2012 Coachella Day 3: Santigold, Fitz & The Tantrums, Gotye, Calvin Harris, Florence & The Machine

Posted on April 16, 2012 by CenterOrch

Weather on the third and final day Coachella, Weekend 1, was perfect.  Eighty-two degrees and I barely needed a sweater after the sun set.  Got to the polo fields by mid-afternoon to catch Brooklyn-based Santigold.  A logistical disaster at the pat-down security station prevented us from seeing the first five songs of her set, but what I did see I loved.  In fact, I immediately bought tickets to her upcoming show in New York.   She was performing “Gifted” when we arrived and then she went into “Disparate Youth,” her latest single from her forthcoming album Master of My Make-Believe, then “Freak Like Me,” which featured horse nays and galloping.  Her dancers appeared in a two-person horse costume.  “That cow follows us from New York wherever we go,” she teased.  A fun song, “Brooklyn (We Go Hard)” followed and was dedicated to all the Brooklynites in attendance.  She closed with her recent single “Big Mouth.”

Stuck around the main stage for Fitz & The Tantrums, an LA-based indie soul pop group led by Michael Fitzpatrick, who sports an awesome skunk stripe in his hair, and the sassy and brassy Noelle Scaggs.  Great vibe and a lot of fun, Fitz and friends played songs off their debut album including “Breakin’ the Chains of Love” and “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.” I want to know what Fitz has against Gs?

The big meet up and the one act everyone could agree to see together was Gotye.  We speculated that he has blown up since he signed on to be at Coachella.  He was cool, but he gravitated to a lot of the slower songs on his new album, which didn’t bode well for a fiesty crowd.  Still, “Eyes Wide Open,” “Easy Way Out” and “I Feel Better” did the trick, but it was monster hit “Somebody That I Used To Know” that got all those damn girls around me screaming at the top of their lungs.  We got a pleasant surprise in the form of Kimbra, who appeared just for her one line.  Amazing.  Even though every girl was singing so loud you couldn’t hear her.  Oh well, I’m lucky I saw them both a couple weeks ago.  I love Kimbra!

Girl Talk or Calvin Harris?  That was the dilemma.  These are not big problems really, unless you’re a die hard music fan.  My friends wanted to see Calvin because there was rumor on the polo fields all weekend that a certain Barbadian may make an appearance.  Mr. Harris, the Scottish producer and DJ has made a big name for himself this year.  He’s worked with all my favorites — Kylie, Kelis, Sophie.  But it’s his collaboration with Rihanna on “We Found Love” that has propelled him into the dance pop stratosphere.  His set was great, and so were the lights.  I wisely witnessed the euphoria from the Heineken beer garden.  And for once, the rumors were true.  “eh, eh, eh…  RiRi’s in da tent!”  It was actually very, very cool for her to show up.  Rumors swirled that she’d been around the festival all weekend with bestie Katy Perry.  Never saw them of course.  Heard Jared Leto was around too.  But I digress.

While I technically stuck around for headliners Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and special guest Eminem, I was tired, sitting on the lawn, and letting my friends squeeze the last minutes out of Coachella 2012.  My Coachella ended with the great Florence & The Machine.  The highlight of my weekend.  I love Florence and I have since Lungs.  About to tour to support Ceremonials, I was excited to see her perform new songs.  She slayed the night.  Bewitching and beguiling as ever, she opened with “Only If For A Night,” the lead track off the new album, and then went on to play the beautiful “What the Water Gave Me,” “Cosmic Love” off Lungs, “Spectrum,” “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” the soaring “Never Let Me Go,” the resilient “Shake it Off” and her big one, “Dog Days Are Over.”  The best part of Coachella is that after an artist has performed their biggest hit, the non-loyalists bolt.  Happened again here, and it opened up the field and let us get up and personal for “No Light, No Light.”   Perfect ending to a perfect weekend.  I cannot wait to do it all again next year.

Filed under: Calvin Harris, Fitz & The Tantrums, Florence & The Machine, Gotye, Kimbra, Rihanna, Santigold | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Last Girls On Earth: Ke$ha and Rihanna Play MSG

Posted on August 14, 2010 by CenterOrch

Big box concerts at Madison Square Garden are always a lot of fun.  Tonight my friends and I met up at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ on 33rd Street for a drink or two before Rihanna‘s Last Girl On Earth Tour, featuring Ke$ha.  I like Rihanna, but this concert was not high on my list to attend; however, I was interested to see how the Barbadian beauty stacked up in the arena setting compared to her contemporaries like Beyonce, Madonna, Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga — all of whom have played, and I’ve seen at the Garden.  It’s been the tour no one is talking about, and apparently it’s her first headlining tour.  She’s canceled a number of shows due to lagging ticket sales, so she must be thrilled to be in New York City for her sold out show here.

