This is no slight on the artists, 2010 produced several fantastic shows...but the decision to expand the daily attendance limit by 20,000 a day, combined with the decision to shift to selling only three day tickets, lame volunteer parking and security staffs, and a reduction in the investment on the cool tangentials (particularly the commissioned artwork), created a clusterfuck of a festival that was a nightmare to get into, and then horrifically overcrowded inside. No longer could one hop from tent to tent randomly and still enjoy that wonderful intimacy of past years...this year, one had to be stategic, getting to must see sets at least a half-an-hour early.
In the end, the disastrous Sly Stone concert that concluded the festival, possibly the ugliest on-stage meltdown in decades, was a perfect cap on what will most likely go down as the worst Coachella to date.
Hopefully the avalanche of poor reviews on both the internet and in the mainstream press will convince Goldenvoice to scale back attendance limits next year, and also go back to allowing single day tickets...otherwise, I think we'll all be looking back at 2008 and the McCartney topped Friday of 2009 as the Festival's historic high water marks before it began it's great slide toward mainstream mediocrity.
But again, none of the problems were of the artists doing. Those that weren't blocked by the Icelandic Volcano showed up gave it all they had.
Reviews of performances I caught follow.
FRIDAY
12:30 - 1:00 KATE MILLER-HEIDKE - I got through security and to this set just minutes after it started. I knew nothing about Kate before the festival other than I wasn't big on the first two tunes on the Ben Fold's touring partner's myspace page, but the young Australian with a background in classical opera proved to be a perfect opener to the festival. Vivacious, cute, quirky, and possessed of a huge voice, with either Ben Folds or his doppleganger playing accompaniment on acoustic guitar, Kate rolled through a 8/9 song set of adult contemporary ballads and spirited dance/pop tracks. Her closing song, Are You F****** Kiding Me, a hysterical rant against an ex-boyfriend who later friend requested her on facebook, was possibly one of the ten/fifteen best single song performances of the entire weekend.
1:00 - 1:40 JETS OVERHEAD - Friday started out two for two as I sidled over to the Mojave to check out this veteran 5 piece Canadian band. Cranking out a set of songs that would have been perfectly at home on Chicago's WXRT in the late 80s, early 90s, I thoroughly enjoyed their mellow alt-rock vibe. These guy's harmonize like nobody's business...possibly the best group vocals I heard all weekend. Only a lame closing song prevented this from being one of my favorite sets.
2:00 - 2:10 BARONESS - Grabbed a few minutes of this heavy metal act before heading over to the Outdoor Theatre for Deer Tick. They were definitely bringing it, but anyone who knows me knows I like just about everything in rock n' roll, except post Metalica metal, and these guys did nothing to change that. But I'm sure fans loved the set.
2:15 - 2:55 DEER TICK - Very enjoyable set. Lead Singer set the irreverent tone dressed in boots, flowered summer dress, and emerald green, sequined cowboy hat, and was a lot of fun bantering with the crowd. Closed with one of the highlights of the entire weekend, a raucous cover of ZZ Top's Cheap Sunglasses, with bits of 70s classic Frankenstein mashed in for good measure.
3:10 - 3:40 AS TALL AS LIONS - Had never heard anything by this New York band, but they were one of the festival's early standouts. Intricate, hard-charging prog rock with an almost Radioheadish feel, the kicked up a huge, swirling wall of sound that built to tremendous crescendos. Their bassist probably gets the award for most animated non-frontman/woman of the entire weekend, and the whole band played with great energy...if you're at one of this summer's festivals early and these guys are on the bill, you could do a lot worse. Definitely worth checking out.
3:40 - 4:05 THE AVETT BROTHERS - Skipped back over to the Outdoor Theatre to catch the end of this set. Band was struggling through some audio problems, but it's easy to see why they've evolved into such a contemporary fan favorite. Spinning lose, shaggy alt-country and roots rock reminiscent of the band in sound, but anchored by much more personal lyrics, they delivered a number of tracks off their latest release, I and Love and You, with charisma and charm.
