Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Empire Polo Field Indio, CA April 16-18, 2010

Friday you could have spent almost the entire day camped out at the Outdoor Theatre stage with the likes of Deer Tick and the Avett Brothers playing early in the day. Of course if you could sneak away you could see Perry Farrell making his annual appearance at the Sahara tent, as he continued to experiment with his dance music with his sexy wife Etty bopping to the beats provided by Steve Porter. Mohave had great sets by As Tall As Lions, Yeasayer and Ra Ra Riot while the Gobi tent had a performance by Portland’s up and comer Hockey that was not to be missed. Although not sure I can accept the feather earring worn by Hockey’s lead singer Benjamin Grubin, that swung wildly on his left ear - to each their own.

Street Sweeper Social Club on the Coachella main stage continued to churn out their poor man’s Rage Against the Machine sound even though I do dig their cover of M.I.A. “Paper Planes.” I quickly found myself back to the Outdoor Theatre just to catch the smiling Zooey Deschanel but was drawn in by her surprisingly gorgeous voice and tunes with M. Ward and their band, She & Him. Just when you thought their set was over they came back out for a scorching delivery of a cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You.” The Coachella Stage brought me back over to catch the reunion of the English 2 Tone ska legends The Specials. Singer Terry Hall appeared to be disinterested in the whole affair yet guitarist Lynval Golding more than made up for it opening with “Do the Dog” and also giving the crowds treats like “Nite Klub” and “Doesn’t Make it Alright.”

Grizzly Bear hidden in the Mojave tent, proved they were worthy of bigger and better things. Opening up with “Southern Point,” Lead singer Ed Croste’s and the boys gave a stirring near perfect set that also included the mellow “Cheerleader and closing solid with Lullabye.” Of course I had to make my way to the Coachella stage to give the latest super group a chance live. Them Crooked Vultures made up of Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters (back where he belongs on skins) and vocals provided by QOTSA’s Josh Hommes. I tried sitting through their debut CD when it came out but found it a series of endless jams in search of a melody. However, perhaps it’s just being in the presence of the one-three punch of greatness but these guys really blew me away. I’m still not convinced these are completed songs but I was thoroughly entertained. I next found myself back over to the Outdoor stage for my 80’s fix with Echo and the Bunnymen. I don’t know how Ian McCulloch was able to not pass out wearing his pea coat but he looked and sounded equally cool. Back on the Coachella stage they were slowing raising a gigantic disco ball that had to weigh 350 plus pounds for anticipation for frontman James Murphy and the eclectic grooves of LCD Soundsystem. Murphy spent a good portion of their set talking to the crowd but did find moment to dedicate their set to fellow Coachella performer Gil Scott-Heron including track “Losing My Edge.”

The Outdoor stage erupted with giddiness as singer Ezra Koenig struck the very first chords to “Cousins.” Fans went crazy for Vampire Weekend as the chandeliers above their heads on stage swayed back and forth to their catchy tunes. The boys proved worthy of their third appearance at Coachella and the years have shown they have stepped up their live act.

Of course one of the most anticipated performances of the evening had to be the headliner on the Coachella stage. As Roc-A-Fella diamond hand signs covered the packed crowd and the BP3 logo displayed prominently on the screens, a countdown began until zero hour arrived and Jay-Z rose up from below the stage. The HOVA educated us through an hour-plus set that covered many of his career hits. The highlight came towards the end of his set when Beyoncé, whom had been hiding in the shadows the whole evening side stage with Maria Shriver, came out to take over and own the part originated by Mr. Hudson on “Young Forever.” Beyoncé gave the song a whole new dimension of beauty to the song. As Jay-Z and posse played, the Outdoor stage saw the return of Johnny Lydon’s post-punk band Public Image Ltd. Let’s just say they are no Sex Pistols but to be fair that’s kind of the point. Lydon came out of the starting gate with that a sneer and a toot that is expected by the aging punker. Lydon’s voice sounded as solid as ever and proved he was ready to battle against the bombastic sound coming from Jay-Z.

