Following the awesomeness that was Death From Above 1979, it dawned on my that the weekend was almost over. Coachella is really an experience, even beyond the music; the people, the sights, the conversation, the atmosphere–everything stays with you and really creates a sense of wholeness, of totality. I was exhausted, sticky with sweat, and completely enlivened. For a moment, I was disheartened that the weekend was coming to a close. But then I stopped being sad and started being awesome instead (thanks, NPH). After all, The Strokes and Kanye West still had to the Main Stage to conquer.

The Strokes looking all bug-eyed and New York-y and stuff.

I’ll make these reviews short and sweet because these aren’t exactly emerging bands. The Strokes was by far one of the most fun sets of the weekend, mostly because I was dancing around like a madwoman: completely unhindered, thrashing about, and singing along with all the songs (did I mention that I love the Strokes?). The oldies were what I treasured most, seeing as I haven’t been able to get into their new album, Angles, as much. Songs like “Last Nite”, “Reptilia”, and “Under Control” brought me back to my frivoulous and oh-so youthful days…like…2 years ago. (Quick anecdote about “Under Control“: I turned to Boyfriend during the set and said “I hope they play that one song–I can’t remember the title. It goes…um…Bah bum, bah bum, bah bum, bah bum ‘I don’t wanna waaaaste your tiiiimeee…’” And then BAM! Right as I was singing it, the real life BAH BUM, BAH BUM, BAH BUM, BAH BUM [Cue Julian!] ‘I don’t wanna waaaaste…’ came on! I turned and looked at Boyfriend like…WHOA. I’M TOTALLY PSYCHIC. And then proceeded to jam out. It was awesome.)

In an epic story of epic proportions, the one and only Kanye West closed out Coachella 2011. His set featured a GIANT relief statue backdrop and a bunch of dancing chicks in nude-colored leotards. He stood high above the crowd as he swiveled around in some sort of glorified cherry-picker thing, and attempted to sing a few times (the only time I’ve ever been thankful for auto-tune). Bon Iver lead singer Justin Vernon was a guest on stage while Kanye powered through tracks including “Runaway”, “Dark Fantasy”, and “Monster” (no surprise Nicki Minaj guest appearance, sadly) off his new album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He played older favorites including “Homecoming”, “Gold Digger”, and “Jesus Walks” as well (more rap battles between me and imaginary adversaries ensued). Kanye also gave a humbling speech about how thankful he is to have fans despite his past less-than-favorable antics, and I was happy to see that he had both a heart and a conscience. Making even more of a softie out of me and 30,000 or so other onlookers, he closed the show with “Hey Mama” and a dedication to his late mother that definitely brought a tear to my eye.

Kanye West, looking all soulful and stuff.

Overall? What a freaking weekend.

Alright folks, here’s a Coache11a recap:

Overall Favorite sets:

1. Foals
2. Tie between Arcade Fire/The Strokes
3. Crystal Castles
4. Cold War Kids
5. !!!

Memorable Moments

• Randomly seeing/professing my love to Nate Ruess of fun. on the festival grounds
• Hearing Julian Casablancas slur the most ridiculous comments ever between songs
• Seeing Death From Above 1979
• Seeing Mac and Dee from Always Sunny at the DFA 1979 set
• Dancing right next to Glee’s Cory Monteith (Finn) (creepy link, nbd) at The Strokes
• Meeting some really ridiculous/awesome people (especially the guy rocking the Hawaiian shirt who looked like Emile Hirsch from Alpha Dog)
• Boyfriend, singing Arcade Fire loudly as we were leaving the set, being told by a random British man that he has “the voice of an angel!” and that “he’s the Arcade Fire guy!” and “You should totally stop by our camp, my girlfriend would love you!”
• Being so entirely exhausted but not even wanting to leave
• Seeing Tyler, the Creator from OFWGKTA with my own two eyes
• Giving two tired and stranded (and really nice) concertgoers a lift to their hotel
• Getting a sweet Kanye sweatshirt, an awesome Foals T-shirt, and the Total Life Forever vinyl (thanks, Boyfriend)

My totally rad/weird Kanye sweatshirt

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my Coachella experience as much as I enjoyed sharing it. I can’t wait to go back next year–hopefully I’ll see you there!

Also, feel free to give me some feedback: leave a comment, or email me at claire@bestnewbands.com. I love that stuff.