Coachella Arts and Music Festival 2006: A Retrospective

By Justin Will

The pristine and surreal desert valley outside of Palm Springs, CA has faithfully hosted the annual Coachella Valley Arts and Music festival the first weekend in May (or the last weekend in April) for the last six years. The festival has seen absolutely epic artist lineups that would make even the most hardened, ultra-cool indie snob melt into a puddle of his or her own eyeliner. For instance, 2004’s Saturday bill saw a reunited Pixes open for Radiohead, and to close out Sunday in 2005, synth pop originators New Order moved the crowd before a renewed Nine Inch Nails took over to close out the blistering 2 day festival. Other artists that have performed in the last three years include landmark electronic acts such as Underworld, Hybrid, the Chemical Brothers, the Crystal Method, Kraftwerk, and the Prodigy. Underground Hip Hop is always represented as seen by past performances by the likes Coachella regular Sage Francis, the Perceptionists, Jean Grae, DJ Krush, the Hieroglyphics, and Atmosphere. Indie rock is always a huge draw as well. The list could go on for pages, but the Strokes, Death Cab for Cutie, LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, the Flaming Lips, and the White Stripes should give you a good idea of the talent involved in this festival.



This year’s bill was probably the most polarizing lineup seen to date between the die-hard fans of the festival and more commercial acts that seemed to be invading the Indio polo grounds like Madonna and Kanye West. The festival’s organizers, former LA punk show promoters Goldenvoice, certainly have a difficult task every year: ‘How do we remain loyal to those fans that have supported our eclectic festival over the years while still being mainstream enough to bring in the crowds that exceed 50,000 people per day and make it a profitable venture that can be repeated year after year?’ The debate between commercialism and the underground stream that made this festival a success in its infancy could rage on longer than two full days in the oppressive desert sun, but for those with the bravado to attend the debate is quickly brushed aside because as in all previous years, Coachella is about the music, period.

Your esteemed reviewer made the trip this year a solo excursion, I ditched the hotel room and camped on-site for the full on 2 day experience. This is clearly not advisable for the faint of heart, as the Coachella valley can be a very unforgiving mistress. Extremely hot and dry days usher in chilly, windy nights. Dehydration and exhaustion claim a fair amount of attendees each year and along with undercover cops, overzealous security, and Canadians looking for pot, you can see how a planned weekend can quickly become as fun as an 8 hour Paris Hilton DJ set. I drove from San Diego to Indio in my rented car on Friday afternoon, and carrying all that I need on my back, I descended into the camp ground to begin the unforgettable weekend.

Friday night began with a breathtaking sunset that can only be experienced in a desert landscape. 360 degrees of color ranging from brilliant orange to deep purple followed the sun as it passed behind the still snow-topped Mount San Jacinto. As the sun dipped below the horizon, campers cheered in excitement and anticipation of was to come… After my camp was set, it was time to watch the screening of “Coachella: The Movie” a documentary piece which covers the first five years of the festivals existence. For the uninitiated the film provides an overview of what to expect musically, and for the festival veterans many fond memories of mind-expanding sets gone by (like who can forget lead singer Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips surfing the crowd in his alien-like clear plastic ball or the insane light and laser show put on by the Chemical Brothers in 2005?) With the end of the film it was time to settle in for the night. Campers over 12,000 strong filtered in through the night, and when I awoke there was a sea of tents spread out over acres-wide polo grounds.

With mid-morning temperatures quickly exceeding triple digits, it was time to begin walking to the festival. Navigating the layout is relatively easy, but distances can be great between the 6 stages. The terrain of the Indio and Eldorado polo grounds is a vast expanse of flat fields dense with lush grass lined with tall, beautiful palm trees and surrounded by the San Jacinto mountain range. It is one of the most breathtaking venues that could be imagined for such an amazing festival. Musically, day one can best be described in three simple words: daft fucking punk. The French electronic duo provided an absolutely blazing set of their signature filtered house. The music however was only a carrier wave for their mind-shattering light and laser show which truly made the performance one that I would never, ever forget. The sight of 30,000 people all rocking to the same beat while being drenched in planar, mutli-colored lasers does not need chemical influence to be deeply appreciated, but it’s not like it hurts either. Another standout act for Saturday was the live Australian breakbeat act Infusion. This 3 man (mostly) electronic act has enjoyed wide popularity abroad, and just ended their first ever US tour at Coachella. Their sound could easily be appreciated by fans rock or electronic music, and is best described as Adam Freeland Vs Kosheen. Day one also saw Common open for Kanye West on the main stage; a memorable show for any hip hop fan, Cali dark wave rockers She Wants Revenge close out after a disappointing Depeche Mode, and U.K. techno great Carl Cox lay down a blazing 2 hour set. Day one left me with only one question: Wait, I actually get to do this again tomorrow?

