Seraphina Lotkhamnga on April 14th, 2014

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Who: Calvin Harris on the Main Stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: Lights, action, music
Memorable Because: Much like Pharrell’s’ impressive live catalog of producing credits, Calvin Harris took the stage and blasted the hits for the crowd. Unlike Girl Talk, most of these hits were his in one way or another. Kicking things off with “Feel So Close” and cutting the music out in appropriate places for the crowd to sing the words, Harris had fans actually sprinting to join in on the fun, Coachella veterans were observing that the mass of humanity spilling out from the Main Stage for Harris was almost as big as the crowd for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg two years ago. Harris’ recent release was “18 months,” an album that features a popular vocalist on more than half of tracks, yet Harris did not bring out any special guests during his set. Much to some people’s dismay, not Rihanna (“We Found Love”), Florence Welch (“Sweet Nothing”), Kelis (“Bounce”), Ayah Marar (“Thinking About You”) or even Ellie Goulding (“I Need Your Love”) – who performed on the main stage on Friday – made an appearance. No matter. Harris has been in the game long enough to know how to hold it down on his own; there were no frills (except for a regular light show) yet his set appealed to the masses easily. With some tunes from Icona Pop (“I Love It’), Capital Cities (“Safe and Sound”), Major Lazer (“Watch Out For This”), the Killers (“When You Were Young”) and plenty more spliced in, it was a set exceptionally accessible in the best way possible.
What I’d Tell My Friend Who Was At the Toy Dolls: No synchronized dance moves here, but there sure was a ton of individual free styling goin’ on.
– S.L. (Photo by Randy Locklair via Flickr)