Coachella - Empire Polo Field, Indio - 1-2/5/04
4/5
By: Austin Louis Ray
1. Pixies
So what if these perennial heroes of underground rock 'n' roll haven't played together in years? So what if those years added some obvious signs of aging, including a few extra pounds on the torso of Black Francis? So what if people claim getting back together now seems like a cheap publicity stunt? So what, indeed. The Pixies threw Coachella's capacity crowd into a frenzy. Fists pumping during 'Debaser', stifled tears during 'Where is My Mind?' and thousands of sated fans by set's end.
2. Broken Social Scene
Blame Canada. Just because this collective has gotten a lot of hype and happens to hail from the land of hockey and Labatt Blue doesn't mean it doesn't deserve your attention. BSS command an early afternoon crowd that had to soak themselves with sweat just to take in the band's allotted 50 minutes. From the raucous bulldoze of 'Almost Crimes' to the sweetly romantic 'Anthems for a 17-Year Old Girl', the Scene proved Toronto to be an originator of indie-pop greatness.
3. Sage Francis
Politics were in the air this year at Coachella, but never were they quite so prominent than when Sage Francis took the stage. A shirt with Dub'ya's head and crossbones? Check. A doll of that same president which Sage depicted crude sexual acts on? Check. Rhymes that brutalized the aforementioned Texan in viciously intelligent fashion? Check. But politics aside, Sage put on one impressive show with just his rhymes, some antics and a discman.
4. Beck
Some people like Coachella so much that they personally request to be added to the line-up. Beck is one of those people and his appeal resulted in his being added to the festival just a couple days before the two-day event commenced. Mr. Hansen attempted to use a Gameboy for musical accompaniment, joked between songs about Goths, the heat and bands playing on other stages and even brought some people onstage to accompany him as a choir of tambourines. In the end though, it was just Beck and his guitar, and it was epic.
5. Le Tigre
Oh, Kathleen Hanna...how you truly, supremely rule. The former Bikini Killer brought the feminists to their dancing feet, as her band was the last act to perform at the desert showcase. An entertaining DVD backdrop provided eye candy as Le Tigre rocked through a selection of older songs and a few that are yet to be released. Not even a woman climbing the scaffolding could stop this band.
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