Five years ago, on this exact date, at the very minute this latest LCKDWN playlist and accompanying explanation are set to appear, one exceedingly nervous Benjamin A. Wener approached one quite bewildered Jessica A. Lanska and spoke to her for the first time. He had noticed her walking toward the Mojave Tent to check out a then-new L.A. band, Bad Suns, while he was headed in the opposite direction to maybe take in a few tunes from Bad Religion on the main stage. Jessica, with all but her legs clad in black — billowy black t-shirt dress, black Vans, black shades, big floppy black hat — turned Ben’s hazy head as if it were made of steel and Jessica were the only magnet in the Western hemisphere, her giant chapeau amplifying the adhesive allure of whatever lurked underneath it. Instantaneously, involuntarily, Ben turned and followed her, tracing her steps until he was standing just to the right and a step behind her. He waited for two songs to pass, maybe three, practicing potential opening lines in his mind.
Then he piped up.
“These guys doing anything for you?” he hesitatingly asked, leaning in to strike up a conversation neither participant fully remembers now. Not exactly knowing how to explain why he had nowhere to be — and realizing there was no way of following her the rest of the day without seeming like a stalker — he foolishly concluded with a see-ya-’round sign-off, smiled and soon waked away, already mentally kicking himself for not upping his pursuit, entirely unsure how he’d manage to track down Jessica once again among 125,000 other Coachellans.
“I think I just got hit on,” Jessica texted her friend Angie back in Tucson at 3:28. “Someone is going to look for me.”
Ben didn’t wander far, turning back frequently to take another look at Jessica, before he slowly shuffled one tent to the left, into a mostly empty Gobi, wherein the raw blues-rock upstart Benjamin Booker was ripping through tunes. He chatted with his photographer friend Samantha Saturday close to the stage — all the while not realizing Jessica had entered the same tent to follow him. To this day, Ben still believes he caught a glimpse of her lingering by the soundboard before drifting off toward the Outdoor Theatre.
So he did likewise, and found Jessica once more alone and lightly bouncing in place for the opening moments from Andrew McMahon, a favorite of hers since his Something Corporate days, and an act whose OC roots provided a nifty conversation starter for Ben. They talked more in between songs. This time Ben didn’t blow his chance: When the set ended, he asked Jessica where she was headed next. “Maybe Milky Chance? I’m not sure.”
They scarcely spent a minute apart after that. The rest of that weekend at the Empire Polo Field proved to be the first step in an amazing journey with no clear destination, other than to remain at each other’s side. They … that is, we have been inseparable ever since, even when we still lived one state apart.
We should be out on that field right now, swooning all over again as we reposition ourselves in spots we recall from our 2015 encounter. As it is, we’ll never know which of the 2020 attractions would have been performing at roughly 3:27 p.m. in the Mojave Tent, or who might have scored the 8-9 p.m. hour on the main stage, since it was during that hour (and alt-J’s set) that we first kissed.
Surely the dates will realign so ideally at some point in the future, and we still will get to enjoy reliving that moment when our history was set into motion. But in light of what we’re missing, thanks to this event-shuttering pandemic, I thought it might be heartwarming consolation to piece together, as best as can be managed, a sprawling soundtrack sampler of what we heard that weekend together roaming stage to stage. Thus was born Bessichella, Parts 1 & 2. It’s all the more appropriate that it’s entirely aural, since most of the time I was too busy staring at Jessica like a weirdo to properly recall all that I saw from the bands.
Inspired by the recent massive Woodstock box set, which documents all but three songs from that four-day mudtopia in chronological order, I set out to reconstruct our musical path as it stretched out before us. To ensure accuracy, and not just include songs I might prefer, I double-checked all selections against set lists posted online to ensure these songs actually were played that weekend. Sometimes I chose a lesser-known (but possibly more meaningful) deep cut over a bigger hit simply because that’s what fits our timeline. As anyone who has been to Coachella or a similarly large festival can attest, you only get to take in entire performances by sacrificing others on your to-see list. Jessica and I did a good bit of roaming and sampling rather than savoring complete sets.
I opted to include two songs per act, although in some instances that rule was quickly broken. Which means there are a number of elements worth itemizing, in the absence of time to complete liner notes for a fuller rundown.
