Courtesy of Coachella
One of the dominant storylines of Coachella weekend was the unusual amount of technical fuck-ups afflicting multiple sets, on multiple stages, over the course of the entire weekend. From mics cutting out, to portions of video screens malfunctioning, to backing tracks just out of sync, the difficulties at Coachella were of the humdrum type that affect festivals all over the world, but given the reputation, size, and, most importantly, historical success of Coachella, it was disconcerting to hear and see so many audiovisual horror stories over the weekend. It seemed to add to the feeling that this 20th edition of the festival was a bit cursed, an idea exemplified by the tragic death of the lead rigger who had ben working the festival since its inception twenty years ago, 49-year-old Christopher Griffin, in the days leading up to the first weekend. It also puts things in perspective – Goldenvoice does its best to position Coachella as the escape of the year, a grass-covered paradise in the middle of the desert where anything can and does happen. Getting to see the imperfections and, more importantly, the very real cost of putting on such a significant festival helps you to realize that a metric shit ton of blood, sweat, and tears from literally hundreds of talented people is put into making the perfect backdrop for the latest influencer’s Instagram post. For maybe the first time in my ten years of going, I truly appreciated what a titanic effort Coachella has become.
Few artists best symbolize the massive enterprise Coachella has become than closing headline Ariana Grande, who within ten minutes had introduced all of *NSYNC (minus Justin Timberlake), and proceeded to bring out Mase, Diddy, and Nicki Minaj over the course of the kind of triumphant set Coachella tends to bring out of the latest chart-topping pop star de rigueur (even Justin Bieber made it out for weekend 2). The sound issues plaguing Coachella also culminated in her set, where there was a near-disastrous handoff to Minaj where Minaj apparently had no audio in her own ears, and a persistent feeling throughout that the sound Grande was hearing in her monitors was a touch behind what was actually going out to the audience. Shades of Radiohead in 2017 – apparently Goldenvoice’s computer tech does not discriminate between Top 40 and rock royalty. But for the fans, it really didn’t matter – Grande was not a lightly chosen headliner, and her performance chops overcame the technical difficulties, particularly on the slow grind of “Dangerous Woman.” Although some of the set list decisions definitely warranted some side-eye (“Goodnight N Go???”).
Charlotte de Witte – Courtesy of Coachella
If there’s one Coachella trend you can point at in 2019 as the definitive distinction between the Coachella of the present and that of 1999, it’s the fact that nearly two tents are fully dedicated to electronic sounds, with one—the Yuma—turning into a bona fide Ibiza den for three straight days and nights, and artists like EDM-kitsch lord Zedd can co-exist with U.K. producer Jon Hopkins, techno luminaries like Maya Jane Coles and Cirez D (aka Eric Prydz), and jack-of-all-trades Kaytranada. I’ve tried to resist indulging in the Coachella-as-a-rave vibe that a lot of festivalgoers clearly love, the 4×4 grind in the Yuma, far from getting old, proved a fantastic barometer of the crowd as a whole as the day went on: from the careful deep house stylings of Yotto through to Rumors maestro Guy Gerber’s command of the crowd and Coles’ spinning as her darker, more dub-influenced pseudonym Nocturnal Sunshine. Coachella-goers from 1999 would be hard pressed to recognize the sounds of NGHTMRE and the Queen-bastardizing wubs from Zedd on the Main Stage, but the vibe of the original festival still lingers deep in the Yuma and in the weirder electronic sets that set up shop in the Mojave and Gobi over the weekend: always open to new sounds, and always down to dance.
Hip-hop was, of course, in evidence back in 1999, and has remained a constant at Coachella over the course of the years. I’m not sure how well received the giant mock coke rock Pusha T proudly lugged on stage (complete with yetis) for his afternoon set at the Main Stage would have been received back then, but his pure, back-to-basics set was all fire. Heavy on tracks from 2018 release DAYTONA, Pusha still had time to bring out some Clipse (“Grindin’”), a Future cover (“Move That Dope), and even some Kanye love (“Runaway,” “Mercy,” even a Kids See Ghost cover). The man remains a consummate performer, but I’ll continue to insist that putting Pusha on the Main Stage is festival malpractice when there’s perfectly good tents to grind in.
YG – Courtesy of Coachella
A couple hours after Pusha stalked off stage, hometown hero YG put together a lovely tribute to Nipsey Hussle in an exultant sunset set at the Sahara tent. It was even more touching given that Hussle had just been laid to rest in Los Angeles hours before, and the videos YG put up on the screen were the best kind of remembrance—Nipsey articulating the value of owning assets for black youth, Nipsey pledging to always be around to care for the people in his community. He seems invincible, and YG did an effective job bringing him back to life, if only for a few minutes. It was chilling, too, to think that the person up on stage and the person on video could be so easily switched—YG’s near-death experience in a shooting in 2015 hung over the proceedings like an anvil. It helps that YG live remains as vibrant and thunderous as he is on record, the normal bass-trap of the Sahara tent proving the ideal conduit for YG’s boom-bap production. Of course, the Trump impersonator YG brought out for “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump”) was just the kind of performative touch Coachella relishes.
Hip-hop of a slightly different flavor could also be found at one of the most packed sets of the weekend when Lizzo took on the Mojave in the late afternoon in advance of her major-label full-length debut Cuz I Love You. I’ve only heard her singles, but the energy she brings to the stage is infectious—no more so than when the hyperactive flute comes out, and the twerking continues. The body-positivity and constant self- and group-affirmation can get a little stale and/or redundant at times, but Lizzo knows how to work a crowd, and the crowd – my god, the crowd loved her so damn much it was almost disconcerting given how little I knew her before this set. She’s got charisma in bunches, and it’s a testament to her confidence as a performer that I didn’t even register when she lost sound at one point during her set (a mistake that somehow cropped up again during weekend 2).
Gesaffelstein – Courtesy of Coachella
For my most anticipated set of the day: I’m not going to lie, I thought Gesaffelstein was going to be a bust. His recent release Hyperion is the kind of ill-advised mainstream cash grab that has befallen far worse DJs, and after Goldenvoice slotted him at the Outdoor Stage, I was certain that his set would be more of the middle-of-the-road, homeless person’s Daft Punk that sunk that record. Reader: it was not. As soon as he showed upon on the starkly lit stage in that shimmering metal suit and full mask (made out of a material known as Vantablack – the darkest material known to man. Subtle!), you just knew there wasn’t going to be any bullshit. Although not quite as electric as his 2015 live set in the Gobi tent, Mike Lévy pulled zero punches. His set was a microcosm of his career as a whole, moving from pummeling electro and dungeon techno to spectacular live edits and a gradual comedown into his Weeknd collaborations. Cutting through it all was Gesaffelstein’s total command of tone and mood; as ridiculous as his Silver Surfer visiting a Studio 54 in the universe of Brazil-cosplay was (given how many packs he generally goes through during a set, I could only imagine how many cigarettes he housed when he could get out of that mask), it definitely matched well with the black-and-white strobes and unrelenting, gut-busting bass. Maybe he’s still got a few kinks to work out on record, but there’s no question that he knows how to absolutely dominate a crowd for at least one hour.
Courtesy of Mixmag
Quick Hits
Courtesy of Coachella
Top 5 Sets
1. Aphex Twin
2. Gesaffelstein
3. U.S. Girls
4. Four Tet
5. Tame Impala / Anderson Paak / Kacey Musgraves (yes I know this is cheating)
Courtesy of Coachella
