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| Photo by Robert Kinsler |
Harry Styles had just started his headlining set at the second weekend of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last Friday in Indio, Calif. when he encouraged the massive audience to “feel free to be whoever it is you wanna be.”
The British singer, a staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community who routinely wraps himself in Pride flags tossed onstage, was likely giving those particular fans watching a nod of approval. But he also could have been referring to anyone else.
Coachella is an event where people let their freak flags fly. A quick walk around the Empire Polo grounds this past weekend often resulted in the sight of people clad in attire that was silly, outrageous, or nonexistent. Celebrities and social media influencers tend to flock to Weekend 1, so the encore weekend is more about the music than being seen. Indeed, several artists remarked during their sets about how the atmosphere seemed better the second time around.
That includes the notoriously hot desert climate. The Friday afternoon temperature was more comfortable than it had been in several years, making the navigation between multiple stages easier – at least until all of the 125,000 ticketholders finally arrived.
Nearly 75 percent of the Coachella bill carried over from the originally scheduled 2020 edition which was postponed a few times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pop, K-Pop, EDM, rap, hip-hop and R&B dominated the lineup.
All-genre LGBTQ+ performers were well-represented by MIKA, Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, Orville Peck, girl in red, Pabllo Vittar (the first drag queen at Coachella), Omar Apollo (a tongue-in-cheek billboard advertising his appearance on the 10 Freeway leading to the festival read “Heterosexuality Can Be Cured!”) and others.
Rock music and related subgenres were less prominent at the festival, but could still be found among the 150+ acts. Below are some highlights.
Former One Direction front man Harry Styles is an international pop star, but there are plenty of classic rock elements peppered amid his self-titled debut album and 2019’s Fine Line. During a thoroughly enjoyable set, Styles did a large chunk of the latter, plus three promising new tunes from the upcoming Harry’s House release due in May). There was a merch tent exclusively devoted to Styles on Friday and Eilish on Saturday.
Styles kicked things off by racing down a circular row of stairs for “As it Was,” the peppy current record-breaking No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100. “Adore You” had a revamped arrangement and prominent guitar solo. Then the singer strapped on an electric himself for the insanely catchy “Golden.” Slinky come hither song “Woman” was an early standout. The usually folky “Canyon Moon” boasted a beefier arrangement. Lizzo made a guest appearance, and the pair giddily sang a cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and the 1D hit “What Makes You Beautiful” together. Both were decked out in feathered red and pink Gucci coats.
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| Courtesy of Coachella |
Phoebe Bridgers drew a large crowd to the Outdoor Theatre for an enchanting evening performance. Arriving onstage to the heavy sound of Disturbed’s “Down with the Sickness,” the Southern California native and her band opened with the soothing Aimee Mann-styled “Motion Sickness” off 2017’s Stranger in the Alps. Watching Bridgers do best known track “Kyoto,” which was written about her father, and colored by soaring trumpet work, was like breathing fresh mountain air. The breathy, acoustic-based “Scott Street,” described as “a love song about L.A.,” was enrapturing.
An odd moment happened amid the quietly wrenching “Moon Song.” When Bridgers got to the lyric about Eric Clapton: “We hate ‘Tears in Heaven’/But it’s sad that his baby died,” some concertgoers around me cheered (the reaction was possibly related to Eric Clapton’s anti-COVID vaccination mandates and lockdown songs in 2020-21 with and without Van Morrison). Adding to the cozy atmosphere were beautiful images of children’s pop-up books and other ephemera on the backdrop. Later, fellow Coachella artist Arlo Parks reprised her guest appearance from Weekend 1, adding backup vocals to “Graceland Too” and explosive closer “I Know the End.” It was a rare, if welcome, repeat surprise appearance.
Pop/rock band The Marias incorporates elements of Latin, jazz, psych and lounge music into its eclectic sound. The sextet drew an overflow crowd to the Gobi Tent. Lead singer Maria Zardoya sometimes brought to mind Sade with her delivery. Concertgoers were treated to an enthralling set including "Calling You Back," "Just a Feeling" and "Little by Little" from last year's Cinema album.
