Breaking Beats: Hits and misses of Coachella weekend 1
Mid-April means one the most magical and mesmerizing events of the year: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Audiophiles and general music fans gather to dance and party in the Southern California desert, and this year, everything from the fashion to the food was on point for the first weekend. I review the acts I was able to catch and suggest what’s skippable and what you’ve got to see.
Day 1
3 pm:
I quickly met up with some friends for SG Lewis, but only stayed a few minutes. Overall, the performance was relaxed but underwhelming. I loved the heart light fixtures in the Yuma tent though — skip. (I kinda wish I saw Joey Bada$$)*
3:30 pm:
I ran to meet friends for Goldroom. It was a super fun set with lots of surprises from the female guest singer to the live performance of “Till Sunrise”—must see.
4:15 pm:
I saw Years & Years, and I’m sad to say frontman Olly Alexander’s voice and rhythm was weird for being on the main stage. But I love the vibe of their music, so I still had a good time dancing and singing along — try it.
4:45 pm:
Bob Moses was chill vibes, but their songs went on a bit too long — six minute songs went for 12. I ended up leaving to make an attempt at DJ Mustard, which was dumb because the Sahara area is no chill and gets way too packed — skip.
6 pm:
First stop was to check out Gallant. His voice was unreal and he ended with a duet with Seal, “Crazy” anyone? Apparently Jhene Aiko will be there for weekend two — must see.
7:20 pm:
Made our way to A$AP Rocky, which was crap. He was late and sounded meh and didn’t play cuts. Apparently Kanye came through, but his mic was busted so lol — hard skip.
8 pm:
Ditched A$AP for M83. I’m so happy we did. The set has mad epic visuals and sounded great over the desert sunset — must see (hearing “Go!” live is definitely making me rethink the most recent album Junk).
8:50 pm: Caught a second of Lido. It was intense and slightly awkward, but his voice is interesting and emotional. I’m excited to see where his career heads—skip.
9:05 pm:
Once we left Lido we headed to the Yuma to dance to some deep house (Sasha cancelled so not sure who was playing). Once we exited the Yuma I heard “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding which is a total cut, so we ran to the main stage to watch the rest of her basic bitch fest of blonde perfection—see.
10:05 pm:
We found a spot in the way back for Jack U, but the crowd was terrible and made the overstimulating and aggressively-lit production even more obnoxious than I thought was possible. I just love “Where R U Now” but we had to get ready for our next show — the set I was most excited for — skip.
10:45 pm:
The Snakehips set was a highlight of the night. Specials guests like D.R.A.M. and Sid from the Internet gave an extra something to the great DJ set. Pretty underwhelming production but their music still stands out — must see.
11:35 pm:
Trying to watch LCD Soundsystem at the end of the night was a little tough because we were so tired from dancing at Snakehips. — see, but don’t miss Purity Ring for it.
12 am: We ended up going to Purity Ring. It was absolutely magical and one of the highlights of my weekend. Their set had a gorgeous light grid that synced perfectly with every sound and beat—top pick, MUST SEE.
Day 2
3 pm: We hit up the chill vibes of Jerry Folk. He was a great find in the desert — see.
3:25 pm:
The first act I caught was Alvvays. The Canadian indie rockers gave good reason to have come to the festival early-ish — see (It was a tough decision to choose this over Mr. Carmack, but the trap vibes weren’t strong enough to bring me to the dreaded Sahara tent.)
5 pm:
We took our time to migrate to the outdoor stage for Rhye, a total surprise to the overall lineup since he’s notoriously shy and doesn’t perform live much. The set was chill, but I was super hot and just out of it—see, but bring one of those cooling towels.
6 pm:
After Rhye, my group rallied to get down to CHVRCHES, a group I’ve often talked about and saw recently at Treasure Island. They did their thing and didn’t disappoint, but some of the songs off their new album are pretty meh to me — see, but consider Deerhunter.
7 pm:
The sun finally started setting as I made my way to watch Courtney Barnett by myself. You could tell she was happy playing up there. The day-to-night transition sets all weekend really gave me all the feels — see.
7:35 pm:
Disclosure was next on the list. We knew special guests were a given and we were right. Lorde, Lion Babe, Aluna and Sam Smith all made expected performances and totally slayed. Lordes’ outfit was honestly giving me so much life. It was fun to watch, but at times felt too predictable—see (but man I wonder how Vince Staples went down…)
8:30 pm:
We waited at the main stage for Ice Cube because we knew it was going to get packed. Cube went in so hard. Apparently Snoop Dogg came out, but we missed it to run away to get in early for Rufus Du Sol, another key set my crew wanted to check out at the festival — see.
