Feel Good Hit of the Summer 04.27.06: Rock the Bells and Coachella
Posted by Frank Estrada on 04.27.2006
This week I give you an early review of the Rock the Bells documentary that premiers this weekend. I give you the info on this year’s Rock The Bells show. Coachella is this week and I give you a rundown on which bands you should see. And an A.P. writer jacked me. Well at least the A.P. is reading 411mania.
Wow, you know it's not secret that I write this column for free. It's all about sharing my love of music with you guys. But you know what I have learned that one of my readers maybe stealing from me. Let me paint a picture. All I talk about is Coachella. I love it. I live for it. I milk every rumor till it's not true. It's the only thing I look forward to every year. Talking to my fiancée, she tells me about some article she read about Coachella and Madonna. She says its something I should read and shoots an email out to me. Well it's an AP interview with Paul Tolette, the promoter of Coachella. I'm excited now; it has the makings of a great article. Then I read the headline. "Imagine if Elvis had decided to make a pit stop at Woodstock." I had to stop right there. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Ok you look confused. If you look at my past Feel Good columns you will see in a column dated 3/10/06, I have a whole column dedicated to Madonna being in Coachella. The eighth paragraph down, I compare this event happing to Elvis appearing at a Woodstock. Now you might just call me a paranoid fuck, I mean it's the collective unconscious right? Let me ask you this, when you heard about Madonna appearing at Coachella, how many of you instantly thought of comparing this to Elvis appearing at Woodstock? No one, because it never happened and it was never an Idea, ever. But o.k. Let's say this writer was on the same wavelength as me, or was he? I decided to give this the google test. Every good writer needs to research the topic before doing an interview right? So I google "Madonna Coachella", I get 616,000 results and it varies from web sites, to auction of Coachella tickets to myspace blogs. Ok, I'm not going to scroll through these so I focus my search and google "Madonna Coachella column." Bingo! Third link down is a link to 411mania.com with the headline" This week we're feeling good about Madonna. And Coachella Artist of the Week: Guess." It is the link to my 3/10/06 column where I compare Madonna and Elvis. I can assume here that this was part of his research. You know the little guy is always getting stepped on. Let this be news to you guys know that a lot of things that you read may appear somewhere else first. Let this be a warning to my fellow writers who are trying to write for a living, that your columns are being read and ideas may be lifted. We write and write everyday and I mean there are topics that are talked about to death, but watch out for your original material. The A.P. jacked me and I am going to put that on my resume. I am going to wear it on my sleeve, because really there isn't much else I can do with this. This wasn't breaking news; it was my creative fantasy concert promoting that got someone else a nifty headline.
Back to Your Regular Scheduled Program
Today we will talk about a documentary about the possibly last concert of the Wu-Tang Clan with Old Dirty Bastard. (At least that was how it was billed and not if ODB had anything to say about it. The documentary Rock the Bells makes it's world premier at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend (April 28 – May 2) and I was lucky enough to catch an early peek at this surprisingly moving flick. Not a fan of hip-hop, well you will still find interest in this documentary. This is a film about a group of people putting on a concert and all the obstacles that will hinder them no matter how well they think they have their bases covered. Are you interested in the music industry or concert promotion? Than this is for you. Are you in to good story telling, surprisingly this is for you. Were you really into penguins before watching March of the Penguins? Probably not. Yet you went to see that. Let me tell you this movie has many moments, its funny, heart warming, tense, it's a roller coaster ride. And when you finish this, think about it and wonder why are they going to do this again?
There is a concert promoter in California who throws alternative hip-hop shows. What's an alternative hip hop show, ok look who is on MTV right now, those guys aren't being invited. This is underground hip-hop. This is hip-hop that is edgy. The Roots, Sage Francis or M.C. Supernatural, not household names right? But they all have a home on promoters Guerrilla Union's stage. Guerrilla Union is based in Southern California but has thrown shows in NY and Hawaii to my knowledge. If you heard of the Cypress Hill Smokeout, you heard of a Guerrilla Union show. More recently they have been throwing shows called Rock the Bells. This is where they bring together the best of the hip-hop scene, which doesn't really mean the most successful. Possibly their biggest concert was their Wu-Tang Clan Reunion show, which is the focus of this documentary. Bringing together Rza Gza U-God Method Man, Raeqwon, Ghostface Killer and Ol' Dirty Bastard, the most outrageous performer in the Wu-Tang Clan, probably the most outrageous mainstream performer ever. This show, from beginning to end is chronicled in Rock The Bells.