We got to the show a song or two into pop-tart Ke$ha‘s set.  She was singing a song called “Party at a Rich Dude’s House.”  Right off the bat I expected a train wreck, but was surprised to see that she could hold her own in a venue like the Garden.  Her songs are guilty pleasures, like the next song she sang which she said was about “old guys.”  I’m sure she’s talking about me.  “D-I-N-O-S-A- UR a Dinosaur!” Great.  Thanks, Ke$h.  So stupid.  But her “Animal” was really good, one of those songs that starts slow, kicks in and infectiously makes you sing and dance.  Guilty!  I also love her new single, “Take It Off,” which of course featured her backup dancers shirtless.   She ended her set with her big hits, “Your Love Is My Drug” and “Tik Tok.”  For the former, I crushed on Ke$ha after she she signed off with her hilarious song-ending shout out, “I love your beard.”

It’s after 9:30 and the crowd is getting a little impatient.  Girl, it’s a school night!  The arena finally goes dark and Rihanna is pushed out to center stage wearing a lit-up red dress singing her “comeback” torch song, “Russian Roulette.”  At the end of the song, she begs “so just pull the trigger.”  With a bang, the red dress bleeds to darkness.  To pick up the pace, she quickly donned a pair of Minnie Mouse ears glued to a helmet and perched herself on the “big gun” of her pink tank for “Hard.”  Cute, but Cher’s been doing that since the ’80s on battleships.  Hmmm, a tank or the USS Missouri?  I think we know who would say size matters.  I am impressed with how many hits Rihanna has racked up since she hit scene in 2005 with “Pon de Replay,” starting with her next number, “Shut Up And Drive.”  This is a great song!  It made me miss the Good Girl Gone Bad starlet who on her recent album has become the Rated R dark girl.  Her new music is really good, just a little dark, that’s all.  Case in point: “Fire Bomb” is great, as is “Rude Boy,” “Stupid in Love,” and “Te Amo,” which is a huge hit in Europe, fueled by a video of her mashing with a chick.

I suppose I am an old school Rihanna fan.  “Hate That I Love You” is one of her best collaborations, and it would have been amazing had Ne-Yo made an appearance, but he didn’t.  “Disturbia” brought back the summer of 2008 and her dancers appeared in oversized robot-monster costumes.  Creepy.  She also played all the hits that allow her to sing her signature “eh, eh, ehs” like “Rehab” and “Run This Town.”  I was surprised how well Rihanna sounds live.  I really wanted to believe she was singing and not allowing a track to save her.  I think her best moments was when she slowed things down, eliminated props, pyrotechnics, tanks and just sang.  “Unfaithful” and especially “Take a Bow” were flawless.

The sold out Garden went into mild frenzies during “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Breakin’ Dishes” and 2006 song of the summer, “SOS.”  Classic Rihanna and the girl we all miss and love.  No big surprises during this concert, no Eminem appearance, but I was thrilled to see her cover Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life.”  She even got behind the percussion (a la Ms. Escovedo) and banged her drums.  Good girl gone right!  I found it funny how all the little twink girls around me had no clue what she was singing, let alone appreciate the homage to one of my idols of my youth.  I was so in love with Sheila E. back in the day, records, posters and photos I had purchased at Spencer Gifts at Metro North Mall all over my bedroom walls.  “She was the female version of Prince,” we used to say.  What does that mean?  Prince is the female version of Prince.  I think I was just secretly in love with Prince, channeled through Sheila, which was more socially acceptable in the Midwest.

But I digress.  Back to the girl at hand.  What Rihanna concert would be complete without her signature song, the summer song of 2007 and arguably RiRi’s biggest hit, the once ubiquitous “Umbrella.”  She’s going to be singing this song for the rest of her life.  But it’s a classic.  I think Rihanna is a classic too.  I just hope she puts her personal drama behind her, learns and grows from it, and finds peace, happiness and records music that forces us to the dancefloor.  Please don’t stop the music, Ri.

Filed under: Ke$ha, Rihanna | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.