After very minimal sleep, day two of Coachella beckoned weary heads back to more musical bliss. Sunday seemed to take little longer to really take off as most people took advantage of every square inch of shade available through the early afternoon. The dance music oriented Sahara tent was a great place to sit and chill out while Louie Vega of NY house kings Masters at Work pounded away on the forcibly loud, yet perfectly clear sound system. Next, Om records own Kascade provided uplifting, soulful San Francisco house music followed by a two hour set by the one and only Paul Oakenfold. Now, love him or hate him, there is no denying that Paul Oakenfold has indelibly left his mark on electronic dance music worldwide. True fans seem more inclined to enjoy CDs like his Transport or Global Underground NY mixes, while veering away from more recent artist CDs like Bunnka. Much to the surprise of many fans his set consisted of older, hard trance and classics like a remix of Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy Nuxx’ and Sasha’s ‘Midnight in Reykjavik’ remix of the Gus Gus track ‘Purple’. Next on the bill was an artist who needs no introduction, and was obviously the main point of contention in the underground vs. mainstream debate, Madonna. For all the hype, added space, and personnel that she required, the show was a disappointment even among her own diehard fans. After delaying the crowd in the hot, steamy, packed tent for nearly 30 minutes she finally emerged onto the stage. Only 4 songs and 40 minutes later it was all over, and many people actually left only one song in to the show. Now that we got that out of the way, we can focus on the rest of the acts that really made Sunday interesting.

U.K. trip hop/drum and bass/ breakbeat artist and Ninja tunes founders Coldcut put on an awesome show that drew a large crowd to the relatively small Mohave tent. The group consisted of 4 guys manning a mind-boggling array of samplers, drum machines, synths, effects units, mixers, and turntables with an unnamed, but lyrically deft MC. The wiring needed to pull of their aural feats appeared to cover the entire stage floor except for where the artist’s feet met the ground and appropriately reflected the dense convergence of modern musical styles in their set. Deep and ethereal is the best way to describe the dreamy, dubby, hash-driven sounds of Massive Attack, a perfect complement to the onset of another cool, beautiful Coachella evening. Crowds flocked to see a very rare US performance, their first in over 10 years and few left disappointed with such classics as ‘Unfinished Sympathy’, ‘Butterfly Caught’, and ‘Teardrop’. To close out my 2006 festival experience I went back to the Sahara tent to catch Mylo and the Sahara closer, German minimal techno DJ Michael Mayer. Mylo left something to be desired as his set lacked the fun energy of his 2006 artist album ‘Destroy Rock and Roll’ which was incidentally produced entirely on a G5 powerbook. Following Mylo, Michael Mayer brought back the pulsating, industrial sound of a late 90’s underground rave, taking some back to nights (and days) spent in dark, loud, shady warehouse parties in LA, NYC, and Washington DC. When the last beat hit the speakers, all knew it was time to depart for some much needed chill time.

Although this years’ Coachella had some fans saying ‘This is the year that Coachella went commercial’, I didn’t see an unhappy face in the crowd all weekend. It’s almost besides the point that commercialism has been evident in previous years as seen with huge endorsements from companies like Heineken, AT&T, and Dodge sponsoring large portions of the festival cost. Following that argument, Coachella has been commercial, and it’s not Madonna or Kanye that made it that way. I commend Goldenvoice for their stellar lineups and simply wonderful festival experience. They really do everything in their power to make the show a fun, comfortable, exciting time for all in the diverse crowd. It is, and will always be the people that make a festival, concert, or party an enjoyable experience, and that is one thing that Coachella never lacks in: fun, musically minded, conscientious, amazingly diverse people who are all there for one reason only… to rock out as one under the desert sky.



Justin Will