Coachella 2011 Day Two

Day Two of Coachella was predicted to be the hottest. Temperatures on Friday hovered around the mid-90s but Saturday was supposed to be close to 100. Thankfully, it never felt as hot as it was, and it actually turned out to be a nice day. We went in early with one of our housemates to see Baltimore rapper/singer/dancer Rye Rye.

We got a spot in the Sahara Tent and caught the end of DJ Heavygrinder's set. She looks like an Asian Jennifer Lopez. I felt bad for her because the majority of the Sahara denizens were back home still sleeping off their drugs and booze. She played a nice mix of house and dubstep, and was a nice way to ease into the day.

Rye Rye played a very short thirty minute set, but she was thrilled to be there and really had a blast performing. She is so cute, you just want to pinch her. One of the highlights of Coachella, even though it was by far the shortest set of the festival.

We took a break afterwards and hit the beer garden and sat in some shaded bleachers and watched the crowds stream by.

Foals were another band high on my list of must sees, and they certainly did not disappoint me at all. Until Sunday, they were my favorite set (more on that tomorrow). Intense, dark, and brooding, they locked into an early groove and never lost focus or intensity. Playing most of their new album and some select tracks from their first, it was a good mix of songs.

Unfortunately, the Gobi Tent is the worst place to take pics during the day; there isn't a backdrop and the sun creates too many issues to get a good shot of anyone. I raced over to catch Sweden's The Radio Dept. after the Foals set. I love them on record, but live, there was nothing additional that added to the experience. They only had a keyboardist and two guitarists which created a lovely sound, but didn't change up the sound of the records. I waited until I heard the one song I wanted to hear, "The Worst Taste In Music," then left. Which put me on time to see the set from Two Door Cinema Club.

Two Door Cinema Club is what Coachella is all about: finding that one buzz band and seeing them bang out a killer set. They don't do anything special, it is proto-typical Britpop, but very catchy and infectious. The crowd, tightly packed as it was, was surprisingly great. Everyone knew all the lyrics and got into the set, dancing and having a blast. Sets like this really erase any bad experiences you had previously. Thanks to my housemate Dan Nero for letting me borrow some awesome pictures from their set.

I took a nice afternoon breather and went out to the Main Stage to see Toronto collective Broken Social Scene. I've always had a soft for them and it was a great way to move into the evening bands. They played a broad range of songs from their albums and worked a nice groove. The sun had just started descending and the breeze had picked up, cooling off the hot and dusty polo grounds. Everyone seemed to be put into a great mood.

Well, except for this gate-crasher. I was over by the merch tent looking at some t-shirts and ended up taking some photos of the gorgeous sunset, and behind me I heard a gaggle of girls (yes, they all travel in annoying gaggles at Coachella) screaming "Get him! Get him! Take him down!" I turned around and saw this guy getting tackled by security. There is always some amusing drama at Coachella.

Said gorgeous sunset.

After getting some food I was waiting around for my next band and ended up sitting in the grass and listening to Elbow. I love their first album, but increasingly they have been trying to be "important" and I kind of lost interest in them. The new album has some of their strongest songwriting to date, but the songs are still a little too snoozy for me. That aside, Guy Garvey has a beautiful voice and knows how to work a crowd. It was nice listening to them and watching the moon rise.

After Elbow, I was going waiting on post-punk legends Wire. It turned out there was an almost bar band playing before them in the Gobi Tent. I felt bad for them seeing as there were only about 50 people seeing them, but of course, I saw this as my opportunity to grab a prime space on the rail in front. Wire blistered through a tight set of oldies and new songs. There was only a modest crowd for them, so I felt honored to be able to see them in such an amazing setting.

Final act I saw on Saturday was the reunited London Suede. For some bizarre reason, I was able to make it up to the rail for this show as well. It used to be, the closer you were the more douchebags you had to deal with; this festival, the closer up the better experience you had. Aside from the two zaftig gals next to me trying to out-indie rock one another, the fans up at the rail were a lot of fun, knowing all the lyrics and singing their hearts out. Suede was phenomenal as I knew they would be. Brett Anderson is the consummate showman, kicking out all the stops and mesmerizing the crowd with every hip shake and arm movement. Storming through their catalog, they touched on all the major hits and put on a wonderful show. Sometimes you know when to leave on a high note, and that is how I left Saturday.