Stagecoach 2010: Of beignets, Sugarland and pork butt

Who’d have thought?

Looking to indulge my hankering for a bona fide beignet, that heavenly French doughnut native to the Café du Monde in New Orleans, I beelined for the booth that was offering them up as Sugarland was wrapping up its Mane Stage set by digging deep into its repertoire of classic-rock influences.

While waiting for a fresh batch to be yanked from the vat of boiling cottonseed oil before being buried under a powdered sugar avalanche, I asked the proprietor how things compared with last weekend at Coachella.

“The hippies ate better than the country crowd,” he said. “I’m dying out here.”

Perhaps it was partly due to his location in a comparatively remote quadrant of the Empire (Polo Field), where patrons have to battle upstream to find him.

Across the grounds, adjacent the Mustang and Palomino stages, at the Stagecoach’s annual barbecue cook-off among a few dozen purveyors of all things smoked and scorched, the offerings were sold out well before I made it around 5 p.m. in hopes of sampling this year’s entrants.

Well, as some country wag surely observed at some point, each tomorrow brings a new sunrise. And with any luck, freshly smoked pork butt as well.

Click here for photos from Stagecoach.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland perform at Stagecoach. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[SHORESLADY]

I'm new here but tell me if I'm missing something. This seems to be an entry about how you got there late, caught only Sugarland's finale, and missed out on all the hot food. This makes me think that whatever you were doing before you showed up must have been more interesting! So, where were you?

[rarvai]

What was the point of this article. I consider this a minute wasted of my life.

[Randy Lewis]

Fear not, Shoreslady. I caught the majority of Sugarland's set when I arrived immediately after Merle Haggard finished. And the food booth I referenced was adjacent the Mane Stage where Sugarland performed, so I didn't miss anything when I grabbed a bite to eat. A more comprehensive look at the weekend's music will be in Monday's Calendar section, and online.
--Randy Lewis