9:40 pm:
Rufus Du Sol was magical. It was an awesome light set up and their live stage presence was great. I was impressed with the Australian tropical house producer — must see.
10:45 pm:
Grimes is a Canadian witchy powerhouse who produces, sings and writes all of her music. Everything from the lighting to the choreography was on point. The show brought so much life into me at the end of the night. The amount of screaming and moving this girl does on stage is hardcore. Plus special guests Janelle Monae and Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes threw the Mojave tent on it’s side — must see.
12 am:
I ended my night with Shamir but I wish I had seen Justin Martin for a bit before. Still, Shamir was great. He has great stage presence and an eclectic band that makes it hard to sit still — see.
Day 3
Finally, the last day! While it seems like I already did a ton of dancing, my third day was by far the danciest of the three.
1:20 pm: We got in early for Korean hip hop troupe Epik High. The Korean stars gave a bad ass set, visuals and lighting were on point. It always feels good to get down at a show where the singers look like you, that’s probably why most of the audience was of some sort of Asian — must see.
4:25 pm: Next on the agenda was British rockers Wolf Alice. The group did not disappoint and totally went all out with their performance — must see.
5:10 pm: While I was excited to check out Hudson Mohawke, famed producer who’s worked with Kanye West and Frank Ocean, I was underwhelmed by the set. The trap vibes felt stale after awhile and I really wish I saw Tokimonsta instead — skip.
6 pm: As rave-y and lame as it might sound, I was excited for Baauer, the notorious DJ/producer behind 2013's infamous “Harlem Shake.” I was excited for specials guests Aluna from AlunaGeorge and Pusha T for summer jam “Kung Fu,” but overall the set was incohesive and too much for me— skip, and either check out the 1975 at the Coachella stage or Tensnake at the Yuma.
7 pm: We danced to Tchami outside of the Sahara, which sounded pretty dope, but I was too spent for another Sahara set. So we slowly made our way to the Coachella stage to get a good spot for the tropical dancehall vibes of Major Lazer, my personal favorite project of superstar DJ Diplo. I have seen Major Lazer three times, and this was by far the best. They pulled out special guests Sean Paul, Mø and DJ Snake for a set full of good vibes and non-stop dancing—must see, must dance.
8:25 pm: After an hour of straight dancing my crew went over to the outdoor stage to catch the chillwave dreamy sounds of Beach House. The group sounds unbelievably good live and I wish I saw more of their set, but it was hard to miss a chance to see the up and coming artist Anderson .Paak, who was playing at the same time — see.
8:55 pm: I ran over to catch what I could of Anderson.Paak & The Free Nationals and I really wish I got there earlier. It was one giant dance party that moved perfectly together from Southern rap special guest T.I. singing crossover hit “Bring Em Out” to groovy moments in “Am I Wrong”—must see.
9:35 pm: Like Snakehips and Rufus Du Sol, my end of the night, major dance must-see set on Sunday was Flume. The Australian DJ known for his chill vibes has new material that’s been making waves on both the popular music scene and the down low. While I felt like the set was out of sync and not super tight, I did love hearing new dance classic “Never Be Like You” live with singer Kai. Flume ended the set with a remix of Disclosure’s “Me and You,” a song I was sad I didn’t hear when I saw the British garage act the night before — see (but I wonder how Miike Snow went).
11 pm: Calvin Harris was late so we went to see Nosaj Thing. Their visuals turned the show into its own dance universe as 3-D projections transcended the artists beyond the stage and into outer space. Definitely the most phenomenal sound and visual pairing I saw all weekend — must see.
11:45 pm: Walking out of Nosaj Thing we heard “We Found Love” and saw Rihanna up on stage at Calvin Harris and went cray running to the Coachella stage. The light show Calvin put on was impressive and I was feeling the fireworks and special guests, but it was a bit seizure-inducing — see.
That was my Coachella, set by set, and overall, my thoughts are positive. The artists seemed like they truly enjoyed playing for the swarms of fans in the desert, and I enjoyed watching them.
TOP ACTS
Purity Ring
Grimes
Gold Room
Gallant
Anderson.Paak
M83
Major Lazer
Wolf Alice
Epik High
Rufus Du Sol
Nosaj Thing
Snakehips
