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From: Jason Krieger
Roger Waters World Tour 2008
From the Coachella Valley Music Festival
'We were somewhere around Indio Palm Springs, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs begin to take hold...'
. . . but the drug that I was on was not what most of the 60,000+ fellow merry
pranksters @ the 3 day Coachella Valley Music Festival were imbibing. My drug of
choice was adrenaline, awaiting my all time favorite artist & performer (because
nowadays, he really has become fucking fabulous in his live performances) Roger
Waters.
This was my 4th time seeing my father (in my mind, one of the many lyrical and
writing influences of my life hence the father tag). And as the radio
projected on the video scan played its tunes, as the drunken whiskey hand dialed
in others (turning off the disco), I knew I was ready for another life affirming
experience from the creative genius of Pink Floyd.
As the opening chords of In the Flesh rang out over the crowd I was in
HEAVEN.
The set was exactly the same as the previous 2 shows I saw at the Hollywood Bowl
2 years (?) ago. Which was fine, since Roger could play Twister on stage and I
would still go and pay top dollar.
The sound was absolutely perfect. Yuka (my girlfriend, soon to be fiance) and I
were something like 20th row from stage left and you could not buy a better
seat in the house. Coachella is ALWAYS that good of an experience, if you get to
the main stage early enough to cop a good position.
Anyway, Roger - bearded stubble and looking healthy, extremely happy and playing
up to the crowd like I havent seen him do before, owned each and every concert
goer in his hands. The band was so finely tuned that I struggled to identify who
was missing from the previous shows (no Andy or Katie... wish you where there) but
Chester & Sylvia filled in admirably.
The set really was without one bad note played. "Leaving Beirut," always a
highlight, was finally received without one boo or vocal dissent (as it should
ALWAYS be received). I've written about my review of the Sheep who boo it
before (http://www.rogerwaters.org/tour/2006Arev/la3rev.html) and it was an
absolute pleasure not be in their company at Coachella.
Roger is fucking god and should he tour again, anyone reading this simply MUST
pay the fee, whatever the cost, to see him.
Also, if you have never gone to Coachella, dont think and buy a ticket for the
next year. JUST DO IT!!!! The Festival is like Woodstock on steroids. Its like
an IPOD concert, if you dont like one act, you have 5 or 6 other stages to go to
and sample something else. The line ups are always excellent, even if you're not
into the artists on the main stage, there's literally something for everyone.
And its so well organized, you never see a fight, drunken retard spoiling your
vibe or fucked up poobah to make it regrettable.
I mean, where can you see our man Roger play on the same bill as Prince,
Portishead, the Raconteurs, the Verve, Love and Rockets, the Breeders, Serj
Tankian, Fatboy Slim, Spiritualized, MIA, Dwight fucking Yokam, Hot Chip, Kate
Nash, Perry Farrell, Dimitri from Paris, Scars on Broadway, Black Kids, MGMT & a
host of others that my crispy brain is forgetting (albeit not on the same day
with some).
(liberally quoting another father of mine, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, from Fear
And Loathing In Las Vegas: A Savage Journey To The Heart Of The American Dream
Second Vintage Books Edition, June 1998 Copyright 1971 by Hunter S. Thompson)
- J
Indio California
April 27th 2008
They looked at me, but said nothing. By this time I was laughing crazily. But it
made no difference. I was just another fucked-up cleric with a bad heart. Shit,
they'll love me down at the Brown Palace. I took another big hit off the amyl,
and by the time I got to the bar my heart was full of joy. I felt like a monster
reincarnation of Horatio Alger . . . a Man on the Move, and just sick enough to
be totally confident.
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