Coachella Diary: Dry Desert, Purple Reign

Prince

With temperatures upward of 100 degrees and more bands than anyone should see in an entire year, Coachella has long enjoyed its unique renown ““ if you didn’t go, you probably spent the weekend talking about it. This year’s lackluster original lineup, however, seemed like a step backward until latecomers like Prince breathed some life back into the festival. Our writers cover a selection of concerts in our sixth annual Coachella Diary.

Trying to fairly review a Prince concert in a few paragraphs is a little like attempting to run a marathon in under an hour ““ it just can’t be done. But here’s my attempt: Prince’s set was scheduled for 10:45 p.m. His band began playing on a darkened stage around 11:00, then the lights kicked on at 11:15, and then the band backed regulars Morris Day and Sheila E. for a few numbers before the Artist finally (and triumphantly) sauntered onstage to the frantic screams of tens of thousands of people. True to his usual flamboyance, Prince wore a white linen suit with gaudy silver accents and the same hairstyle he’s had for 25 years. He confused the audience by playing an instrumental song (hadn’t we been listening to other people’s songs for long enough?), but then launched into “1999” and got the whole crowd singing. And I mean that almost literally.

Then Prince embarked upon the rest of his generous setlist.

He interspersed lesser-known songs between his hits, playing such fabulous tunes as “Little Red Corvette” and “Cream” while making his characteristic variety of facial expressions and shredding away at the guitar. Even considering all the talent featured at Coachella that day, Prince wins, hands down, as the best guitarist.

After a few finger-breaking solos, the Artist slowed it down and began playing a strange new Prince song that no one had heard before. Then, a few riffs later, he started singing “Creep” by Radiohead. Granted, the cover wasn’t anywhere near the caliber of the original, but you’ve got to love him for playing that: the man knows his audience.

A few covers and one costume change later, Prince left the stage, but the lights remained low. Some people left, and that’s unfortunate, because Prince returned to play a powerful encore of exactly what every fan wanted to hear: “Purple Rain” and “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Finally the Artist left the stage at 1:00 a.m. after receiving thunderous applause. We had been on our feet for 12 hours; we were exhausted, sweaty and covered in dust, but Prince knew how to make it all worthwhile.

““ Christie McCollum

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Despite being one of the more unfortunately named bands on the scene at this time, DOIYY seem to be the heirs apparent to the dance-punk throne. A lot of their music is in fact derivative of that scene, with two-note bass parts and yelped vocals. However, the insane rowdiness of their music translates to a live show in a way that doesn’t come through on the record. The one-two punch of the distorted crescendo of “With a Heavy Heart (I Regret to Inform You)” and the borderline house “We Are Rockstars” was something to be reckoned with. DIOYY was having a great time, jumping around and imploring us to dance, which was a welcome respite from the headnodding stoicism of most other dance acts at the festival.

““ Jake Ayres

MGMT

If I were Ben Goldwasser or Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT, I would lose the drummer and hire a drum machine instead. The band’s Saturday set, which consisted of pretty much every song on their album “Oracular Spectacular,” lost much of its would-be funky electro dance glory because the live band drowned out the real band: the guitar and keyboard. Oh, and MGMT ““ which, on record, is a two-piece with very little equipment ““ spent the first 20 minutes of their time setting up, which triggered a snowball effect and caused me to miss M.I.A. and part of Portishead.

But about the music: they made a good call by opening with the downtempo singalong, “Weekend Wars.” Then VanWyngarden and crew played a handful of slower late-album tracks like “The Youth,” which sound great on the record but couldn’t handle the additional clamor of the live band. Nor could they sustain the energy of the sweaty, sunburned crowd. Nevertheless, the boys played on and finally revived the audience with an onslaught of noise in the form of “Electric Feel,” “Time to Pretend” and “Kids.” These songs should have been great, but even the catchy, danceable tracks felt weighed down by the circumstances. All in all, a bit of a disappointment from such a promising band.

““ Christie McCollum

My Morning Jacket

MMJ might just be the festival band due to their jam-band sensibilities, stoner-friendly tunes (and beards), and guitar heroics. Singer Jim James came on stage clad in skull-shaped moon boots, and his voice was just as clear of a tenor as on record, as demonstrated by his flawless vocal ad-libs during the coda of “Wordless Chorus.” They debuted a handful of new songs, one of which was the poppiest MMJ has gone yet, with James singing in falsetto over crunchy guitar chords, a sequenced beat and some brain-scrambling bass booms.

““ Jake Ayres

Animal Collective

Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Deakin and Geologist collectively produced, in the eyes of many critics and bloggers, 2007’s album of the year, “Strawberry Jam,” and they have a live show to match.