4:20 - 4:35 - YEASAYER - Anyone who knows Coachella knows 4pm is when the heavy hitters start showing up on the schedule. Unfortunately, with the expanded attendance numbers, this year this was also about the time the festival became overrun. I learned the hard way here...was absolutely pysched to see these guys, Odd Blood, their new releases, is one of my favorites in early 2010, but even though I got to the Mojave before the start of their set, the tent was completely overrun. Caught (at least heard) opener The Children and then Rome from the side of the tent, sounded great, but then decided I'd rather watch a band to, so headed over to the Gobi for...
4:35 - 5:10 - HOCKEY - ...and boy, was I glad I did, because these youngsters from Portland were fantastic. Setting a precedent that would become an theme for the entire festival, party bands ruled the weekend. Playing down an enthusiastic set of white boy funk, the first two-thirds of this set was pure joy, but the lineup was starting to get really crowded, so I skipped over to the Mainstage for the first time to catch a few minutes of...
5:15 - 5:30 STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB - Tom Morello Pyrotechnics. I've never been a huge Rage Against The Machine, but after seeing Morello ripped through one of the best live solos I've ever witnessed at an LA Springsteen show last year, I definitely wanted to see more. Didn't love the music, new band had a very similar to Rage rap-metal feel, but once again, Tom ripped off some amazing guitar work.
5:35 - 5:45 RA RA RIOT - First thought, this Syracuse Vampire Weekendish sextet is really young. Second thought, their cellist is really, really cute. Third thought, as with their debut album I picked up a couple years ago, other than one or two great tracks, this band is really boring. One of dullest sets I caught all weekend, though to be fair, I only stuck it out for first few tracks...but if you find yourself at a festival soon and are trying to decide between Ra Ra Riot and someone else, go with someone else.
5:45 - 5:50 DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - I'm not a huge Dillinger Fan, but I do find I love them whenever they break free from pure contemporary metal constraints, and lucked into catching the start of my very favorite Dillinger track, Milk Lizard, just as I was walking by. They didn't have a brass accompaniment (the defining characteristic that makes Lizard such a unique metal track), but they tore into it with absolute abandon, and their lead singer wins award for most physically intimidating presence at festival...dude is ripped, an absolute steriod monster.
5:55 - 6:20 SHE & HIM - One can argue all day as to whether this Zooey Deschenal/M. Ward side project is worthy of consideration...but I found the back half of this set to be an absolute charmer. Caught a lot of their best tracks...This is Not a Test, Why Don't You Stay Here, Magic Trick, and a ripping cover of Johnny B. Goode. So regardless of their semi-amateur status, I think act did about as well as one could ask.
6:20 - 6:45 THE SPECIALS - 2010s lineup had a number of excellent 80s reunions on the bill, of which the Specials were the first. Could have been great if lead singer had shown one tenth the enthusiasm of rest of the band to be there, but he looked bored.
7:00 - 7:05 PASSION PIT - Despite frequent internet postings about how weak this band was, I had every intention of catching this whole set, as I really enjoyed Manners and actually preferred to the very similar Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. But alas, by two minutes in, I knew I wouldn't stick this one out...the internet buzz was dead on. Not that the band plays poorly, in fact their actually quite the tight little unit, but the experience of watching their lead singer squeak out his oh-so-high, oh-so-tiny little yelps with such over-the-top demonstrativeness was quite simply, one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. I split before the first song of the set was finished. It would prove to be the best decision I'd make all weekend, cause I headed over to....
7:05 - 7:45 - GIL SCOTT HERON - This was easily one of the best sets of the entire festival...eschewing his talk/sing style...GSH put his great gravelly voice front and center through the entire set, a collection of chill 8 minute grooves accompanied by just a second keyboardist, bongos, and fantastic sax. Quiet, calm, flowing, heartfelt and absolutely mesmerizing, this set left the most unique footprint of any over the weekend. Loved every minute of it.
7:50 - 8:40 - THEM CROOKED VULTURES - Was really stoked for this set. Even though I was lukewarm at best on their mediocre debut, I had never seen Joshe Homme, Dave Grohl, or John Paul Jones in any prior incarnation, and was ready for some first rate jams. They did not disappoint. I give them credit for recognizing their debut album's strongest tracks...I don't think I would have swap anything in their set list for something left out...and I give them even greater props for turning the one great track on the album, Scumbag Blues, into the top single song performance of the entire festival...Surprisingly, this track started a little shakey, but then they opened it up huge, breaking off into the eeriest, creepiest, most atmospheric desert blues guitar solo and build I have ever experienced, it just went on and on for good 8 - 10 minutes and held absolutely everyone spellbound.
