Day 2. One of the most epic days of my life. It will be hard to describe in words the entire experience, but I will try my best!
Our first set of the day was rapper/actor/comedian Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover). With one of the breakout rap albums of the year, this talented musician really got the crowd going, despite the 100 degree heat, playing some of his recent hits from the “Camp” album.
We took an extended break from the heat, checked out some of the exhibits around the area, ate dinner (fully loaded baked potato ftw), and went on the Ferris wheel to catch an awesome view of the entire festival grounds around sunset.
For the rest of the night, we planned to stick around the Main Stage to catch the trifecta performances of The Shins, Bon Iver, and Radiohead.
The Shins performed a great set, playing a good mix of songs from old and new albums alike. James Mercer, the lead singer, was really funny and seemed like an all-around awesome guy.
By the time Bon Iver came around, we had managed to slip to a pretty good spot to the left of the stage, next to the guardrails at the center. Too bad we were nearly-crushed by sweaty people.
Still, we had to make do and I thought Bon Iver played a great set, definitely one of the surprises of the festival for me. Live, they sound completely different, a hundred times more intense, and overall a great sound.
After two hours of standing and being squeezed in by overzealous (and sweaty) fans, it was finally time. Radiohead’s set was absolutely EPIC. Maybe I’ll talk about it in more detail in a future post, but basically they played a career-spanning set, with two encores, lots of cheering, and even sing-alongs by the entire crowd.
There were few other places I could think of at the moment where I felt more at home, enjoying the music with thousands of fans, looking up at the night sky, comprehending that I was actually seeing my all-time favorite band live.
Thom Yorke was his usual funny (and British) self, joking about drinking tea and pouring his heart into each song. Hearing the songs live was a hundred times better than the albums, and I’m really glad I was able to have the experience.
One more day of Coachella, looking forward to an awesome end to an awesome music festival.
Read about Day 1 here and Day 3 here.
Coachella 2012 at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
Saw radiohead on Friday for my 5th time. They are my favorite band too. I’ve seen them in all settings, at a huge open festival, a closed large stadium, a large open amphitheatre, and a small tiny venue. All great performances and I can’t convey what their songs and shows mean to me. Their visual set up for this tour was really mindblowing though. Glad you got to see them and had a good first festival experience. I’ve been to about 7 myself but still want to make it to coachella, despite the heat
I envy you, sir! I honestly had the time of my life during their performance, and I hope to be able to experience more Radiohead shows in the near future. And even with the heat, I’d say the Coachella experience is well worth it!