Saturday proved to be a long day that you really needed to take time to hydrate yourself in-between all the wonderful acts. Portugal. the Man started off my day in the Gobi tent and allowed me to hide briefly from the baking rays of the sun. Deciding this was a safe plan of action, I continued to the Mojave tent for great standout sets by the Baltimore duo Beach House, the untamable Gossip and then fought through the smoke for the British rock trio of Band of Skulls and a special performance by The Raveonettes again at the Gobi tent. I say special because their band could not get on a plane due to the volcano and only frontman Sharin Foo and Sune Rose Wagner were able to make it to play. What could have been disastrous proved exciting as the duo gave us one of the most unique set of the day.

I finally ventured out of the safety of the tents to the Coachella stage for Tokyo Police Club. The Ontario quartet delivered a solid set and made me happy on my decision before heading over to see what all the hype was about for the xx’s. Although I love their debut from last year their studio sound seemed lost in the live setting among the palm trees. With the announcement of Bad Lieutenant breaking up, I headed back to the Coachella stage waiting patiently for the return of Mike Patton and Faith No More. Opening up with a playful cover of Peaches and Herb’s “Reunited and it feels so good,” Patton complete with red suit and a cane slowly hobbled to the mic. His crooning vocal chops proved solid and their cover although a lark was surprisingly beautiful. Of course as expected with the completion of the song, Patton tossed off his suit coat and the extremely tight band schooled the crowd tearing through tracks like “The Real Thing”, “Angel Dust”, and even Michael Jackson’s ode to a rat “Ben.” In an unusual turn, during “Just a Man” I’m pretty sure that was a semi-nude Danny Devito streaking on stage! Hey it’s Faith No More, anything can happen. On the Outdoor stage MGMT proved they were poorly booked and should have been on the main Coachella stage. With the sun down, it proved impossible to get anywhere near the Outdoor stage to be able to get a good view of their set. Packed all the way back to the tents, fans was crammed in to get any thing they could get. MGMT chose an unusual setlist playing a lot from their new album Congratulations and skipping much of their bigger pop singles. As MGMT was winding down, MUSE was ready to own the night with their laser light show and over the top full in your face attack on the Coachella stage. The British trio who is on currently on one of their biggest US tours ever, were back at Coachella after debuting here back in 2004. For over an hour and a half frontman Matthew Bellamy dazzled the crowd with histrionic guitar solos, falsetto vocals and an over the top performance that we have come to expect from this polished three-piece.

It’s hard to top a show like that but leave it to Jack White’s latest project to come close. The Dead Weather came out last year with White hiding on drums and The Kills vocalists Alison Moshart to shine and prove she is a worthy adversary to front White’s latest musical concoction. Moshart demanded your attention as the band tore through a tightly dark and polished set from their debut. Lead guitarist Dean Fertita equally kept his footing dropping one delicious lick after another.

The night was far from over when I headed over to the Mojave Tent to catch the tail end of Les Claypool and get a good view for the one and only Devo. The 80’s geek in me had to give mad props to the guys and I wanted to check out their new look. I was pleasantly surprised to see them concentrating heavily on their classic album, Q:Are We Not Men? A:We Are Devo. The new songs actually meshed well with the old and the guys made up for their previous ill-conceived incarnation attempts of the past. Of course I could not resist by closing my night by popping into the Gobi tent next store to catch some of Sia. The Australian songstress makes me smile as her and the bands played a nice healthy collections of songs from Some People Have Real Problems including “The Girl You Lost to Cocaine.” Her in-between songs banter is quirky and silly until she goes into a trance when she steps back up to the mic to deliver her wonderful smoky vocals. Her voice stayed in my head and lulled me to sleep.

