Photo by Casey Flanigan

Coachella Music And Arts Festival
Empire Polo Fields, Indio, Calif
April 15-17

Given that it ended the day before the Jewish holiday Passover, and considering the fact that all of its headliners (Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Kanye West) had played the fest before, it only seems fair to ask: What Made This Coachella Different From All Other Coachellas?

Lots, actually: last-year’s fest was nearly done-in by gate crashers and security issues, so this year organizers of the 3-day Indio, CA fest capped attendance, bought more land, and installed security parameters both high-tech (chips imbedded in wristbands) and low-tech (rubbing vasoline on outside gates so climbers would fall off). The result was an airy, comfortable three days of music, with killer sets from festival vets like The Black Keys (who overcame sound problems to use their newfound powers as hitmakers and destroy the audience with “Tighten Up”) and newcomers like Lauryn Hill, who, in one fell swoop — ok, and by playing “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” — put to rest all those insanity rumors and proved that she’s got all of her shit back together.

Of course, there were tons of special guests: Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig played saxophone with throwback-rockers Chromeo, fun. had help from Steel Train bassist Evan Winiker for their whole set, and during what was supposed to be a solo set, Brandon Flowers reunited The Killers. Standout small bands included the UK’s angular Foals, LA’s Pavement-ish Henry Clay People, and Trentemoller, who kind of sound like Mogwai if they were taken over by Kraftwerk. But the weekend belonged to two of its biggest acts: Kanye West, who rose above the stage on a massive crane to start his set and rolled out every trick known to man (from writhing ballerinas to rains of fire), delivering a set that was passionate and spectacular, and The Arcade Fire, who dropped 2000 massive white balls on the audience, all of which exploded with color simultaniously in a feat that seemed like remote-control magic. By the end, it was an exhausting, worthwhile weekend: wholly worth trudging through the desert for, even if it was only for three days and three nights.