8:45 - 9:00 - ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - After Vultures, wove through the crowd to catch a few minutes of Echo at the Outdoor...sounds like he played most of the hits, but in what I caught he was in strict Crocodiles mode (Do It Clean, Villars Terrace). Sounded good, but I had a 2000s 80s style act to catch that's been doing it better than the originals, so it was back to the mainstage for...
9:05 - 10:00 - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - There's only one reason why this wasn't my favorite set of the festival, and that's that I've already seen the multiple times. But they crushed as always...going slight on the new This is Happening songs (I think just Drunk Girls, Pow Pow, I Can Change) in favor of their biggest tracks...From opener Us Vs. Them to huge double close out of Yeah & New York I Love You...this was one propulsive hour long set, one in which Lead Singer James Murphy waxed proudly to be the "Vegan Side Dish" to Crooked Vultures "appetizer" and a Jay-Z "Main Course." Anyone who hasn't seen this act, I strongly encourage you make a try if they've still got a summer date left in your town...this is supposedly their last tour before they disband.
10:05 - 10:30 - VAMPIRE WEEKEND - Headed over to the food court closest to the Outdoor Theatre to finally grab some dinner and see how well Vampire Weekend has done since their snoozefest of a set on the same stage in 2008. Well, as live performers, they've improved greatly, transforming from clever college band to seasoned performers who now understand how to work a crowd. It was a jam packed, highly spirited set, but once I was done with my ribs, it was off to grab a close up spot for one of the biggest gets of the entire festival...
11:10 - 12:00 - FEVER RAY - As much as I would have loved to have caught Jay-Z, I couldn't pass up the rare opportunity to catch the bizarre female half of Sweden's The Knife performing tracks from her killer solo debut. You knew you were in for something big when they shut down the Mojave for a full hour before her set (standard gaps are twenty minutes), and from a production standpoint, the time was worth it. Dressing the set like the attic to a haunted mansion, with all manner of shaded lamps that would proved to be programmed to timers once the show started, it was the most impressive set I've ever seen pulled off at the normally music and nothing else festival. Hell even Roger Waters was just a couple fire cannons and a Video Screen.
Anyway, when Fever Ray finally took the stage, dressed in totally bizarre costumes (my favorite was the sequencer player looking like a medieval squire in a three foot tall Stove Pipe hat) and drenched in a thick guaze of generated fog and pulsing lazers, the initial impact was something. Couldn't even see Fever Ray's face through the first three songs, as it was cloacked under what looked liked some tribal recreation of a full bear skin rug. When she did final drop the costume, her face was grease painted stark white.
Unfortunately, once one got past that initial Halloween-like shock, there really wasn't much else to the show's production. Thankfully, the band sounded great, but after about eight tunes, I was ready for something else, so I headed over to check out a few moments of Johnny Rotten before catching end of Jay-Z
12:00 - 12:30 PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED - Wow. I've never caught Public Image Limited before, even though I have several friends who swear by these guys as one of the best live acts out there. They couldn't be more right. Rotten is an absolute ogre onstage, cajoling the audience with condescend commands, blowing snot out of his nose midsong, and always leering down like he's seconds away from jumping off the stage to kick someones ass for not being into the set enough...but his psychadelically tinged, guitar oriented band absolutely destroys, and the combination was nothing short of mesmerizing. Jay Z would have to wait...I ended up sticking around for the full back half of this phenomenal set.
12:30 - 12:45 JAY-Z - Sadly, I only ended up catching a tiny fraction of Jay-z's headliner set, basically just the tail end of his Forever Young closing duet with Beyonce and then and extended thank the audience outro, but I saw enough to let me know I'd want to check him out again. Backed by a massive band of I think 11 members, swathed in blue light, this was a production of the highest order, and the impression I got from most is it was an excellent headliner set, though I was personally disappointed that he ended almost twenty-minutes before he had to. Oh well, can't win 'em all.
After that, it was the worst traffic night getting out...took an hour and a half, then to bed for the start of day two.
