My Own Private Coachella

Weekend recap time. Now...I have heard nothing but good things about Stars, so much that I had contemplated buying their record, but in concert, they SUCKED. I can't convey how bored I was during their show. Their first few songs sounded like Arcade Fire, Jr., but they got progressively worse from there. I think it had to do with their lead singer, who had this gay, white, Sammy Davis Jr. vibe going on. He just bugged me and I couldn't get past it. Not my thing. Oh well.

Ivy, however, were just great. Very Nico-esque with lots and lots of la la la's, so of course I loved them. I really enjoyed their set and even worked my way up towards the front of the crowd (something I rarely do lately), but the crowd cleared out after Stars finished their set. Miss Gl*mrocker, who accompanied me, informed me that Ivy did a mean cover of the Go-Betweens Streets Of Your Town which I downloaded from iTunes after I got home later that night. Not mind blowing, but pretty damn good nonetheless. Look for it on the monthly mix, which will be relvealed later in the week. So...to sum up; Ivy=good, Stars=bad.

Saturday I watched the C's roll over the Pacers (worst. Pacers. playoff. loss. ever., PP had 30, 7 boards, 8 dimes and 5 blocks!) and then headed out to the Black Cat for Razzmatazz. Some other bluestaters were in attendance and we all hung out (i.e. they danced, I was clinging to the wall) until I called it a night around half twelve.

On Sunday, I was exhausted for most of the day. I went down to IKEA shopping for some picture frames (which they didn't have in stock) and that took all damn day. It was hard for me to muster up the energy to go see David Gedge and The Wedding Present, but I sure am glad I did. I headed in to DC at 10, which put me at the club around 10:30, just as the Weddoes were about to go on. The place wasn't very crowded so I grabbed a Bud and went up near the stage. Soon after Gedge and Co. came out and ripped shit up.

They played a good portion of Take Fountain but peppered the set with some Weddoes classics like My Favourite Dress, Once More and Kennedy(!!!!!!) before the triple threat ending of Dalliance, Dare and What Have I Said Now. Simply the very definition of so much awesome. I was expecting more guitar shredding (Gedge plays a wicked axe) and was a tad disappointed with that aspect of the show until Kennedy and What Have I Said Now saved the day. I can't believe I almost didn't go.

Sadly, this was the first time I had ever seen one of my favourite bands. I saw half a Weddoes show in the mid 90's at CMJ, but that really didn't count since two of my best friends at the time (both females) got into a fight at the gig (sadly, not over me) and I had to leave to go referee. Predictably, they broke into my fave Weddoes track, Brassneck, shortly after I bailed. Needless to say, the two females in question were never forgiven for this terrible offense which has scarred me for life. Until now, yay!

Oh, and in the ultimate act of fanboy validation, I scored a setlist.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Wedding Present, head right over to Bradley's Almanac and download their set from Boston (and some covers! can't wait to listen to them). Thanks Brad! The Pita saw the NYC gig and offers up her fave Weddoes song for download. I'll have some tracks tomorrow, as well as photos, but I got home too late to upload shit last night.

Also, I just realized this morning that I don't have my copy of Bizarro any more. This was a staple of my college music listening diet. I wonder what happened to it.