After setting up their own equipment and graciously receiving incessant pre-show cheering from the crowd ““ the M.I.A. / Kraftwerk time conflict ensured a group of very dedicated fans ““ Animal Collective launched into its set. For the next hour the band produced a never-ending flow of loops, subtle melodies and teasers. They played only a handful of songs, including “Chocolate Girl,” “Bearhug,” “House,” and the stellar ballad “Fireworks” from “Strawberry Jam.” Panda Bear also took the spotlight to perform “Comfy in Nautica” from his contender for album of the year, “Person Pitch.”

These songs ““ those released on proper albums, anyway ““ sounded very little like their original versions. Instead of sticking to the rigid forms they recorded, Animal Collective experimented with new loops and tones, weaving their songs together into one massive sonic quilt and forcing the audience to constantly guess about the next patch. It was an hour of intense band and audience involvement, and when it was all over, the sounds still resonated in my ears.

““ Christie McCollum

Metric

Sporting a short, silver spandex one-piece, Emily Haines delivered the Canadian band’s set with her characteristic irreverence, confidence, and energy. Fan favorites “Dead Disco,” “Combat Baby,” and “Monster Hospital,” inspired audience-wide dance parties, but the set also contained promising bits of the band’s upcoming album. One new song, which Haines said kind of sounded like “stoner rock,” prompted her divulgence that “acid is making a comeback.” While Haines may never achieve her goal to reinstate passé slang like “far out” and “amped” into the daily vernacular, she did suggest that the Coachella veterans have not, and will not, fall from favor.

““ Mindy Poder

Roger Waters

Having to follow over 140 acts, Sunday headliner Roger Waters of Pink Floyd accomplished the feat with two sets of material spanning his solo career and the highlights of Pink Floyd’s discography. In addition to a stage full of talented musicians, Water’s set boasted spectacular video footage to complement each song, ranging from old photos of Pink Floyd and memorial candles for “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” to comic strips, the earth, business men, and a classic stereo.

A psychedelic tone was set as bubbles descended onto the crowd and gas machines emblazoned the talented musicians. Though an inflated astronaut floated across the stage, the night’s best prop was the Great Pig in the Sky. The enormous inflated pig pictured Uncle Sam wielding cleavers, a forewarning sentiment: “Don’t Be Led to The Slaughter,” and a less-than-subtle endorsement for Obama on its underbelly. After a short wait, Rogers reappeared on stage and demonstrated that his vitality has been well preserved since that fateful year of 1973, when Dark Side of the Moon was released.

Performing the entirety of the album, Waters defended the album’s place in the classic rock canon. Relevant imagery such as the descending clocks of “Time” and the green coins in “Money” contributed to the overwhelming sensational effect of the seminal set. Placing the crowd into the album’s iconic cover, a huge prism beamed a rainbow of laser lights and ended the performance. An encore of Pink Floyd favorites, such as “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” was met with explosive enthusiasm, only matched by the firework finale.

““ Mindy Poder

The National

At music festivals, a band’s intricacies often get lost somewhere in the crowd. But not for The National. As the group took the stage Friday evening and sauntered into their placid, delicate “Start A War,” the audience fell silent, taking in the subdued guitar arpeggios that would normally be drowned out or neglected entirely by the band at such a festival. Way to stick to what you do best, guys.

The National continued its set with songs from its two most recent releases, “Alligator” and “Boxer.” Throughout the set, Matt Berninger’s piercing baritone joined the interplay between the guitars, horns and the band’s driving percussion without overpowering them. Fittingly, the sun began to set during the performance, casting an array of soft reds and oranges on the band during their best love song, “Slow Show.” By the time they reached their apex in the livid, brooding “Mr. November,” it was dark ““ the perfect ending to a phenomenal performance.

““ Christie McCollum

Gogol Bordello

True to their self-imposed genre of gypsy punk, Gogol Bordello live is like being at a cross between a gypsy wedding and a circus. Frontman Eugene Hütz cut an impressive figure, shirtless, long-haired, clad in his trademark Ace Ventura pants, and backed by the band that perhaps rips harder live than on record. Old-timer Sergey Ryabtsev absolutely torched his electric violin on songs like “Wonderlust King.” New Gogol member Pedro Erazo played the cajon for the majority of the set, but rapped the first verse of “Start Wearing Purple” in Spanish while wearing a luchador mask. This crazy, manic, ad hoc feel continued throughout the show, with backup dancers playing drums and Hütz ending the nearly 20-minute finale by throwing all the mics into his trademark fire bucket and throwing them up in the air. Definitely music to be chased down narrow streets to.

““ Jake Ayres

E-mail Jake at [email protected], Mindy at [email protected], and Christie at [email protected].