'Looking Glass Man'

'Looking Glass Man'

Ah, this looking-glass man!
Liar, fool, dreamer, play-actor,
Soldier, dusty drinker of dust-
Ah! he will go with me
Down the dark stairway
When nobody else is looking,
When everybody else is gone.

~Unknown writer

Coachella Music and Arts Festival 2006

Coachella Music and Arts Festival, (April 29th- 30th). First of all, I will tell you that it was a great experience, despite the enormous crowds (30 thou alone crowding in to see Madonna at the Sahara dance tent - a space by no means big enough for that many people, so imagine!). My friend and I careened just to catch a glimpse of her on the big screen and at her on the stage in the distance. We had to step over people and push our way through.. politely of course.

Well, anyway, for those who don't know, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is a colossal, super-duper festival in the middle of the California desert in a place called Indio, CA (near the well-known Palm Springs). It is usually a festival meant to showcase new and upcoming mostly independent artists, but it has grown to include more mainstream artists as well, such as Madonna and Depeche Mode (the headliners for Saturday and Sunday nights respectively).

Matisyahu - the first and probably only Hasidic (Orthodox Jew) Reggae Rapper was one of the acts on Sunday. Massive Attack, the relatively well-known yet still somewhat underground techno-downbeat oriented British (I believe) band with a laid-back yet subtly intense vibe played on Saturday night. I must say, what I saw and heard of them was very interesting. I wish I heard them more. I was buying their CD (and many others) at the time actually, and sort of missed their live performance. A no-no by the way. Also - Massive Attack have collaborated with Madonna as well as a host of other artists who wanted a lad-back techno remix of one of their songs. Since it is late, I will stop here.

Above picture, Lightning Machine at Coachella 2004
Copyright © 2005, Silver Fire Productions