Live at Coachella ’05

Photos by Wild Don LewisConcert Report: Pop rocks, vampire bats, evil stabbing you in the face SATURDAY The drooping, near-heat-exhausted festivalgoers’ faces gracing the guidebook made one give thanks it was 20 degrees cooler and much roomier than last year’s oppressively hot Coachella sellout. JeffTweedyand Wilcoappeared at dusk, yellows on the left and dark pinks on the right playing off the underside of brushstroked clouds. “We were supposed to play here last year . . . but I was too fucked up,” admitted Tweedy before launching into “Handshake Drugs.” The familiar bzzzzzzz-CRAKKA-CRAKKA of the Burning Man Lightning Machine then lit the air nearby, before Weezeremerged to open with my fave, “Say It Ain’t So.” A rush stageward anticipated the landing of Britain’s BlocParty.With a sheepish shrug, drummer MattTongacknowledged the ecstatic cheers that greeted his sound check, and the Party eventually proved their mettle with a blistering set of manic disco-rock. But I missed Bauhaus’PeterMurphyswooping out and singing “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” upside down, suspended in midair, wrapped in a vampire-bat suit. Fuuuck! Best use of Pop Rocks: MikePattoncrackling with Fantômas,his eclectic cartoon-metal collaboration with the fern-mopped KingBuzzo(of Melvinsfame) and Slayerdrummer DaveLombardo.Broke off a block-rockin’ beat with ChemicalBrothers;heard Spoon’sBrittDanieltrail off, “I’m movin’ on now, if I like it or not”; on the way out, waded through couples cuddling to Coldplay.SUNDAY

Also in this issue:To see Cocahella backstage photos by Mark "Cobrasnake" Hunter, click here. Indie-rock boys don’t often shed their ironic T-shirts, so when they do, it’s . . . nice. (Hey you, gorgeous blond in yellow T-shirt emblazoned with plumed cock, were youbeing ironic?) The U.K. Missy Elliott, Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.,got booties quakin’, backed by Diplo,who nimbly remixed some of her glitchy London-Kingston-Rio-Miami beats live, while M.I.A. waxed sex/politics in a homemade sequined number. Then caught one FieryFurnacestune before resuming my swerve with MissKittin.Bathed in the sick bass groove of GangofFour’s“Anthrax” as I paused to chug a beer before ArcadeFire.The Montreal boy-girl collective practices preschool diplomacy: Everybody sings, everybody gets drumsticks. They vaulted from accordion to glockenspiel to violins, some scaling and beating on the scaffolding (and each other). NewOrdersure plays a lot of JoyDivisionsongs these days.

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Only band I wanted to be front row for was also the easiest to get close to. Maybe 30 had gathered at first to observe WolfEyes’NateYoungprepare his DIY suitcase of sine-wave surgical instruments, tricked out with various knobs (all of which startat 11). Not grating enough? Add the sound of a pipe raked along the edge of a metal box. Fucking-evil-stabbing-you-in-your-face: This is what it should sound like when you open the Gates of Hell. Rushed over to dance to TheFaintbefore they returned as backup for ConorOberstand BrightEyes— on its face a supremely odd pairing (’80s dance punk plus emo folk balladeer). But the Omaha supergroup — from rival high schools, actually — played quite nicely together, despite the lack of a rumored cameo from Vote for Change tourmate Springsteen. —Mark Hefflinger Scene Report: Coachella goes Hollywood! It was like a Beanie Baby freakout for drunk hipsters at Filtermag’s pre-Coachella bash Friday night: Things got a little aggro in the Conversegiveaway room, as greedy partyers shoved each other and stuck as many free sneaks as they could in bags, under arms and over shoulders, all while impressively downing cocktails. (The All-Star/Chuck Taylor quotient at the concert the next day was ridiculous, of course.) Coachella ain’t the new Sundance, but it did seem like it at the Jaguar/DKNYhouse in Palm Desert, which was open all day Saturday and Sunday. RebeccaRomijn,JerryO’Connelland NicoleRichiewere chauffeured from the show to the swanky pad, where they got free bikinis and massages. We ended up riding in Richie’s Jag by mistake and had a grand old time checking out her crammed swag bag — lucky bee-otch.More shameless UsWeeklyreportage: CameronDiazand JustinTimberlakewere seen cuddling on a blanket just like any ol’ nobody couple (sans bodyguard), while Timby’s ex-bandmate JCChasezwas accompanied by a big black dude who never left his side. What up wit dat? Urband Spinwent head-to-head Saturday night with dueling on-site afterparties, the former featuring Interpol’sCarlosDon the decks, the latter offering DJPeretz,a.k.a. PerryFarrell,spinnin’ mixes. And the winner was . . . Urb.They had the bigger line, better tunes (everything from Yaz to Trans X) and even a hot live band, TeamSleep.The Mohave tent, where bands such as Kasabian,TheBraveryand BlocPartyplayed, was the place to hang for the indie actor set, including VincentGallo,GiovanniRibisi,BijouPhillipsand beau DannyMasterson.

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But it was ChloëSevignyand her crazy cameltoe shorts that everybody seemed to be eyeballing. (The newcleavage?—ed.) Meanwhile, those lucky enough to get backstage passes (a step above VIP) got to ride amusement-park-style trams from stage to stage — though the golf carts for performers were even better. We followed the DresdenDollson a cart to their set and were treated to a private pre-set pantomime performance! Also ran into Bauhaus’ PeterMurphybackstage Sunday morning, sipping Starbucks (he went out for it), who revealed that in practicing for his batlike entrance during “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” he hung upside down on a broom. The festival rumor mill was buzzing all weekend, as usual: DavidBowieto join Nine Inch Nails, White Stripesappearing in the Mohave tent, Linkin Park’s Chester Benningtonjoining Z-Trip.(Only the last one was true.) While watching Weezerwe came to realize the new hit “Beverly Hills” and old fave “The Sweater Song” are one and the same. (I was thinking “El Scorcho” crossed withSteveMiller’s “The Joker.”—ed.) Chicks really do rule: TeganandSara,RiloKiley,M.I.A.,JeanGrae,GramRabbit,and TheRaveonettesall rocked. One more thing: TrentReznoris God.