Coachella 2012 Day Three Wrap Up

With Saturday somewhat redeeming a poor Friday, we straggled back onto the polo fields for the final day of the festival. Thankfully, it was to be the warmest day of the festival (high of 83 degrees) and no wind. There was a lot on the agenda for all of us so we fortified ourselves with beer and pizza before heading to the first show. Kurt, Mikey, Don, and I went to the Sahara tent to see Noisia's set of drum n bass/dubstep, and for me, this was the highlight of the festival. It was a shame they were so early on in the day, because the energy level was high, the visuals were striking, and bass so deep it hurt my windpipe. The threw down a monster set filled with their songs as well as their remixes of other acts like Skrillex.

After sort of getting my hearing back, we journeyed across the grounds to the Outdoor Theater to check out Metronomy's early day set. Dan, Jeremy, and I caught them back in Atlanta a few weeks before Coachella, and while expecting their brand of minimal synthpop to be a bit of low key set, we were surprised at how, well, energetic and fun they were live, transforming their elegant recorded songs into mini space funk synth jams. Although their truncated festival set was not as transformative as their usual sets, it was a definite highlight of Sunday, getting the surprisingly crowded audience reason to get their dance on.

I flew over to the Mojave tent afterwards to stake out a good spot for my favorite band Wild Beasts. I had to catch the last few songs from Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit. While this is not my kind of music at all, I was a bit captivated by the girls' energy and outright expressions of joy at playing their music before a huge crowd.

If you ever want to get to the rail for one of your favorite acts, you generally have to arrive at the previous band's set or even before, so you can slowly move up. I guess folk fans are not as aggressive as rock fans, so it was fairly easy for me to wind my way up to the front for Wild Beasts. In tow was a new friend, Alison, who had traveled all the way from Minneapolis to hear them. That is a nice thing about the festival is meeting fans that share the same obsession with you. We had a nice chat about the band and the festival. Of course, once they started playing we were enraptured. Wild Beasts' brand of art-pop is just sublime and beguiling. They played a solid set of tracks from their last two albums, and were as charming as ever. Of course, I have a huge crush on deep voiced singer/multi-instrumentalist Tom Fleming.

Of course, once they started playing "Reach A Bit Further" my heart melted. It's such a gorgeous song, and a thrilling moment for me at Coachella.

The middle of my day was spent with Kurt getting our dubstep fix on in the Sahara tent. We checked out 19 year wunderkind Porter Robinson's high spirited set, but were a bit disappointed he played so few of his own tracks.

The opening to his set was kick ass.



By this point, we were basically exhausted from the crowds and were just not feeling the festival love any longer. For me, the festival is all about the music and the camaraderie with fellow music obsessives, whereas now, the festival seems to have become a place to see and be seen. After hearing the umpteenth person say "Oh, who is this? Oh, aren't we supposed to be interested in them?" I had about had it. I was going to try and do another all day/night at the festival, seeing The Weeknd, Justice, At The Drive In, DJ Shadow, and Dr. Dre/Snoop Dogg, but I couldn't stomach the thought of dealing with anymore LA douche bags. Thankfully, The Weeknd just announced a full tour, with a stop in Atlanta, so I knew I could skip his set without feeling bad. Instead, we caught the live performance from Nero in the Sahara. I fell in love with them a couple of years ago with their track "Innocence," and only loved them more as the album came out. They put on a nice set filled with all the hits and some surprises. The tent was packed to overflowing, and we actually found a nice spot where we were jostled too much by the massive crowd.

With the ending of their set, we decided to head on out. It was a frustrating festival for me because I have so many memories from the past two that are ingrained in my being, but this festival was lacking in those magic moments. I saw some really good sets, but nothing that was awe inspiring. The bad weather and the insultingly obnoxious crowd only added insult to injury. Will I come back to Coachella? I can't for sure say yes or no. If it was based on this year alone, I would say definitely no. But I am sure the call of the desert will beckon me at some point, and I will heed her siren song.