Formed in 1990 by former members of shoegaze progenitor Spacemen 3, Spiritualized was among just a few veteran alternative rock acts on the Coachella bill. Enigmatic leader Jason Pierce (aka J. Spaceman) sang and played electric guitar while seated and he used a sheet music stand. Strobe lights and a mighty wash of sound signaled “Come Together” (off 1997’s much-loved Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space) to start Friday’s hypnotic Sonora tent set. Pierce’s snarling vocal delivery, swirling guitars, horns, handclaps, and robust backing vocals made for a beautiful noise.
The hazy “Shine a Light” (from 1992 debut Lazer Guided Melodies) slowly unfolded over the course of 7 minutes with saxophone bleats before ending in a dirty maelstrom of guitar feedback. Selections from the new album Everything Was Beautiful - such as the upbeat, horn-driven “Best Thing You Never Had” and tender “Let it Bleed” (inspired by Iggy Pop) - were equally strong.
MIKA held court on the Coachella Stage like he owned the place. The Lebanese-British singer's fun pop music was a pure sugar rush. Colorful backdrop graphics patterned after prior album covers were a cool touch. He first emerged in a powder blue suit and stood atop a piano to open the strong UK hit-laden set with a stripped down “Lollipop.” MIKA's jacket quickly gave way to a sheer hearts and flowers shirt, a crown and finally, a cape. He gleefully danced around and gave that Bee Gees-styled helium falsetto a real workout during “Relax (Take it Easy),” the galloping “Love Today,” disco-fied positivity of “Big Girl (You are Beautiful)” and 1970s glam pop empowerment anthem “We Are Golden.”
Earlier this month, The Regrettes put out solid third album Further Joy. The L.A. band’s Gobi tent performance had plenty of candy-coated moments, albeit mixed with lyrical doses of reality. Their blend of punk and new wave sounds, plus 1960s girl group sensibilities often brought The Go-Go’s to mind. Singer/guitarist Lydia Night asked fans to start a mosh pit; some of them gamely responded. Standouts included majestic Chvrches-leaning set opener “Anxieties (Out of Time),” the frantic older tune “California Friends,” which name checks Madonna and features gang vocals, as well as the acoustic guitar based “Monday,” where Night sings about getting out of L.A.
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| Photo by Robert Kinsler |
Lawrence is a New York City soul/pop group led by siblings Clyde and Gracie Lawrence. It delivered one of the liveliest performances witnessed here. Clyde brought to mind Gavin DeGraw with his breezy manner as he sang lead and played keyboards on a snappy “Casualty” (from 2021’s Hotel TV).
The three-man horn section, clad in matching jerseys, went to town during sprightly latest single “Don’t Lose Sight” before venturing into the crowd for punchy older tune “Do You Wanna Do Nothing with Me?” Lawrence put its own joyful spin on “Get Busy” (a 2003 chart-topper by Jamaican rapper Sean Paul) and TV theme songs (“Seinfeld,” “Hey Arnold!”).
Cathedral City’s Giselle Woo & the Night Owls, among only a handful of local acts on the festival bill, drew a good crowd (including some family members) to the Sonora. Fiery blues rocker “What I Want” from impressive new album Everything and the older harmonica-laced stomper “Coachella Gold” (where Woo sings about driving down the 10 Freeway) were standouts. Christian Collin deftly ripped through several sizzling guitar solos on various songs sung in English and Spanish.
Before the Coachella gates opened on Saturday, three young women could be heard strategizing about how to get the best viewing spot for Billie Eilish’s headline appearance. They were apparently planning on staying in one place for 11 hours. Talk about devoted fans.
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| Andy Boyle/Courtesy of Coachella |
Initially skeptical, this writer was won over after witnessing the Grammy and Oscar-winning alternative rock/pop vocalist’s powerful main stage set. At various points, she prowled the main stage like a woman possessed, jumped around, dramatically sang while kneeling on the catwalk, paid attention to a fan that needed medical attention and implored her followers in attendance, “Do not judge anyone.”
