1. If you cruise the Internet for footage of any one day one performer, make it Todd Terje and the Olsens. Expectations going into the genre-thwarting Norwegian producer’s Gobi set were high—his 2014 debut It’s Album Time was a critical favorite (it topped my own list) and word of mouth from previous performances typically carries a revelatory tone—but even those in the know had to be stunned at the hypnotic grandeur of his 50-minute performance. Flanked by two percussionists and a multi-instrumentalist—as well as kitschy Euro-lounge props and videos—Terje stood at the quartet’s de facto mission control working synthesizers, a keyboard and a laptop and let the music do the heavy lifting. The result was dance-tent euphoria, climaxing during “Inspector Norse,” which included about 20 dancers of various ages—all wearing strings of white Christmas lights—shuffling out an extended dance routine that only added to the charm of the set.
Oh, and someone pass this along to Brandon Flowers: If you’re going to cover a Robert Palmer song, pass on the radio cheese and go with something as emotionally rewarding as “Johnny and Mary”—and then let former Roxy Music crooner Bryan Ferry sing it, as Terje did Friday night. A nice “Coachella moment,” if not totally unexpected.
2. Terje’s set and Friday’s roster in general underscored a positive trend in dance music: Live performance. Porter Robinson, whom Las Vegas clubbers know exclusively as a DJ, took his production hardware and numerous video screens to the airplane hangar-like Sahara Tent and wowed the EDM crowd with a frequently cerebral and fantasy-like reading of material from his acclaimed 2014 album Worlds. Rationing the beats and big moments only made their emergence that much more rewarding, and it gave anyone disgusted or fatigued with Sahara’s usual EDM bombast good reason to scope that tent’s remarkable visual presentation. Hours before, Welsh house phenom Jamie Jones trotted out his Hot Natured side band and continued the update of 1990s U.K. dance music also associated with surging beat creators like Disclosure, Rudimental and Duke Dumont. Hot Natured’s casual, assuaging 120-BPM mix of European R&B and American house—enhanced by no less than four singers—offered a nice transition from the afternoon rock bands to the evening’s dance acts. For anyone weary of the button pushers and the food-fight showmanship, these three performers showed the vibrant, engrossing potential of live dance music.
3. Steely Dan, who performed on the smaller Outdoor Stage, outdrew 2014 critical juggernaut the War on Drugs and alt-rock mainstay Interpol, who both played the main stage. I’m still scratching my head at that one. Nonetheless, the War on Drugs were rewarded with a sunset slot and didn’t squander the moment, perfectly complementing the dusk vibe with its update of hazy, folky 1970s rock, wisely alternating the relaxing midtempo and anthemic numbers that dominate the excellent 2014 release Lost in a Dream. SIngle and crowd-pleaser “Red Eyes” was a particularly goose-pimpling moment. As for Interpol, the NYC post-punkers stuck to what works best: new singles and chestnuts from its first (and most beloved) two albums. A safe set, for sure, but Interpol sounded fantastic—and hearing 2002’s gorgeous “Leif Erikson” will never get old.
4. The 18-year-old in me was glowing through the entirety of the late-afternoon set by pioneering shoegaze quartet Ride, who reunited after breaking up 20 years ago. While my high school and college pals embraced American grunge, I preferred England’s exploding indie scene—especially Ride’s seminal albums Nowhere and Going Blank Again. Standouts from those two efforts dominated the band’s resonant set, the group’s pedal power and melodic romanticism still laying it on thick. This time around, though, the riffage didn’t obscure the still-gorgeous vocals of singer Mark Gardner—or sometimes-singer Andy Bell, and pardon the schadenfreude, but I’m thankful for the breakup of his former band Beady Eye (and Oasis’ stalled regrouping) for the opportunity to knock the No. 1 act off my all-time concert bucket list.
5. This was a year of upgrades and significant tweakings for Coachella, which becomes more and more comfortable and forward-thinking with each edition. The Southern California institution—also the most successful and influential music festival in the U.S.—has expanded both its space and offerings, including a remarkable dining curation, even more Burning Man-esque art spectacles and a craft beer pavilion that both introduces one to sudsy discoveries and recharges dying phones in short order. Sixteen years in, it’s hard to think of a music experience that beats this one.
