Bringing you back to 2004 with today's song by Brit band The Delays. Remember this one? When I studied abroad in London in 2005, we didn't have Internet in our dorm, a fact which seems laughable today. We'd go to the public library to write emails, and I would check out dozens of CDs, rip them to my computer and return them. That's where I discovered this song, and there's something so perfect about the intro/chorus. it seems meant for a sunshine-y day like today.
New Hair Cut: The Modern Long Bob or "Lob"
So before I went to Coachella, I almost dyed my hair pink! In fact, my stylist attempted to dye it pink, but for some reason it didn't take. Maybe God was watching out for me. It would've been subtle, I swear. She suggested doing an ombre baby pink on the ends, and it would've been cute. But maybe that's a lot of look for me, so perhaps its for the best.
The pink might not have worked out, but I did get a new haircut. My hair was the longest it's ever been, and it was driving me crazy. I feel like the long bob is having a moment (or the lob, if you will), so I found some inspirational images to show my stylist. Check it out below (oh hey, rocker Taylor!).
Image sources: Taylor, Miroslava, Alexa, tutorial from amazing stylist blog She Lets Her Hair Down
I like how it turned out a lot, but I can't make it look as good as my stylist did. That's always the case though. I'll post a picture when I can get my act together. Also, the past few weeks I've been itching to go a lot shorter (oh hey, Michelle Williams pixie crop!).
What do you think of the long bob? What hair trend are you feeling lately?
Father John Misty in Concert
Just posting a quick picture from the fourth row or so at Thursday's Father John Misty 9:30 Club show. I might sound like a Father John Misty superfan at this point.
I went to Brightest Young Things today to read about how awesome the show was, and instead I was left scratching my head at this review. The Post's review was less obtuse, of course, but even more withering. I just feel like they missed the point. From my vantage point (fourth row), the man puts on a show that's plenty entertaining. That includes the dance moves, laugh-out-loud banter, and vocal chops. He's charming, and that's not the case for a lot of indie acts. And I actually like the album, the writing is memorable. Maybe everyone needs to take it less seriously.
But then again, I am a super fan.
PS - No one mentioned this in the reviews, but Tillman talked about playing the 9:30 Club in front of 50 people and it looking like a performance art installation of what failure looks like. Ha! Now he is selling out shows...
My Coachella Playlist
Finally, a post about the music we heard at Coachella Week 2! We managed to see about 40 bands in three days. OK, some of those were for like 10 minutes, but still I add it to the tally. Emily did the calculations, and she says it works out to about $8 a band. Ha, a bargain! But really, nearly everyone who is touring this summer hits Coachella so it is a worthwhile investment.
This is mainly for my own edification, but here is a list of everyone we heard. In the grid, you'll see a few pictures I took from the shows.
Friday: You Me & Us, IO Echo, Lord Huron, Youth Lagoon, The Shouting Matches, Stars, Divine Fits, Of Monsters and Men, Local Natives, Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Band of Horses, Jurassic 5, Tegan and Sara.
Saturday: Kids These Days, Wombats, Guards, Shovels & Ropes, Wild Nothing, Savages, 2 Chainz, Bat for Lashes, Major Lazer, Grizzly Bear, The Postal Service, The XX, Janelle Monae, Sigur Ros, Phoenix
Sunday: Smith Westerns, DIIV, Jessie Ware, Thee Oh Sees, Grimes, The Lumineers, Tame Impala, La Roux, Father John Misty, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
We basically had our schedules out constantly, always on the move to the next show. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the stages were close enough together that you could check out half of one set and half of another.
Just a few obvious observations:
- You realize just how talented these folks are, in that they can not only write a fantastic song, but play it in the desert in front of thousands of people in 90 degree heat. That isn't easy.
- It was interesting to see 2 Chainz on 4/20, that's for sure.
- Smith Westerns are soo young. They looked like they were in 8th grade, tops.
- Karen O is a force of nature, especially when she's wearing a gaudy yellow suit.
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers really should have a special guest or brought something surprising to the table. I guess that's the problem with week 2: we found their set list online and followed along and they played the exact same songs.
- Lord Huron and Wild Nothing's albums will be my new chill summer soundtrack.
- La Roux has a new album coming out!
- Jenelle Monae, why are you not more famous? She is an electrifying performer, and she can really crowdsurf!
- After seeing Father John Misty, we immediately bought tickets to see him again. He's going places. In fact, today's DC show sold out. I hope his stage banter is just as funny and charming as was in Coachella. He had a great riff about girls wearing floral crowns needing to have a more hippy attitude.
And I made a Spotify playlist with my favorite songs from some of the bands I saw at Coachella. I'm excited about this, I hope you check it out if you are in need of some tunes today! And click here for all of my Coachella 2013 Week 2 posts.
