CAT POWER
personal favorite: You Are Free
GIRL TALK
old standby: Feed the Animals
more recent: All Day
SANTIGOLD
fresh for 2012: Master of My Make Believe
THE RAPTURE
2003 classic: Echoes
2011 standout: In the Grace of Your Love
WILD FLAG
debut: Wild Flag
Which of you persistent whores scored Coachella tickets? If you succeeded, congratulations. Both weekends sold out in 3 hours, with most of weekend one tickets snatched up during last year’s presale. If you didn’t, no worries. Demeter Clarc’s coverage will make you feel like you experienced the giant human stank that is Coachella first hand.
With over 130 different musical acts scheduled to perform, only the most musically well-versed have familiarity with the entire roster. For the rest of us who need a remedial, over the next few months we’ll explore the best of what the Coachella line-up has to offer. Here’s the start of a cheat sheet to help you cram for your Coachella final in April. Consider listening to the whole album out of respect for the effort as a complete work and (hopefully) a complete thought.
Artist: SBTRKT
Album: SBTRKT
Songs: Wildfire, Trials of the Past
Artist: Feist
Recent Album: Metals
Songs: Caught A Long Wind, How Come You Never Go There
Artist: Beats Antique
Recent Albums: Blind Threshold, Elektrafone
Songs: Spiderbite, Vardo
Artist: EMA
Album: Past Life Martyred Saints
Songs: Breakfast, California
Artist: tUnE-yArDs
Album: w h o k i l l
Songs: Es-so, Powa
Hey music muffins. Last night was all about Lykke Li and the Swedish Star didn’t disappoint. She made us wait, but when she arrived on a sparse stage with white lights and super long black curtains, she served up the best of her 2 album catalog.
What she wore? Proving once again bodycon is dead, she appeared in a very interesting get-up indeed. Mizz Li werked some kind of black pants (possibly a bodysuit?) with some flowy, scarvy type action. There might have been a robe involved. See below. Very Stockholm. This totally modern choice kept the focus on the music. The hair? Ombre bitches.
The music was fantastic. We had some serious bass moments, a dance break, some Kanye, and even a little Righteous Brothers. She kept the energy up through the relatively short set and took off like a whirling dervish prior to breaking for the encore. 
Lykke Li proved again her vocal nuance is no studio magic. This girl can sing and she does so in an original, creative, and self-restrained way. Her cover of Unchained Melody was enchanting perfection, and that song usually kind of annoys me.
This week I had the pleasure of visiting two of my very favorite people in one of the world’s most enjoyable cities for the Portishead show. No, we did not stumble into a portal which transported us back to 1994. Before we arrived, one of the crew asked what the crowd would be like. “Old,” I replied. Lest we forget that 1994 was 17 unforgiving years ago.
Truthfully, I haven’t listened to much of Third, Portishead’s most recent record from oh-eight. During a certain moment in time, however, I wore Dummy out. In the mid-nineties, ubiquitous Dummy was in everyone’s collection, at least in my drugged-up slutty circles. Is there anything druggier or sluttier than Portishead? Sour Times for Good Times.
Turns out, Portishead live is a deeply conflicting experience. Apart from some short-lived glitchy sound issues, the selections from Dummy were sublime. In particular, Wandering Star was a well-executed highlight. 
With regret I must confess I did not connect to their newer more “experimental” offerings. At their worst, Portishead sounded like the off-key bastard child of Sonic Youth and Evanescence. It was two songs worth of misery interrupted by an old familiar fave followed by more loud pain. The contrast was jarring. The crowd was especially limp and unresponsive to the less familiar material as is usually the case, but in this instance magnified. One review described the audience as “rapt,” which really wasn’t an accurate reading of my area of the room. Curious about the set list? Silence, Hunter, Mysterons, The Rip, Sour Times, Magic Doors, Wandering Star, Machine Gun, Over, Glory Box, Chase the Tear, Cowboys, Threads, with an encore: Roads, We Carry On.
During Glory Box my friend leaned forward and yelled in my ear, “Oh yeah, this is that song from The Craft. I totally feel like I’m being sexually assaulted in the woods by Skeet Ulrich.” And that pretty much sums up the experience.
To say I was looking forward to this show would be an extreme understatement. Reveling in both Horehound and Sea of Cowards, and harboring a huge lady boner for Mz. Mosshart, obtaining tickets to The Dead Weather topped my priority list this summer.
High expectations usually come with deep disappointment, and you wouldn’t be reading this if I didn’t have a few criticisms. Sound issues vexed the performance with Mosshart’s vocals too low and the bass too loud. Multitasking presented a challenge for Jack who struggled to simultaneously drum and sing, with the vocals suffering over the drumming (in case you were wondering). At times they were sloppy and muddy sounding. 
Dean Fertita fucking rocked on lead guitar, with his clean, inventive, beautiful musicianship. Alison looked a little thin. Her choice of long sleeved shirt in the intense heat raised my eyebrow, but she growled, implored, screeched, and exquisitely harmonized, proving she’s as well-rounded a vocalist and frontwoman as you can find. Her eye contact will improve when she harnesses her power and gains more confidence. She and Jack shared a mic and a intimate moment on Will There Be Enough Water?, and Alison drew out an achingly gorgeous vulnerable quality she usually keeps under wraps. Expect to see much more from her unless she falls prey to the cliched pitfalls of the lifestyle. 
The true glowing talent is Jack White. His starshine undeniably illuminates the entire room. The term genius should not be thrown around willy nilly, lest it lose its meaning, but here it truly applies. 
These musicians obviously inspire each other and love working together. There is genuine, palpable affection among them. Overall, a stellar rock show.
