Music Editor/Ambassador of the Funk Martin Cizmar got things kicking with his Friday picks for this year's edition of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, so I figured I should divulge my picks for Sunday's lineup. My sensibilities are different than most people's. Last year's Coachella lineup was my favorite out of my 3 years attending the festival, but this year has loads of potential and could outdo last year's triumph. Let me just say that I do not claim to be an expert at attending Coachella. I know what I like and I know how to work the festival, having attended 3 years running. That being said, I will offer up my picks for this Sunday after the jump.
Now, you may ask yourself, why should I listen to this dude? That is plenty fair, I claim to be no expert at this all, and I have an obvious bias against the main stages. I do prefer to spend my time in the three tents -- Gobi, Mohave and Sahara. I maintain that, year in and year out, that is where Coachella is made, right there in those tents. You will find no more ecclectic mix of music by looking at the lineup in the Gobi tent for all three days. The Gobi Tent, while the festival's smallest in size, has produced some of the finest sets in years past. Those sets include: Amy Winehouse, Spank Rock, Rodrigo y Gabriella, Santogold, St. Vincent, Phoenix, Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Gnarls Barkley.
There is no better way to open Sunday's festivities on the Coachella Stage than by having New Orleans' own The Knux get things going. I am still baffled as to why they stuck Okkervil River in between sets by The Knux and Coachella veteran Lupe Fiasco. Leading The Yeah Yeah Yeahs into My Bloody Valentine and The Cure is a brilliant move and one that promoters pretty much had to make. There would have been nothing wrong with closing the Outdoor Stage with Public Enemy, but I guess Roni Size demands as much respect for their long body of work.
Coachella isn't anything too complicated. Sometimes the flow of a certain tent or stage hooks you and you don't feel like moving to catch another set a few stages away. It's all part of the fun of the festival and part of Coachella's charm that keeps fans coming back, year after year.
