Coachella Festival 2006

Indio Empire Polo Field, Indio, CA

April 29-30, 2006

The 2005 edition of the Coachella Festival in sizzling Indio cemented the festival's reputation as the premiere summer mega-show in North America, with acts new, old and resurrected gracing the Indio Polo Grounds in two packed days. While Coachella used to be a bit more sporadic, the organizers are now committed to keeping the momentum up with yearly editions of the Euro-style event, and so a mere solar cycle after the '05 festival, the 2006 edition arrived, with plenty to live up to. Coachella 2006 borrowed liberally from its predecessor, dropping up-and-coming acts into the scorching heat of daytime sets while reserving the big stages for near-mainstream acts (Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party) and the prime nighttime slots for reunited old faves like Depeche Mode and Massive Attack. While this formula led to a mixed bag, the addition of a few wild-card acts, last-minute surprises, and the pleasantly inevitable emergence of new stars on the desert stage made the festival worth the trek once again.

Coachella has always leaned on electronic acts to fill out its daytime schedule, draw in the ex-ravers, and lend the fest some hipster credibility, though this go-round samplers and laptops were nudged back a bit by an influx of arty indie rockers. The likes of Dungen and Wolf Mother seemed to draw much of the same crowd as sampler veterans Coldcut, however—wild-eyed types looking for the noisy, undeniable rides offered by each. The second-gen post-punk influx paid off on the larger stages as well, with Bloc Party assaulting a late afternoon set with the energy and hum that seemed to assure them superstar status in the near future, and Franz Ferdinand bringing a ray of sunshine to an otherwise glum main stage.

Last year's emphasis on emerging hip-hop acts continued, with Murs towing in beat smith 9th Wonder for a hot set (and innumerable flyers strewn at entrances and exits touting his excellent new record), the reunited Digable Planets (despite mic troubles) locking in on what made the jazzy Native Tongues era so enjoyable the first time around, and hip-hop ascending to the main stages in the form of Common and surprise (though rather boring) guest Kanye West. West's mainstage slot should have gone to Atmosphere, who despite an irritating chunk of time spent soundchecking and otherwise doodling around, proved rhymer Slug's ability to connect with a mass audience in a tough outdoor setting with his open-vein rhymes. Nominally hip-hop Brits Lady Sovereign and Audio Bullys split the difference, with Sov blasting witty, arresting rhymes and radiating stage presence, and the Bullys playing an incomprehensible set relying on a few repeated shouts and grooveless material. If Coachella 2006 proved anything, it's that solid live hip-hop performers can lock up the stage at a rock-oriented fest better than the au currant freak folk—less Devendra Banhart, more Lyrics Born, please.

The second-rate freak folks couldn't hold a candle to the true freaks of the weekend: Animal Collective's scale-shredding howls, Jamie Lidell's soultronic revue, and Gnarls Barkley's … well, it's hard to say what Gnarls Barkley was, but it was incredible. Lidell absolutely destroyed his tent, opening to perhaps 100 people and building his Otis-Redding-in-space act to a fantastic gospel finish for perhaps 1,000, while Gnarls Barkley had attracted that many before playing a note. Decked out in Wizard of Oz costumes (with ringleader/singer Cee-Lo as the Cowardly Lion), the enormous band brought Cee-Lo and Dangermouse's tunes to life with Parliament-style abandon.

The soulful, joyous vibe from Gnarls Barkley continued from the precedent set the day before in the dance tent, where in a legendary double-dose DJs Derrick Carter and Carl Cox played back-to-back. Coachella has always been home to a significant number of poor souls who seem to have stumbled in looking for a desert rave, and Carter and Cox provided a haven for them as well as anyone looking for some straight-up dance freed from ironic posturing, experimental gobbledygook, or inflated DJ ego. Both swept up their crowds and locked them in with relentless mixes that proved there is still power in a 4/4 beat—a lesson learned by their spiritual heir Michael Mayer, who had the unenviable task of closing the dance tent late Sunday, long after thousands upon thousands tried to pack in for Madonna. The Kompakt king's swift Teutonic flow, drawing equally from house and Kraftwerk, probably converted those few left in Madonna's wake.

Once again, it was impossible to catch everything: if you opted for Coldcut's hyperactive, junglistic, politicized audio-visual storm through its catalog, you missed most of Massive Attack's main-stage snoozer; but that's how this festival goes—it's complete overload on all levels. Fortunately, this year's revival acts were distinctly less than compelling: Depeche Mode seemed mostly on autopilot and Madonna's dance numbers may have well been on MTV for as close as anyone could get, but Daft Punk retaliated to the lukewarm reception for its recent album with a fantastic set that brought all the energy two French disco robots could muster to bear. With the festival's growing reputation, it's now seemingly a hotter, more crowded, less friendly festival overall and more of an obligatory stop for reunited acts than ever, but as long as someone keeps pushing some great lesser-known acts into the earlier hours, it'll still be worth the trip.

Rob Geary
Photo: Michael Orlosky