By the end of the third night of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, we all had a few things in common: the must-have photo of the Ferris wheel, dust in our nostrils, and a puzzled face expression when thinking of where we parked.
Regardless of the wristband color you wear, the typical palm trees against the California sunset background is the photo to capture… right? I mean we made sure to photograph it.
As we know, the second weekend of Coachella took place on April 17 to 19, hosting a universal atmosphere for 90,000 music, art and food enthusiasts. The diverse line-up ranged from iconic rock n rollers AC/DC, to trip-hop FKA Twigs, to eccentric techno producer Gesaffelstein. And that does not begin to cover the smaller stages such as the Heineken House and The Do Lab, which had their own selected line-ups and surprise guests on deck.
It’s pretty intense photographing and experiencing continuous full sets with the amount of overlapping talent, but there were six artists that made quite the impression:
Ryan Hemworth’s set visuals featured a child-like art projection curated live by Tokyo-based trio onnacodomo. It was both unique and sweet, representing his personality and music well.
The same night, headliners AC/DC’s signature devil horns were the must-have souvenirs. As the staff tossed the blinking props to the crowd, you could see the audience anticipation spike as they waited for their idols. It was an unreal experience to hear the crowd chant to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Phenomenal.
Electronic producers Yellow Claw represented their energetic hardstyle music on what felt like the hottest of the weekend’s afternoons. They were incredibly pumped in the ridiculous 3 p.m. heat and all… what are those producers even made of?
Hozier’s cover of Amerie’s “1 Thing” was the second best song of his set, after the crowd’s favorite “Take Me To Church.” Get this: before each song he properly introduced, it did not fail for one of his passionate fans to obnoxiously scream (ahem, request) “CHURCH!”
Alt-J’s harmonizing was absolutely beautiful. All the in-sync and precise vocals on top of the simple light production created an intimate experience, regardless of the festival’s six main stages simultaneously performing.
FKA Twigs’ abrupt movements shadowed her glitch style music all through out her 50-minute set. From her snake-like arm dancing to her wrapping her arms around her band member’s leg, she showed maximum expression on top of her already explicit (and amazing) lyrics.
Now moving on to the art side of Coachella, what seemed to stand out the most was the Hippopotamus take-over located between the Coachella Stage and the Outdoor Theatre.
“The Corporate Headquarters” installation by Derek Doublin and Vanessa Bonet, featured a chaotic three-story building being destructed by hippos in suits. The “workers” continuously acted in a mad manner: they rolled around on paper work, wrote ambiguous words on Post-It notes for the crowds to see, used plungers to “unplug” random objects — they pretty much did whatever they felt like doing with whatever object they’d find in their office. This art piece was the most frightening, yet captivating, (and possibly realest) installation this year. After all, genius and madness go hand-in-hand, or so I’ve heard.
I’ve said it last year and will say it again: this festival is where both fans and artists are one. We don’t care if you’re in the public eye or not, we all end up with a sunburn or dust in our throats.
Until next year, Coachella!
All photos by Jeanette Hernandez / photo-jaye.
Musicians photographed: Cloud Nothings, Trippy Turtle, Kimbra, Ryan Hemsworth, Dawn Golden, Tinashe, Interpol, Tame Impala, AC/DC, Yellow Claw, Milky Chance, Cashmere Cat, Hozier, Alt-J, FKA Twigs, St. Lucia, Marina and the Diamonds, Brand New, St. Vincent, and Florence + the Machine.
