Here I sit all broken hearted
In 1 hour, Palm Springs I will have departed
Coachella music fest, you rocked my world
I will be back for another whirl

Day 3 at Coachella was a good way to ease out of day 2′s complete awesomeness and provided a smooth transition back to normal, non- festival life.

The highlights were Mutemath, Yo La Tengo, Julian Casablancas, Spoon, Phoenix, Thom Yorke, and of course, Gorillaz.

I also enjoyed a few other bands I happened to catch – Babasonicos, B.o.B, and The Glitch Mob.

Thom Yorke’s set was incredible. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers held down the bass lines extremely well, especially given that the original lines were laid down electronically for the most part. Thom went through his Eraser album track for track, then came back with a great encore featuring some older Radiohead songs performed solo – “Airbag” from OK Computer and “Everything in its Right Place” off Kid A. Great!

After Thom Yorke’s set ended, the massive crowd shifted to the main stage for the last headliner, Gorillaz. I’d heard that they always perform their show as their animated counterparts, but apparently that isn’t true. While they had a large screen above the stage showing various animations nd video clips corresponding to whatever song they were playing, the band itself was in full view along with a near full orchestral section and various guest artists coming and going.

It was great hearing electronic music reproduced using acoustic instruments. They pull it off very well and the songs hold up in the transition. All the favorites were played – “Clint Eastwood”, “Feel Good, Inc”, “Kids With Guns”, “Dirty Harry”, and so on. A fun way to end the night and the festival.

All in all, Coachella was very fun and very worth it. The traffic and line hiccups on the first day were easily overcome on the second and third days, the people were great, the lineup was great, and the weather was perfect. (I’m coming home a little more red than when I left. Thanks Sun!)

CTRL-ALT-Juneau is back on the air this Friday! Tune in at 9pm and see what gets played – the first show back after a festival/concert is always interesting!