Standouts included a batch of songs where Eilish got to show off the more mature, lush side to her voice, such as gorgeous piano-based “idon’twannabeyouanymore,” “Billie Bossa Nova” and “Lovely,” which definitely lived up to its title (the duet with Khalid, a surprise guest on Weekend 1, now has 1.7 billion Spotify streams). Then there were the acoustic versions of “I Love You” and “Your Power.” Hayley Williams of Paramore turned up to do a stripped-down version of that band’s “Misery Business” and later rejoined the show for Eilish’s closer, “Happier Than Ever.”
Danny Elfman said he was pleased to be “back from hibernation after 27 years,” at the conclusion of a riveting hourlong, career-spanning set on the Outdoor Theatre. Elfman put on quite the sonic extravaganza. He was backed by 50 (!) musicians, including a band comprising guitarist Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, Sting/Vandals drummer Josh Freese, conductor/guitarist/former Oingo Boingo bandmate Steve Bartek, a choir and orchestra.
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| Rachel Polack/Courtesy of Coachella |
There were some dark tunes from 2021’s Big Mess (a menacing “Sorry,” “Happy,” “Love in the Time of COVID”), with weird-bordering-on-disturbing graphics on the screens. Concertgoers cheered loudly whenever excerpts from Elfman’s film and TV scores (Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, The Simpsons, Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas) were performed and corresponding clips or animation bits were projected.
Old schoolers in attendance totally reveled in hearing seven classics by Elfman’s old alt-rock band Oingo Boingo. He was still able to sing “Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself),” “Just Another Day,” “Only a Lad” and “Dead Man’s Party” (Bartek moved to the stage front) with demented authority.
Wallows graduated from a Coachella 2019 tent stage to the large Outdoor Theatre. The bump in status served the band well last Saturday. The surrounding area was totally packed with concertgoers and the L.A. alt-pop trio (expanded to a six-piece in concert) pulled off a performance so self-assured that it wouldn’t be surprising to see them on the main stage in a few years.
Selections from the new album Tell Me That It’s Over, such as the effervescent, harmonica-laced title track and summery “Marvelous” (imagine an edgier version of ‘80s band Haircut 100) were elevated by lead singer Dylan Minnette’s spirited delivery. The same held true for selections off 2019’s Nothing Happens: the wonderous “Treacherous Doctor,” a Weezer-leaning “Scrawny” and billowy hit duet with Clairo, “Are You Bored Yet?” Minnette and co-singer/guitarist Braeden Lemasters each said how honored they were to be playing the event again after attending as fans for a decade. During “OK,” Minnette even connected with fans near the front of the stage.
Over in the Mojave Tent, Holly Humberstone did an emotionally resonant set before a medium-sized crowd. The English singer-songwriter has collaborated with The 1975’s Matt Healy, recently won a Brit Award and will be touring with Olivia Rodrigo and Girl in Red soon. Onstage at Coachella, Humberstone created all her own music solo with an electric guitar and keyboard, sometimes looping sounds and programmed beats. “Sleep Tight,” the sensitive vocals of “Deep End” (with lyrics about her sister’s battle with mental health issues) and new single “London is Lonely” were most revealing.
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| Photo by Robert Kinsler |
Nilüfer Yanya (pictured left) and her three-piece band casted a hypnotic spell over the Sonora Tent crowd with alt-rock music that was sometimes reminiscent of mid-1990s era PJ Harvey. Playing fuzztone electric guitar, the English singer/guitarist of Turkish descent opened with the sax-tinged “Midnight Sun.” Other broodingly intense songs from the edgy new album Painless, such as “Belong with You,” “Stabilise” and “L/R” were equally compelling.
French DJ Madeon (real name: Hugo Leclercq), a rare EDM artist who actually sings. The crowd danced up a storm to "All My Friends," "Pay No Mind" and "Love You Back" with eye-popping graphics. Alas, much to this writer's dismay, he had no guest vocal spots.
Yard Act, a British post-punk band from Leeds, jolted early arrivals to the Sonora Tent awake with a sound that draws reference points from Gang of Four, The Fall and Franz Ferdinand. James Smith talk-sang his way through the tunes as Sam Shjipstone ripped off shards of guitar. The title track from excellent new album The Overload, as well as "Payday," "Pour Another" and standout "Rich" left quite an indelible impression.
