Arcane Gazebo

Coachella 2007: Don't Dream It's Over (Day 3 Report)

On a recent trip to Shanghai my girlfriend bought me a Communist-style satchel with a red star and Chinese lettering (visible in yesterday's Project 365 photo). This was the bag I brought with me into Coachella, and I figured it would be a fairly unique fashion choice. As the festival went on, though, I was dismayed to see people wearing a red star on military green, and soon ascertained that, in fact, this is also used as a logo by none other than Rage Against the Machine, the biggest act of the weekend. I wonder if people assumed that the Chinese lettering on my bag just said "Rage Against the Machine", or if they were asking for it at the t-shirt booth. (Apparently the bag actually says something like "For the service of the people".)

Almost none of my must-see acts appeared on the last day of the festival, so I took this as a roaming day. Thus, I saw fewer full sets but more partial sets.

Sets I saw Sunday: Rodrigo y Gabriela, Willie Nelson, Lily Allen, Ratatat
(and some of the Feeling, the Kooks, Crowded House, Rage Against the Machine, and others...)

Details below the fold:

Sunday was incrementally cooler than Saturday, and I felt I was acclimating to the desert, so I walked around some early in the day, looking at some of the art I'd missed earlier, taking a few pictures, and listening in on the different stages as I passed by. Walking near the main stage, I heard a catchy melody, but then the song ended. The band started up with a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" which was compelling enough to draw me to the stage. It was The Feeling, a British pop band that is apparently doing well across the Atlantic, but I'd not heard of them. I stayed for the rest of their set (only a couple more songs) and it was great. Definitely one to check out.

After that, more roaming until I ended up in the Mojave Tent watching The Kooks, another band that's been successful in the UK. More Brit rock, but I like Brit rock (as should be obvious at this point), and the Kooks were good. Then it was over to the Gobi Tent for a band Josh had recommended,

Rodrigo y Gabriela: It's become a cliche for musicians at Coachella to complain about the heat. "It's fucking hot!" is a popular choice. Gabriela Quintero was not impressed. "It's fucking cold! We're from Mexico." This pair got started in a thrash metal band, but now they play on acoustic guitars. Thrash acoustic, I guess. It's pretty awesome. They're both excellent guitarists, especially Rodrigo, and it was a fun show to watch. Their album includes a cover of Metallica's "Orion" (I'm not sure if they played it, I arrived a little late), and of "Stairway to Heaven" which was continually being requested by the audience. This was not denied, and they played it at the end of the set.

And now, back out into the sun and the main stage for

Willie Nelson: Not my usual genre of music, but he's enough of an icon that I didn't want to miss the set. It was a mixture of classic songs ("Whiskey River", "Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys"), recent songs, and some pieces meant to showcase other members of the band: a solo piano piece for Nelson's sister, and a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Texas Flood" in which the guitar part was played by one of Nelson's sons. A fairly lighthearted and relaxed act, and a good one for the late afternoon timeslot.

Afterwards Crowded House took over at the main stage, and I was around for a few songs including the crucial "Don't Dream It's Over". Air was up next at the Outdoor Theater, but I decided to skip it in favor of another big-in-Britain act,

Lily Allen: Or perhaps I should say big-on-MySpace, since she is famous for earning her initial fanbase there. Her backing band included a trumpet, trombone, and sax, which was cool. Her own performance was a bit shaky, and she kept forgetting her lyrics. (I'll cut her a little slack, since Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer of my Favorite Band Ever, used to be notorious for this.) Most of the audience seemed to be there just to hear her major single "Smile", and left afterwards. The overall lesson seemed to be: don't break up with Lily Allen, or she will write a very unflattering song about you. I stayed to the end, because I wanted to be there for the next act:

Ratatat: Imagine arena-rock guitar riffs laid on top of a techno dance beat, and you've got Ratatat. You might have heard their song "Seventeen Years" in (ugh) a Hummer commercial. Despite that, it's generally pretty good and sometimes rises to the level of awesome. The crowd here was definitely fired up and, when the band was a few minutes late coming on stage, began clapping in unison three quick beats: rat-a-tat. We were not disappointed; they came out and delivered a blistering performance. The crowd went nuts for "Seventeen Years" (which is one of their best songs) and much dancey fun was had.

Then came the moment almost everyone was waiting for: the reunion of Rage Against the Machine. I'm not a huge fan but I had to see at least the start of it just for the spectacle. They came out under a giant Zapatista flag (the aforementioned red star) and just started playing. I stayed for a few songs, impressed by the energy of the band and the crowd, and then went to check out the other stages (which were at this point populated by tiny audiences). At the Outdoor Theater, the Lemonheads brushed off their competitors at the neighboring stage. "Is that Rage Against the Miami Sound Machine?" The Gobi Tent hosted Spank Rock, which sounded dancey, but I didn't stay long. Instead I settled at the Mojave Tent for the last few songs of the evening, courtesy of techno act VNV Nation. At the end of their set I headed back over to the main stage in time to catch "Killing in the Name Of", and then to the exit just ahead of the rush.

And that was Coachella 2007. Final verdict: pretty awesome.