Coachella Report: Day 2

Coachella Report: Saturday, April 17

I arrived to the festival grounds in the heat of the late afternoon, amped for another fabulous evening of music and spectacle. After entering I made a speedy beeline to the mainstage, where I would camp out for the rest of the night.

Eager to begin the crucial mission of elbowing my way to the front for Muse’s set (which was still three acts and over five hours away), I embedded myself deeply within the pit for Tokyo Police Club. The band drew a decent crowd, inlcuding that same five year old from Friday, who was still perched atop his dad’s shoulders and mouthing each and every lyric. The performance was nothing extraordinary, but the guys’ excitement to be appearing on the Coachella main stage (the group’s largest crowd to date) was endearing.

As the teeny-bop rock fans filtered out to catch other acts, an edgier crowd made its way to the pit, forcing me to stand firmly in my prized spot near the railing. Coheed and Cabria performed next, inciting a miniature riot within the pit with its heavy metal riffs. The band’s appearance was particularly exciting for the hard core fans around me, who were rejoicing over the release of its brand new album (Year of the Black Rainbow dropped just days before the start of the festival). In celebration, heads banged and bodies moshed, and those of us less familiar with the group enjoyed the unique experience. I was especially delighted as Coheed wrapped up its set with the song “Welcome Home,” which awesomely featured my alma mater’s marching band, the USC Spirit of Troy. It was pretty epic.

There was little time to recover from the intensity of Coheed’s set, as even crazier fans rushed the pit to prepare for Faith No More’s much anticipated performance. It began confusingly, as the notorious rock group donned suits and ties and sang “Reunited (and it feels so good…).” The schmaltz vanished instantly, however, as the lead singer stripped his jacket, throttled the mic from its stand, and began thrashing about the stage, inspiring those in the crowd to do the same. Those belonging to the “Muse family” that had formed at the front of the pit (shout out to my Valley boys!) held on to each other for dear life, praying we would not be swallowed up by the ravenous pit of moshers and crowd surfers. I am happy to say we survived, and managed to hold our prime real estate near the stage.

And then, there was Muse.

I became interested in the band about a year ago, after hearing “Supermassive Black Hole.” Having spent the last four months listening to virtually nothing but the Resistance record, I can proudly say that I have evolved into a fan. As of Saturday, I am officially addicted.

Words fail to successfully articlulate the phenomenal experience that is a Muse concert, especially when you have the honor of being front and center. The men of the popular progressive rock group (Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard) put on an electrifying show, full of cool effects and just some damn good music. They opened with the hit single “Uprising,” which ignited the crowd with a furious passion, followed by “Supermassive Black Hole.” The remainder of the set featured many tracks from Resistance, as well as some older favorites. After a solid hour-plus of truly kick-ass music, Muse returned for a much-deserved encore, completing the memorable evening with “Knights of Cydonia.”

Drenched in the sweat of tens of thousands of fans, fatigued from nearly seven hours of standing, and overwhelmed with pure, unadulterated glee, I made my way out of the crowd with my new Coachella brothers. As electronic artist Tiesto began to marvel the ravers congregated around the mainstage, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled, enjoying the warm desert breeze that blew across my uplifted face.

Mission Accomplished.

Muse performing Starlight

Muse's Matthew Bellamy during United States of Eurasia

Faith No More's frontman crowdsurfing

Coheed and Cambria's lead singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez

Tokyo Police Club