By Saturday, the strains of a festival weekend begin to show. The campers smell just a little bit worse, the gypsies look just that little bit more disheveled, and I personally had gone home on Friday night to realize that I had left my bag at home and would have to wear the same clothes all weekend. Thanks to some benevolent friends, I borrowed some socks, underwear, and a t-shirt and set off to day two of Coachella There was no time for lollygagging, as I had plans aplenty.

First stop for me was a bit of a nostalgia trip of my own. Dredg, specifically on their album El Cielo, used to be one of the most compelling progressive rock bands in commission. Their ethereal, yet driving swells of sounds were the soundtrack to my musical awakening in high school. However, since that album they have managed to successfully water down their sound to the extent that they are a meek shell of their old selves. Their performance wasn't bad at all, they're all still astoundingly good musicians, but the songwriting just doesn't have the adventure that it used to. Afterwards I caught a bit of Minus The Bear. Their newer material, though less quirky and no longer driven by finger-tapping guitars, still manages to be better-than-normal indie rock music, though I wasn't blown away by any stretch of the imagination.

I managed to see the beginning of MGMT's set. Though I won't deny that some of the songs on their new album are criminally catchy, their live performance is not developed enough for it to translate to a good show. The songwriting duo behind the band used to play shows singing over recordings and the fact that the organic band setting isn't entirely comfortable to them was clear. After that I planted myself in the Gobi tent., half to see Bonde Do Role, but really to get a good spot for St. Vincent. Bonde Do Role were not very good at all. The Brazilian party band had some good beats but the trio of vocalists put on a weak performance. In particular, frontwoman Laura Taylor did little other than look pretty while her partner Ana Bernadino oscillated from screaming to squealing at unpleasant pitches into the microphone. It was like listening to the same baile funk beat for forty five minutes straight while people who couldn't rap tried to do so over it, unabashed about their lack of ability. People around me seemed to be digging it. I just ate a Clif bar and waited.

It all worked out okay, though, because immediately afterwards, St. Vincent delivered one of the best performances of the weekend. Led by guitarist and vocalist Annie Clark (an ex-member of Sufjan Steven's backing band), St .Vincent's album Marry Me was one of the standouts of the previous year. Her infectious stage presence and undeniable chops coupled with instrumentation that includes violin and clarinet really represented their material well while adding a live edge to it. The songwriting on the album is frighteningly solid and they proved that they can put on a show also.

I tried to squeeze my way into the Sahara tent for Hot Chip, but the place was such a clusterfuck that I decided to get some food instead. Afterwards I saw Islands perform for the first time. The band, featuring members of the now-defunct Unicorns, play a melding of styles that I'm still trying to put my finger on. Regardless, they were really good. The only comparison I can make is to a more musically adventurous and sonically pleasant version of The Black Heart Procession. They have a definite pop sensibility in a jinky-but-minor sort of way and a very apparent urge to throw a curveball pretty frequently, which is always something I can appreciate.

Immediately after Islands, well, after a few technical difficulties, Animal Collective delivered what I feel to be hands down the best performance of the weekend. In the proceeding years since I have seen them last, they have stepped up their game significantly. As is usual for them, they strayed away from performing their hits, though they did do a rendition of ‘Comfy in Nautica,' which was a pleasant surprise for knowledgeable fans in the audience. They created an ethereal atmosphere with layers upon layers of sound for almost an hour. Being a buzzword band at the moment, there was a bumrush of braces-clad youngsters toward the stage at the moment Islands finished their set. However, as the performance went on, I saw more and more bored looking teenage girls who didn't really appreciate what was going on. Animal Collective have the (dare I say it?) Radiohead-esque ability of being able to make easily accessible music that is still exceptionally progressive in aesthetic at times, but also to create atmospheric soundscapes with no adherence to people's pop-gorged wants at others. I saw a lot of DJ's play this weekend, but I can honestly say that none were as good at what they do as Geologist and Panda Bear of Animal Collective.

Exhausted but satisfied, I collapsed in a comfortable spot to catch the majority of Portishead's set. I was glad to see them play, as they are an unequivocally influential band and I enjoyed their performance, though it left no lasting impression upon me. Afterwards, however, came the eagerly anticipated performance of Prince. After a tortuously long wait, the diminutive showman carted out his large-scale spectacle of pop proficiency. His gospel-funk stylings shuffled between bloated jam sessions, only a few hits, and a cover of Radiohead's ‘Creep'. I guess I was expecting some sort of hits retrospective, which it definitely was not. Yeah, it was good, but I dunno if it was good enough to warrant the massive sum (rumored to be above $4 million) that Goldenvoice forked out to have him play. Still, it's nice to know that I've seen a legend of pop music perform.

All in all, Saturday was easily the strongest day of the three at Coachella with a number of solid performances punctuated by a couple of classic shows that I won't forget in a long while.

The Verdict:

The best: Animal Collective - If they continue at this current trajectory, they will take Radiohead's mantle of mindblowingly progressive but still accessible figureheads of rock lore.

The worst: The poor time planning that resulted in Animal Collective, M.I.A and Akron/Family all playing at the same time. What is a young hipster supposed to do?

By Jemayel Khawaja

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