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The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, now in its
ninth year, attempted to reclaim the spotlight from a rash of
new U.S. festivals by fielding the enigmatic funk-rocker as a
late addition to a line-up that had initially left some fans
disappointed. When Prince took to the stage at a field 130 miles east of
Los Angeles, Prince seemed to acknowledge that he had just
taken the desert festival to a new level. "Coachella, I am
here," he screamed. "You are the coolest place on Earth right
now!" His performance -- for which he was reportedly paid upwards
of $5 million -- was announced only two weeks ago, instantly
eclipsing original headliners Waters, Portishead and Jack
Johnson. The 49-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer tore through a
set that included hits like "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and
"Purple Rain," as well as two surprising covers: Radiohead's
"Creep" and the Beatles' "Come Together." Supported by a
12-member backup band, Prince roamed the stage soloing on his
Fender Telecaster guitar. "We wanted Prince from the beginning, we didn't have a
backup," festival promoter Paul Tollett told Reuters. "We just
kept trying and finally it came through. He's in his own world.
When he's ready, he's ready." Tollett, who made a name for Coachella partly by
engineering the reunions of bands like Rage Against the Machine
and the Pixies, defended the original line-up with laid-back
singer/songwriter Johnson, morose trip-hop group Portishead and
Waters as headliners. "I'm looking for fresh talent that doesn't play every
festival, but it's hard because there are a lot of festivals in
America now," he said. "Portishead and The Verve haven't played
in America in years, we had The Breeders ... There's some stuff
in there." When Coachella started out in 1999, inspired by
long-running European festivals such as Denmark's Roskilde and
Britain's Glastonbury, it didn't have much competition. But now
it has to vie for talent with Tennessee's Bonnaroo featuring
Pearl Jam and Metallica in June, and Denver's Mile High
Festival, which has Dave Matthews as headliner in July. Johnson himself is playing Bonnaroo, San Francisco's
inaugural Outside Lands, and New Jersey's All Points West,
which is being put together in August by Coachella's promoters. Last year's Coachella had already been sold out by
February, but this year the box office stayed open. Organizers
did not yet have sales figures, but police estimated that more
than 50,000 people attended daily. Fans came from all over the
United States and abroad, including several Britons wearing
Native American costumes and an estimated 1,000 fans who
traveled from Mexico to see the more than 125 bands on two
outdoor stages and three tents in the punishing desert heat. In
an effort to attract more fans from south of the border,
festival organizers announced this year's lineup at a press
conference in Mexico City. Other Coachella acts included Vampire Weekend, Death Cab
for Cutie, Kraftwerk and Sri Lankan-born rapper MIA, who packed
an overflowing crowd in an impossibly hot tent on Saturday. The
tents drew large crowds for several other acts, including
British electropop singer Alison Goldfrapp and Brooklyn
psychedelic rockers MGMT. System of a Down frontman Serj
Tankian brought his message of social awareness to the second
outdoor stage, playing songs off his solo record. Waters gave Prince a run for his money on Sunday, despite
performing to a considerably thinner crowd. He played Pink
Floyd's classic album "Dark Side of the Moon" in its entirety,
and also performed selections from "The Wall," "Wish You Were
Here" and "Animals." Powerful pyrotechnics warmed up the
evening while lasers crisscrossed the sky, and pre-recorded
effects blasted from surround-sound speakers. At one point, an inflatable pig hovered over the crowd.
Graffiti on its side said "fear builds walls" while its belly
had a check mark next to the word "Obama." It was unclear
whether that was meant as an endorsement in the U.S.
presidential election. (Editing by Dean Goodman) (To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog
"Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare ) |
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