Juxtaposition of Justin Bieber, David Byrne closes 2nd day of festival – Redlands Daily Facts

When he was announced as the Coachella headliner, Bieber took the task seriously for all the Beliebers. He offered a preview of what fans could expect from his headlining performance at the Roxy in Los Angeles, a little over a week before the festival, marking his first U.S. concert in four years.

Saturday night during the festival’s first weekend, Bieber mostly stuck to music off his latest double releases, with hits such as “All I Can Take,” “Speed Demon” and “Walking Away.” It also featured an acoustic set, which featured “Thing You Do,” “Zuma House” and “Dotted Lines.”

The production wasn’t anything too theatrical, unlike the one festival goers saw the night before with Sabrina Carpenter. Instead, Bieber was more interactive, checking the comments on a livestream and asking fans what they wanted to hear.

Perhaps the most heartwarming and engaging part of his set for fans was the trip down memory lane. Beiber searched YouTube for songs from his many eras and sang along to snippets of the corresponding music videos for “Baby,” “Favorite Girl,” “Never Say Never,” and others, prompting fans to sing along.

There was also a moment where he just began showing his favorite YouTube memes and some of the embarrassing moments he’s endured, including when he walked into a glass door, and mistepped on stage and fell through what appeared to be a trap door.

A headlining Coachella set would not live up to the hype without a few surprise guest appearances. Bieber brought out the Kid Laroi for a cover of his song “Stay,” and Wizkid for a cover of “Essence.” He also invited Dijon to perform their collaboration “Devotion” and Tems to perform “Daisies.”

David Byrne

David Byrne brought his current show to the Outdoor Stage just before headliner Justin Bieber was to close out the Coachella Stage. While that might have siphoned away some fans, the sad fact of Coachella is that a large majority of its attendees are there for the pop music of today far more than the legacy acts of the past.

Byrne has a rich catalog as a member of the pioneering art-rock band Talking Heads and the solo career that followed. His shows are visually and creatively inventive with large bands of expert musicians.

And yet at Coachella his audience was smaller than almost any other we saw at a large stage like the Outdoor Stage.

A pity, actually, because the fans at the festival are the ones who missed out on Saturday as Byrne played one terrific song after another. Nine of his 13 songs on Saturday came from Talking Heads, including “Burning Down the House,” “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime,” and more.

The Strokes

Under a cool night sky, The Strokes delivered a set that balanced strong musicianship with the kind of offbeat unpredictability frontman Julian Casablancas has long been known for. The main stage visuals shifted from a starry, stripped-back backdrop to bold, futuristic, almost game-like graphics that wrapped around the band, adding a striking layer to an already commanding performance. Despite Casablancas’ signature in-between-song rambling, the band itself never wavered, sounding polished and fully in sync.

“You guys excited about the draft? Not the NFL, I’m talking about the military,” he joked at one point, before trailing off, later adding, “I know why you’re here, I woke up this morning at a nearby hotel, and this jacked guy outside my room screamed ‘Justin Bieber.’”

The humor was scattered, but the intent was clear. With a new album on the horizon, they still leaned heavily into the catalog that built them, running through staples like “Someday,” “Last Nite,” “Hard to Explain” and “New York City Cops” without missing a beat.

“Thanks for coming, I know there’s a lot of cool stuff to see,” Casablancas told the crowd, but few seemed interested in leaving. For a band more than two decades in, it was a reminder that even with the chaos, The Strokes still sound as sharp, and as essential, as ever.

PinkPantheress

PinkPantheress, the stage name of the British singer-producer Victoria Walker, attracted an overflow crowd to the Mojave Tent after nightfall on Saturday.

Her feathery vocals floated above the beats and melodies of songs such as “Stateside,” “Romeo,” and “Nice to Know You,” like most of her tunes, short tales of mixed emotions conveyed with a kind nonchalance no matter the feelings.

Thundercat joined her late in the set for “Break It Off,” though by that time we were off to check out The Strokes for a bit.

54 Ultra

54 Ultra opened with a lively band introduction, full of crashing drums and brass, that quickly gave way to the Latin soul that the set would encompass. The lead singer, JohnAnthony Rodríguez, took the Sonora stage, dressed in a wine red shirt, high-waisted plaid pants, and rocking a vintage haircut and mustache that altogether screamed ‘70s/’80s Latino fashion.

The first backdrop featured a spinning galaxy, offering a subtle hint that spectators were headed to a performance out of this world. 54 Ultra brought jazzy, groovy soul hits such as “Talk to Me” and “Upside Down” to the packed crowd, who swayed and danced along. With the stage’s disco ball in full capacity, it felt, for a brief moment, like Coachella had traveled back in time to when disco ruled. Perhaps 54 Ultra will usher in a soulful revival.

Labrinth

British musician and producer Labrinth delivered one of the most visually inventive sets on Saturday while featuring songs from his new album “Cosmic Opera: Act I.”

“Something Like an Orchestra,” “Opera,” and “S.W.M.F.” opened his performance with the classical-meets-hip-hop mashup of the new record.

Monochrome visuals of shadowy figures eventually revealed Labrinth inside a two-story structure made of scaffolding-like material. The crimson red coat he wore could be seen as he performed.

With “When I R.I.P.,” a song written for the HBO TV series “Euphoria” arrived, Labrinth exited the structure to sing from the front of the stage. While “Euphoria” recently let him go as the chief musical creator of its first two seasons, the freedom feels like a blessing when seen in the context of his Coachella appearance

Alex G

A modest crowd gathered at the Outdoor Theatre as Alex G eased into his 5 p.m. set, the midday sun still hanging overhead. But as the songs unfolded, the space steadily began to fill, drawing more and more people into his quietly magnetic world. There was a loose, unassuming charm to it all. At one point, he pulled out an accordion early in the set, a small but telling detail that mirrored the offbeat warmth of his catalog.

“We’re very happy to be here, it’s a lot of fun for us, so I hope you have fun too,” he told the crowd, later adding with a grin, “We’re from Philadelphia, anybody from Philly? You?” as he pointed out into the audience. The setlist moved fluidly through fan favorites like “Gretel,” “Runner,” “Sarah” and “Mary,” each one pulling a little more energy from the growing crowd. It never felt rushed or overworked, just a slow, steady build that quietly expanded until you looked around and realized how many people had wandered in and stayed.

Interpol

Fans of late ’90s and early 2000s New York indie rock were treated to back-to-back sets by Interpol at the Mojave tent, who followed The Strokes a few minutes after their mainstage performance. Interpol opened up their set with “All the Rage Back Home,” followed by some classic bangers, “Obstacle 1,” “Slow Hands,” and “Evil.” They also performed their new song “See Out Loud.”

In classic Interpol fashion, the visuals on the screens incorporated the band’s signature red, black, and white color palette. The band also wore all-black attire, and the frontman kept his sunglasses on even though it was past 10 p.m., adding a bit more rock-and-roll swag.

Los Hermanos Flores

Los Hermanos Flores took the stage at the Outdoor Theatre on Saturday afternoon and made history as the first Salvadorian group to perform at Coachella. The cumbia group, founded in 1962, performed with a full band and a few backup dancers, turning the field into a dance floor.

Fans in the crowd danced and were given mini Salvadorian flags that they waved in the wind between sets. Fans could feel the pride emanating from Los Hermanos Flores, who kept telling the crowd they were proud to be making history together. The group also took some time to shout out the rest of Latin America and the first-generation Americans whose families immigrated to the U.S.