Tunes Tuesday, "Joy to You Baby," Josh Ritter
When an unexpected trip came up, my friend Jason was nice enough to give me his tickets to Josh Ritter's sold-out show on Friday. And that's how I ended up seeing Josh Ritter in concert for the third time. I love his songwriting so, so much and you can tell he loves performing. He is the smile-est dude ever. I wondered though, since he just put out a "divorce" record, would he still be as smiley?
The answer is yes! Joe said he looked like the Joker, haha, and I did imagine his face cracking from smiling so much. I think he can't help smiling. Even the man's divorce record has a veneer of niceness, as seen in this track off "The Beast in its Tracks." And his shows are so much fun, how could you not smile? That's what selling out two nights in a row will do.
What They Wore to Coachella
Part of the Coachella mystique is the fashion blog coverage of what the beautiful people wore to party in the desert. There's an entire genre of clothes that now exists, thanks to Coachella and Glastonbury et al: Festival Style. Perhaps it's because we went the second weekend, and all the glam people go the first weekend, but I observed that most people wore as little clothes as possible. We're talking just walking around in bikinis and sports bras. Not particularly fashionable. I get it. It is so hot there. I envied the bikini chicks. Also, this is not a place you want to take a Chanel bag, which I saw in some of the blog slideshows. It's dusty and vomit-y. Fashion people be trippin.
Here are the main trends I observed: high-waisted booty jhorts, crop tops, floral crowns, disgustingly dirty Toms, crop tops, baby doll dresses, crop tops. Did I say crop tops? I'd like the record to show that I predicted this trend's revival back in 2009. Maybe Coachella is the only place it's really taken off.
Anyway, before the trip I evaluated my wardrobe for Festival Style and found it lacking, which resulted in a mini-shopping spree. I bought four new things to wear and assembled three Festival Outfits. But then disaster struck, when my flight was delayed and I missed my connecting flight, which caused my suitcase to go missing. Wouldn't that be rich, I thought, if I lost my luggage and had to wear the same t-shirt and pair of jeans every single day. That would serve me right. But thank God, because somehow, against all odds, my little suitcase turned up behind the desk at the Yuma United Airlines counter.
New for Coachella: Bag from Levi's (similar), Sam Edelman Louie boots (on sale here!)
Here's what I packed for Coachella. Nothing too groundbreaking but I tried. My issue was that I wanted to keep cool but avoid strappy or strapless tops in an effort to avoid getting a sunburn. The maxi dress with the cutouts was probably the best choice, in terms of being breezy but covered up. The second day I wore an ultra-light see-through shirt with a swim top underneath, and the last day I wore my boots and a pair of bright blue shorts I bought from the vintage/resell shop Meeps in D.C. I thought, "Yeah, I'm going to get some cool high-waisted vintage shorts to wear to Coachella, look at me." But then I took them home and looked more closely at the label. It read "The Gap." Vintage shopping fail. Bah.
The shorts did come with a neat fabric belt with geometric shapes, and judging by the whip-stitching, it looks like someone may have made it. I also thought that these shorts were scandalously short, but damn, compared to the other girls at Coachella, they were practically Mom jhorts. I saw so many butt cheeks hanging out of high-waisted jean shorts. That was standard issue.
And I bit the bullet and bought the fringed boots I was debating in an earlier post. No, I didn't go with white. These were comfortable enough to make it through most of the last day, although I was happy to have brought along flip flops too. And the suede survived the dusty, muddy field. Phew! My poor friend Emily was leading the way through the crowd and she stepped in a pile of vomit. That is a very Coachella story, I feel. And that would've been game over for the fringe boots. As luck would have it, Emily had on sneakers so it wasn't as horrible as it could've been.
I tried to look for fashion inspiration from my fellow concertgoers, and don't get me wrong, there were a ton of beautiful people there. They looked good. But it wasn't anything I couldn't see in D.C. on an Urban Outfitters mannequin. Except for one outfit I spotted, which I will try to replicate below:
PacSun Eyelet Bustier Tank, Minkpink Bustier, Nasty Gal Oversize Denim Vest via R29, N_8 Draped Knee-length Skirt, Steve Madden Troopa Boot, Young Frankk Peak Brass Ring
One girl wore a bustier top with a knee-length mustard yellow circle skirt and a tough pair of boots, and she looked so fresh. I thought it would look good with a black or white top, and maybe you could throw an oversize denim vest on top of it for some D.C. modesty, and add a streamlined, bold ring to finish the look.
I would love to try to rock this, just need to find a cheaper skirt... Thanks for reading my Coachella fashion post!
