Coachella 2012: At the Drive-In, raging on

Kevin Bronson on
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Who: At the Drive-In on the main stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: Welcome back.
Memorable Because: No band melded punk and hardcore quite like At the Drive-In, who splintered too soon, 11 years ago, and whose ensuing projects (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in the Mars Volta, among others, and Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar in Sparta) took on lives of their own. So this was the most surprising of Coachella’s 2012 reunions (moreso because of the prime time slot). And although it didn’t look easy, the band sounded muscular and convincing. Notably, it was Rodriguez-Lopez’s second set of the day – he had played earlier with Le Butcherettes – and if Bixler-Zavala sounded out of breath at a couple moments during the nine-song barrage, maybe he surprised too.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were at Florence + the Machine: Hope you remember where you parked the mini-van.
– K.B.