SUNDAY
B.o.B (2:40 Coachella Stage)
With radio-friendly singles and a debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray, due later this month, it will be hard to find a sedentary booty onsite. Who cares where Drizzy Drake is when Atlanta’s sweet-lipped singer/rapper glides across the stage? And just for fun: B.o.B’s videogame lets you fill your honeywagon with beautiful girls. Too bad you can’t take ‘em with you to the concert. - AS
Yo La Tengo (5:00 Coachella Stage)
One of the few truly excellent things to come from the state of New Jersey is this three-piece outfit breathing life into folk with electronic leanings. Once a critics’ band, the unassuming Yo La Tengo (Spanish for “I’ve got it”) has a whopping discography and arsenal of cover songs ready at will to shut it down with a well-regarded stage show. - AS
Sly and the Family Stone (7:00 Outdoor Theatre)
And then there’s really retro. Like 1970 funk originator Stone whose bat shit crazy antics can sometimes overshadow his utterly amazing catalog of classic soul. But if you’re lucky enough to get the classic sounds and the cray-cray in a single show, then brother, you’ve got something to look forward to. - JG
Phoenix (7:10 Outdoor Theatre)
Everybody loves Phoenix and who could resist those jangly guitar riffs, rattling cymbals and Thomas Mars’ voice? Keeping the cool kids dancing since the release of their first LP, United, the Paris-based quartet has made their name with non-stop touring. Nine years later, 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix made a Grammy-winning splash and got every last person’s attention. - AS
Pavement (7:35 Coachella Stage)
A cult of flannel shirts will appear despite the desert heat as soon as these lo-fi 1990‘s heroes take the stage. Steven Malkmus and co. have reunited after a 10 year hiatus, released a best-of compilation, Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement, and though Gary Young isn’t around to hand out mashed potatoes, catching these guys live will explain this whole garage rock revolution. – DF
Orbital (8:05 Sahara Tent)
Once upon a time in England, there were giant festivals like Glastonbury, where bands like Orbital became really, really famous for performing legendary sets for tens of thousands of fans. A couple of LA rock promoters went to Glastonbury one year, dug the vibe, and came back with the idea to throw their own festival called Coachella. So you do the math. - JG
Plastikman (9:30 Sahara Tent)
Certainly, this is the only performance of the weekend that comes with its own iPhone app. Richie Hawtin has always liked pushing technology along with his music (or vice versa). The last PM show in 2004 was a bit of a technical #fail, but the machines are smarter and so is Hawtin, who brings his now gloriously retro-sounding ’90s minimal acid into 2010. - JG
Gorillaz (10:30 Coachella Stage)
Masked musicians and fake personas pop up here and there, but this century’s most successful mystery band took the stage as a cartoon. Fleshlessness has not stopped them from winning Grammys and performing with Madonna. David Albarn of Blur has revealed himself as the Gorillaz mastermind, bringing in wild folks like Del The Funkee Homosapien and Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto to get pixelated. 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs may not have fixed identities, but the new album, Plastic Beach, delivers an unmistakably future-forward dancefloor experience. - DF
The Soft Pack (12:55 Mojave Tent)
A great live band, The Soft Pack will win you over by the fourth song. During the first, their plain nerdiness distracts. During the second, Matt Lamkin’s beach-combing voice becomes sexy. By the third, Brian Hill’s unique drum set-up has stolen your attention. And then suddenly, this unpretentious rock and roll band’s perfectly catchy hooks dig delicious “Parasites” under your skin. - DF
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