Bolt of Blue

Posted photos from my recent trip to meet my new adorable nephew Brendan. Took some of the best photos of my nephew Evan… ever. He is currently obsessed with pirates. And makes a pretty fine one too.

Getting ready and excited for Coachella. Set times were announced. For the most part, there’s no big conflicts. I probably won’t be able to see much of the Rapture though. They also announced who is doing the signing tent. The Good, The Bad & The Queen signing! Yes! So thrilled! (Looks like they were removed from the list – damnit!)

Not too thrilled about being apart from Remi. This will be the longest we’ve been apart since he used to live in Vancouver. We used to go weeks and months between visits. Now, the longest we’ve gone is 3 nights. This time we’re going to spend 4 nights apart. He’s not going because of his aversion to heat and crowds of hipsters. Plus the price for tickets was not worth it for him. Sigh. I will miss my boy.

A week from tomorrow is Spider-Man 3. We already got our tickets for opening night at the Village. After that, there’s so many things going on in May… wedding, trip to Vegas, birthdays, Celebration, Pirates. No end in sight for a lack of something to do. Heh.

Coachella set times went up last night. So early this year. Heh.

Need time to digest.

This week is MADNESS as I get ready for the big weekend of sun, fun, and music. Doesn’t help that I had to post about this today. Sigh.

I’m almost walking with no limp. But I still can’t straighten my bum leg completely. Or bend me knee all the way.

Physical therapy is coming along. It’s slow going. And frustrating. I want to be out and about like my old self again. I want to go camping. And hiking. Biking. Kayaking…

For Remi’s birthday I got him kayaking lessons for two. I’ve been sea kayaking before and I absolutely loved it. But I was 13. So you know, I’m rusty. Remi has been dying to try it out and wants us to take it up seriously. We both dream of taking a kayaking trip to Vancouver Island one day. Not sure when I’ll be fit enough though to take the lessons. Hopefully we can take them in May.

And I better be stronger by Coachella.

The Coachella line up is very impressive. Very.

There’s lots of new bands I want to check out but there are plenty of older ones I’d be excited to see.

And the line up includes Damon’s new band! Ack! And Jarvis Cocker! And the Happy Mondays! And the Jesus and Mary Chain! OMG. Totally brings me back to the early 90′s. If only Kula Shaker and the Bluetones were added to the line up. And where’s Brett Anderson?

But then I just got the mind blowing news that James have reformed with the Laid line-up (Tim, Jim, Larry, Saul, Mark and Dave). They are playing in Manchester on April 28. The 2nd day of Coachella. My head and heart might explode.

Coachella Extends Festival To 3 Days In ’07

I’m not sure I like this news. 3 days in that heat?!? And will they really be able to fill a bill spread over 3 days? I don’t know. I’m skeptical.

The line up and times for the Virgin signing tent at Coachella are up:

Saturday, April 29th

2:00 PM – The Like
2:30 PM – She Wants Revenge
3:00 PM – Eagles of Death Metal
3:30 PM – Atmosphere
5:00 PM – Franz Ferdinand
5:30 PM – Wolfmother
6:30 PM – Common
7:00 PM – Living Things

Sunday, April 30th

2:00 PM – Imogen Heap
2:30 PM – Nine Black Alps
3:00 PM – Matisyahu
3:30 PM – Mates of State
4:30 PM – Editors
5:00 PM – Magic Numbers
5:30 PM – Tosca
6:00 PM – Seu Jorge

I’m really surprised that Franz Ferdinand is doing a signing. Normally, main stage acts (and I’m assuming they’re going to be on the main stage) don’t do signings.

So I was all geared up to not be excited about Coachella. I wasn’t too keen by most of the rumors I was hearing. I told myself to just wait and see once they announced the official line up.

Man. I’m so INCREDIBLY excited now! I didn’t think I’d want to go. What was I smoking!?!

Coldplay. Weezer. BAUHAUS. COCTEAU TWINS. NEW ORDER. Chemical Brothers. Prodigy. Gang of Four. Nine Inch Nails. Cafe Tacuba. Doves. Sage Francis. The Faint. Arcade Fire. British Sea Power. The Bravery. The Futureheads. SO EXCITED. ACK!

So yeah, I’m definitely going for both days. Going to be so much fun! I don’t really understand people complaining that this year’s line up being a disappointment compared to last year. If you don’t like the line up, then don’t come and overcrowd the polo fields. Come for the music or stay home I say.