- Royal Blood: Months after our meet-cute, Jessica revealed that she actually had noticed me first, hanging at the Outdoor Theatre to watch the power duo Royal Blood with my longtime friend and colleague “Desert Jeff” Miller and a new producer acquaintance named Joe, who had just worked with Saint Motel (that group also appeared at this Coachella). “You were standing with a guy in a button-up shirt covered in yellow rubber duckies.” Yup, that was Joe. So I’ve included two Royal Blood starters — “Figure It Out” to represent then-lost me, the altogether more badass and swaggering “Out of the Black” to represent Jessica. These are the sounds that spun me up and sent me whirling her way, and they constitute the first few moments we were apparently in each other’s presence.
- The Bad Suns selections are speculative. Neither of us has ever been able to pinpoint what was playing when we met, because no one has ever posted a set list — yet ALL other artists and bands listed below have them. There is YouTube footage of virtually every song from the lone album that the group had issued at that point, so I felt safe picking applicable favorites.
- Alt-J gets three tunes to commemorate our first kiss and cuddle. I don’t actually think it was during “Left Hand Free” or “Every Other Freckle,” but it’s such a happy blur now that I really don’t recall; it was probably during something even mellower, like “Tessellate.” I like to think it occurred during one of these lustier bits. Also, how can I refuse including their cover of “Lovely Day,” given how superbly it encapsulates the moment and pays tribute to Bill Withers?
- I make no apologies for the raunchy budding love of the second Run the Jewels tune. It’s layered with all kinds of inside info and jokes.
- Wish I could have made room for “I’m a Cuckoo” in the Belle and Sebastian portion, but the ones that made the cut are either mainstays of our listening these past five years (“The Party Line”) or pieces that simply say so much more, and so well (“The Book on You”).
- Jack White was ostensibly the Saturday night headliner, even though the Weeknd took over the main stage after him. So I permitted a few extras, but for specific reasons: I still remember elation over a kiss that lifted me off the ground during “High Ball Stepper,” an instrumental from early in his set; “Sixteen Saltines” represents the first moment I lost my shit rocking out to a live show in front of Jess; and “Love Interruption,” title and verse, says everything about that weekend and the from-a-distance summer to follow.
- We did watch some of the Weeknd, but I mostly remember my mind reeling over meeting Jessica while walking to the car and hearing the slow roll of “Earned It,” his Fifty Shades of Grey tune, from afar.
- The Pre-Dawn Interlude and Noontime Drive bits from Sunday represent something I haven’t revealed to Jessica before: that I awoke with Jack’s version of Elvis Presley’s “Prove My Love” ringing in my ears the morning after I met her. And though I don’t recall who rode back to the grounds with me on Sunday (probably Jeff and David Brendan Hall, maybe Samantha too), I distinctly recall blaring the White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl” and “My Doorbell” just after I started the car. They all thought I was just basking in the afterglow of his blue-hued performance. Little did they know.
- We did not, in fact, spend Saint Motel’s set together. Jessica and her bestie Patrick hung back further from where I was standing in the scorching sun, but she noticed me. When their set was over, I turned to head to the Outdoor Theatre — and spotted her directly ahead of me. I slowed my pace and held back, just so I could watch her walk.
- The Orwells choices were merely in the background while we chatted and walked about on Sunday; I don’t recall watching them, only hearing them. Similarly, the Cribs’s inclusion is a bit of a cheat, as I believe we only briefly peeked our heads in at Gobi en route to stake spots in Mojave for Brand New, the band at the very top of Jessica’s must-see list. Likewise, the second Cribs song is the only one on this playlist that was not, in fact, performed at Coachella. But she’s my “Diamond Girl” all the same.
- The Brand New choices were easy: these were the only two selections from their celebrated album Déjà Entendu, her favorite of theirs, and something of a vinyl unicorn for her — until I paid three times its list price on eBay to ship it her way once she was back in Tucson.
- The Philip Selway choices are very fitting, but Jessica will attest that they weren’t witnessed with our eyes so much as our ears. I took note of them while she excitedly exclaimed again and again about the Brand New resurrection. Selway’s third selection here, employed as an end-credits piece for this imaginary film of our romantic beginnings, was also played at Coachella.
- St. Vincent gets an extra cut because that’s what we’ve always considered our “first date.” We queued up for tacos, I treated, then we found a cozy spot to sit, eat and watch. Ms. Clark been someone special to us ever since.
- Florence + the Machine and Fitz and the Tantrums get extra cuts because Drake, the real headliner, was a major dud. He still merits inclusion, especially the two songs I chose, which certainly speak to the feelings of the moment. But he was a drag, whereas Florence (seated because she broke a toe the week before) was far more compelling, and Fitz provided an unforgettable fest-ending dance party for all three of us, Patrick included.
