Music Features

Coachella 2010 – Sunday - Gorillaz, Thom Yorke and Spoon

By S.P. MacIntyre Apr 19, 2010, 14:06 GMT

By the third day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts, all the grass of the Empire Polo Fields had turned from a healthy green to a desert-appropriate dun.  It was by far the warmest today than it had been this weekend, and also, I’m sad to say, the most disappointing.

I wasn’t able to arrive at the festival until about 5PM, and so wasn’t able to see MUTEMATH, Yo La Tengo, or Rusko.  Hypnotic Brass Ensemble had to cancel because of the Icelandic volcano.  

Throughout the day, I felt a building excitement because there was a rumor spreading that, because Gary Numan cancelled, Trent Reznor was going to sub for him in the Mojave Tent.  This rumor seemed to gain some traction when Yann Tiersen was bumped from the top spot to Gary Numan’s, leaving the closing stretch open for one of the last two bands of the festival (with no one else occupying any other stage).  

Sadly, the rumors were not true, and Sly Stone, because he was late, was moved to the last spot.

The first band I saw today was Club 75, a Parisian DJ super-group with Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi “on the wheels,” as it were.  There were lots of prolonged silences or points where they stopped the music, though it was probably for effect.  Regardless, the tent was packed with dancing people. 

I think the set reached its climax when they played Justice’s “Stress,” if only because it’s been a long time since I danced that much.

A Look At Club 75’s Coachella performance (©M&C. All photos by Chance Knecht.):

During Spoon’s performance, the lead singer came out in a cowboy hat and played an excellent set, or at least one with all of my favorite Spoon songs.  During “Don’t You Evah,” Britt Daniel seemed to forget or get lost on the lyrics, but he made up for it by punctuating “The Way We Get By” with a few new guitar fills. 

Steve Patterson joined the band to add percussion for the song before “I Turn My Camera On.”  Then, during “Don’t Make Me A Target,” just as the sun went down, a string of incandescent light bulbs hung around the stage lit up with perfect timing.  They played a driving and forceful “Small Stakes” that was way better live than on the album, and brought out a full horn section for a few songs including “Rhythm and Soul.” 

Towards the end of their set, the lead singer flipped over the upright piano, though I guess it couldn’t be considered an upright any longer.

I didn’t see much of Pheonix, but they opened with “Lisztomania” and drew a huge crowd. I also didn’t see much of Miike Snow, but when I was walking by all I could see were a huge number of black beach balls they had dropped onto the audience.

Infected Mushroom played an amazing set with an elaborate stage setup and great visuals.  On stage, alongside the digital drummer and the keyboardist, were two evil mushroom statues with glowing red eyes. 

They ended the show with “Becoming Insane,” complete with screeching guitar fills.  

A Look At Infected Mushroom’s Coachella performance (©M&C. All photos by Chance Knecht.):

I only saw part of Orbital, but they had five rotating screens suspended from the ceiling of the Sahara Tent and headbands with lights on them because the stage was so dark. 

Between songs, they had a vocal monologue of a man talking, and then he said “the next time you see your mom, be sure to tell her…SATAN SATAN SATAN SATAN” just as Orbital broke into an amazing version of “Satan” with videos of war and crime imagery playing in the background.

A Look At Orbital’s Coachella performance (©M&C. All photos by Chance Knecht.):

Thom Yorke and the Atoms for Peace was by far the highlight of my entire weekend.  Last night, when I said I had never seen that many people crowded at the Outdoor Theater during MGMT, I lied.  Fifteen minutes before the show started someone had to come on and tell everyone to step back because people at the front were getting crushed and trampled. 

Thom and the band, which also featured Nigel Godrich, began with “The Eraser,” and midway through the song Flea came onstage, bobbing his head and shuffling to the beat.  They played nearly every song off of Eraser, but “Black Swan,” “Skip Divided,” and “Harrowdown Hill” (with Flea slapping and popping the bassline) were definitely highlights.  After that, Thom came onstage to do a solo acoustic performance, performing a new song and “Airbag.” 

Then he sat down at the piano to do a solo version of “Everything in its Right Place.”  The band joined him again onstage, and Thom said, “We’ve been together since September, and we were wondering what else to do, and so we came up with this.  This is called ‘Judge, Jury, and Executioner.’”  

A Look At Thom Yorke and the Atoms for Peace’s Coachella performance (©M&C. All photos by Chance Knecht.):

I tried to go see Gorillaz, but there were no other bands playing when they started and so every single other person at the festival went to the main stage.  Even several hundred feet out, I was completely packed in. 

They opened with “Welcome to the World of Plastic Beach,” but Snoop Dogg didn’t come out and join Damon Albarn (who, thankfully, was not performing behind a screen this time). 

Instead, they just showed a video and played a recording of Snoop Dogg and then did the same for Del during “Clint Eastwood” later on. 

Throughout, the energy was pretty reserved—the band just played in their sailor outfits while visuals played on the screens in the background. 

After watching “Last Living Souls,” “O Green World,” and “Kids with Guns,” I decided to take off, but apparently, from what I hear, they never played “D.A.R.E.” or “19-2000.”  

A Look At Gorillaz’s Coachella performance (©M&C. All photos by Chance Knecht.):

And Sly Stone…OK, I know I’m opinionated and biased, but this was the worst damn trainwreck I’ve ever seen on stage. 

Thirty minutes after they were supposed to begin, the band started playing a funky groove which they stopped twice because of problems with feedback.  Finally, one of the backup singers did a call-response with the audience: “Let me hear you say ‘Sly Stone’” over and over again. 

When he didn’t show up after a bit, she started doing it again.  After Sly came onstage, he stopped the band from playing a song and said, “Fuck rehearsal, fuck rehearsal,” and then started telling stories, sitting on the edge of the stage, about nearly getting kidnapped and some lawsuit. 

“I can finally afford a pair of shoes now,” said Sly.  When the drummer tried to start a song, Sly kept saying, “Stop n*****, hold up,” and then kept mumbling into the microphone.  They did start playing music, but the feedback was so bad that it wasn’t worth staying around to listen to, so I left.

Other bands that I didn’t see were Pavement and Jonsi, but there are pictures available for your viewing pleasure.

Pavement ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Pavement ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Pavement ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Jonsi ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Jonsi ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Jonsi ©M&C. Photo by Chance Knecht.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.  I’m sorry the articles have gotten progressively shorter each night, but it’s due time that I got more than 3 hours of sleep.  And so, goodnight.  Until next year, reader.