Who: Fever Ray at the Mojave Tent. In 3 or Fewer Words: Apparitions with soundtrack. I’ll Remember This Until My Next Tarot Card Reading Because: Karin Dreijer Andersson and crew looked as if they rode in from the desert on horses, carrying light sabres. For sheer presentation, Fever Ray should win some kind of Coachella […]
Who: Jay-Z at the main stage. In 3 or Fewer Words: Rap’s king, crowned. I’ll remember this set for at least the next year because: Jay-Z’s full-band set was the moment that hip-hop became a fully-functioning member of Coachella nation. Sure, it’s been represented – even exhaulted – before (case in point: a pre-backlash surprise […]
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 […]
Who: Vampire Weekend at Outdoor Theatre. In 3 Or Fewer Words: Preppy pop unleashed. I’ll Remember This Forever Because: The last time I saw Vampire Weekend, they were playing a free show opening for rap duo the Clipse in 2007 at a freshman welcome week event at their alma mater, Columbia University. Things have certainly changed: […]
Who: Yeasayer at the Mojave Tent. In 3 or Fewer Words: Oxygen, please, oxygen. I’ll Remember This (But Not Fondly) Until the Next Suffocating Tent Show Because: Yeasayer fell short of truly capturing the adoring crowd. The synth-wielding Brooklynites certainly tried, but the Mojave was about 2 sizes too small to accommodate any physical activity […]
Who: Public Image Ltd. at the Outdoor Theatre. In 3 or Fewer Words: Nothing rotten here. I’ll Remember This Until the Next Reunion Because: PiL is still relevant. “Hellloooo, Coachella”¦ Nice to see you. And if Jay-Z’s starting to give you a headache, it’s time you take your PiL!” And that’s how it started, as […]
Who: Grizzly Bear at the Mojave Tent. In 3 or Fewer Words: Sensitive baroque bombast. I’ll Remember This Forever Because: Grizzly Bear, one of the day’s more beloved indie acts and one name-dropped by headliner Jay-Z a few hours later, got a bit of a raw deal with the Gobi Tent. Ostensibly a folk act, the band can […]
Who: Ra Ra Riot at the Mojave Tent. In 3 or Fewer Words: Feel-good uprising. I’ll Remember This Until My Good Mood Dissipates Because: Those who endured Friday’s miasma of long lines and longer waits needed some sort of celebration. Featuring a bouncy and string-hewn brand of pop catharsis, the Syracuse band rolled out one […]
Who: Gil Scott-Heron at the Gobi Tent. In 3 of Fewer Words: The revolution, energized. I’ll Remember This Until There’s a Real Revolution Because: Scott-Heron, one of the most compelling voices of our time, is one of the forefathers of rap and deserved all the acclaim the surprisingly young crowd heaped upon him. The 61-year-old […]
Review and photographs by Jeff Miller A quarter of the way through their set last night at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Pavement – perhaps the most cultishly adored mid-’90s indie-rock band, just now reunited for the first time in a decade or so – began playing their song “Shady Lane” a bassline-driven surrealist ode […]
