“I wanted to portray a unique view of the incomparable Coachella experience. Following the crowds in the sunshine from arrival, camping, exploring the art in the arena, all the way through to the headliners at night, this film brings a miniature feel to this huge festival. For more information about how it was done, please see here: aerofilm.blogspot.com
Many thanks to Robbie and Tuna for operating the booms, and to everyone at Goldenvoice who helped me navigate the event to shoot.”
I attended a Bloc Party DJ set that took place shortly after they finished playing to a sold out crowd on St.Patrick’s day. The set featured Matt Tong and Russell Lissack taking turns playing some new but mainly older dance and electro tracks on a CDJ setup.
DJing has become a popular medium for bands to take in the last few years. I’ve seen DJ sets by Chromeo, The Rapture, and Andrew W.K. The quality of these sets vary greatly. Andrew W.K performs often at Studio B (NYC) where he has become some sort of resident DJ. I hate being a hater, but him (and his friend making random sounds into a mic) are absolute shit. On the other hand, Chromeo (specifically Dave 1) puts on a decent, high energy performance (but this makes sense considering your brother is superstar DJ a-trak).
One of the biggest challenges for new or unknown DJs is figuring out the world of promoting, how to score gigs, and finding a fan base. But most bands already have success in these areas, and using your bands rep to score gigs at clubs during a tour seems like a rather easy (maybe even effortless) transition.
With all that being said, Bloc Party did an alright job. Not great – not amazing – just alright. Mixing was good, track selection – not so much. But I have to give them credit; finishing a live gig, and playing a 2 hour DJ set can’t be an easy task. Especially when you’re a novice DJ spinning right after a pro like three time DMC national champ Drastik.
Sometimes you should stick to what you do best. For Bloc Party, that’s probably their post-punk rifts, live shows, and being known as the guys that came out with the epic tracks on Silent Alarm (unless you’re into that whole Intimacy thing).
Photo credit: Emma Svensson via Rockfoto (for press)
Two years ago I made plans with a friend to hit up Coachella 08 which never happened (meg/FAIL). Instead, I was hopeful that most of the headliners would make their way through various east coast festivals and concerts. This ended up being the case, with most of the main line making their way to Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and NY state throughout the summer and fall. Still, I’ve only heard great things about Coachella and its definitely on my to-do list. The energy of the event is apparently unreal. If not this year, maybe 2010? Either way, this promo pumps you up… SUMMER!!!
