Fest fans drawn to Coachella's 'chill' finish
INDIO, Calif. — The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival wrapped up more than 320 musical performances by more than 160 artists Sunday. But the attraction to Coachella was much more than the music.
The theme: "Coachilla" T-shirts were sold at merchandise booths last year, but the nickname for the festival's second weekend took off in 2015. Relatively mild temperatures (in the high 80s and low 90s) contributed to the mass state of mind, but it was largely the absence of fashion awareness and celebrity frenzy — so prevalent in Weekend 1 — that gave rise to the "chill" atmosphere on the Empire Polo Club fields.
Surprise guests: Kanye West provided the big shock by joining The Weeknd on the Coachella stage, in the last performance of Saturday night, well past midnight. The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) last weekend presented one of the more popular sets, finishing with his hit Earned It from 50 Shades of Grey. But he topped that by bringing out Kanye to perform Can't Tell Me Nothing, Black Skinhead, a remix of Don't Like and All Day.
On Friday, Ciara joined DJ artist R3hab to perform two songs in the Sahara dance tent, including a remix of her hit, I Bet. EDM headliner Alesso brought out fellow Swede Tove Love to sing their song Heroes (We Could Be) to wrap Friday's sets, again well after midnight.
Earlier that night, DJ Snake introduced DMX of Ruff Ryders fame, who two weeks ago was accused of being involved in a robbery at a New Jersey gas station. DMX performed Ruff Ryders Anthem and Party Up (Up in Here) and also was photographed with a fan at an Indio Walmart.
Most of the news throughout the weekend was about the absence of first-weekend guest artists. Crowds overflowed the tents where last weekend Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha sat in with Run the Jewels, Jennifer Hudson sang with electronic duo Gorgon City, Bryan Ferry performed with Todd Terje and the Olsens, and Joey Bada$$ guested with Kiesza. This weekend, they had to settle for the featured artists.
Coachella moments: Even without guest artists, Gorgon City achieved its goal of distinguishing itself as a real band, instead of just an EDM band, with a dynamic performance that ended with an appearance by the University of Southern California marching band drum line. Likewise, Todd Terje and the Olsens concluded their excellent, high-energy set with the appearance of a crew of amateur costumed dancers.
Tame Impala proved its readiness to become festival headliners with its second straight satisfying set ahead of AC/DC, rocking hard more than 41 years after forming in Australia. Alabama Shakes reiterated its ability to satisfy an audience without depending on old hits. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, who won new fans last week for his mix of old and new material, made news this week by appearing in installation art piece the Corporate Headquarters as a hippo in a suit.
Up-and-comers: Julie Budet, lead singer of the electro-pop band Yelle, had a tent full of people jumping and clapping along to her set even though she sang in French. Paul Janeway, lead singer of the white Southern soul band St. Paul and the Broken Bones, again took his audience to church with an impassioned performance, although he did repeat a story he told last week about his first visit to Coachella in 2008 to see Prince. George Ezra showed no signs of the laryngitis that kept him from Coachella last weekend, just three nights before singing his hit Budapest on The Late Late Show With James Corden. It was Budapest that got his crowd revved up during his fourth song Friday afternoon.
Fun stuff: The Ferris wheel represented the nouveau carnival feel of Coachella and it was packed every night at sunset by photographers seeking the perfect Coachella picture. Campers got to win upgrades to VIP passes, worth $900, by signing up for dodgeball. Poltar, the all-knowing Polar bear, read people's futures. Food included such distinctive items as Eureka!'s Fresno Fig Burger, featuring a fig marmalade topping with melted goat cheese, bacon, onion, tomato and spicy mustard.
Celebrity showing: They were largely absent, but sisters Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Khloe Kardashian had their photos taken with Kylie's maybe boyfriend, rapper Tyga, at a Coachella-related party thrown by Kardashian. Fewer parties were held throughout Coachella Valley during Weekend 2, but people still arrived at the festival nightly around midnight, even when that was shortly before closing time.
Contributing: Xochitl Pena, Ashley Hopkinson, Everett Cook, Daniel Simon and Brian Indrelunas of 'The (Palm Springs) Desert Sun.'