Sunday proved to be an early nigh if not at times a frustrating end of a perfect weekend of music. Making it out in the early afternoon, I headed straight to the Outdoor stage to find Deerhunter having soundcheck issues. Singer jokingly said goodbye to the crowd and told then to enjoy the rest of their day as he walked off the stage only to return a few minutes later. However, the set was marred with technical issues throughout their set. Yet Cox never allowed it to break his spirit even improvising a new song that included a chorus of “Coachella 2010.” I then watched from a far a bit of De La Soul’s set at the Coachella stage who would later join Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz later in the evening. After getting my taste of 90’s hip-hop I returned to the Outdoor stage for my 90’s indie-rock fix with the reunited Sunny Day Real Estate.

Being a fan of Sigur Ros I stuck around for Jonsi that is the solo debut by Jónsi Birgisson. His beautifully crafted epical pop-songs may have saved Sunday for me. I quickly catch a bit of Spoon’s set that included “I Turn My Camera On,” “Don’t Make Me a Target,” “Writing in Reverse,” and “Who Makes Your Money.” If I only knew what was next, I would have stayed for their entire set or gotten a spot to watch Phoenix. One of the acts I had been looking forward to all weekend was the though od seeing the legendary Sly Stone. Everything seemed normal as I entered the tent at the Gobi. His kepyboard and the mics for the backing vocalists were all there and ready to go. As the minutes continued to pass past 7, a man finally arrived at the mic with a smile. “Are you ready to get funky?” It was right there I knew we were in trouble as he continued he informed the crowd that Little Boots was up next and Sly’s show would be slightly postponed. Frustrated, I quickly made a break for the Outdoor stage but the crowd’s were unbearable and I cold barely see the French rockers as they hit the stage. I did manage to hear them rip through tracks like “Lisztomania,” “Long Distance Call,” and “Lasso.”

Instead of trying to fight my way to the front, I got a quick bite in VIP that included a very tasty Vanilla Frappe that is air conditioning in a cup. I arrived in time at the Coachella stage to catch yet another reunited band, the indie/alt darlings – Pavement. Stephen Malkmus seemed in rare form and (perhaps on purpose) appeared to be physically separated by the rest of the members. Regardless, opening with “Silence Kit,” the guys proved they were tight as ever with their too brief set closing with “Cut Your Hair.”

Although listed as just Thom Yorke, the band that is now touring under the moniker of Atoms for Peace, opened up with “The Eraser” and proceeded to play the entire album of the same name. Thom, backed by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich on keyboards and of course the ever bouncy RHCP’s bassist Flea, helped to bring new life to the sometimes dreary and dark tracks. Flea’s flunky slaps on “Harrowdown Hill” gave a wonderful edge that wasn’t present on the studio track. With that said, Flea could also be a bit distracting as he commanded your attention as he danced around manically like a man being attacked by ants. Thom did offer up two treats for Radiohead fans delivering solo acoustic renditions of “Airbag” on guitar and “Everything in its Right Place” on piano and closing with the entire band on “The Hollow Earth.”

I made one more attempt at the Gobi to see if the mysterious Sly Stone had finally left his hotel room to grace the stage. The tent was a ghost town and only security seemed to around to keep the peace. Gorillaz was my last band of the night closing the Coachella stage. As the lights went down Snoop Dogg appeared larger than life on the big jumbo-tron screens dressed like a British Navy officer for one of the most ambitious sets of the whole weekend. No one was quite sure what to expect from the band that normally hid in the shadows and had carton hologram avatars as the main visual entertainment. This time however, Damon Albarn back by The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon came from behind the curtain front and center complete with a slew of guest stars including Bobby Womack, Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano and De La Soul. Their set started a bit slow playing much of their new album first before kicking it in with more notable tracks like “Dirty Harry,” "Feel Good Inc" and "Clint Eastwood." Damon proved he was the perfect ringleader and it was nice to finally see him and not just hear him and was a nice closer for the three day weekend. Of course I would hear as I was stuck in the impossible Coachella traffic that Sly did some how sneak into the Gobi tent to play. What I heard about his set wasn’t very flattering and sounds like he wanted to make sure he got paid. Regardless, I’ll have to wait around and hope I get another chance to see the man that gave us "Dance to the Music" and of course "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."

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