SATURDAY
Got here with plenty of time to spare before Frank Turner, the day's opening act went on, but crowds, major schedule holes, and far too heavy a young prog lean to the day's lineup would end up making this my least favorite day of any day I have ever attended the festival. Guess it's saying something about how great the festival is that I still saw some fabulous sets.
12:05 - 12:25 FRANK TURNER - I knew nothing about Turner prior to this set in the Gobi, and came out of it feeling no need to learn more. Adequate UK folk-rock in a Billy Bragg-ish sort of way. He handled himself well enough, but just didn't feel his songs were all that special. After about four tracks, left for the Outdoor Theatre and...
12:25 - 12:35 RX BANDITS - Didn't spend much time here at all, couple minutes was all I needed to realize this was going to be a lame prog-rock effort. Day was getting off to a dreadful start.
12:35 - 1:00 STEEL TRAIN - Another band I knew nothing about, this set was a little better. Band is out of Jersey, I think, and that traditional, Springsteen-vibe was seeping through, until the guitarist would start soloing in an almost contemporary metal fashion. Weird mix of sounds, some songs worked, others didn't. Did a nice acapella number, and there was some crazy older dude in a floppy red cap (mid-50s) dancing up a storm all by his lonesome (because everyone else felt the need to keep safe distance) that added nicely to the entertainment factor. Now it was off to...
1:05 - 1:50 THE ALMIGHTY DEFENDERS - ...and the days first great set. For those who haven't heard of The Almighty Defenders, their primarily a performing band that combines members from some of the raunchiest, worst behaved bands on the festival circuit, most notably the full lineup of the Black Lips and King Kahn from King Kahn and the Shrines, dresses everyone up in preacher's robes, and then performs nothing but gospel covers. It's a complete lark, meant to simultaneously celebrate and mock those old-fashioned, fire and brimstone, southern Baptist Sunday gatherings, but it just somehow totally, totally works. I walked in right as King Kahn was tearing down the Gobi with his searing James Brown voice, and the show never let up from there...even between songs, when all 7-8 members on stage would comically scramble to switch positions and instruments in shortest time possible. A tremendously entertaining set. Stayed for the duration.
1:50 - 2:00 PORCUPINE TREE - Headed over next to the Outdoor to check out a little of England's Porcupine Tree, another prog-oriented act. Like them better than RX Bandits, but not by much, so ditched after to songs to check out...
2:00 - 2:15 SHOOTER JENNINGS & HEIROPHANT - ...which proved to be a big mistake, as outside of Sly, this was my least favorite act I caught all weekend. Was more rock than the country I expected from Waylon Jennings son, but regardless of genre, I was getting nothing from these guys. Worse, crowds were already assembling in mass, and giving a few minutes to Shooter and then grabbing a quick slice of Pizza would prove to ruin the next set as well, which was...
2:15 - 2:30 PORTUGAL, THE MAN - As with Yeasayer on Friday, another unprecedented crowd had already formed for this set, completely blocking me out of the Gobi. A shame, cause it sounded like the were really bringing it, especially on a cover of Santana's Black Magic Woman, which I managed to hear from way outside the tent. But disappointed I couldn't get closer, and with Frightened Rabbit's set cancelled because of the Icelandic Volcano, and made my way over to the Mojave and...
3:10 - 3:20 CAMERA OBSCURA - Band was playing to a fairly large crowd, but portion of set I caught had a really lackluster feel. Heard James and one other track from My Maudlin' Career, but none of the great, more uptempo numbers like French Navy or The Sweetest Thing. Unimpressed with the band's energy, I decided not to get squeezed out of my next must see and got a great spot in the Gobi for...
3:25 - 4:10 GIRLS - and was treated to one the better shows of the day. For those not in the know, lead singer/songwriter Christopher Owen's back story is a wild one. He spent most of his childhood secluded from many of the trappings of modern life, including music, while being raised in a religious cult. After breaking free, he discovered rock n' roll, and attacked its classic styles with a converts fervor, but his stunting childhood experience lends a touch of unexpected innocence to everything the band takes on. As one would expect from a relatively young, inexperienced band, the set was inconsistent, but the standout tracks from their breakthrough release Album, particularly Lust For Life and Laura, cut through with the clarity of future timeless classics. They'll undoubtedly get better as the get more experienced, but given how many dud's I had already seen on this bleakest of Coachella days, I was thrilled to have caught this set.
