By Joshua Glazer
With 122 acts spread out over three days and five stages, URB takes a minute to call out the bands, DJs and rappers you must see at this year’s Coachella, no matter who you are.
#20 FATBOY SLIM
(Friday) Old Norman Cook really doesn’t get the credit he deserves. In this age of genre-less party DJs, Fatboy Slim’s “big beat” sound was the original “party jams” style. It’s been so long since we’ve heard Norman behind the decks, we have no clue what’s he’s going to play—which is damn exciting.
Must see if you are: an old raver who spends all of Coachella in the dance tent.
#19 MARK RONSON
(Saturday) The last time this URB cover star played in the Los Angeles area, everyone from Santogold to Robbie Williams came onstage to perform a song. With that much star power on stage, you can imagine what the audience was like.
Must see if you are: an amateur paparazzi
#18 SANTOGOLD
(Friday) Speaking of Santogold, her set at SXSW was one of the highlights of our Austin adventures last month. Not only can girl sing up a storm, but even when her DJ (Diplo last we checked) cues the wrong song, her Small Wonder back-up robot dancers stay cool.
Must see if you are: looking for the next Gwen Stefani
#17 DEADMAU5
(Sunday) No, it’s not the special brownies you ate. There really is a giant red cartoon mouse playing some killer techno early in the afternoon. But be warned, the human sized cockroach dancing next to you is, in fact, a hallucination.
Must see if you are: a closet plushies
#16. SWERVEDRIVER
(Sunday) My Bloody Valentine might be sitting this one out, but Swervedriver is a close consolation—even if nobody knows it. Their early-90s alterna-hits Mixed shoegazer sounds with grunge riffage. We can’t figure out why their reunion isn’t a bigger deal.
Must see if you are: a collector of Melody Makers, 1988-1995
#15. JUSTICE
(Sunday) Was it really just one year ago that these URB cover stars played their first ever live show in the dance tent? Time flies. Or crawls. Or something. This year we’re betting on them taking to the main stage. “Nous allons avoir besoin d’une plus grande croix.” (translation: “We’re going to need a bigger cross.”)
Must see if you are: wearing a deep v-neck t-shirt
#14. ENTER SHIKARI
(Saturday) Hardcore-nu-metal-trance’n'bass. How can you possibly go wrong with that? One of the most exciting live bands we’ve seen this year despite their cringe-worthy on paper sound. Seriously. Love these guys.
Must see if you are: not an indie snob
#13. PENDULUM
(Friday) This live drum’n'bass crew have been getting great reviews, being compared to the next Representz. Shouting for a rewind will probably have little effect.
Must see if you are: rocking New Forms on the drive to the desert
#12. YELLE/UFFIE/MEDHI/BUSY P/SURKIN/CURSES/PARA ONE/ORGASMIC
(Saturday) Yelle, meet Uffie. Uffie, meet Yelle. Yelle, meet Medhi. Medhi, meet Yelle and Uffie. Oh? Uffie knows Medhi? And Surkin? And Curses!? And Para One? And Orgasmic? Pedro too? Did all you French dance dudes go to the same high school or something?
Must see if you are: looking to understand what all the blogs are talking about
#11. KRAFTWERK
(Saturday) When Kraftwek played the dance tent at Coachella 2004, our plan was to watch half of their set and then go catch Kool Keith. Except when it came time to leave, the tent was so packed there was no worming our way out. Claustrophobic? Yes. Awesome? Totally.
Must see if you are: a linux user
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