There’s at least a book-length more story I could add. But 3:27 approaches. Regardless of the background, even if you tune it all out, I think you’ll come away from this double-wide playlist with plenty to keep you humming. At the very least, it’s a solid snapshot of what the nomadic Coachella experience can be like.
With that, I give you ..
BESSICHELLA, PARTS 1 & 2
PART 1
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
PRELUDE: ROYAL BLOOD
(Outdoor Theatre: 3-3:15)
“Figure It Out” / “Out of the Black”
BAD SUNS
(Mojave Tent: 3:20-3:45)
“We Move Like the Ocean” / “Take My Love and Run”
BENJAMIN BOOKER
(Gobi Tent: 3:45-4)
“Old Hearts” / “Wicked Waters”
ANDREW McMAHON IN THE WILDERNESS
(Outdoor Theatre: 4:05-4:45)
“Maps for the Getaway” / “High Dive”
MILKY CHANCE
(Coachella Stage: 4:50-5:20)
“Fairytale” / “Stolen Dance”
JUNGLE
(Mojave Tent: 5:35-5:55)
“Lucky I Got What I Want” / “Busy Earnin’”
HOZIER
(Coachella Stage: 6-6:35)
“Jackie and Wilson” / “Like Real People Do”
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
(Outdoor Theatre: 6:40-6:55)
“The Book on You” / “The Party Line”
RUN THE JEWELS
(Mojave Tent: 7-7:15)
“Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)” / “Love Again (Akinyele Back)”
GLASS ANIMALS
(Gobi Tent: 7:15-7:30)
“Black Mambo” / “Gooey”
ALT-J
(Coachella Stage: 7:35-8:30)
“Left Hand Free” / “Every Other Freckle” / “Lovely Day”
KASABIAN
(Mojave Tent: 8:40-9:05)
“Eez-Eh” / “Bumblebeee”
JACK WHITE
(Coachella Stage: 9:15-11)
“High Ball Stepper” / “Sixteen Saltines” / “Love Interruption”
THE WEEKND
(Coachella Stage: 11:25-midnight)
“Can’t Feel My Face” / “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
PART 2
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
PRE-DAWN INTERLUDE: JACK WHITE
“Power of My Love”
NOONTIME DRIVE: THE WHITE STRIPES
“Fell in Love with a Girl” / “My Doorbell”
SAINT MOTEL
(Coachella Stage: 1:20-1:55)
“My Type” / “Cold Cold Man”
JOYCE MANOR
(Outdoor Theatre: 2-2:20)
“Falling in Love Again” / “End of the Summer”
THE ORWELLS
(Coachella Stage: 2:20-2:35)
“Always N Forever” / “Dirty Sheets”
MØ
(Gobi Tent: 2:45-3:05)
“Don’t Wanna Dance” / “Say You’ll Be There”
CIRCA SURVIVE
(Coachella Stage: 3:20-4:05)
“Child of the Desert” / “In the Morning and Amazing…”
BUILT TO SPILL
(Outdoor Theatre: 4:15-4:45)
“Wherever You Go” / “Randy Described Eternity”
DESAPARECIDOS
(Gobi Tent: 4:50-5:20)
“The Left Is Right” / “City on the Hill”
JENNY LEWIS
(Outdoor Theatre: 5:35-6:15)
“Silver Lining” / “Portions for Foxes”
THE CRIBS
(Gobi Tent: 6:20-6:30)
“We Share the Same Skies” / “Diamond Girl”
BRAND NEW
(Mojave Tent: 6:40-7:30)
“Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t” / “Sic Transit Gloria … Glory Fades”
PHILIP SELWAY
(Gobi Tent: 7:35-7:55)
“Coming Up for Air” / “Don’t Go Now”
ST. VINCENT
(Outdoor Theatre: 8-8:45)
“Digital Witness” / “Bring Me Your Loves” / “Your Lips Are Red”
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
(Coachella Stage: 8:50-9:15)
“How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful” / “Cosmic Love” / “Dog Days Are Over”
FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS
(Outdoor Theatre: 9:20-10:10)
“Out of My League” / “L.O.V.” / “The Walker”
DRAKE
(Coachella Stage: 10:15-11:15)
“Find Your Love” / “Hold On, We’re Going Home”
END CREDITS: PHILIP SELWAY
“A Simple Life”