The undercard of the Coachella lineup represents different things to different artists.
For small, niche bands, this might be the biggest gig they ever get. For older bands, it’s a chance to be celebrated for past glories.
And for some, it’s a moment that signals the moment their fame soared off into the stratosphere of musical success.
Raye
Raye, the stage name of British singer-songwriter-writer Rachel Keen, dominated the Brit Awards last month with six wins for her debut album “My 21st Century Blues,” which got her booked on “Saturday Night Live” a week ago.
No one can really tell her future, but based on her mid-afternoon set in the Mojave tent on Saturday, where ecstatic fans spilled far beyond the Mojave tent, Raye and those who saw here will remember this as one of those moments where things changed.
On songs such as “Worth It,” the one happy song on the album, she said, “Ice Cream Man,” a song about sexual abuse she described as the most difficult to sing, and “Eacapism,” an uptempo dance-y number, Raye was fantastic.
Her sweet joy at the response of the crowd made her ever more lovable, and her vocals, backed by 20 musicians and singers, was awesome in the true meaning of that word.
Raye was the best thing I’d seen by the middle of the festival. Here’s what else stood out as highlights of Saturday’s music.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend was a last-minute addition to the lineup, booked to play the Outdoor Stage late afternoon Saturday.
“One week ago I was sitting out in Ryder, Texas, drinking branch water and looking at the wildflowers, singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig told the crowd. “I got a text saying, ‘Can you play this festival?’”
Koenig said no, until he learned it was a week off, tight, but manageable.
“So I called the boys and said, ‘Can we do this?’” he continued. “They said, ‘(Bleep) yeah, we can do this.’”
And so they did, mixing hits such as “Unbelievers,” “Diane Young,” and “A-Punk,” with a pair of songs from the brand-new album “Only God Was Above Us.” The set wrapped up with a medley of “Cocaine Cowboys”-themed outlaw country classics, which also saw Paris Hilton come on stage to play cornhole with the band. As one does.
The Last Dinner Party
The baroque indie rock of The Last Dinner Party brought an arty throwback rock feel back to Coachella with its dramatic, glammy set in The Gobi Tent.
The five young British women in the band dress in romantic old-fashioned frocks which delivered a look different than most of the rest of the line. If Victorian England had electric instruments there’d be line illustrations in the history books of women like The Last Dinner Party.
Highlights included songs off their debut album such as “The Feminine Urge” and “Sinner,” as well as the brand-new tune “Second Best.”
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