4:10 - 4:30 WHITE RABBITS - Scrambled over to catch a few minutes of White Rabbits on the Main Stage while simultaneously grabbing the weekend merchandise gifts for my friends and family. Lucked into my two favorite tracks...The Kid On My Shoulders and The Plot...and enjoyed these numbers, but came away less than impressed overall.
My main gripe - I sense that of the band's two creative leads, keyboardist Stephen Patterson and guitarist Greg Roberts, Patterson is more dominant and prolific, but actually the less talented of the two. He bored me, despite his clear enthusiasm, but Robert's really held my attention when he stepped forward to take the lead on The Plot. Be interesting to see where thing go with this band, and I wonder if Robert's struggles to establish his presence here are kinda like (though not nearly at the same talent level) Brian Eno's struggles to establish his presence in the Brian Ferry/Phil Manzerra dominated Roxy Music. Either way, after The Plot left to check out a young English power trio I had never heard but several other's I had met were excited about.
4:35 - 5:20 BAND OF SKULLS - Band Of Skulls is a relatively young band out of Southhampton, England that aims to deliver something the present music scene could use a whole lot more of...good old fashioned hard rock. If only they were a little more "inspired by" their influence rather than just "derivative of." Channeling all manner of classic rock and new wave tropes, but reminding most of Led Zeppelin and the early Pretenders (towering bassist/vocalist Emma Richardson both sings and looks a lot like Chrissie Hynde), the Skulls ripped through a hard hitting set of numbers from their 2009 debut Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. I enjoyed their rendition of I Know What I Am, stayed for the whole set, and most in the crowd seemed to be loving it (and talking to record kiosk vendors the next day I learned their album was selling as well as anything on the shelves), but in the end I just couldn't get over how average some of their material felt, and didn't feel their performance, though solid, was of sufficient caliber to elevate it. That would not be an issue with my next act.
5:40 - 6:20 GOSSIP - Unfamiliar with Gossip other than that their singer Beth Ditto had once played the lead in a theatrical production of John Water's Hairspray, I took in the set on the L.A. Times recommendation of music critic Ann Powers, and boy do I owe here a guargantuan thank you, because with the possible exception of King Kahn and Florence and the Machine on Sunday, this was the best set I saw the entire weekend.
For those who, like me then, know nothing about Gossip, let me try to describe them for you...watching them is kinda like watching denizen's of The Island of Misfit Toys from the old Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer Christmas special in human form. Talk about nerdy, this is the geekiest-looking band in existence west of I'm From Barcelona. The drummer is a miniscule woman who both dresses and looks like a twelve-year-old. depression-era newspaper boy. The guitarist, with his electrocuted hair and seedy pencil mustache seems to be the illicit offspring of John Waters and Weird Al Yankovic. The bassists comes of as the hispanic cousin to Poindexter from Revenge Of The Nerds, and then there's Ditto...5'1" at best, beyond heavy, and...one of the most charismatic front women I have ever seen.
It's almost impossible to describe the fever racket level of catharsis this band is able to generate once it starts digging into their simplistic but perfect for live performance songs, but those offbeat looks, not to mention Ditto's massive voice, push it all to another level. Once you hear how good they are, you are instantly rooting for them.
Really can't say much else, other than I loved, loved, loved this set.
6:20 - 6:25 THE RAVONETTES - The courage under fire award for Coachella 2010 definitely goes to the Ravonette's primary duo of guitarist Sune Rose Wagner and singer Sharin Foo, who took the stage, and by all accounts of those who attended put on a hell of a show, even though the remainder of their band was waylaid back in Europe by the Volcano. I only caught a few minutes in passing on my way to my next targeted set, but in what I saw, it was clear they had forged a strong communal bond with the audience on this day.
6:25 - 6:55 THE XX - Next scrambled over to a massively overcrowded Outdoor Theater to catch this hottest of contempory buzz bands. For those unfamiliar with The Xx, they were initially a quartet, but by this time a trio, of English art school kids whose spare, breathy, moody debut was one of the very best releases of 2009...kinda of a present day equivalent to Roxy Music's Avalon. Obviously, I wasn't their only fan, as I was only able to get within maybe one hundred feet of the stage by squeezing far right.
