Coachella Festival 2023 - Weekend Two Review Part 1 feat. The Breeders, Linda Lindas, boygenius, more

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival cut its teeth on alternative and rock music, but recent years have seen the event’s bookings increasingly focused on EDM (One data company reported that Electronic Dance Music comprised 34 percent of the 2023 lineup) and different genres.

This year, Bad Bunny and BLACKPINK were the first Latin and Asian artists respectively to headline the tastemaker festival that began in 1999.        

Some acts playing at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. on April 21-23 were geared toward keeping the party going strong; others provided more gravitas by sharing their views on equality and social justice.

Friday night, during the final minutes of Blondie hit “Dreaming,” a few people appeared onstage holding pro-abortion signs. The Linda Lindas’ teenage bassist Eloise Wong lamented all the “bad stuff” permeating America right now, such as abortion and transgender rights being taken away, lack of gun control and racism. “Do what you can to not let them happen,” she implored on Saturday. And later that night, singer/guitarist Lucy Dacus of boygenius said, “We’re grateful to visit these lands of the Indigenous people.”

Below are noteworthy rock/indie performances from Coachella Weekend Two.

The Murder Capital released its solid sophomore album Gigi’s Recovery in January. The young Dublin post-punk band did a compelling set in the Sonora Tent on Friday, opening with “For Everything” from 2019 debut When I Have Fears. It saw frantic guitar squalls from Damien Tuit and Cathal Roper deftly paired with James McGovern’s urgent vocals. “Return My Head” recalled The Walkmen, while a tension filled “A Thousand Lives” featured skittering beats and shards of PiL-style guitar sounds. Before a manic Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-leaning “Feeling Fades,” McGovern asked the moderate sized crowd (well, it was early afternoon) to move closer and sit on the floor. He briefly went into the crowd and a mosh pit ensued. Totally enthralling.  

YUNGBLUD (real name: Dominic Harrison) has collaborated with Bring Me the Horizon, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds and Avril Lavigne, among others. His 2022 self-titled album went top 5 in several countries. YUNGBLUD possessed attitude in spades and worked up quite a sweat while running across the large Outdoor Theatre stage amid the peak of Friday’s Ninetysomething heat. On the rare occasion he actually stood still, such as on the snarling “Sex, Not Violence,” YUNGBLUD brought to mind a punkish Liam Gallagher. Alt-rock radio hit “Fleabag” was heightened Adam Warrington’s hard-hitting guitar solo. The frank, self-reflecting “I Think I’m OK,” a top 5 alt-rock charter with Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, prompted fans to wave their arms in the air. After finishing with “Loner,” the British singer trashed the stage.  

Blondie didn’t bring out any special guests as it did on Weekend One when Chic’s Nile Rodgers played guitar on frontwoman Deborah Harry’s 1981 solo single “Backfired.” Still, few fans could complain about an hour of basically wall-to-wall hits. Wearing wraparound shades that made her look like an extra in Blade Runner, Harry possessed plenty of spirit. The band – which released the excellent career-spanning box set Against the Odds: 1974-1982 last year – still features co-founder Clem Burke, a powerhouse on drums. Although this writer saw the group play last year, it was still very cool to watch ex-Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock among the younger musicians onstage. 

In Indio, Blondie punched through “Hanging on the Telephone” with abandon as colorful images of the Blondie graphic novel sped by on the backdrop. “Call Me” was exciting as ever; reunion-era U.K. No. 1 “Maria” was done in a lower key than usual. Young and old people alike sang along loudly to “Call Me,” “The Tide is High” and an extended “Rapture.” Harry quickly dashed offstage to put on a reflective hoodie for, what else, “Heart of Glass.” The song cleverly segued into instrumental bits of The Pistols’ “God Save the Queen” (Matlock co-wrote it) and Donna Summer-via-Giorgio Moroder’s “I Feel Love.” Harry, at 77, likely the oldest performer on the Coachella bill, finished the set by saying, “I hope they ask us back next year.”   

Gorillaz brought out several rappers and R&B singers during its Coachella Stage set, but the one alt-rocker was an outlier. Beck joined main man Damon Albarn on the upbeat “The Valley of the Pagans” off the 2020 Gorillaz effort Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez.

While watching The Linda Lindas in the Sonora Tent on Saturday, it was hard to believe the members are still teenagers. The LA punk band played several songs from the 2022 debut album Growing Up like old pros. All four gals traded off on lead vocals, with the two de la Garza sisters – guitarist Lucia and drummer Mila – coming across the strongest on “Talking to Myself” and “Growing Up.” They did a terrific cover of The Go-Go’s “Tonite,” a perfect choice with four-part harmonies.

Speaking of sisters, singer/guitarists Kim and Kelley Deal of The Breeders followed in Sonora and definitely had fun onstage. The Linda Lindas reprised their guest spot from a week ago on “Saints” to dance around and sing. Back with the “classic” lineup which recorded the platinum album Last Splash in 1993, The Breeders did the bulk of it in loose, but fine fashion. They even utilized a violinist on a few songs. Jim Macpherson remains a force to be reckoned with on drums. Standouts included the off-kilter signature song “Cannonball,” the harrowing Beatles’ cover “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” the sweet harmonies of “Divine Hammer” and dynamic set closer “Gigantic,” from Kim’s stint in The Pixies.  

Watching boygenius at Coachella provided a sense of déjà vu. Last year, singer/guitarist Phoebe Bridgers also performed on the same Outdoor Theatre stage, in the evening, and utilized a big, impressive production. Now she has Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker to share lead vocal duties. All three ladies’ lyrics on the songs from new album The Record and an eponymous 2018 EP cut to the quick in concert. Launching with the brief a capella “Without You, Without Them” from backstage, they ran onstage and immediately rocked out to “$20.” The lighting and effects on three large screens, dozens of small squares and TV monitors was just plain brilliant, befitting boygenius’ so-called indie supergroup status. At times during the 50-minute set, you could almost hear a pin drop (no easy feat during the 8 O’Clock hour on a Saturday night with so much going on around the festival) as they did tender or heart wrenching songs like “Emily, I’m Sorry,” “Letter to an Old Poet” and “Me and My Dog.” The trio was the best band at the entire festival, hands down.

A version of this review originally appeared in Rock Cellar Magazine: www.rockcellarmagazine.com

All photos courtesy of Coachella.