Kevin Bronson on April 15th, 2012

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Who: Buzzcocks in the Gobi Tent
In 3 or Fewer Words: Power punk perfection.
Memorable Because: I’m pretty sure Steve Diggle winked at me. At first, Buzzcocks’ set felt a bit like trotting-out Geronimo at the 1903 World’s Fair, an ancient relic from battles won and lost reduced to a curio. But Pete Shelley and Diggle hadn’t surrendered, they were just waiting for the right moment to ambush a tent full of gawkers with their timeless hits. Diggle never stopped mugging for cameras and screaming girls as they powered through forever fresh numbers like “Harmony in My Head,” “What Do I Get?,” and “Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).” But what elevated the galvanizing performance from cheap sideshow to curated art was Shelley’s powerhouse vocal performance on “I Believe,” a screed for social sanity where Shelly hopelessly pled “There is no love in this world anymore ”¦” It gave dimension to the overall Coachella experience, a pop-up utopia where peace and happiness are obtained through numerous financial transactions; where love is a dance or a costume worn more than a dogma. But let’s not over-think it: Buzzcocks just f*ckin’ rocked.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were at Kaiser Chiefs: Every Kaiser Chiefs show is average nowadays. What were you thinking?!
– Ben “Mouse” McShane (Concert photography by Scott Dudelson)