Tyler, the Creator Sets Coachella Ablaze as No Doubt, Sublime Bring the Nostalgia on Day Two
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After Day One of Coachella saw artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Young Miko take inspiration from the Eighties, Day Two was a celebration of the Nineties thanks to reunion performances from No Doubt and Sublime, and the 2000s with Ice Spice’s Y2K aesthetic and the presence of Vampire Weekend.
Unlike in years past where the heat took over for the vast majority of the day, the cold took over the Coachella festival grounds early in the afternoon. By Tyler, the Creator and No Doubt’s set fans were already wrapped in the shiny, aluminum foil-looking jackets to watch the performance. But the cold didn’t deter the crowd from having fun. (Editor’s Note: If you’re going to Coachella, it’s going to be even colder on Sunday.)
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Day Two was also filled with crossover guests galore, as Olivia Rodrigo dueted with Gwen Stefani, Feid performed with Blxst, and Charlie Wilson made the “Earfquake” with Tyler, the Creator.
Tyler, The Creator Goes Full Circle
In 2011, Tyler, The Creator tweeted that he’d be headlining Coachella in the next four years. He estimation was off a bit, but 13 years later, that premonition came true as Tyler delivered an electric Saturday night set, a full circle moment for one of hip hop’s most dynamic artists.
“11:40 p.m., what the fuck, Paul T,” Tyler quipped regarding his set time, referring to Coachella’s founder Paul Tollett. “These are Epstein hours I want to go to sleep.”
Starting his set by bursting through a trailer via harness while he adorned a park ranger costume, Tyler’s set was funny, intricate, and at times vulnerable, a reflection of who Tyler is as an overall artist. He brought out a star-studded lineup of Childish Gambino, A$AP Rocky and Kali Uchis, and showcased a particularly sweet duet of “Earfquake” alongside Charlie Wilson.
“Every time I write a song with vocals, I copy this N—a right here. The motherfucking greatest,” Tyler said of Wilson.
Tyler didn’t tease any new music as some fans had hoped when he was announced as a headliner in January, but he kept his show fresh with a wide-ranging set representing his full musical breadth. He recalled his first Coachella with Odd Future (and alluded to briefly getting kicked out over drama with super soakers) then ran through a rapid fire section of early era tracks like “Tamale,” “Yonkers” “Odd Toddlers,” and “She.”
He finished his set just before curfew, with a parting message that was started gracious and ended absurd, just after he jokingly egged on the crowd to boo Tollett for the show ending.
“To everyone who came to see me, I appreciate your attention and watching me. I’m so excited to clean my dick and go to sleep because I’m sweating balls,” he said. “If you do molly and you end up in an orgy, use protection, because n—as is dirty.” — E.M.
No Doubt About It
“I didn’t think this was really gonna happen, did you?” Gwen Stefani yells as as she starts singing “Keep On Dancing” to begin No Doubt’s Coachella set Saturday night. The classic ska-punk group’s show was among the most unlikely and surprising of the weekend, marking No Doubt’s first show together in nine years.
The novelty didn’t seem to wear off for Stefani, who paused multiple times during the set feigning her own surprise that the group was even on stage.
“You really showed up to Coachella, Saturday night 2024 to see No Doubt play for the first time in nine years? Are you crazy?” She asked midway through the set.
No Doubt’s reunion gave a stark reminder of just how many hits the band has amassed, performing songs including “Don’t Speak,” “Just A Girl,” “Underneath It All” and “Hey Baby.” Of course the most viral moment of the show came when they brought up Olivia Rodrigo to help perform “Bathwater.”
“Come here my little vampire,” Stefani said, hugging Rodrigo as she left the stage. — E.M.
It’s All a Blur
The one-time Coachella headlining britpop group made their return to the desert on Saturday, marking the band’s first North American concert (aside from a Coachella warmup gig last week) in nine years.
Albarn himself has been a Coachella regular for the past few years, joining Billie Eilish as a surprise guest during her headlining set and playing last year for the Gorillaz’ show prior to the Blur gig now.
In their hour-long set on the main stage before No Doubt’s reunion show, the group started with “St. Charles Square,” and also played “Goodbye Albert” “Girls & Boys” and “Death of a Party” along with their ubiquitous “Song 2.”
“This song has been so good to us. I did get shown a TikTok of it being kind of performed by a vacuum cleaner,” Albarn told the crowd before starting that latter song. “It’s humbling and inspiring at the same time.” – E.M.
Jakob Nowell Resurrects Sublime
The biggest question heading into Sublime’s first full-length show in nearly 30 years was if Jakob Nowell could effectively fill the role of his late father Bradley. After witnessing their debut at Coachella, the answer is a resounding yes.
The band took the stage after a pre-recorded video hit the screens with Jakob pointing out his father’s trsgic passing at 28, noting that he’s now the same age. “I’m trying as much as I can to reinvigorate the band,” Nowell said in the video.
In the band’s 50-minute set on the main stage on Saturday, at times Nowell was a carbon copy of his father, jumping from a death metal-like growl into his father’s trilling higher falsetto. “It’s a family business,” Nowell said, panting after running through Sublime’s classic “What I Got.”
He was witty, joking for Lana Del Rey to come on stage as they performed “Doin’ Time,” referencing Lana covering the Sublime song during her headlining set Friday.
