Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine dramatically launches her second appearance at Coachella 2012. Photo: David Hall, for the Orange County Register. Click the pic to see more.
Contrary to popular belief, the real Coachella experience is not all about being seen and partying; it involves discovering new music and reacquainting yourself with old faves. The attendance level over the weekend was tolerable compared to recent years, although the crowds still could learn some things about concert etiquette.
Record-breaking heat didn’t deter guys and gals from wearing skimpy attire. Nor did it keep others from sporting a wide array of colorful, rave-worthy costumes (Gumby, Crayola crayons) that made you want to check your phone to see if the calendar actually read Oct. 31.
Right around dusk each day, a parade of models arrived in the VIP section, ostensibly just to see the headliner. They were hard to miss in designer clothes, shoes and sunglasses. One woman passed out right in front of me.
Adjacent to that gated perimeter, near the handicapped seating section, paparazzi guys were on the prowl during Noel Gallagher’s set. I turned around to see a veteran actress who looked like Melanie Griffith forlornly shield her face and say “please, guys” before heading toward the pit area.
While darting between the four stages (I scarcely set foot in the DJ-centric Sahara Tent), I witnessed three dozen full or partial sets. Memorable moments were in plentiful supply, so I thought I’d wrap up with a few.
Saturday
Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook – the singer/songwriters of influential British band Squeeze – displayed sublime harmonies and deft guitar work inside a shamefully under-filled Mojave Tent. The parade of classics from their ’70s and ’80s heyday (“Tempted,” “Black Coffee in Bed,” “Up the Junction,” “Hourglass,” “Is That Love”) were pure bliss for fans of traditional smart pop/rock songcraft. Later, I heard several people rave about them. (Their new Live at the Fillmore album is highly recommended.)
Miike Snow impressed me with its coolly detached brand of electropop. Playing to a large and enthusiastic Outdoor Theatre crowd, the Swedish/American trio opened to a landing spaceship sound and opened with “The Wave.” Both “Pretender” and “Paddling Out” stood out for their consistent dance sensibility
Sunday
If I could anoint a queen of Coachella’s second weekend, Florence Welch would take the festival crown. The golden-throated Englishwoman led Florence + the Machine through a transcendent final-night performance that capped the Outdoor Theatre proceedings and left fans clamoring for more.
Emerging from atop a stairwell to begin the 55-minute set in regal fashion with “Only If for a Night,” Welch commanded the stage. The first time she stood resplendently with arms outstretched and gorgeous dress blowing in the breeze, I thought: “This is rock royalty.”
Subtle gestures, vocal wails and backing singers helped elevate the chamber-pop drama of “Never Let Me Go,” “Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up),” the hit single “Dog Days are Over” and the gospel-styled fervor of “Shake It Out.” The band sounded sleek throughout, and at various points their welcoming chanteuse urged female empowerment and inclusiveness (notably right before “Spectrum”).
After watching the Hives put on a blazing show at the Glass House last week, I figured it wouldn’t be hard to tear myself away from their performance on the Coachella Stage. Yet while the Swedish garage-rockers were tearing things up on the Polo Field with “Wait a Minute” – the initial single from their coming album Lex Hives – I begrudgingly left and rushed over to Mojave because Gotye was not to be missed.
The lanky Australian singer, real name Wally De Backer, currently has a No. 1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100. As expected, the tent became a makeshift sauna and was packed like sardines. Two large inflatable balls sporting the Aussie flag bounced around the crowd.
Gotye’s inviting vocal timbre and sense of musical experimentation draws parallels to prime Peter Gabriel. Those qualities, along with striking percussive touches, a high likeability factor and animated screen projections, all equaled one brilliant set in Indio.
The mysterious “Smoke and Mirrors” (a fan request not played at the first weekend of Coachella), his emotive vocals on a billowy and propulsive “Eyes Wide Open,” the mild rocker “Easy Way Out” and the aforementioned smash “Somebody That I Used to Know” (which fans sang loudly, filling in for absent co-vocalist Kimbra) were among the sharpest selections.
Half an hour later, Beirut drew a large (though not quite as massive) audience at the same spot. Zach Condon and the group weaved indie rock and exotic world music sounds into an intriguing tapestry that encompassed his ukulele and trumpet work alongside horns, accordion and upright bass.
New Mexico resident Condon enthused about spending time in the desert over the past week to do some recording (most likely at Josh Homme’s studio). He often sang in a measured croon à la Morrissey on tracks like “Santa Fe” (off last year’s The Riptide), a mournful take on “The Shrew,” plus “Vagabond,” “Elephant Gun” and “Postcards from Italy.”
Friends have raved to me about U.K. male/female trio Band of Skulls for a couple years now. I finally saw what all the fuss was about when they totally smoked on the Coachella Stage Sunday afternoon. Their Led Zeppelin-influenced blues/rock sound was really hard-hitting for “Death by Diamonds and Pearls” as well as the chunky riffage throughout “The Devil Takes Care of His Own.”
Real Estate, a Pitchfork-approved New Jersey band in regular rotation on college radio, were extremely low-key in the Gobi tent. Still, the atmospheric keyboards and electric guitar tones on songs from their most recent album Days were mostly irresistible, coming across like a satisfactory mix of Ocean Blue and Cocteau Twins.
More posts from Coachella 2012:
Coachella 2012: Wrapping up Weekend 2 with Florence + the Machine, Gotye, Beirut and more is a post from: Soundcheck