Who to see at Coachella 2012 - Friday

Don't know who to watch besides Radiohead, Snoop, and Dre? Read on.

Here's my review of the bands I saw this past weekend. Friday first. I'll go by chronological order as that's how you'll be deciding who to watch.

But one call out first. Take the time to LISTEN to the bands BEFORE you go. It will give each day more purpose and you won't be wandering around from stage to stage. There are tons of Coachella 2012 playlists on Spotify right now, go check them out.

FRIDAY

honeyhoney (1:20pm) - If you're there by 1pm on Friday (we weren't), worth checking out. Jazzy, twangy collaboration of guitarist and female vocalist.

Ximena Sarinana (3:50pm) - Poppy, fun, Mexican female singer. Just missed her. Could have been fun.

Neon Indian (4:25pm) - Called "blurry electronic pop." Seemed like the crowd was having fun.

Gary Clark Jr (4:30pm) - I don't think he showed! I was bummed because he's a bluesy electric guitarist. Reminded me of Jimi Hendrix's "Blues" album. I think I would have seen him over Neon Indian if he showed.

Arctic Monkeys (6:30pm) - These guys were tight. They were more punky live than I thought they were going to be. Singer's voice has a unique, sharp quality which works with the high tempo guitars and rhythm section. If you like indie punk, you got to see these guys. Really tight tempo changes in the songs I heard.

Madeon (6:35pm) - Conflict with Arctic Monkeys if you like this electronic artist. We caught the last few songs. Good stuff, high energy, definitely knows how to work that electronic-board-with-flashing-lights-mixing-thing. You never know how much these guys are actually *doing* with electronic music tracks, but I guess I just trust it's legit. If you want booty-shaking electronic in the Sahara tent, worth checking out.

Alesso (7:55pm) - Next up in Sahara tent. Very eh. I haven't been impressed by the Sahara tent in the past couple years. Very standard 4/4 beats, expected super long builds, and climactic drops, but I haven't heard one interesting new rhythm from this tent in a while. Alesso was good, but not life changing.

Mazzy Star (8:50pm) - Actually really looking forward to her. BIG disappointment. She was off key for most of the songs and just did not sound good. Thought she was all chill and dreamy given her hit "Fade Into You" but wasn't really. We left after 3-4 songs. Go see The Rapture instead.

The Rapture (8:55pm) - Solid indie band. Singer has very unique voice that cuts through the noise. Vocals get somewhat repetitive in their songs, but worth checking out their set for sure.

The Black Keys (9:45pm) - Tough tough conflict time for me. They are solid, but I passed for...

Explosions in the Sky (10:05pm) - Epic, atmospheric music. Fantastic swings from melodic, chill moments to massive build-ups to pretty nuts rock out stuff. I think it's 3 guitarists and 1 bass player and a drummer. Great stuff, *although* it seemed like there were only 2 modes for this band, quiet/chill or rockin' hard. It's almost like Nicolas Cage, he's either whispering or YELLING HIS HEAD OFF. Now, they're a better band than that, but after 20 min or so, I began to wonder what other variety there was.

M83 (10:15pm) - Tough call for me against Explosions. I just caught the last 10 minutes or so unfortunately. Ambient, electronic, slightly psychedelic pop. What's not to like? Seemed like the crowd was really enjoying it. Tough calls on Friday night.

The Black Angels (10:50pm) - SEE THEM. I had to leave after a couple of songs because my fiancee was not feeling well, but I really like these guys. Haunting, powerful, psychedelic. I got turned on to these guys by the Activision music guys as we were reviewing potential songs for a Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer (we went with Rolling Stones - go figure). Check them out!

Swedish House Mafia (11:30pm) - They're Swedish. They play house. There's a few of them. I missed them but I'm sure it was good fun. Not sure it's the most original music out there, but likely fun.

The Horrors (Midnight) - Would have definitely seen these guys if I was still around. Experimental, dreamy, a little goth. Too bad I missed them!

That sums it up for Friday. Great day of music. Any thoughts/questions?