Madonna at Coachella -- Unofficial Chris Cornell Forum

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Date Posted: 14:38:45 04/20/06 Thu
Author: tg
Subject: Madonna at Coachella

Personally, I think it's cool she's playing there. I never liked the whole mentality of Lollapalooza and Coachella, that alternative was a certain genre and that it had a category of who could play and who couldn't.

Madonna performance throws a loop at alt-rock Coachella Valley festival

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Imagine if Elvis had decided to make a pit stop at Woodstock.

RON HARRIS

Madonna. (AP file/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
It's perhaps the best way to put into perspective the hotly anticipated performance by Madonna - perhaps one of the most famous faces on the planet - at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., a three-day musical extravaganza best known for its lineup of indie-rock bands and dance-oriented DJs.
Outside of Madonna, the biggest acts on the bill are Depeche Mode and Tool - though successful, hardly on the superstar pop level of Madonna. Others include the punk rockers Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Orthodox Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu and the electronica dance duo Daft Punk.

Certainly Madonna's appeal is universal and organizers are pleased as punch to have there. She brings with her, however, a magnetic megastar effect - some will want to see her simply out of curiosity.

"Coachella this year is going to be known as the Madonna festival," joked Tom Smith, lead singer of Editors, an up-coming rock foursome hailing from Birmingham, England. "'Good on her' I say."

Others are mystified she's there at all.

"Madonna's a pretty mainstream artist ... I'd expect a bigger alternative kind of artist," said Chris Ross of the emerging rock group Wolfmother. "It's kind of interesting."

Coachella's website message board heated up when Madonna announced she would play the festival, prompting some unseemly posts like "I hope Madonna chokes on a crumpet."

Some fear a logjam of humanity at the smaller stage where she's set to appear - the "Sahara" dance tent, catering to an audience and a feel more in line with the her recent works rooted in the same electronica genre.

How exactly did the Madonna Factor come into play? Paul Tollette, co-founder of Goldenvoice, the company that puts on Coachella, said he was still looking for a big name for the popular dance tent and they started considering one of the biggest names of them all.

"We didn't have anyone for the second night. We got to talking and we said, 'What do you think about Madonna?' " Tollette recalled. A few phone calls and mutual friends later and Madonna was a go for Coachella (Madonna declined to be interviewed for this article).

Tollette acknowledged that adding Madonna to the bill has presented some logistical challenges - more people craning their neck to see her. To address that, he's put in place some spatial changes at the Sahara tent to accommodate more people - more than the thousands that usually fit inside.

To maintain the integrity of that plan, Tollette chose not to elaborate on those changes, but he's well aware the magnitude of Madonna commands full attention.

"There will be some people here specifically for her," Tollette said, adding the caveat: "They'll be overwhelmed by Coachella people." (It's worth noting that he drew a distinction between the two camps).

There are no main stage acts going on at the same time as Madonna, but there are some acts on smaller stages during her set. Tollette predicts that there will be plenty of people taking in those other acts while Madonna does her thing.

Is Madonna the biggest act to ever hit the stage at Coachella?

"That depends on your definition of big," Tollette said. "She's probably sold more records than anyone we've had at Coachella."

Tollette admits many people can't understand why Madonna - whose summer tour this year is perhaps the most anticipated - would play there.

But Tollette added: "She knows a lot of the DJs that have played the Sahara tent, so this isn't anything new for her."

World renowned DJ Paul Oakenfold plays on the same night as Madonna in the dance tent. They're friends, have toured together, and Oakenfold has done several well-received remixes of Madonna's songs.

He said Madonna likely could have requested to play on a big stage at Coachella, but wisely choose to stick with the electronica-themed "Sahara" tent.

"That's an incredible boost for the electronic scene," Oakenfold said. "To choose the less is more. It's a smaller situation, but it's going to be unbelievable."

"I think this is extremely cutting edge for an artist of that pedigree," he added. "It's going to draw a lot of attention to that tent."

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Replies:

[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- tg, 14:39:57 04/20/06 Thu [1]

Leo and Chrys will you watch her?

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[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- Jes, 14:50:22 04/20/06 Thu [1]

I'm so jealous of the whole thing - I mean Tool would be enough, but Depeche Mode too? I don't know that I'd go see Madonna alone, but I would be curious and it'd be cool to say "I saw Madonna."

But here in Ohio...we only have a Juggalo thing at a campground and Ozzfest way down south of here. It really seems like music has snubbed my area.

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[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- Robert, 17:35:52 04/20/06 Thu [1]

Kirsty Wigglesworth would be an awesome porn name.

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[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- Leo, 19:33:27 04/20/06 Thu [1]

Um, no. I've had an aversion to Madonna since day one.

But I am so damn excited about the rest of it. I can't wait!!

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[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- tg, 09:16:36 04/21/06 Fri [1]

Leo~~

Damn, now I feel like a real idiot for being one of those girls rolling around on the floor at the High School dance.
My Madonnabeing only lasted a couple of months in grade 9, then I got out of it.

She has played here so many times, and I never would pay to see her. If I was at Coachella I probably would.
Did you know Chris Cornell was spotted at her show in NYC, I guess the wifey dragged him to it.

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[> Re: Madonna at Coachella -- lite, 10:28:00 04/21/06 Fri [1]

I remember an interview where Chris said something like "A guy watching Madonna is gonna get a boner, but the tight pants and cleavage is only a distraction from what's really sexy-- which is the music". That might not be an exact quote, but yes, I'm positive he did use the word 'boner'. heh

So anyway, maybe it was him dragging the wifey ;)

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