Subpar lineup for Coachella
Jeff Moses
The lineup for the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has finally been announced, and a legion of Valley of the Sun festival fans, are now weighing the option of purchasing a $380 ticket now, or waiting for the unveiling of other lineups like Bonnaroo and Sasquatch.
With just a glance at the headliners the festival has taken huge step back from last year’s threesome of The Black Keys, Radiohead and Snoop and Dre, replaced by The Stone Roses, Blur, Phoenix, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
A deeper look into the festivals lineup would further reveal that many of this year’s bands have recently been through the Valley and are very likely to come again.
Bassnectar, Passion Pit, Teagan and Sara, Beach House, Metric, Of Monsters and Men, Aesop Rock, and Purity Ring are just the day one bands that have recently played in and around the Phoenix area.
It’s definitely worth mentioning that Trent Reznor is returning to Indio for the fist time since 2009 with his side project How to Destroy Angels, and former Headliner Modest Mouse is playing as well, but with two forgettable headliners like The Stone Roses and Blur, day one lacks the draw of older lineups for Phoenicians.
Day two can almost match day one for acts rolling through the Valley before or after the festival Sigur Ros, The XX, Knife Party, Pusicifer, and Benny Benassi have all graced one stage in or around the Valley within recent memory,
The Dropkick Murphy’s are also on the day two lineup, but their stark similarity to Tempe St. Paddy’s Day regulars Flogging Molly make them a negligible show for a Valley of the Sun Festival goer,
Day two definitely has its selling points, pop artist Moby is known to put on a great show, Major Laser is another act known to party hard.
Old school rockers Descendants and the Violent Femmes are also playing day two, and with a headliner called Phoenix, Valley participants should be stoked.
Day three is where the ball seams to really drop, even with a performance by one of my personal favorite artists Pretty Lights. As well as recently reformed hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan.
Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Grimes, Hardwell, The Gaslight Anthem, The Faint, and headliner The Red Hot Chili Peppers, are the bands on day three that will have recently stopped in or near Maricopa County.
RHCP taking the spot, one year after headlining Bonnaroo and though clearly aged and by many accounts not the same band they were 10-years ago seem to be desperately clinging to their last contingent of fans as they prepare to take the inevitable plunge into irrelevance.
