Kevin Bronson on April 17th, 2010

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Who: Echo & the Bunnymen on the Outdoor Stage.
In 3 Or Fewer Words: Cottontails and crocodiles.
I’ll Remember This Forever Because: A cool desert breeze danced across heads of weekend vampires laying in wait, whisking vaporous fog off stage; one might’ve thought Echo and the Bunnymen rode a cloud as they sugar-kissed the Coachella Valley skies with haunting echolations of broken teen hearts from yesteryear. (Those hearts are considerably older now.)  They played “mostly the hits” (as they are known to do) with earlier, toothier material sounding strongest. And somewhere between singer Ian McCulloch constantly bemoaning the stagelight programming and guitarist Will Sergeant’s equipment failures, the Bunnymen proved this: There is no substitute for superior songcraft. They closed with “Killing Moon” and “The Cutter,” and this writer doubts two better songs were played at the fest all day. McCulloch himself informed the crowd that the former is the “greatest song ever written,” the later “second or third.” You got a better idea? “A Punk” or “Horchata” is not an acceptable response.
What I’d Tell My Friend Who Was at Grizzly Bear: Pretty harmonies alone do not a finely crafted song make.
–Ben McShane (Classical Geek Theatre). Photo: Scott Dudelson.