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The triumphant returns of Coldplay, New Order, Wilco, Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, Bauhaus, and the recently reunited Gang Of Four--along with starmaking appearances by newbies like the Bravery, the Secret Machines, Bloc Party, Keane, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, the Kills, the Futureheads, the Faint, and Kasabian--were just some of the highlights of the sixth annual Coachella Music & Arts Festival, held this past weekend at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California.
Although attendance was down 30,000 from last year's record-breaking Coachella (which featured the Cure, Radiohead, and a much-hyped Pixies reunion), the smaller crowds and much milder weather (83 degrees, compared to last year's heatstroke-inducing 110) made for perhaps the most pleasant Coachella experience yet. The festival certainly attracted the usual number of celebrity spectators, including A-list couple Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz, *NSYNC's JC Chasez, Danny DeVito, Vincent Gallo, Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Kattan, That '70s Show's Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips, Giovanni Ribisi, Nicole Richie, Rebecca Romijn, Chloe Sevigny, several C.S.I. cast members, and of course, Gwyneth Paltrow, who was there to see husband Chris Martin headline with his band Coldplay on Saturday night.
Coldplay were indeed one of Saturday's biggest highlights, with a massive performance that unified indie-rock hipsters, hackeysack-playing hippies, top 40-loving frat boys, and every other type of music fan in a way that perhaps only U2 could pull off these days. Emerging onstage to the celebratory strains of Richard Strauss's pounding 2001: A Space Odyssey theme, they opened with the epic first track off their upcoming third album X&Y, "Square One"--a bold statement of intent that took their stage show to a whole new level of bombast and grandeur. Highlights of their galvanizing 85-minute set included "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" with the 40,000-strong audience clapping in unison; an acoustic snippet of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" (a tribute to Sunday headliners NIN); Chris Martin instructing concertgoers to whip out their cameras and simultaneously snap a photo of the stage; and a whimsical performance of the country-tinged X&Y secret track "Till Kingdom Come" with Coldplay drummer Will Champion stepping out from behind his kit to play piano. The excitable crowd seemed extremely impressed with the setlist's several new Coldplay tunes (especially current top 10 single "Speed Of Sound")--as did Martin, who described future single "Love" as "orgasm-inducing," and introduced "What If" as "maybe the best song I ever wrote" and "Fix You" as "this song is f--ked-up brilliant." The set culminated with Martin's security-guard-assisted strut through the crowd during "In My Place"; during that moment, it seemed as if Coldplay were the biggest band on the planet. And perhaps they are, if this spectacular performance is anything to go by.
Other high points of the day included British piano man Jamie Cullum performing cocktail-lounge interpretations of Coldplay's "We Never Change" and Pharrell's "Frontin'"; fearsomely rockin' Anglo-American boy/girl duo the Kills generating some seriously electric sexual chemistry in the Mojave Tent; the Raveonettes' Sharrin Foo (the Grace Kelly of garage rock, a platinum-blonde ice queen resplendent in a '50s sundress and Jackie O shades) cooing lead vocals on a cover of the Angels' 1963 girl-group classic "My Boyfriend's Back"; bad-boy Brit-rockers Razorlight declaring, "This is how to end a rock 'n' roll show!" as a gaggle of nubile hotties jumped onstage for their finale; Welsh roots-rock power-trio Stereophonics drawing on their years of experience playing stadiums in their native U.K. to create a massive rock 'n' roll spectacle on the intimate Mojave stage; Wilco making up for 2004's cancelled Coachella appearance ("We were supposed to be here last year, but I was too f--ked up," rehab-refugee frontman Jay Tweedy explained); Weezer launching their set with the triple-punch of "Say It Ain't So," "Photograph," and "Undone (The Sweater Song)"; and New York's Secret Machines literally living up to their song lyric "blowing all the other kids away" with a heady and hallucinogenic set of OTP art-rock that left all witnesses pleasantly dazed and confused.
But no Saturday Coachella report would be complete without a mention of gothic granddaddies Bauhaus, who returned to the stage for the first time since their 1998 reunion tour. Descending from the ceiling in an inverted Christ pose, the emergence of white-haired, black-trenchcoated frontman Peter Murphy Saturday night seemed to create a near-religious experience for the hundreds of Bauhaus fans who had braved the heat all day in sticky PVC trousers, melting pancake makeup, and layers of velvet and lace. (The goth contingent was particularly prominent at this year's Coachella, due to the participation of Bauhaus as well as Nine Inch Nails and New Order). Opening with their definitive minimalist signature song, "Bela Lugosi's Dead," Bauhaus instantly transformed the previously sunshine-filled festival grounds into a creepy Blair Witch field; when it was all over, Murphy intoned... (more) |
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From elder statesmen (Bauhaus, New Order, Gang Of Four) to their worthy successors (the Bravery, Futureheads, the Faint), the Coachella '05 lineup offered something for fans of all ages. See here in these exclusive photos!
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If you didn't make it to Coachella this year, then you missed the music event of '05. But if you check out these live pics, it'll almost feel like you were there!
Coldplay
Saturday belonged to Coldplay. Click here for a glimpse of their soon-to-be-legendary headlining performance.
Nine Inch Nails
Trent's still angry after all these years. See him indulge in a little onstage scream therapy here.
Bright Eyes
See sensitive boy wonder Conor Oberst spill his guts all over the Empire Polo Field in these emotional shots.
Bauhaus
Who says Bela Lugosi's dead? His spirit was alive and well in the comeback set by these granddaddies of goth.
Weezer
A Rivers runs through Coachella! Check out pics of the pioneers of geek chic.
New Order
N.O.'s Peter Hook said the photographers got on his nerves, and he wanted them banished. But we managed to get these shots anyway!
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody said Coachella's weather was the exact tempature at which an Irishman melts. But he seems to be doing fine here!
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