April | 2009 | ChinaShop

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Music Calexico

April 29, 2009 - 10:57 pm

Fans of Calexico have already come to expect the unexpected from Tucson, Arizona residents Joey Burns and John Convertino. Each of their albums, from their dusty, lo-fi debut Spoke (1996) to the noir-infused dramatic power of The Black Light (1998), the breakthrough, mariachi madness of Hot Rail (2000), to their hugely successful most recent album, Feast of Wire (2003), which flirted with ambient electronica and Gil Evans infused jazz, charting in 14 European countries.

In 2006 comes Garden Ruin, officially the band’s fifth album, apart from their many tour-only CDs. Written in Bisbee, AZ. Recorded in Tucson, AZ. Mixed in Brooklyn. Mastered in California. It sees a new, and surprising episode unfolding in the Calexico story.

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Art/Design The Lucent Dossier Experience

by Barbie Brady and Fever Dragon

April 29, 2009 - 10:57 pm

If you suffer for a vaudeville cirque fix you might try to catch a Lucent Dossier show. This group of creative, performing, sexy gypsy’s is good for the cure. They recently ruled the Do Lab at Coachella, with up to 3 shows a day. Their particular blend of singing, dancing, and swinging from various objects high off the ground will have you feeling better in no time. Based out of Los Angeles, if you are in the ‘hood, seek out their delightful brand of entertainment.

Words by Barbie Brady, photos by Fever Dragon

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Event Great Minds Drink Alike

by Christine Spehar

April 29, 2009 - 10:56 pm

It’s Thursday night (or rather, early Friday morning) at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival. The gates are not yet open to the public, but a certain unnamed corporation just might have had its beer tent infiltrated. A certain group of artists and crew just may have tapped a few kegs, hijacked a few speakers and run a few cables to form their own private dance party in an otherwise empty 50-foot dome at 2am. Keg stands may have been involved, along with a pretty significant amount of general debauchery. All of these things may (or may not) have happened, but then again, that’s just what’s to be expected when you unleash a bunch of artists who like to work hard and play harder in the hot desert within spitting distance of a tent full of beer. Lots of beer.
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Music Taming the Mastodon

by Barbie Brady and Fever Dragon

April 29, 2009 - 8:15 am

Bill Kelliher, guitar player for the heavy metal monster, Mastodon, isn’t listening to much new music lately. He’s far too busy out on the road supporting the bands 4th album, Crack the Skye. We caught up with him just long enough to get the low-down on what its like being Bill, in a band that’s a beast.

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Art/Design Gallery Global Inheritance 18 & Up

by Barbie Brady and Matt Brady

April 29, 2009 - 7:59 am

Global Inheritance’s exhibits are pretty much an expected staple each year at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. For the past 6 years (out of the 10 that Coachella has been running) G.I. has had a presence, and hopefully has made an impact on its viewers. Dedicated to making activism hip for the next generation to embrace, this non-profit didn’t disappoint.

This year they showed their creativity with the 18 & Up exhibit. 18 & Up being a tongue in cheek reference to golf of course, as they took 7 re-claimed golf carts and re-engineered them to run on alternative forms of energy. Various artists then suped them up paying homage to performers who were in some way involved with this years line up.

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Event Coachella: Just Say Yes

by Christine Spehar and Fever Dragon

April 29, 2009 - 7:56 am

My advice for enjoying Coachella? Embrace sleep deprivation and heat stroke: there’s so much to do and see at this music and arts festival in Indio, CA, you won’t want to bother resting, and it’s so hot you won’t be able to sleep much past 9am anyway. (Plus when you combine the two, they add up to a wonderfully loopy and perfectly free high, if you’re into that sort of thing.) I suppose you could go the easy route and stay in a hotel, but then you’d be denying yourself some of the precious and hilarious bonding moments that transpire when you go a little bit feral (i.e.: shower like I did, with a hose!), and surround yourself with people who are able to laugh at anything, most importantly themselves.

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Event Fire in the Sky at Coachella 2009

by Christine Spehar

April 29, 2009 - 7:52 am

If Doc Brown from Back to the Future and Claus Oldenburg had a lovechild, he might have turned out something like Syd Klinge: part mad scientist, part groundbreaking large-scale installation artist, a gentle soul with a razor-sharp edge and just enough crazy to make things really interesting. Klinge is the artist behind the world’s largest pair of Tesla coils, two 16-foot-tall transformer circuits that can generate an estimated 5 million volts of electricity between them. The coils, called Cauac in honor of the Mayan god of lightning, have been one of the highlights of the visual art lineup at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA for eight years. But seeing Cauac in action, with its eerily beautiful and deafeningly loud arcs of electricity dancing in the sky like fireworks on steroids, is only icing on the proverbial cake of life experiences. Even better in my book was getting to help Klinge’s crew with the installation of the coils, though “help” should be loosely defined here as, “taking orders when possible and otherwise standing around wishing I had paid more attention in science class.”

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Music I Fly Like Paper Get High Like Planes

by Barbie Brady and Fever Dragon

April 28, 2009 - 9:22 am

If you have been living in a cave, or crawl space for the past year you may not know M.I.A. But the rest of us know her as the energetic, charismatic ball of controversy who sings the song Paper Planes “All I want to do is…bang…bang…bang…bang…bang…bang…cock.click.ching…and take your money”! Yes! That song! And it is the cheeriest, playground, gangsta rap single I think I’ve ever sung along to.

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Event The Do Lab: Where the Party Gets Done Right

by Christine Spehar

April 27, 2009 - 10:52 pm

The founders of the Do Lab believe in art as experience. And judging by the packed-in crowd screaming in the scorching afternoon sun, begging to be sprayed with water by obliging Do Lab crew, they also believe in wet t-shirt contests. “We’ve been doing Coachella for five years,” says Jesse Fleming, co-founder of the LA-based art collective, which is responsible for one of the Coachella’s hallmark installations, complete with its own music lineup and performance act, Lucent Dossier. “The second year was when we realized that people out here want water—bad—and it’s one of the main things that’s made our installation as popular as it is.” Read the full story →

Music Everybody Knows Leonard Cohen

by Barbie Brady and Matt Brady

April 26, 2009 - 9:39 pm

For the past 42 years Leonard Cohen has been making some of the most important, beautiful, passionate songs ever written. His ability to infuse a song with emotion transcends time, only getting better with age and experience. Actually being able to see the man himself onstage is a little like the second coming. After all, he is the “jew who wrote the bible”.

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