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Coachella makes 10th year a success

More than 50,000 people enjoyed the sun, art, and music at the 10th annual Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.

Most of us know Coachella for popular bands like Rage Against the Machine and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which have headlined the festival in the past. The expansive grass field in Indio, Calif. provided festival-goers with five fields along with various artistic structures created with mixed mediums such as metal and wood.

Friday, April 17, kicked off the weekend with a bang. Franz Ferdinand warmed up the crowd in the late afternoon on the Coachella Stage. Bands such as the Ting Tings, Girl Talk, and the Crystal Method were dispersed between the Gobi, Sahara, and Mojave tent stages.

Mass appeal for Leonard Cohen attracted audiences to the Outdoor Theater, where listeners were graced by the legendary musician’s soothing ballads under a clear night sky.

Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths, performed an energetic and captivating set, which must have been difficult considering he was the last act before the legendary Beatle, Paul McCartney’s closing performance at 10 p.m. The ex-Beatle’s set consisted of a variety of original Beatles tunes, along with some McCartney originals and the anticipation for Saturday filled the air.

The grass field exploded with bodies on Saturday. The heat may have been almost too intense, but with performances by the Bob Mould Band and TV on the Radio, people sacrificed shade to witness daytime performances.

One band in particular, by the name of Lucent, performed three times daily in the Bio Do. Lucent was on a bohemian style stage with differing “rooms” as well as pools of water for floors. The band played a variety of genres, where the guitar would shred apart one song while the next would consist of tribal sounds with heavy bass drums.

The most interesting part was the performers, who employed very animated choreography as well as doing acrobatics comparable to what one would see at Cirque Du Soleil.

Later, highly anticipated act M.I.A lit up the night sky with her hard-hitting performance. Dancers decked out in neon lit clothing grooved in front of a Technicolor backdrop, and at one point audience members were invited on stage to join the madness. Everyone went wild for “Paper Planes,” which was one of her last songs.

The Killers closed Saturday night on the Coachella stage, attracting the largest crowd of the day. “When you Were Young” and “Mr. Brightside” gave listeners a taste of the Killers’ early style, while they also played newer songs like “Spaceman.”

Sunday proved to be the hottest day at Coachella, both temperature and performance wise. Acts like Lupe Fiasco, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Lykke Li lit up their respective stages. An honorable mention goes to Sebastian Tellier for his electrifying performance on the Gobi stage, where the audience was able to dance and be merry in a shady area. My Bloody Valentine shredded their set on the Coachella stage by playing a variety of songs as well as breaking into a 15-minute jam of guitar strumming and continuous drums, building up to their explosive finish.

The closer for the entire festival was the great 80’s band, The Cure. Lead singer, Robert Smith came out in his typical fashion, clad with red lips and eyeliner while other band members wore heels and were styled similar to Smiths.

The Cure pleased the crowd with classic songs such as “Lullaby” as well as some of their newer tunes. The set was simple but well lit and the acoustics were fantastic. The Cure served to be a fantastic headlining performance, easing listeners into the reality of the end of the three-day festival.

Known as the modern day Woodstock, Coachella’s 10th year was a great success. Audrey Cranmer, a sophomore studio art and recreation major, said, “This was my first Coachella experience, and I will definitely be coming back every year.”

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1 Comment

  1. You should of mentioned how the people running coachella turned the power off on the Cure, and that they kept going. Also, Morrissey, wasn’t that energetic; he kept running off, and saying it smelled like burning animal flesh.

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