Remember when Grinderman announced they’d called it a day at Meredith Music Festival in 2011? When, on stage, Nick Cave said that his Bad Seeds’ side-project – two albums’ worth of horny storms of sex-addled blues and scuzzy rock – was over, in front of the Amphitheatre’s masses?
Just this morning, with the news that Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds would be kick-starting their North American tour with a showcase at SXSW 2013, we labelled Grinderman as ‘defunct’. But as is usually the way these things go, it seems that despite saying, “that’s it for Grinderman. It’s over. See you in 10 years when we’ll be even older and uglier;” the Meredith split wasn’t to be the final underline under Grinderman.
Because there they are on the just-announced lineup for Coachella 2013, amidst the characteristically enormous list of names set to play the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The reformed Grinderman – featuring Cave and Bad Seeds Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, and im Sclavunos – are playing the first night (April 12 and 19) of the festival.The reformed Grinderman – featuring Cave and Bad Seeds Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, and im Sclavunos – are playing the first night (April 12 and 19) of the festival.
In fact reformations seems to be theme of the lineup, alongside Grinderman, there’s the recently reformed Britpop icons The Stone Roses and Blur, as well as hip hop outfit Jurassic 5, and the influential Violent Femmes who were both done and dusted. Then there’s The Postal Service, playing the second night (April 13 and 20) to help ring in the 10th Anniversary of the Death Cab For Cutie/Dntel side-project’s one-and-only album, Give Up.
Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello were already rumoured to be playing the festival circuit to help commemorate Give Up‘s 10th birthday, with the band’s website relaunching alongside their booking page being reactivated, but their appearance on the massive Coachella bill (and Barcelona’s equally astonishing Primavera Sound Festival) now confirms it.
The third night of Coachella (April 14 and 21) also sees a performance from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, alongside headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Wu-Tang Clan, and fellow pond-hopping heroes Tame Impala.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are also gearing up for a national headline tour of Australia in early March – including three sold out dates at the Sydney Opera House – to promote forthcoming studio album Push The Sky Away, the 15th record from the ensemble who are “unlike any other band on earth for pure, instinctive inventiveness” (in the words of their ringleader, Nick Cave).
Hoping for new Grinderman material, following on from their two self-titled albums, may be asking a bit much – but considering recent events, it’s not entirely out of the question.
Meanwhile, you can view the breath-taking lineup for Coachella 2013 in the poster below:
Coachella 2013 Lineup
Friday, April 12 & 19
Blur, The Stone Roses, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Lou Reed, Jurassic 5, Grinderman, Bassnectar, Dog Blood, How to Destroy Angels, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Band of Horses, Beach House, Metric, Local Natives, Of Monsters and Men, Infected Mushroom, Japandroids, Divine Fits, Stars, Johnny Marr, Luciano, Wolfgang Gartner, Nicky Romero, Modestep, Tommy Trash, Thomas Gold, the Shouting Matches, Dillon Francis, Four Tet, Aesop Rock, Alt-J, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, TNGHT, Jake Bugg, Earl Sweatshirt, Polica, Sparks, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Purity Ring, Lee Scratch Perry, Dam-Funk, DJ Harvey, Jamie xx, Seth Troxler, Youth Lagoon, Deathfix, C2C, Beardyman, Lord Huron, Palma Violets, IO Echo, Skinny Lister, the Neighbourhood, Sam XL Pure Filth Sound
Saturday, April 13 and 20
Phoenix, the XX, the Postal Service, Sigur Ros, New Order, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Knife Party, Benny Benassi, Two Door Cinema Club, Moby, Descendents, Yeasayer, Franz Ferdinand, Violent Femmes, Simian Mobile Disco, Spiritualized, Puscifer, Cafe Tacuba, Portugal, the Man, the Make-Up, Bat for Lashes, Richie Hawtin, Major Lazer, Fedde Le Grand, Dropkick Murphys, FOALS, Ben Howard, 2 Chainz, Janelle Monae, Danny Brown, Wild Nothing, Booka Shade, Bingo Players, Allen Stone, El-P, the Selecter, Pusha T, Kill the Noise, the Evens, Biffy Clyro, Theophilus London, Baauer, Zane Lowe, Trash Talk, Birdy Nam Nam, Action Bronson, Jason Bentley, the Wombats, Guards, Mona, Savages, Shovels & Rope, Huoratron, Kurt Vile, Reignwolf, Cassy, 3Ball MTY, Kids These Days, the 2 Bears, the Colourist, Vintage Trouble
Sunday, April 14 and 21
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Social Distortion, Wu-Tang Clan, Pretty Lights, Eric Prydz, Tame Impala, the Lumineers, Dead Can Dance, La Roux, James Blake, Excision Grimes, the Gaslight Anthem, the Faint, Hardwell, Paul Oakenfold, Dinosaur Jr., Raider Klan, OMD, Roni Size, the Airborne Toxic Event, Father John Misty, Tanlines, Rodriguez, Alex Clare, Paul Kalkbrenner, Jessie Ware, Loco Dice, Jamie Jones, the Three O’Clock, Disclosure, Mimosa, Cloud Nothings, Parov Stelar Band, Julio Bashmore, Thee Oh Sees, Dub Fx, Maya Jane Coles, JEFF the Brotherhood, Smith Westerns, Dirtyphonics, Joris Voorn, Hanni El Khatib, Danny Avila, Ghost, DIIV, Little Green Cars, Mord Fustang, James McCartney, Unicorn Kid, Robert DeLong, White Arrows, Deep Vally, Wild Belle, Adrian Lux, Ladies Night
