Why the Coachella Livestream Was Better Than Being There
It was hard not to feel vindicated watching Coachella from the cool comfort of our couch on YouTube this weekend, especially as reports came in about the endless lines and waits, the $100 meals and the blistering heat. As a journalist who's covered the desert festival for various publications countless times, we've been happy to watch it this way the past few years, even if we do appreciate the communal experience of attending.The YouTube version of Coachella has gotten better every year in terms of coverage, production and camera work, and with Friday's headliner in particular, it was the best way to appreciate the stunning theatricality that was not just brought to the stage, but transformed it. Lady Gaga's Friday night set is already being hailed as the best Coachella performance ever, and we have to agree. We've written Best Coachella lists in the past, and this one now reigns supreme, even above Beyonce in 2018 (sorry Bey Hive). It's being called 'satanic' by conspiracy-obsessed social media, but the macabre conveyed in Gaga's intricate presentation was about dark and light, love and loss, fame and identity, which couldn't have been laid out more literally. If parts of the set felt creepy or kooky or uncomfortable, well that was the point. All of it.
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In terms of choreography, costuming and musicality, it was thoughtful, daring and dramatic, reminding us all that LG is an Oscar-nominated actress who brings her music to life like no one else, dipping into past personas without recreating them. Never one to lip-sync, Gaga's vocals were crystal clear and commanding as she wove some of her most beloved hits into the new tracks from Mayhem, giving us visuals and interpretations of her latest output that surprised, delighted and apparently confused some, which she surely relishes.She also brought a decidedly funk and rock-minded sensibility to some songs as we guessed she would, drenching standout Mayhem tracks, "Garden of Eden" and "Killah" with guitar riffs and furious drum rhythms that could be heard and seen via her backing band and in her own caustic choreo moments. Our favorite vignette saw her laying down in a sandbox of death (for "Perfect Celebrity") and writhing about as the camera angles captured her abandon. The aerial chess game seen by drone above in an early act. was also gorgeous. The last part of her 110 minute set, in which she donned two of our favorite designers— Matieres Fecales and Louis Verdad— was also spectacular, serving up some classics ("Born This Way" and "Bad Romance") with slightly skewed arrangements and some heartfelt words to the audience in the desert— and on the stream. It's telling that most of the clips from festival goers show the giant screens that flanked the main stage (not the actual stage) which gave fans there the same show we got at home. And what a show it was. If this is any indication of what Gaga has in store for her upcoming tour, it's a must go, or at least a must watch. Odds are good a documentary about this set (as "Beychella" did for Netflix) or a full concert film are in the works. How could they not be?
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As for the other headliners this weekend, Green Day brought their classic rock arena experience to the Coachella stage Saturday and it was as visceral and grand as their stadium tour last year. As he has been doing for a while now, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong made political nods and lyric changes, most notable in "American Idiot." That and a fire incident due to the stage pryo-technics led to some online backlash against the band over the weekend, but others used pryo throughout the event without incident. As we broke in our advance Coachella piece, Armstrong also popped up the day prior to play with the Go-Go's, a nod to the all-female rockers' impact on music, especially in L.A. As always, there were lots of surprises like that one. The Coachella YouTube channel was pivotal to catching them all, too. A special four-screen multi-watch option gave at-home viewers a live look at four stages at the same time (if no one was on, it listed the upcoming schedule). Clicking the remote to highlight a stage, you could hear that stage's music but still watch what was happening on all four stages. Double click a stage and you were taken to the full screen view. If that doesn't beat running across a half mile-long polo field to see two acts scheduled for the same time slot, we don't know what does.
On You Tube, we were able to catch Flavor Flav, Weird Al, Paul Williams and Thundercat during the Yo Gabba Gabba set (L.A.'s own DJ Lance Rock who is no longer on the kids show was also brought out for a special moment that the Gen-Z crowd seemed to dig); John Mayer and Maren Morris with Zedd; Troye Sivan, Billie Eilish and Lorde with Charli XCX; Brian May with LA mag former cover subject Benson Boone; and all of Megan Thee Stallion's guests including Queen Latifah and Ciara. Post Malone's fest-closing set was unfortunately, a bit anticlimactic after the previous headlining nights, not to mention the powerful acts that came before him on Sunday. Still, he was humble and likable as always, as he brought up his "pitchy" performance and said "autotune is a helluva drug." Too bad he didn't embrace it as Charli XCX did the night before during her thrilling set. One of the best things about Coachella —and credit goes to its creators and curators— is discovering new music. While legacy acts like The Misfits, Weezer, The Circle Jerks, Jimmy Eat World, The Prodigy and our favorite punk band Amyl and the Sniffers, were fun to watch, we've always loved hearing acts we didn't know before in this setting. In the past, we discovered everyone from The Black Keys to Amy Winehouse at Coachella, and Chappell Roan made us a new fan via last year's livestream. Today, we're diving into the the music of Bob Vylan, Thee Scared Souls, beabadoobee, Still Woozy, Wisp, BigXthePlug and more, all of whom we watched on the stream this weekend. As Coachella has evolved into a branding bash, celebrity scene and influencer photo op, it's nice to know that today's technology can also expand and elevate the music itself. The fest gets a bad rap from older fans who attended its truly game-changing early editions, but for those of us who still seek the thrill of new art and entertainment, the livestream is a fabulous way to feel like you're part of the cultural conversation and avoid festival FOMO. Huge thanks to the promoters for keeping it free.
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