Andrew Veeder on April 18th, 2016

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Veeder’s Day 3: Young Fathers, Kamasi Washington, Wolf Alice, Hudson Mohawke, The 1975, Anderson Paak & The Free Nationals, Death Grips, Miike Snow, Nosaj Thing

Despite being the overall least exciting day of the festival, Coachella’s first Sunday still had its share of high points. From Inglewood saxophonist Kamasi Washington’s electric jazz exhibition, Nosaj Thing’s revolutionary visual aesthetic, and Anderson Paak’s hip-hopping R&B, weekend one signed off with another assorted mix of artists from around the globe.

From start to finish:

1:51: Edinburgh’s Young Fathers felt like kindred spirits of Saturday’s act Algiers, in that both play urgent and charged music that is hard to deny. “Old Rock N Roll”‘s performance had a chaotic energy, with the drummer banging so hard it looked like his kit may fall over. The onlookers took the lyrics “Come here and do the right thing, get up and have a party” from the hard-hitting “Get Up” to heart, and really starting moving. Before their last song, G Hastings told the crowd, “Coachella, we are all migrants, whether you like it or not,” then launched into “Shame” from last year’s “White Men Are Black Men Too.”

3:02: In one of the most impressive sets of the day, Los Angeles’ Kamasi Washington and his large band The Next Step played six songs in an hour, jamming each of them out in a dazzling display of talent. A 10-minute “Changing of the Guard” began the journey and highlighted pianist Cameron Graves, and “Re Run Home” showcased Patrice Quinn’s lovely voice and Brandon Coleman’s viciously fast and funky keytar solo. They played Miles Mosley’s track “Abraham,” which came out Friday, as he gave free lessons on how to seductively slide up and down his upright bass, as well as murder it with a bow. “The Magnificent 7” featured a nasty two-drummer drum off, and propulsive “The Rhythm Changes” closed it out as Kamasi teased playing a different set next weekend. It was hard to stand still during the frenetic show, and it was so awesome to see so many young people dancing to jazz.

4:29: In their debut Coachella performance, young London quartet Wolf Alice cruised through a set of fan favorites from last year’s debut album, “My Love is Cool.” Ellie Rowsell mostly sang through her sandy blonde hair in the breeze on “Your Love’s Whore,” “You’re a Germ,” and “Bros,” then ripped it up on “Lisbon” and “Fluffy.” On each trip back through Southern California, they prove themselves as more confident performers, tighter and more playful.

4:57: Over in the Mojave tent, Scottish electronic producer Hudson Mohawke kept them moving and grooving to a set of boom-boom-clack-a-booms, boo-do-da! do do-do-dos, bu-baa bu-baas, ding-dang-dong-dungs, eh-uh-ohs, ey-ey-ey-ey-oohs, haaa-haaa-haaa-woo-has, wow-wow-wowwws, and a few booooom-wa-wa-wa-wah-wahs, garnished with haunted and echoey vocal breaks and purple syrupy soul samples. The kernels of the crowd popped when he dropped TNGHT’s “Higher Ground” near the end, with exuberant patrons exploding with even more energy, including the kid in a hat that read SNAPCHAT ME THAT P*SSY.

6:24: In the “overrated but popular” 6 p.m.-ish main stage slot of the weekend, Manchester’s The 1975 doled out some of their alternative pop-rock. If you needed a place to sit in the shade and take a nap as the shadow lengths grew, the first stop of their U.S. tour saw them playing a mix of their self-titled debut and twee-titled sophomore effort “I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It,” such as “A Change Of Heart” and “If I Believe You.” In the most interesting part of their set, singer Matthew Healy talked between songs about Europe’s current turmoil, how they played Belgium just after the airport bombing, and told the audience, “I love it here, but we are f*cking lucky to be here.”

8:25: Backed by his band The Free Nationals, Oxnard’s Anderson .Paak’s set in the Mojave was paacked to the gills with enthusiastic fans well versed in his catalog. Guitarist Gary Clark Jr. joined him for bluesy touches on “Malibu” cuts “The Season / Carry Me,” “Put Me Thru” and “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance” as Paak sat behind the drum kit and kicked percussion for a few songs, then he appropriately brought T.I. out for “Bring Em Out” and “About the Money,” plugging his new album coming next Friday. He capped it off with the soulful track “The Bird,” then segued into the dancey “Am I Wrong” to go out on a high note.

9:35: Now that they are back to attending shows they’ve been booked for, Death Grips’ MC Ride and Zach Hill came out on stage, took off their shirts, and started tearing into nearly a dozen frenzied songs like “Come Up and Get Me,” “Get Got,” and “I’ve Seen Footage.” Andy Morin triggered the industrial-noise canvas of abrasion as Ride rap-yelled his lyrics in a garbled voice, and Hill drummed his face off. For a band that operates so well in the darkness, their set was marred by the Gobi’s bright screens playing a face’s freakishly sped-up tongue lapping for the entirety of their set, with its eyes obscured by white circles like the POV of receiving cunnilingus — a distracting and unsettling image. Likely the point.

10:00: For those feeling nostalgic for 2010, Swedish Miike Snow played the hits from their first album, like “Black & Blue,” “Burial” and “Sylvia,” which lead singer Andrew Wyatt described as a “slow ominous beginning to a dark ballad.” For the first time, the band played a live version of Mark Ronson’s remix of “Heart is Full,” enhanced with a horn section. New single “Genghis Khan” drew a big response, and even as they closed with “Animal,” patrons were still stacked out and past the Mojave’s edges.

11:02: Gaslamp Killer came out to introduce “Los Angeles’ finest” Nosaj Thing, whose set featured a visual collaboration with multimedia artist Daito Manabe, using three different sensors to 3D motion capture the duo and fly, jump and rotate around them, producing eye-popping visuals of geometric wonder that expanded in scope and dimension as the set went on. Nosaj’s moody and contemplative electronica provided a nice comedown from the weekend, if you weren’t over getting turnt up at Calvin Harris with Rihanna coming out for “We Found Love.”