The Best Band Ever, Spongebob and Making Your Guitar Tone a Member of the Band

This past weekend I spent what became the weirdest Easter I've ever had at Coachella. There were bunnies but not the Jesus approved kind.

This is a long one so lets get to it:

DAY 1

Started off Coachella seeing my man Mac Demarco, upon making my way decently into the crowd I was immediately asked to help light a girl’s joint… it had begun.

Glass Animals was next. They had this super huge pineapple on stage that made me wish Spongebob would jump out halfway through the set. Their song “Life Itself” kicked off the show and made me want to start tribal dancing around like Jim Carrey in that one scene from Ace Ventura.

My world was rocked immediately after by Phantogram. Sweet Jesus, Sarah Barthel’s voice sounds just as good live as on the record. Slightly douchey unnecessary banter in-between songs but I’m STOKED to see them again with The 1975 on Saturday.

I left a little early in their set to hear some of the godfathers of Lo-Fi, Guided By Voices. Felt kinda bad seeing those guys play to a hundred or less people but with 25 albums in their discography its hard to keep up with them and sort out the good songs from that pile.

After that I made my way back for the XX. Throughout their set I was fighting to get as close to the front of the stage with the same determination as a mother from 1996 trying to snag a Tickle-Me-Elmo on Black Friday.

Upon getting about 15 rows to the front-right I was trapped. A horde of sweaty shirtless men and woo-girls on ecstasy were dancing as if their lives depended on it to songs as slow as “Forever Young” by Alphaville.

The XX ended. I didn’t know their music well enough to be completely blown away by them but Romy Madley Croft was playing one of the new 2017 Fender Mustangs and it sounded so rad. So yay for good guitar tone right? I really was just too stoked for Radiohead to pay attention.

THEN AFTER AN HOUR OF WAITING MY DUDES: THOM YORKE, JONNY GREENWOOD, ED O’BRIAN, COLIN GREENWOOD, AND PHILIP SELWAY GRACED THE STAGE WITH THEIR PRESENCE.

Like I don’t know if you all can tell but this band has influenced me so hard. I swear OK Computer, Kid A and In Rainbows are not even of this earth. Radiohead has some intergalactic trade deal going on where they receive magic sounds from the future and share them with the world.

They started with “Daydreaming” from A Moon Shaped Pool and I screamed at a pitch so high that it startled me and a couple concerned dogs in the neighborhoods surrounding the event center.

But guys, they must have screwed over the aliens they traded the songs with or Jesus just got really pissed they were making such beautifully chaotic music on Good Friday because alL OF THE SUDDEN THE SOUND CUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR 3RD SONG.

Now I’m not talking about oh wow sound stopped for 3 seconds but then came back on. I’m talking like sound. out. for real. they’re still jamming. Coachella isn’t… well the crowd of dudes and ladies on molly might have been.

As soon as it happened 100,000+ people let out the worlds biggest disappointed sigh ever recorded.

Then I watched one of my favorite guitarists play one of my favorite riffs as “Airbag” started up. Jonny just attacked the guitar. He was mad but I was living for it.

“15 Step” started to play and I began to BOP so hard, then of course like Kuzco the llama my groove was thrown off again as the sound completely cut off.

They took a break to fix it and came back playing “The National Anthem” off of Kid A. It rocked my world. Guys this band could literally record themselves watching TV and I would find a way to see it was a masterpiece. But I cannot tell you how sad I was when they played my favorite song ever, “Let Down”, and have the audio freak out again. I almost cried.

Obviously this was only day 1 and there were so many other acts I wanted to see but this was Radiohead. Like this was my band of the weekend. Luckily after this they got it all fixed and I got to hear all of my favorite songs from “Everything in Its Right Place” to “Paranoid Android” to “Creep”.

DAY 2. This was they day that my body punished me for on Monday when I got back and got the flu. Everett, my little brother and I rode the front of the main stage and saw Local Natives (got crowd surfed on), The Head and the Heart, Two Door Cinema Club, Future, Bon Iver, and Lady Gaga. If I were to describe the level of awesome I experienced that day I think I would have to type all night.

But what I will say about Two Door Cinema Club is that I walked away from that show a new man. The guitar tone was just as important to the band as if it were its own member. It had personality and it carried each song and made way for the vocal melodies to get inside your head.

One really encouraging thing for me just being guitarist and not a singer is that Sam Halliday moved around the most onstage. There was energy throughout but the guitarist just felt it and danced around more than the other members and it was AWESOME. So guitarists, little word of encouragement. Make your tone reflect your personality and integrate it into the sound you or your band is creating. It should sound like your guitar playing is imperative to the band's lineup and can't be replaced. If we’re not singing and just playing we have to make every note intentional and treat it as our form of communication with the audience rather than just “the riff” or “the solo”. Just like we talk about Freddie Mercury's voice or how distinguishable Kurt Cobain's was why not try and go for that same recognition on your instrument?

Bon Iver wrecked my soul and I died during Creeks. He also didn’t play Skinny Love and I wasn’t that upset about it because his new album is a gift from God.

Lady Gaga is one of the best live performers around right now and on my way out I saw Katy Perry (first time I ever saw a celebrity like that up close and she's freaking gorgeous in person) and Halsey.

DAY 3

Okay this day started off rough. My family was dead tired and wanted to sit down. My dad heard about this one band called Whitney so we went and watched them. The music was alright but the singer was so self deprecating it ruined the set for me. When you’re on stage you’re selling a product and giving me reasons as to why I want to listen to it. Before going into a song he’d say something like “oh we’re going to mess this up”, “this is half written”. It was horrible. You’re playing Coachella man. People would give a kidney to play that stage and it just really frustrated me seeing somebody who didn’t believe in their music and didn’t care taking a spot like that.

Grouplove KILLED it. I wasn’t super close but stilled had the time of my life dancing to those guys. I bought their 2nd LP Spreading Rumors a year ago and it totally rocked my world. They did an amazing cover of “Sabotage”.

If you’re going this weekend make sure you see Bishop Briggs. You definitely know her song “River” if the name doesn’t ring a bell at first. She was so stoked to be there and I was having so much fun just watching her have a blast. Plus her tambour is god-like. Has that perfect indie-pop edging on rock n roll sound.

Now I goofed pretty hard and didn’t see Hans Zimmer. I heard it was one of the best concerts of the weekend. You really can’t see everything in 3 days which is a bummer. BUT MY GIRL LORDE IS AMAZING IN EVERY WAY SHAPE AND FORM AND HER NEW SONG IS GONNA ROCK YOUR WORLD IN JUNE.

Now Kendrick… this man is on a whole other level. The hints to Wu Tang were amazing, the opening into “DNA” blew my mind. I was definitely in a violent mosh-pit during “Backseat Freestyle”.

In short, that weekend was one for the books and now I’m definitely suffering for it. If you ever have the chance to go do it. I can’t wait to go back, definitely worth it.

Below is the Week 3 playlist of all my favorite tunes of the week along with some songs from my favorite moments of the show. Enjoy!

Link: https://open.spotify.com/user/fletchermilloy/playlist/4TNj7xpqmu4yVlAzUHU2aQ

Same Old Blues - Phantogram

Shy - HUNNY

Team - Lorde

Paranoid Android - Radiohead

DNA. - Kendrick Lamar

Bodysnatchers - Radiohead

Sun Hands -Local Natives

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine - The Killers

Helpless - John Mayer

Salad Days - Mac Demarco