The Beat: The Cream Of Coachella's Crop

It was one of those moments that you don't see coming. As two of my friends and I waited in the security line at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival April 30, a thought crept into my head: At what point will I feel too old to go to a multiday, multi-act festival?

The three of us then started chatting with two college boys. One of them asked how we got our VIP wristbands, and then delivered the fatal blow: "Are you parents of a band?" Seeing our crestfallen faces, he quickly added, "Or lovers?" Too late, my young friend, the damage was done. And then, quite frankly, challenging us to a dance-off only added insult to injury since my knees would have never held up. Sheesh.

But was that the sign, I wondered, as I fought with security guards over my God-given right as an American to bring a ball-point pen onto the grounds. Happily, as Coachella proved, it looks like my festival days are far from over.

Coachella was one of the best-run and most enjoyable festivals I've attended. Presented by Golden Voice/AEG, shows ran, by and large, on time; the grounds were crowded, but never oppressively so; and the lineup was delightfully diverse, but all acts fit into the overall festival vibe.

Highlights among acts I saw for the first time included Canadian hip-hopper Buck 65. Playing to track and accompanied by only his turntables, the Warner Music artist (V2 in the United States) recalled Beck and Everlast, but he spun tales, such as one song about a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, that are uniquely his.

Katie Melua, whose Dramatico album has been certified five-times platinum in the United Kingdom (she is on Universal in the States), deserves a much bigger U.S. following, based on her jazzy, jaunty songs that are both eclectic and mainstream. The audience loved her.

Los Angeles darlings Rilo Kiley (Brute/Warner Bros.) showed why the band is gaining new fans every day. It runs the gamut from rock to pop and alt-country, and each song has its own little endearing twist that makes it special.

Among the established acts, Wilco and Coldplay delivered muscular sets that were textbook cases of how to play a great show. Wilco could teach the younger kids a thing or two about how to pull off a jam that remains tight, instead of one that dissolves into messy cacophony.



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