Coachella 2015 is now in the history books. There were a few moans and groans when the lineup came out months ago, but all and all, the festival’s performances were a success—including some fantastic shows on Day 3.
One of the most anticipated performances of the late-morning/early-afternoon was Chicano Batman. The group’s psychedelic Latin sound was most definitely appropriate for Coachella, and a lot of local fans who had already seen the band’s local shows were present.
Coachella Valley’s own Alf Alpha performed in the Sahara Tent shortly after noon and started off his DJ set with a lot of energy. He hopped up on a table and demanded that people raise their hands up—with the incentive of free Alf Alpha t-shirts.
The Mojave Stage became the de facto punk-rock venue early in the day. Touché Amoré offered a brutal hardcore set that was scheduled earlier than one would expect, but a lot of punk-rock devotees were present and ready to slam-dance. The energy was incredible during one of the hardest-rocking sets of the day.
OFF! was set up and ready to go when Keith Morris quietly said into his microphone at the 1:55 p.m. set time: “Should we wait another five minutes for 15 more people to show up?” The crowd had thinned after Touché Amoré, but OFF! wound up with a decent sized-crowd. Morris worked himself into a frenzy while screaming lyrics; guitarist Dimitri Coats was active and looked exhausted as they finished their set. A few minutes of tech issues aside, Morris and Coats rocked hard from beginning to end, when Morris thanked the founders of Goldenvoice individually for “making it happen.”
Stagecoach is this coming weekend, but Coachella attendees were treated to a preview, of sorts, thanks to Sturgill Simpson in the Gobi tent. He has a sound similar to that of Waylon Jennings. While his music reminded of vintage country, Simpson garnered an appreciative crowd that offered a loud ovation at the end of his set. There’s one thing you can’t deny about Coachella: The crowd is open-minded and eager to hear new and unexpected things.
Former child actress Jenny Lewis said she was performing at her seventh Coachella while on the Outdoor Stage. She noted the vibe was much more “low-key” than it was during Weekend 1—and that she liked it that way. Her relaxed, calm show made for a nice set to lay on the grass and take in.
Ryan Adams followed Lewis, and brought with him stage props that included oversized Fender amps, two actual working Atari arcade machines (Asteroids!) and a Dr. Pepper machine. It created interesting ambiance for a guy who has been known to perform punk, metal and country. He mostly played his alt-country material, which included some of his ballads. He pointed out that Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead was standing at the soundboard; some people thought he was joking, but Weir really was at the soundboard.
Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) made news last week by jumping off the Coachella stage and breaking her foot. Even with the broken foot (although she didn’t appear to be wearing a cast), she returned to perform what was supposed to be a half-hour set on the Coachella Stage. Seated at the front of the stage, she managed to put on a spectacular show, and her singing voice was beautiful. Toward the end of the show, she looked over to the edge of the stage and said it was a long way down—no wonder she was injured. Props to Florence Welch for putting on what turned out to be a great 45-minute show and not disappointing her fans.
As Drake took the stage, the Coachella grounds were lit up by the art installations. The caterpillar and the butterfly were both in the Coachella Stage area, as were two of the Balloon Chains. Despite being several minutes late, Drake seemed to have the largest crowd—not bad for someone with some of the weakest credentials for any Coachella headliner in recent history.
Until next year …
Scroll down to see a photo gallery from Guillermo Prieto of the Day 3 action.
