Coachella 2009
By: Sean Highkin
Posted: Apr. 22, 2009 – Indio, United States
For the last decade, Indio, California's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been one of the premiere American rock festivals, offering something for everyone on five stages, including a dance-focused Sahara Tent and the folk-leaning Outdoor Theatre, all surrounded by palm trees in the gorgeous Coachella Valley. The festival has played host to some huge names (Radiohead, Coldplay, Roger Waters), as well as storied comeback performances (Daft Punk in 2006, Portishead last year). The 2009 edition of Coachella did not disappoint: it featured possibly the biggest and most well-known artist ever to play the festival (Paul McCartney), as well as proven hitmakers (The Killers, MIA), indie rock elite (TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes, Peter Bjorn & John, Conor Oberst), ‘80s alt-rock forefathers (Morrissey, The Cure), and rare performances by two of the most elusive acts in modern rock history (the recently reunited My Bloody Valentine and legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, currently on his first North American tour in over a decade).
Many of the biggest attractions on Friday afternoon were to be found on the Outdoor Theatre stage. Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter M. Ward led his band through a loose, energetic set that mixed cuts from Ward's latest studio album, Hold Time, with vintage rock covers such as "Roll Over Beethoven". Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst showcased material from his new Mystic Valley Band, which delivered a tight set of country rock, tossing in a few Bright Eyes oldies for good measure ("Lua" getting the most enthusiastic reaction).
Next came one of the most anticipated performances in Coachella history: the return of Leonard Cohen. The reclusive legend, now 74, recently began his first US tour since 1993, and gave Coachella attendees a breathtaking performance. His frail rasp showed his age, but also lent his songs an emotional urgency. His stunning catalog of songs ("Dance Me to the End of Love", "Everybody Knows", "First We Take Manhattan", "I'm Your Man", and the list goes on) was handled flawlessly by Cohen and his airtight backing band, which included three female singers. One of the emotional high points of the entire weekend was the joyous crowd singalong "Hallelujah", a song that, in the wake of Jeff Buckley's peerless 1994 reading, it's easy to forget was written by Cohen.
Meanwhile, over on the main stage, Morrissey was getting all hot and bothered over the presence of hot dog vendors in the food court. "I smell burning flesh," he said, "and I hope to God it's human." Although Moz's tight, efficiently paced set began and ended with Smiths classics ("This Charming Man" and "How Soon is Now", respectively), he focused mainly on his latest studio album, this February's Years of Refusal. Some of the new material ("I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" in particular) competed in the same weight class as the set's other sporadic Smiths chestnuts such as "Ask" and "Girlfriend in a Coma", but the classics got by far the stronger crowd reaction.
Not that any of that was Morrissey's fault: by that point, most of the people at the main stage were there because they wanted to get a good spot for the main event. McCartney took the stage around 10:15, accompanied by his killer four-piece backing band. They opened with the Wings hit "Jet", and the first hour of the set was split pretty evenly between Beatles classics and McCartney's Wings and solo material. He also performed live for the first time two songs from The Fireman, his secret electronica collaboration with producer Youth. These songs were perfectly enjoyable, but the amount of solo material played during the first half of the set was a little much for even the most die-hard fans. However, all doubts were erased by the second half of the show, when Sir Paul broke out Beatles classic after Beatles classic for a solid hour and a half, including two encores that stretched the show close to 1 a.m. Once he got into the final run of Beatles tunes, which ranged from his concert staples ("Hey Jude", "Let it Be", "Eleanor Rigby") to some less common ones ("Paperback Writer" and a thrilling medley of "A Day in the Life" as well as John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance"), it was pretty hard to imagine anything better. McCartney dedicated the performance to his late wife, Linda, who passed away 11 years to the day prior to his Friday performance. "This night is emotional for me," he said while introducing "A Day in the Life", "but that's okay. Lots of heart."
Saturday's performances were a bit less consistent. Brooklyn's TV on the Radio, who have released two of the best rock records of this decade (2006's Return to Cookie Mountain and 2008's Dear Science), suffered from a cluttered sound mix, and singers Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe performed with a bizarre combination of boredom and overexcitement that did not serve their arrangements well. Seattle up-and-comers Fleet Foxes delivered a note-perfect sunset performance on the Outdoor Theatre stage, their pastoral, harmony-laden folk providing a perfect musical backdrop to the sun setting on the palm trees behind the stage. M.I.A. looked completely out of place on the main stage. Despite a couple flashes of humor (particularly a pointed jab at Amy Winehouse, whom she replaced on the bill when the British soul diva couldn't get a work visa because of—what else—drug problems), the Sri Lankan MC did not have the charisma to pull off a main stage set. She knew it, too. "Next year," she said at one point, "I'm playing in the tent." Even the set-closing "Paper Planes" fell flat. The Killers may seem on paper to be an odd choice for a headliner, given the relative shortness of their career, but their stadium-sized pop sent the mainstage crowd home happy. However, the real must-see show Saturday night came courtesy of Atlanta's Mastodon, who tore the roof off the Mojave tent with a start-to-finish performance of their new prog-metal epic, Crack the Skye.
Sunday was the worst day as far as scheduling conflicts (Public Enemy on at the same time as The Cure? Really?), but the mainstage lineup was strong enough that it was worth getting there early and seeking out a good spot. Nerd rapper Lupe Fiasco, backed by a full band, rocked a mid-afternoon set split between his two albums, Food & Liquor and The Cool. The quirky pop of Sweden's Peter Bjorn & John was well-crafted, but their set might have been better suited to one of the other, less sweltering days. Next up were Brooklyn's Yeah Yeah Yeahs, fresh off a dance-punk makeover on their stellar recent album, It's Blitz! Their set drew heavily on new material, with a few old favorites such as "Maps" and "Y Control". Highlights included the scintillating recent singles "Zero" and "Heads Will Roll", as well as the more vulnerable "Runaway" and "Soft Shock".
My Bloody Valentine were one of the most feverishly hyped acts of the entire weekend. The British shoegaze demigods, who have been largely AWOL since releasing their enormously influential 1991 album, Loveless, reemerged last year with a series of well-received comeback shows. The major point stressed in virtually every report from those shows was that My Bloody Valentine is really, really loud. They weren't lying. The quartet crowded the entire stage with stacks and stacks of amps, and five minutes after the closing "You Made Me Realize" (which, of course, included the usual 15 minutes of feedback) ended, the noise had not yet faded from the stage. The band gave out earplugs before their set, and those who did not take them up on the offer came to regret it quickly.
Making their second headlining appearance at Coachella, The Cure closed out the weekend with a lengthy set that only ended when their power was cut off at their one o'clock curfew. Their brand of atmospheric goth rock was suitably epic, and Robert Smith's voice (and makeup) was as remarkable as it's ever been, but festival-goers began to trickle out to beat traffic before their set ended. It was a long, hot weekend, but all the heat was worth it for the sheer scope and power of the performances.
Check out the Coachella 2009 photo gallery
