I woke up confused. The sound of static growled from the living room. My boxer-brief clad best friend snored in my bed. 5am. The lights were still on.
I squinted down at the the spinning Fleetwood Mac vinyl [Rumors]. The needle was bouncing off the side of the record. Dammit. The floor was wet. “What the hell?!” I slurred. “Oh yeah, he peed there…” Echoed honestly from the bedroom. A hard kick to the couch – “Dude, did you pee on my record player?!” Denial.
The damage:
– 1 Signed Tim Kasher Vinyl
– 1 Top Secret Folder full of Coupons (yes, I really love coupons OK).
I strongly intended on spending my 5am much different – not cleaning up my friends urine, not losing tens of dollars in potential grocery store savings – as I prepared for the Coastline Music Festival in Tampa. After a carb heavy breakfast of cold pizza, fried eggs, spinach salad, and marijuana, we were on our way.
Upon arriving to the Coastline Music Festival, we were asked to pay $6.00 for parking. The Coastline Music Festival Website specifically stated that parking was free. Yes, I told this to the innocent parking attendant. She retorted “parking is never free here” and instructed us to go to a different entrance (on Orient Rd.) which ended up being the VIP entrance and $20 to park. We told the attendant at VIP of our confusion. There was already enough money thrown away that day. The VIP attendants re-directed us back to the original entrance where the attendants seemed to be freshly educated on the “free parking” deal for Coastline attendees.
The above parking debacle caused us to miss Zulu Wave. I was bummed about this. I made friends with the Bassist at a Tallhart show a few months ago. I checked out some of their stuff on Spotify and Youtube which I found pretty rad. But Jesus F****** Christmas – their song Nyami Nyami rules! Check out the Zulu Wave – Nyami Nyami video below and watch them bring the rock yourself. Keep an eye on Zulu Wave – I expect great things from them in the future.
I think I’m in love with the lead singer of Blondfire. Don’t tell a. My girlfriend. b. Ritzy Bryan.
If you don’t like Blondfire, that’s fine, I get that. But you’re wrong and I hate you. They perfectly percolated through their set conquering hits like Waves and Where the Kids Are. Nobody covers Fleetwood Mac [well]. But I must say – They only went and covered Fleetwood Mac and it ruled. I actually listened to the Fleetwood Mac Rumors Vinyl that morning while I was making breakfast! As I made it past the painful reminder of my urine covered floor, I perked my ears up and found myself absolutely in love with their cover of Dreams… Thunder only happens when it’s raining… I posted the video on the Shows I Go To Instagram and Shows I Go To Facebook. Check out the Blondfire – Fleetwood Mac Dreams Cover Video below. It was a great musical start to my day at Coastline.
As I frequented the beer cove between the sets of St. Lucia, The Mowgli’s, Surfer Blood, every other band there, and practically every time my cup was empty, my day just kept getting better and better. St. Lucia was the only artist I was not familiar with. I did enjoy the electro rock set from this South African musician though. Perhaps we’ll see more of them in 2014, the kids sure seemed to like em!
The Mowgli’s are such a fun band. With eight members, group vocals are not problem pulling off live. I get their hit ‘San Francisco’ stuck in my head pretty regularly due to it’s heavy rotation on Sirius/XM’s Alt Nation. Check out The Mowgli’s San Francisco Video below:
As I watched Surfer Blood, it felt the air thicken with irony as they were singing “Swim to reach the end.” Ready for my crap reference? Well, I felt as I was ‘swimming’ through a sea of time and people as I hopelessly waited over an hour ‘to reach the end’ of the food truck line… only to get the very last burger on the truck, which I kindly split with my friend.
God damn.
Fitz & The Tantrums was great though! I was fortunate enough to see them a little over a year ago when they played a free instore at the amazing Park Ave CDs in Orlando. They ended their set at Coastline with my all time favorite Fitz song – Moneygrabber. Duh. Check out the Fitz & The Tantrums Moneygrabber Video below. Try not to dance.
