Music, Tracks, Field

  Photos by PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Dressed
in a white jumpsuit and a funky fedora, Jane’s Addiction singer
Perry Farrell entices the crowd at the Coachella
Valley Music and Arts Festival.

By Ruvin Spivak
Daily Bruin Contributor

On Saturday, the music was hotter than even the weather as tens
of thousands made the pilgrimage to the Empire Polo Field in Indio,
Calif., for the second annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts
Festival.

With 35,000 people in attendance, the only thing worse then the
scorching weather was making the decision between which of the five
stages of music to choose from.

Headliners included The Roots, Jane’s Addiction, Paul
Oakenfold, Weezer, Mos Def, Ozomatli, Chemical Brothers and Fatboy
Slim.

In addition to the headlining bands, early performers of the day
ranged from Medusa and Souls of Mischief to the Dandy Warhols, and
Nikka Costa to Planet of the Drums and Jason Blakemore.

One early act that got the crowd’s respect was the
up-and-coming DJ Z-Trip, with his trans-genre mixes. Spinning
the Fugees, Nirvana and Beastie Boys in the same set, Z-Trip drew
many fans to the Sahara Stage early in the day. What kept them
though were the DJ’s unique musical overlays, lacing Dr. Dre
with Outkast, or Christina Aguilera with Led Zeppelin.

Late in the afternoon, other top acts took to their respective
stages in front of loyal fans. Among these were Del Tha Funky
Homosapien, Uberzone and old school punk rocker Iggy Pop. L.A.
favorites were also representing as Aceyalone and Ozomatli
displayed their unique local styles.

One of the highlights of the festival was Philly’s own The
Roots. The unique, organic hip-hop sound left viewers entranced for
about an hour with a nonstop, no nonsense, musical performance,
accompanied by Dice Raw.

Known for its live shows, The Roots boasted its skills on and
off the microphone as Black Thought gave his sprained ankle a rest,
giving the other members a chance to move the crowd. Most
notably, keyboardist Kamal along with “vocal
turntablist” Scratch impressed the pit with classic material
like A Tribe Called Quest’s “World Tour.”

Many also came to see the recently reunited Jane’s
Addiction. Perry Farrell and the boys stole perhaps the
largest number of attendees for their set, running through new and
old material accompanied by an incredible light show and
interesting costumes.

  Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo leads the
band in a set of old hits and new tracks, which kept the massive
crowd moving in spite of the swelteringly hot weather. Another big
attraction was Weezer, who performed for a raucous crowd. The band
performed several singles off of its first album as well as a
couple of new cuts from its album that is to be released May
15.

Music wasn’t the only attraction at the festival though.
Aside from the obligatory food, water and glow stick stands, the
field was filled with art, movies and even circus acts.

The Coachella film tent featured different documentaries on
reggae, punk, heavy metal, hip hop and the desert rave scene of
Southern California.

Some of the films included “Rockers,”

“Freestyle” and “Meeting People is
Easy,” a documentary that followed Radiohead during the
“OK Computer” tour.

The venue was also filled with artwork to accompany the
noise. Sight and Sound Labs created a model of the human
genome DNA molecule out of helium balloons. Artist Corndog set
up an interactive junk metal sculpture that allowed visitors to
beat pots, pans, beams, rebar and other scraps to create music of
their own.

There was also comic and zine artistry from
papier-mâché and live graffiti from In Creative Unity
Art.

One of the leading sponsors of the festivities was the
preeminent underground music magazine “URB.”

The magazine’s tent in the middle of the field gave fans
the opportunity to meet their favorite artists and grab a copy of
the publication’s latest issue.

Around 5 p.m. the weather cooled and the stars of the event came
out. World-famous DJ Paul Oakenfold graced Southern California with
his “perfecto” style, while other foreign DJs, groups
and bands presented new and innovative styles to American
audiences. Despite being known for his DJ-ing skills,
Oakenfold’s set not only fell flat, but was also poorly
mixed.

St. Germain performed a unique blend of rhythms that could only
be classified as jazz-esque.

Kruder and Dorfmeister made a rare SoCal appearance, and
Icelanderic band Sigur Ròs played in front of a Southern
California crowd for the first time.

Other electronica acts like Tricky, The Orb, Christopher
Lawrence and Doc Martin graced stages on the breezy desert evening
as well.

Roni Size Reprazent drew large crowds with his accomplished
style of MCing over drum “˜n’ bass.

  Using a cello bow on his guitar, Jónsi
Birgisson introduced America to the haunting and beautiful
melodies of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós. The Coachella
Festival attracted a large crowd that spent a day being entertained
by a wide variety of performers, films and artwork.

Brooklyn native Mos Def came out early in the evening with his
new rock group, Jack Johnson, playing old and new hits. Mos gave
fans a taste of his next album with a new joint called
“Ghetto,” in which hip hop meets heavy metal, Black
Star style.

Ending the evening were three of the most respected acts in the
modern music world.

One such performer was Fatboy Slim who brought the house down
with an hour-and-a-half set that got the crowd moving to the funk
soul brother’s grooves.

Electronic veterans Chemical Brothers were back to promote their
latest album, but they played a variety of unique songs including
Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”Â Most notable was
the way in which they accelerated the crowd’s energy
throughout the set with hard beats and tripped-out sounds.

Finally, Guru and DJ Premier came back as the group Gang Starr
after their last visit at the Smoke Out Festival. Aside from
playing its own repertoire of hits, the group made sure to leave
the audience schooled in new- and old-school hip-hop history.

When all was said and done ““ after gallons of water,
oodles of sunblock and tons of dry fast-food ““ the Coachella
Festival ended a success.  Visitors were able to see most of
their favorite acts because of excellent scheduling and
user-friendly pocket maps.

On a whole, the 12-hour day was exhausting but well worth the
energy. The vibe was friendly and the music spoke for itself. It
was a day to join a variety of music lovers and celebrate great
music of all types. Aside from the baking sun that left the
crowd with a collective migraine, the Coachella Valley Music and
Arts Festival was a phenomenal day to remember.