programming
Drums
Years active: 1985—present
Labels: XL
Associated acts: Radiohead, UNKLE, Björk, Atoms for Peace