The band took the stage after a brief recording in which Nowell talks about how “he’s “trying as much as I can to reinvigorate the brand.” – E.M.
Raye Is Always Real
Only Raye could bring a full orchestra — strings, woodwinds, backup singers and all — to the middle of the desert and make it work.
After a triumphant performance on Saturday Night Live last week, the singer took at Coachella’s Mojave tent dressed in what she described as “office chic” to perform standout songs from My 21st Century Blues.
“We got 45 mins and we’re gonna give you the best that we’ve got,” Raye told the crowd as she performed songs such as “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Mary Jane” as she gave a schpiel about addiction. Raye wasn’t afraid to take a dark turn as she performed “Ice Cream Man” and told the crowd about her experience with sexual assault and rape. “It’s a horrible word to say out loud,” she said before fighting back tears. “It’s not an easy song for me to do.”
Things got a bit more upbeat as she closed her set singing her voice to the EDM Cassö collab “Prada,” and of course, “Escapism,” her breakthrough. Raye can SANG. – T.M.
Santa Fe Klan reps México on Day Two
Y’all ever seen a rapper play the accordion? Santa Fe Klan told Rolling Stone ahead of his performance that he was ready to represent Mexico and its hip-hop scene on the biggest Coachella stage. What he didn’t tease? The cumbia bangers he’d drop during his set.
Santa Fe Klan switched effortlessly between fiery rap verses with cumbias that sent tfhe crowd dancing.“I want to leave the crowd with a Mexican party so that they leave my set wanting more Mexico,” Santa told Rolling Stone. “Lots of green, white, and red confetti will be flying.”
The singer even brought on some special guests: Nanpa Básico for “Te Iré a Buscar” and Tornillo for “Un Día Todo Se Termina.” – T.M.
Vampire Weekend Goes Country (And Plays Cornhole With Paris Hilton)
Vampire Weekend brought Stagecoach to the Empire Polo Club two weeks early, devoting the final segment of their surprise afternoon set on Saturday to an extended (and deeply entertaining) country shuffle medley of “Married in a Gold Rush,” “All The Gold in California,” “Sin City” “Cumberland Blues” and “Possum.”
“The truth is when I got the text [to play the festival], I was twisted off that ranch water, I wasn’t sure if it was Coachella or Stagecoach,” Ezra Koenig joked as the band started to jam.
The band isn’t above some nonsense, enlisting Paris Hilton and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator to games of Cornhole with fool’s gold for the crowd on the line. Soon after, the band was throwing gold chocolate bars into the crowd. Country shuffle aside, the band played a few songs from their just-released album Only God Was Above Us and older favorites like “A-Punk,” “This Life,” “Unbelievers” and “Holiday.”
“It’s an honor to play for you in this late afternoon sun,” Koenig said. “Truly a week ago you didn’t know we were going to be here, we didn’t either. Life’s funny like that.”
Blxst Brings Out Feid and All the R&B
“There aren’t that many artists like him on the lineup,” said Tinashe in the crowd as he watched Blxst take the Outdoor Theatre stage.
The R&B star took the stage from inside a black classic car, wearing a green snapback and bedazzled jorts as an eagle mascot hyped the crowd onstage and in the crowd. The musician performed tracks such as “Gang Slide” and “Peru” and his verse in Kendrick Lamar’s “Die Hard” as the crowd swayed and sang back the tracks’ lyrics.
“Not gonna lie my voice is out like a mothafucker but we pushing through,” he said. (The crowd definitely couldn’t tell.)
Blxst surprised the crowd with an appearance from Colombian reggaeton star Feid for a performance of their recent collaboration, “Rewind.” Feid took the stage draped in Karol G’s new collaborative jersey with Spotify and Barcelona. We love a supportive boyfriend. – T.M.
Like Grrrrah
All Ice Spice needed was to shake a lil (or a lot of) ass to get an ovation from the packed-to-the-brim Sahara stage Saturday night.
Spice commanded the stage adorned with inflatable subway cars at Fordham Road station and a giant Maggie Simpson-style version of Ice Spice hovering over the crowd. “Baddies say hi!” Ice, dressed in a black I.AM.GIA lace bodysuit, asked the crowd after performing “Munch.”
The crowd also went wild after she played some of her biggest collabs in a row, starting with “Karma” as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce watched from the audience. After turning the stage pink for “Barbie World,” as she shouted out Nicki Minaj, she debuted a catchy new song that had the crowd roaring. Y2K can’t come any sooner. – T.M.
Jonny Pierce Is a Gem
Dressed in a bedazzled leather jacket, Jonny Pierce danced freely onstage as he performed some of the Drums’ biggest songs like “Let’s Go Surfin,” “I Don’t Know How to Love,” and “Money” as visuals of wrestlers and gymnasts decorated the onstage screens.
Pierce also performed a pair of songs — “I Want It All” and “Obvious” from his recent album Jonny. He told Rolling Stone last October that maybe that album wasn’t one “to be shared with the masses,” but the reaction from the dancing and frolicking crowd at his set said otherwise.
“Maybe this is an album that isn’t to be shared with the masses or big groups of people can sit down and just listen to it together. Maybe this new album, Jonny, is for the headphones and for closing your door and putting on the vinyl, and just being alone with it,” he says. “That actually feels like a beautiful way to experience this album.” — T.M.
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