Review: Coachella 2010 Day 2

All images and movies by Jesse Seilhan

With Jay-Z, deadmau5, and Pretty Lights leading Friday’s nonstop party, Saturday had a lot to live up to. Luckily the day was just as jam packed and might have won the weekend. Prog rock, indie magic, techno explosions and reunions made the blessed overcast day a memorable one.

Long Beach’s sons of punk, RX Bandits, kicked off my Saturday with a rocking set. I’m not sure how many people knew who they were, but everyone standing in front of the stage (maybe just to get a good spot for MGMT) was headbanging for the entire set. Porcupine Tree hit the stage next and played a good mix of tracks from their last four albums. “Anesthetize” was the stand out, with singer/guitarist Steven Wilson delivering a deep song to a tired crowd. “Sound of Muzak”, “Blackest Eyes”, and “Time Flies” rounded out the hour-long set, but a night slot would have really solidified this band to the thousands of people not familiar with the Brit’s transcendental material. With over 20 years of experience, asking a band to only play a short, single-filled set is near disgraceful.

Back in the Gobi tent, Alaska's Portugal, The Man commanded the single largest crowd I’ve ever seen for that tent. Kids were pouring out of the sides and stacked all the way to the furthest possible distance, up against the ATM and food tents. Bassist Zach Carothers told me afterwards that playing during the day was nice, because he could see his fret board, but a night show would have been better.

“We like to use fog and lights and stuff, but it’s hard to pull that off at 3:00 in the afternoon.” He added “It’s hard to bark at the moon when it hasn’t even come up yet!”

It didn’t matter, as the entire band was on point and the crowd soaked it up.

After my interview I headed back to the Gobi to check in on Band of Skulls and man, am I glad I did. The power trio blew the roof off of the tent as lead singer Russell Marsden took control of the show with an overdriven guitar. The amps were so loud, I thought they were broken. It was nuts and impressive. Just watch some killer shredding action. It felt like The Black Keys, minus the bluesy overtones and with way more bass.

As the crowd poured in for The Ravonettes, my girlfriend and I took off to grab a bite to eat and watch wondergroup Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros run the outdoor theatre into a stompfest of large proportions. The group relies on a quirky brand of authentic songwriting and charming musicality, boosted by the charismatic Sharpe and his female counter-singer. The whole thing works well and their song “Home” was the biggest dance party of the day.

Saturday worked so well for me because the main stage provided enough back-to-back-to-back can’t-miss shows that I was able to get a great spot for all three before the people at other stages tried to bum rush the stage. Coheed and Cambria was the first of the trio of amazingness and I was curious to see how such a large metal band would fare on the main stage. The answer: flippin’ well.

The set was solid, with the group choosing to play as a tighter 5-piece, instead of the 7 or 8-piece that has been seen at other festivals. With the smaller crew, the sound was more focused, giving time and space for singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez and bassist Michael Todd to show why they have the legs to put out album after album to diehard fans. The set was mixed with old favorites, new songs, and a finale that saw the USC marching band come out to the stage to rock out during Sanchez’ ridiculously awesome solo. The frontman played the guitar twice with his teeth and rocked out harder than anyone on that stage all weekend.

Next up was my most anticipated act of the weekend: the reunion of Faith No More. I wanted this to be so good, and with only 50 minutes to perform, they had to nail it and nail it quickly. Good news is they did, and every song was something to be marveled at. The opening cover of “Reunited” was expected (they play it every show this tour) but the cover of "Ben” was not, including when Mike Patton took to the crowd to croon with his bedazzled red outfit and slick back hair. His voice is such a thing of beauty that only seeing it in such a wide area gives it room to grow. The set list covered most of the classic “Angel Dust” album, but included the best of “The Real Thing” and during the final track Danny DeVito (Coachella enthusiast extraordinaire) ran across the stage with his shirt unbuttoned and a smile as big as the polo field itself.

As the crowd figured out who was on next, some left in disgust at all the fancy new-age gizmos being set up, but were quickly replaced by thousands of salivating Muse fans.

The Brit rockers came out EARLY, which is insane for a headliner at Coachella. All three headliners actually debuted on time each night, which should be commended not only for its excellence, but its oddness. The set list was prime for the 90 minute performance, giving fans a taste of the new stuff but also the best of their classics (“Plug In Baby”, “Hysteria”, and of course “Feeling Good”). I was only 20 feet from the stage and it felt like everyone knew every word to every song. That is a magical moment in such a huge crowd, but the most electrifying moment was when the lasers were turned on. Rarely does a main stage act use the lasers, and when they do it’s not as dense and flamboyant as Muse displayed.

Nobody wanted this set to end, and the extra jam sessions given at the end of most songs extended the euphoria given by their brand of electric space rock.

After the set, a walk by The Dead Weather proved futile, as the crowd was packed and I had other stuff to see. Flying Lotus was putting on a helluva show, which I judged soley from the crowd’s bobbing, the light’s flashing, and the amount of sick lasers and colors bursting from the Gobi. Walking past Les Claypool made me sad that I couldn’t see him here, as the journeyman always impresses no matter what time, setting, or event he’s booked at. But Die Anterwood was taking the stage at Sahara for a power-packed 20 minute ride and I couldn’t miss it.

It was short, it was sick, and it showed how even the smallest set time in a corner of the festival can impress. Two emcees (male and female) spit slick rhymes over slicker beats. It was, in a word, fun.

2ManyDJ’S closed out the night with a subdued set, not quite up to par with what they’ve been performing lately. I’d say this was my most disappointing show of the weekend, as I had high hopes for such stellar performers. The music was good, the mixing was just as precise as ever, but they forgot what tent they were playing at and they forgot what happened the night before. After deadmau5 blew everyone’s mind, you would think the next night’s closer would show something in the way of lights and lasers and visual imagery. The big screens did not cut it, as the lackluster show came to a conclusion near 1:00 AM and many had left to catch Tiesto on the main stage or Devo next store at the Mojave Tent.

Saturday had the best main stage performances, but the lack of a solid closer at the Sahara bummed me out a bit. Good thing I had an excellent Sunday to look forward to.