The Neighbourhood was pretty good. Can you tell I’m just being nice? I feel like the band has an awesome record. It bloody rules actually. However, some things don’t translate well. Like Spanish to English or any U2 song performed acoustic [prove me wrong, I dare you]. Regardless, check out my favorite song Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood.
The Joy Formidable. Ugh. Last time I wrote about The Joy Formidable I expressed my feelings for Ritzy [and the band]. Watching TJF perform is uplifting. Not many bands can create that kind of energy. They own it. With Matt’s drums facing Ritzy and Rhydian, they produced a forcefield of magic that sent members of the audience into an intergalactic trance, enveloping them in heavy grooves and hypnotizing Welch vocals produced by Ritzy and company. Here’s a rubbish pic:
Matt & Kim! Holy cow, this band was so much fun to watch live. Having pit tickets to this show were so valuable when it came to their performance. After a song or two, Matt lisped “Kim and I are not only partners in music, but also partners in Sex.” Thanks for the confirmation Matt. 😉 Just in case we were ever curious [we were]. If you’re not familiar – Matt & Kim are a freaking awesome two piece band/romantically involved couple. Kim plays drums. Matt plays keyboards and sings. They play to backtracks of samples. Samples like the Harlem Shake. Check out the Harlem Shake – Matt & Kim video below.
If you ever want to take a someone on a really fun date with guaranteed heavy petting afterwards, take them to a Matt & Kim show. They’ll get your rocks goin! Here’s a crappy pic of Kim doing some casual crowd walking:
Two Door Cinema Club. Last time I saw TDCC, it was at The Beacham and that was sold out! When listening to their records, I became skeptical as to if they could actually pull their album sounds off live. They freaking kill it! Not a single beat, note, harmony, pause, or shoegaze was missed. Check out the new video for their single Changing of the Seasons below. It’s one of the best breakup songs I’ve ever heard. Honestly.
“Passion Pit sucks live.” Dear everyone who keeps telling me that, Screw you, you’re wrong. Passion Pit had their stuff together on Saturday. You could hear everything well, the energy was there, the crowd was participating, it was just really bloody good. Yes, I was a little drunk and a little bit high but that did not impair my judgment of music. I know a poor performance when I see one, whether I’m under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or something else.
I think Passion Pit (PP) writes some really great lyrics. PP is delicious. PP feels great when it hits your ears. PP feels like a golden shower of dreams, denial, and regret. PP ruins Tim Kasher vinyls and coupons. 🙁 Now watch the dizzying video for Take A Walk by PP:
I feel like Coastline captured a lot of different countries in their lineup: South Africa, Ireland, North Whales, and coast to coast US bands. Overall, it was a really badass festival. The idea of craft beers, food trucks, awesome bands, and live art was a recipe for success. I just don’t think they baked the cake long enough.
Suggestions for next year:
Make sure the parking attendants understand that parking is free for concert goers. More food trucks [or better prepared food trucks]. The burger truck said “we only brought 100 burgers.” C’mon guys… Really? I am personally a big fan of the music at concerts being LOUD and it definitely was here. However, I know some people aren’t a fan of this, so they could turn it down a little or provide ear plugs for those who struggle with the loud noises. As for the earplugs, they could find help at EarPeace. Um… what else… definitely more beer. I don’t mean more options (although who would complain about that). I thought the selection was absolutely fantastic! – Cigar City, Abita, New Belgium, Lagunitas, Goose Island, Sweet Water… Freaking ruled. I just think two “beer coves” would have went over a lot better – This would double the amount of beer and decrease the wait time for a beer! Also, since we’re on the beer note, I recommend increasing efficiency by having designated “beer pourers” and designated “cashiers.” This way each cashier isn’t running back and forth pouring beer and taking money. This would speed up the service and increase their tips. 😉 I’m not a Hospitality Major or anything… Ok, so I’m just desperately trying to apply my 4 year degree anywhere I can to justify my 20K in student loans.
Do you have any more suggestions? What did you think of Coastline’s first year? Who would you want to see next year?
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