The band took the stage with a characteristic lack of fanfare, and then immediately launched into a set list that included all the biggest songs off the debut...Crystalized, Shelter, VCR, Infinity, etc., etc. They sounded great, especially for the Outdoor Theater, but as one would expect given the band's reserved, mature nature, did little in the way of banter or performance to add to show beyond their spot on deliver of the music. I left a few minutes early, satisfied but fully dispelled of the need to ever see them again (even if they drop another album as good as their debut), to catch a good spot for Dirty Projectors show at the Mojave, which I feared would be almost as crowded as this set.
6:55 - 7:45 THE DIRTY PROJECTORS - Got here just in time for the show, and though packed, wasn't nearly as bad as crowd for The Xx had been...was able to get a decent spot. Many of you may not be familiar with this band, and for good reason, they're the classic definiton of difficult...anchored around a group of Ivy League composition students, their end goal is to make pop music, but through the most oblique experimental compositional techniques out there. With their jagged rhythms, intricate female backing harmonies, lead vocalist David Longstreth's incredibly mannered singing style, and rumored penchant for pushing through twelve hour rehearsal days...I often think of them as the Captain Beefhearts of the contemporary indie rock scene...obsessive perfectionists determined to create complicated music most would deem "wrong." That said, they do have a few tracks...Rise Above, Two Doves, Stillness Is The Move...that even the most conventionally minded could love...and I was hoping to get an equal dose of their most expiremental and their most accessible.
Expiremental won out...other than Stillness Is The Move, which they closed with, their trickier tracks ruled the set...but it was still a highly entertaining show, in no small part because of how mercifully the band members rode the audio techs. Seriously, I don't think there was a 15 second stretch the entire show where some band member wasn't making angry hand signals to some poor temp hire back in the booth. Volume up! Volume down! Tweak this, kill that! Obsessive perfectionists indeed!
7:50 - 8:25 HOT CHIP - Next headed over to east-side food garden to grab some ribs and catch some of Hot Chip for the expanded Outdoor Theatre, which had added video screens this year. They were in fine form, mixing material fairly evenly from the last three albums. Less clubbier set than their 2008 romp in the Sahara, which was played as one long medley. Tonight each track was given it's proper due. Crowd loved 'em.
8:30 - 8:40 FAITH NO MORE - Snuck over to the Main Stage to catch a glimpse of this band I've never paid much attention to, but which many of my industry friends who came of age in the 90s love. Didn't do it for me though, rap-metal's never been my thing. Ditched after just two tracks to try to catch up with my friends Patricia and Ashley at...
8:45 - 9:00 ATERCIOPELADOS - Caught just a few minute of these guys before heading over to Outdoor to see MGMT. Very small crowd, 90% hispanic, but solid musicianship. Lead singer made a nice speech between two songs about the whole world being one.
9:00 - 9:35 MGMT - Uggh, is there any doubt this is the one of the most disinterested live acts presently on the live circuit. Most of the tunes came from their dreadful second LP Congratulations, delivered with little enthusiasm or crowd engagement. I've caught part of their act twice now at festivals and it's two times too many. This is a band no one should waste money on to see live unless it's in a festival setting. Download those three excellent tracks (their only excellent tracks) from the otherwise vastly overrated Oracular Spectacular and be done with them. They're not worth another moment of anyone's collective time.
9:30 - 10:45 MUSE - Stuck out most of this headlining set. High on laser pyrotechnics, sophistated video backgrounds and various other live effects. Most of the Crowd was loving it, but I have to admit other than a few tracks off Black Holes And Revelations, I've just never cared much for their super cheesy, b-tier Radiohead meets Queen vibe, and no amount of live trickery and ace mucianship (have to admit, as players, these guys are serious talents) could offset what I feel is just a pretty lame core sensibility. For the most part, this set left me bored.
10:45 - 11:00 FLYING LOTUS - Grabbed a couple of quick minutes in the Gobi for Fly Lo before hitting mainstage for The Dead Weather. He had a solid crowd going and is a very positive, engaging presence on stage as far as DJ acts go, and his sample-jazz beats are really cool...but didn't stay long, have always wanted to catch him in his truest venue, L.A.s weekly Low End Theory gatherings.
11:00 - 12:00 THE DEAD WEATHER - One of the best sets of the day.
