Coachella 2010 Day Three: Sunday

Sunday started out in a bit of a panic for me. After two days of lots of standing and walking, I awoke to my right foot being the size of my head. I could barely walk on it and I was terrified I wouldn't be able to make it to the festival for what looked to be my busiest day. I took lots of advil and propped my foot up and within an hour the swelling had gone down and my foot seemed ok. I planned to curtail my busy festival schedule as much as possible so that I wouldn't be standing as much in the hopes it wouldn't hurt too much. Unfortunately, due to the volcanic disruption of the UK airspace, British buzz band Delphic, who we were to see early on in the afternoon, were unable to make it to the US, so that left a gaping hole in the schedule and we were able to go to the festival late and I could rest my foot.

It was a gorgeous day for the final day of the festival. I was bit depressed on that last walk to the polo fields, but I knew it had already been a fun weekend so I quickly got back into a good mood. First up for me was Deerhunter who performed on the Outdoor theater. It was a brilliantly sunny day with a light breeze. Deerhunter, who in the past put on some really bad shows, were completely on form, playing a majority of songs from one of my favorite albums Microcastle, and peppering the set with older tracks as well.



After Deerhunter, Kurt was kind enough to grab me some food and water and we quickly ate before joining our housemates for Florence + The Machine, which was another act all of us were thrilled to see. We got there late, and she was in the tiny Gobi tent that was packed to capacity and overflowing like La Roux's show. We made our way to the back of the tent to watch, but it was so crowded it was hard to enjoy. It didn't help she was 15 minutes late performing (which for the tight set times was very unforgiving) and when she did come on the sound was so murky we couldn't hear anything. We only stayed for two songs and then had to leave. I was so so so disappointed. Hopefully she will make it to Atlanta so I can see her in a better venue.



But when Coachella gives you lemons you make lemonade. Kurt and wandered over to see Club 75 at the Sahara tent. Club 75 is a super DJ group made up of Justice and Cassius and they were a blast. really enjoyed their set and was a good alternative to the bad sound plagued Florence + The Machine. Nothing prepares you for the size of the Sahara tent, which holds about 5000 people. It is massive and so much fun. Many thanks to Kurt for introducing me to lots of great DJs.



Sunday was a rough day because I had bands back to back to back with little to no break. After catching most of Club 75 Kurt and I went to see Jonsi, the solo set from the singer for Sigur Ros. His album is a completely brilliant find. Unlike the somber and droning Sigur Ros, Jonsi's solo material is upbeat and amazing. His show had wonderful energy and was the show that MGMT should have put on.



Next up was Miike Snow, who are the production duo Bloodshy and Avant. This is their alternative pop persona. It was another show I was really looking forward to, however, it was marred by very murky audio. The show was still wonderful though and they basically played every song off the cd.



By this time the sun had set and I took Kurt over to see one of favorite bands of all time that have recently reunited, Pavement. The show was nice because it was on the main stage and wasn't too crowded. Phoenix was playing on the outdoor theater and seemed to have pulled the majority of the crowd. We were able to take a load off my hurt foot and sit for the whole show. It was a good, but not great set. They played a good mix of tracks but stuck more to the "hits" which I was rather surprised about.



Next up was a huge draw for me, Thom Yorke's solo set under the moniker Atoms for Peace, featuring Flea on bass, Nigel Godrich, and Jerry Wonaker. They played the entire Yorke solo cd The Eraser in order, then had 5 encores. The cd is very minimal electronic music, but they fleshed out the songs into something bordering on sublime. The show had an amazing flow, sounded great, and had a wonderful light show. Definite highlight of Sunday.



The final show of the night was the main headliner Gorillaz. And they did not fail to impress. The band led by Damon Albarn and featuring Mick Jones, Tim Simenon, Bobby Womack, Little Dragon, and De La Soul, put on a killer set that was musically tight (if a little leaning towards the somber tracks) and with an amazing light and visual show. Every song had a backing animation that added to the experience. It was a beautiful cool night, and Gorillaz complemented the mood perfectly and made for an ideal finish to a wonderful weekend.



It was my first music festival experience and it was amazing. I can't thank Kurt, Dan, Mikey, Don and Mark enough for showing me the ropes and making my experience everything it could be and more. I am already looking forward to next year's festival.