Coachella, California – The tombstone painted on a hanging backdrop during Death From Above 1979’s sunset slot at Coachella read 2001-2006, as if to suggest we were witnessing ghosts of a once very rocking duo.
Unless you count the unholy riot that NOW witnessed during DFA’s “surprise” show at SXSW, Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger’s Coachella gig was their first since returning to life after an unharmonious band death five years ago.
Are they back together now? It’s not clear. All that we’re certain of now, and proved indisputably Sunday with a blistering batch dance-tinged noise punk delivered to a festival crowd thirsty for blood-pumping rock after two days of indie pleasantness, is they can still murder a stage.
Unfortunately the same can’t be said of their main stage successors Duran Duran. After hitting the crowd early with Hungry Like The Wolf, it was time for the dreaded “from our new album” portion of the show, and you could hear a collective groan erupt from the tens of thousands in attendance. That’s when you realize you’re only present to hear hits of a bygone era, which is rarely a satisfying approach when seeing a group.
And speaking of ghosts, Damian Marley conjured his father’s spirit with a dead-on version of Could You Be Loved, bringing a pot-hazed throng to its feet in one of the highlight moments of the weekend.
Marley and best bud Nas threw down a powerhouse set of part fist-pumping hip-hop and part blissful reggae. Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock and Nas’s If I Ruled the World seem to align perfectly under the blazing midday sun, bringing the people together as one and surely bringing a smile to father Bob wherever he is.
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