You may have your preconceived notions on what a hip-hop show is. This shows you, you have no real idea on how it gets put on and who really is behind this. We get to see Chang Weisberg and his two hands Carla Garcia and Brian Valdez and what they have to go throw, dealing with the city, venue, police, and fans, just to put on one day of music. Really the beginning of the film focus on these three and it seems like fun and games. I would like to say it goes downhill from here, but you have to understand, they know what's going to happen, they been there before, and they do it again and again, like a thrill seeker looking for his next high. You can say they are doing this for the fans, because the gamble is, if all goes right, they are bring the fans a night of hip hop history. As you see in the fan interviews in this doc, many fans feel that at least one member isn't going to be there. The posters say all are going to be there. And Ol' Dirty Bastard says he's not going to be there. You know with out the Internet back in the day, I wonder how Woodstock became as legendary as it is? Was it the local newscasts? Was it the papers? I think the documentary had a lot to do with it. So I am going on the line and saying if enough people see this Rock the Bells documentary, this might give this show Woodstock status in the hip hop world. That's a bold statement, but I was there on that documented night and remember a lot that went on that day. I really think this documentary did the day justice.
Oh yea the music. Yea there are performances shown here with interviews with the artists too. You get to see Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Dilated Peoples, Sage Francis, Chali2na with DJ Nu Mark, Eyedea and Abilities, and MC Supernatural with help from his son Haj. The music sections here are great, makes me wish there is going to be a soundtrack coming out from this. (Is anyone listing?) Sage Francis' performance really takes the cake, with out giving it away, you got to think this is a white rapper in front of a highly ethnic crowd and he wants to challenge them in a way they might not want to be challenged. It is one of the stand out scenes here. Its so good it takes you away from what's really going on. Also MC Supernatural's performance is one to remember, that guy's freestyling abilities are amazing.
Since ODB is one of the main parts of this doc and no longer with us, we get interviews with his people, his mom, and his manager, which is another surprise that leaves you scratching your head. I really could go on and on here, but believe me this documentary is so complex and fun, it might rev you up and go to the next Rock the Bells. (more on that later) Do I have your attention yet? If you are lucky and going to the Tribeca Film Festival this week, go see this documentary. It is screening four times and I hope it get good word of mouth. It is awesome seeing great music on the big screen, and the music clips are well worth the admission. If you are not going to be there like me, you can go on the main website www.rockthebellsmovie.com to get pictures and clips.
Rock The Bells IV
After seeing this documentary it left me hyped to go see these guys live again. And what do I get on my myspace is that Rock the Bells IV is trying to beat last years show. And it moves from one city to two cities. Saturday Aug 5th Rock the Bells is going to be in Southern California while Aug 6th the lucky people in Northern California will be getting it. And the bill, the bill what a show, the return of the Wu-Tang (doing a tribute to ODB), Mos Def & Talib Kweli (Black Star anyone), Redman, De La Soul, Del Tha Funkyhomosapien, MC Supernatural, Living Legends, Immortal Technique, Murs 3:16, plus more. Are you interested yet? There is also going to be a surprise performance, and from what I hear is going to be a performance from one of hip hops royalty. I am not going to miss this at all. And if I can, I might have to go to both shows, I don't really go to hip-hop shows, because there are not many that are this good around. So don't miss out on a chance like this.
Coachella Artist of the Week: Round up
Well Coachella is this weekend, and while I stopped a while ago doing this, I want to bring it back to let you know who I am looking forward to seeing while giving you an idea who to look for.
SAT: Eagles of Death Metal: Death by Sexy says it all doesn't it? The desert's boy wonder, Josh Homme, comes back to Coachella with his band that is all rock and roll. Armed with "The Devil" on lead vocal, you will a great time rocking and making out with the girls next to you.
The Section Quartet: This is a quartet of strings if you were wondering. And they play Tool, Radiohead, Pink Floyd and more cool bands. I have seen them live backing Tenacious D, so I know they are good.
Wolfmother: From the land down under they are channeling early Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. If you liked Mars Volta, I think you will like Wolfmother a tad bit more.
Deerhoof: Sometime I like my music to make sense and some times I like it so random it blows my mind. Deerhoof is random.
Damian Jr. Gong Marley: What college student in the history of college doesn't own Bob Marley's Legend? I heard when the first universities opened, the college kids were so bummed they wish they had the perfect music to smoke out too. Flash forward to his son Damian, who brings his Jamrock party to the desert. No that's no a sand storm on the horizon.
Sigur Ros: If you don't know who these guys are, you are probably voting for American Idols.
I will try to also see: Depeche Mode, Daft Punk, Franz Ferdinand, Atmosphere, Ladytron, Cat Power, Lady Sovereign, and Hybrid with Perry Farrell.
Sun:
Giant Drag: They kick ass. If you have been hearing a new version of Wicked Game with a girl on vocals, this is the band.
*stellastarr: There are a lot of bands that try to channel the Smith and Joy Division. This is the best one out there right now.
Seu Jorge: If you have seen the Life Aquatic, you know who this is. He was the guitar player who did those David Bowie songs.
Gnarls Barkley: My favorite basketball player of all time is Sir Charles. I hope they sell Barkley jerseys there. Oh yea this is Danger Mouse's new thing with Cee-Lo from Goodie Mob.
Sleater-Kinney: Good old fashion riot-grrrl sounding rock.
I will also try to see: Tool, Madonna, Massive Attack, Scissor Sisters, Matisyahu, Coheed and Cambria, Editors, and Los Amigos Invisibles.
