Music Concerts

Coachella Picks 2013

by Melissa Bobbitt
Apr 5, 2013

Dropkick Murphys coachella Nine Inch Nails Death Cab for Cutie Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds the Postal Service Grinderman How To Destroy Angels Modest Mouse

Just a week away from the holy music pilgrimage to the desert that is the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. It's this writer's 14th year attending (Jesus. That's a lot of sun-drenched rockin'), and the excitement is just as palpable as it was when I first attended at age 16. This year's lineup is so ridiculously good I almost popped a vein trying to decide which five acts to include in my essentials this year.

I risked my health for you, dear readers! Now please enjoy the top five artists I'm salivating to see out on the polo fields:

5. How To Destroy Angels I blew my previous Coachella opportunities to see Trent Reznor do his thing with Nine Inch Nails, so this is a really good consolation prize. (And I'm too broke to justify seeing the revitalized NIN at Lollapalooza.) I can imagine Mariqueen Mandaag's lush singing echoing off the craggy surrounding mountains as night envelopes the valley. Just gorgeous.

4. Modest Mouse Modest Mouse's misanthropic rock has been missing for far too long. They're slated to end the six-year hiatus with an album later this year. With sometimes-guitarist Johnny Marr also on the bill, expect the Smith to sit in with Isaac Brock's band again.

3. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Speaking of legendary grumps, Nick Cave is pulling double duty this Coachella with his Bad Seeds and his perverse endeavor Grinderman. But it's the dark artistry of the Seeds that has me quivering with anticipation. They'll likely perform after the sun goes down, just as my black eyeliner has melted to appropriate gothic proportions.

2. The Postal Service The Postal Service's rabid fans had just about "given up" on a reunion of this beloved one-off project from Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and DNTL's Jimmy Tamborello. But hell froze over in 2013, and the emo-dance duo are marking the 10th anniversary of their classic album with a string of concert dates. Um, I'm not crying; I just have sand in my eye.

1. Dropkick Murphys Can you smell the Guinness a-brewing?! (Well, no, you can't; Heineken has a monopoly on Coachella's beer offerings.) These Boston boys are a guaranteed fun time, so kick up yer kilt and jump in the pit. Their 2013 release, Signed and Sealed in Blood, is one of my favorites of the year.

More from Melissa Bobbitt (See All)

Music

What We're Digging Right Now - Melissa Ferrick

Melissa Bobbitt 0

Image by Joel Benjamin Perseverance pays. A longtime veteran of the music industry and one of the greats of the women's alternarock movement in the 1990s, Melissa Ferrick is back with the truth is (MPress...

Jun 10, 2013

Melissa Ferrick Ani DiFranco Paula Cole

Concerts

Tour Announcement - Horse Feathers

Melissa Bobbitt 0

If you're longing for the days when Mumford & Sons would play tiny clubs, and the sweat of the atmosphere felt like a dusty, down-home rodeo, why not give Horse Feathers a try? Their...

Sep 27, 2012

Tours Horse Feathers Mumford & Sons

Coachella Picks 2013

More from Melissa Bobbitt (See All)

What We're Digging Right Now - Melissa Ferrick

Tour Announcement - Horse Feathers

Comments

Login to post a comment

Recent posts

Marley Bleu: The Rising Star with a Sultry, Soulful Sound

DJ Battlecat: The West Coast’s Sonic Architect

Jungle: Where Soul, Funk, and Groove Collide

Idles: The Anthem of Anger and Emotion

Tags

Subscribe!

Social

Who to follow