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Coachella, Day 2: Thievery steals the show
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From the opening sirens of “Sound the Alarm,” the first track off of Thievery Corporation’s 2008 release “Radio Retaliation,” the Washington D.C. based electronic outfit set out to leave its stamp on the 2009 Coachella festival.
Nearly an hour later, one could only nod in agreement: Mission accomplished.
And with a 7:45 p.m. start time, sandwiched on the main stage between Michael Franti & Spearhead and TV on the Radio, Thievery was awarded the coveted sundown spot, when moods collectively turn for the better as the heat breaks and the polo fields begin to light up.
On a day 2 that saw higher temperatures and larger crowds than its predecessor, Thievery’s set was the perfect, blissful transition from a hot desert afternoon to a temperate Saturday evening of music.
True, Thievery Corporation is a DJ’s outfit — or in this case, a pair of DJs, in co-founders Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. For those who still scratch their heads at live performances while hearing vocals without seeing the vocalist, well, given the proliferation of electronic music thumping in varying smaller tents throughout the weekend, Coachella may not be for you.
But unlike those smaller, sweatier tents, Thievery brings the electronic music to the masses — in their case, a blend of reggae, hip-hop, Latin, lounge, trance, downtempo and Middle Eastern sounds.
After twice playing smaller tents, in 1999 and 2003, Thievery made its debut at Coachella’s main stage, playing to perhaps one of the biggest crowds of its career. Garza recently jokingly referred to it as “moving up from the kiddie table.”
Estimating the size of the band on the main stage was no easy task, although it included a horn section (with one of the biggest afros of the weekend), two percussionists, a sitar player, bassist, guitarist, Garza and Hilton on the decks, and a rotating cast of vocalists that included four different women, two different men, and Jane’s Addiction front man Perry Farrell, who made a cameo appearance wearing a very interesting one-piece nylon tracksuit to perform “Revolution Solution” from Thievery’s 2005 release “The Cosmic Game.”
Following the set opener, the band’s bass player Ashish “Hash” Vyas came out and revved the crowd before the band ripped into “Radio Retaliation,” the title track from the new disc, fronted by a singer decked in full camouflage.
Next up was vocalist Sista Pat belly dancing her way through “Lebanese Blonde,” a tune about high-grade hash and the band’s only song that could be considered a breakthrough hit after being featured in the 2004 film “Garden State.” It’s a great tune to be sure, however forever made a little eerie considering original vocalist, Pam Bricker, committed suicide in 2005 after a lifetime bout with clinical depression.
New York based Brazilian singer/songwriter Karina Zeviani took over vocal duties — on a Latin number I have to admit I don’t know the name of — bringing in the sex appeal in skintight shimmering pants, making her crowd surfing excursion all the more daring.
The set took its worst turn during “The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter,” a track performed by David Byrne on “Cosmic Game.” A marginal track even with Byrne on vocals, the substitution of the band’s percussionist Frank Orrall on vocals didn’t do the song, or the performance, any favors.
Farrell was up next, looking as if he was enjoying himself, followed by “Sweet Tides,” the melancholy closing track on “Radio Retaliation” performed by yet another female vocalist, LouLou, repeating the lyrics, “Sweet tides, pools of love, your eyes are full of…”
Zeviani then joined LouLou for a riveting rendition of “El Pueblo Unido” as images of resistance and revolution flickered across the main stage’s big screens in synch with the new album’s messages of political unrest amid calls for unification.
“’Radio Retaliation’ is definitely a more overt political statement," Garza said on the band’s Web site. “There's no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food, and economic crises. It's hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up.”
A pair of African vocalists took over for “Vampires,” a track sung by Femi Kuti on “Rdio Retaliation,” addressing corruption and malaise in impoverished countries like Lagos and Darfur.
The set closed with “Warning Shots,” and by that time, the rest of the artists at Coachella had been warned — Thievery Corporation had played a set that might just define Coachella 2009.
Random notes
• In terms of the two main stages, Saturday’s lineup certainly catered to a younger demographic than the festival’s opening day. While Friday featured acts like 75-year-old Leonard Cohen and 67-year-old Paul McCartney, as well as 50-year-old Morrissey, Saturday’s main stagers included new acts like M.I.A. (replacing Amy Winehouse), The Killers, Band of Horses and Jenny Lewis.
• During her set, M.I.A. threw in a little homage to Winehouse, singing, “They tried to make me do the Oscars, but I said no, no, no.”
• Alt-country rockers Band of Horses performed several new songs, with singer Ben Bridwell telling the crowd the band is currently working on a follow up to the 2007 release “Cease to Begin.”
• The Killers, a somewhat dubious choice as a Coachella headliner, closed out Saturday night’s main stage, with much of the crowd leaving midway through the set.
• Scottish band Glasvegas was forced to cancel after vocalist James Allan was hospitalized with illness.
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