By Freedom Moreno
The first night of Coachella ended with a performance from Iceland native Bjork. (Freedom Moreno)
By Freedom Moreno
Coachella is a whole other world in itself, a festival you must experience to even know the half of it.
Fellow festival goers whom had been skeptical at first, but attended Coachella this year (mostly due to hyped up reunions) left fulfilled and wanting more.
The organizers of Coachella definitely had the environment in mind when putting together the three day event.
People were encouraged to carpool by getting the chance to win lifetime tickets to future Coachella Festivals, and people were given free water for every ten plastic bottles they turned in.
The water exchange seemingly saved our lives in the 105 degree weather and even more so in the jampacked suffocating crowds.
Friday started off a little slow, with many of the concert goers already exhausted from their trek out to Indio. Coachella invited the company of people from New York to Florida, Canada, Australia, and just about any other country or state you could imagine. The diversity of the festival is one of the key ingredients that keep people coming back for more.
Tilly and the Wall was an unexpected surprise on Friday, blending pop, indie-folk, and even featured an entertaining tap dancer.
The reunion of the ’80s Scottish alternative rock band , The Jesus and Mary Chain was a little under-played; however its performance had the audience singing along to front man Jim Reid and later joined by actress Scarlett Johansson to sing backup vocals which was certainly a treat.
Interpol played a satisfactory set; however the audience was distracted by Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan whom just wouldn’t sit down so those less fortunate could see.
Headlining act Björk was a huge surprise. Along with her outrageous costume, Björk also had an all female choir and orchestra. Her energy captivated the audience and her performance was outright incredible.
Saturday’s crowd was significantly larger than the previous day. One of the best acts was by far LCD Soundsystem, which showcased a blend of punk, funk, and electronica. Other notable performances included Regina Spektor, The Rapture, and The Arcade Fire.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers performance was solid but far from spectacular. It lacked the raw spirit of a live show that so many had hoped for, and of course most of the set list was off of its latest release “Stadium Arcadium,” as opposed to older more favored tunes.
Tiesto followed, setting a rave atmosphere for the festival, and under the Mojave tent was blues-rock band, The Black Keys which brought a much needed classic rock vibe to the end of the night.
The ’90s were everywhere this year with the performances by Björk, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Lemonheads, and of course who could forget Rage Against The Machine?
Luckily, Sunday was the least hottest of all days which helped in the overall atmosphere.
The Roots were great, with Willie Nelson following, setting a peaceful and united setting. Manu Chao set the mood for RAGE, which was a multi-cultural, cross genre language affair. The band played gypsy-inflected jams with Spanish, French, and even some punk flair.
The festival ended with the very coveted Rage Against The Machine, and the crowd seemed endless. Zach de la Rocha was as fiery as ever, with the audience in full participation and hanging on his every word. Only one word could some up its reunion, and that would be extraordinary.
So, another successful yet tiring year at Coachella. Three days of music, art, price gauging, and friendly hippies, what more could one ask for?
