Travelblogue, Coachella 2006 04: Mid-Festival, AT&T Blue Room

I'm currently at the festival in the AT&T "Blue Room," an air-conditioned tent with computers. Freakin' brilliant. And a sign of how important the modern internet is becoming to the music industry (at least the indie end of it).

Arrived way later than I'd expected, so I missed Lady Sovereign. I did, however, catch Joey Beltram. Nice to see some authentic techno and acid here - despite their tact in the booking of rock and hip-hop acts, Goldenvoice suffers some serious handicaps when it comes to electronic acts. Overall, things in the Sahara (dance) tent are enjoyable as always, despite the sometimes shoddy music. The vibe of the electronic music scene can be infectiously positive when one is in the right state of mind. However, that didn't stop the utter horror of Collette's singing over her DJing from driving me away from the Sahara.

After that, there was a bunch of wandering. I checked out the music magazine tents to pick up the swag that they always have - it's a bit leaner this year than in years past. Then to check out the film tent to rest my feet and get out of the sun for a while. Watched a bit of a very cool documentary on the metal scene. Despite what you saw on my itinerary in the previous post, I didn't watch Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - the throng of hipsters was thick enough to deter me, and I had only a very low level of interest in them due to the buzz - they only made the schedule because there wasn't anything else to interst me.

Anayway, I've been taking beacoup pictures. Most won't be up until after I get back to the hotel, if at all, but here's a teaser:

Yes, gnomes. In a dome tent. On a weird faux-earth pedestal. And they make noises.

Indeed, Coachella 'tis an affirming event. I feel my surliness slipping away in the face of the carnivalesque nature of this place.

More later...