Saturday:

• Sold out? Please. My friend got a ticket when we walked right up to the box office and plopped down 80 bucks. It was actually cheaper then buying online before hand via ticketbastard or getting suckered by ebay.
• It was fucking hot. HOT HOT HOT. I think it was most ridiculous as we waited in line for the entrance to open. I think I drank at least 10 bottles of water throughout the day and only had to go pee once… that’s how hot it was.
• The Sounds rocked. Great way to start the day off. All Swedes were on fire Saturday. The (International) Noise Conspiracy were excellent too. And apparently the sun is their kryptonite.
• The Stills were next and I had a headache already and one of my camera’s ate my film and I was irritated. So not in the mood to be in the sun again and needed food so after a song or two, skipped out on the rest of their set.
• The Mojave tent was BRUTAL during the day. It was like an oven. It stank and after 2 and half songs from stellastarr*, we bolted when I looked at my arm and it was completely soaked in sweat. We sat in nice shade outside the tent and listened to the rest of their sweet set. They sounded awesome.
• We took naps in the Playstation 2 tent as we tried to cool down in the A/C.
• Did I mention how hot it was?
• Too many smokers added to the fact that it was hot.
• Sparta sounded very gracious to be playing right before the Pixies.
• The Pixies were awesome fun. Except, it was so hard to watch most of it even with big screens. We were not close. At all. It was a kick to see our friend’s distinct orange hate bouncing around in the front during shots of the crowd on the big screens but after a while, we went to check out the merch booth where everything was quickly selling out. We got ourselves a CD of the Pixies set at Coachella that Remi picked up during Radiohead. Score!
• What we heard of Kinky while waiting in a long water fountain line made me sad that I missed them.
• The Rapture put on one of the best shows I saw all weekend. They sounded tight, the crowd was going bonkers, I was dancing up a storm, and their own dancing and cowbell antics won my heart. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to finally see a full set of theirs. I loved it!
• After a long day of walking around and being in that heat, Radiohead put Remi to sleep. I was near comatose and since our view sucked, I gave up and went to the Gobi tent to get a good spot for Phantom Planet. I love Radiohead but I needed to be close up and most of what they played was far too mellow. Plus poor Thom’s voice was sounding dreadful at times. Plus after the Rapture, it was very underwhelming.
• The Gobi tent was rad. Lots of sections were ripped out including behind the stage so you could see this perfect backdrop of palm trees. Despite the horse manure smell, it was my favorite tent. It wasn’t unbearable and it was a great place to see PP boys do their thing. I ignored the lame girl in front of me in the front row who actually sat down during part of their set (!) and rocked out with other old school fans. Alex’s stage dive almost gave me a heart attack. I thought he was going to break his neck but he survived and we held him up for a good while. Great ending for the day.

Sunday:

• Way hotter but some reason, we managed to deal better this second day. I think the walk from the car to the entrance sucked the most and afterwards, it just got nicer. We also did not arrive as early so no wait to get in.
• The Mojave tent was not as bad when we saw Elefant as we managed to make it through most of their set. We had to bolt to get in line for the Ash signing. Much Ash madness ensued. Good times. They did a show in Palm Springs on Saturday night we did not know about. They were invited to the Skywalker Ranch to meet George Lucas yesterday. Bastards.
• Heard some of Muse while in line for Ash. Not impressed. But they sure can make a lot of noise for just 3 guys.
• The Killers killed me. Ha! Seriously, they were RAD. Totally loved them as Chi burned me some copies of their singles. So catchy and the comparisions to New Order and Duran Duran are spot on. Really fun.
• Belle & Sebastian were quite charming. Saw most of the set from the side of the stage and it was not at all what I expected. I enjoyed them.
• We moved to a nicer spot for Air. And then I needed air while watching them. The pot smokers were all around me and there was a huge cloud of smoke hovering the crowd for most of their set. I hacked my way through some of it and then we moved to a nicer spot where the pot smokers were still all around me. Gag.
• The lead singer for the Flaming Lips decended from space in an air bubble. Rad. Really impressed and suprised once again.
• Ash take the cake for the most fun, most crazy, most violent, and most hilarious show at Coachella for me. After braving the sounds of Mogwai (my ears almost burst they were so loud), we rushed to get a front row spot just as 99% of the people in the Mojave tent left to see the Cure. Thankfully, more people came out and as soon as Ash took the stage, the madness ensued. Remi and Greg totally have bruises and acky ribs. I was lucky to have a nice fellow who protected me the whole show and was careful not to bang into me. Eddie held on to him at times for dear life. We love you man. We actually lost two of our friends to the crowd. We laughed, we sang along, we rocked out. So much FUN. I was with the man I love, good friends, fellow Ash hardcore fans who are the coolest, and seeing one of my favorite bands performing so excellent… no words to describe the emotions.
• Even better? After Greg almost wiped himself out trying to get one of Rick’s drumsticks and coming away empty handed, we leave to hear that the Cure are still playing! We run over and get to see their last song and all of their encore. They played Love Cats, Boys Don’t Cry, the Forest! It was WILD and I was dancing under the stars, singing along, wishing the night would never end. Perfect way to end Coachella.

Now it’s all over… but Remi is extending his trip. He was set to leave tomorrow night but he just found out his new job starts Monday so he can stay longer and he got his ticket transfered to Sunday for free because the lady said he was nice on the phone. WHOOT! Thank you to EVERYONE who posted their well wishes on our engagement. The response by all of you has really touched my heart and I can’t thank you enough for the support. It’s going to be our 5 year anniversary on Saturday and we get to spend it together and we have this whole future to look forward to. I’m really so blessed. Thank you!