Report from the Field from Coachella #1

where at a little break of the Cochall Festival web cast the Next band will not be up untill 8:35 PM

so i check the first Instane reviews form the LA times web blog of the event which i will put up Late tonight.

The Web Cast Bands

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Brother Ali delivers knockout punch

Having Brother Ali play a midafternoon set on the main stage could be construed as somebody's idea of a bad joke. The rapper, an albino Muslim from Minneapolis, turned it into genius, joking that "I'm roasting here in the sun like chicken on the rotisserie" and even shucking his sunglasses to bathe in the adulation of an adoring crowd.

Ali would have been seriously hot in any kind of weather. Playing largely material from his new album, "The Undisputed Truth," Ali railed against all manner of political and social injustice, as well as detouring to deliver a heartfelt song about having to tell his young son that his marriage was failing. "Sometimes we outgrow the roles that we play / but I'm gonna have a happy ending to my story today," he said. Another Everyman anthem acknowledged that the rapper, paunchy and in his 30s, is no pin-up -- and some of fans might not be model material either -- but it's all about loving yourself.

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Noisettes: A tent does not a club make

Noisettes singer Shingai Shoniwa milked the drama for all it was worth in the steamy Mojave Tent, but the British trio's set never quite took off. Ah, the travails of being the leadoff band. Indeed, the tunes on the band's new album, "What's the Time Mr Wolf?" -- a collection of garagey blues that could go down fine with a cold beer in a cozy club -- are not exactly the kind of fodder for bright, sunny days. The tent, crowded at the beginning of the set, had thinned a bit by the end of the set, but that's no reflection on Shoniwa's pipes, or her moves, which included some monitor calisthenics and an improbable balancing act.

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Non-Web Cast Bands

Satellite Party: Not exactly out of this world

August Brown takes on Satellite Party before kicking it to the West Hollywood Guitar Center to buy a sick new phaser pedal:

The administrative oversight that allowed Perry Farrell and Nuno Bettencourt to segue from speed metal fromage into a dub-reggae breakdown needs to be corrected by next year's Coachella. The weekend is full of welcome '90s reunions but Satellite Party, the new project from the former Jane's Addiction frontman and the former Extreme axe-slinger, seems seems to have never actually left the decade. Farrell's white unbuttoned blouse billowed around him as he preened and spouted chin-stroking koans like "Through love, you can never be stopped" and "Now I know why your mother loved you so much. I want to bounce you on my knee."

Bettencourt had goofball charm as he soloed to the gods without a sliver of self-awareness. But Farrell's wife and backup singer, Etty Lau Farrell, was more representative of the set. She had little to do besides adjust her top and slither down an imaginary stripper pole. There's a time and place for this behavior, and Farrell lived it more than 20 years ago.

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Desert dealings, Vol. I

This year's early fashion statement: flags of the world.

Goldenvoice promoters acknowledged that there were more European and South American tickets sales than ever for this year's festival, and visitors to Indio answered their urge to represent. Draped from festival-goers shoulders were the maple leaf of Canada, the red and white cross of Sweden and the usual (for Southern California) complement of Mexican flags -- not to mention a prized relic, the flag of the former U.S.S.R.

Random quote du jour: "Look at my knuckles! Look at my knuckles! That's what happens when I don't have enough water."

Danny DeVito just walked by. He wasn't checking his knuckles.
[First Star Sighting]

This just in: Most bands have special wristbands that allow them access to the stage. Bjork and her posse have magic rings.

On Thursday night at the campground, the must-see TV was the movie "The Song Remains the Same," shown on the big screen at the mini-tent city.

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the Temp in Indio 95*
Plam Spring 103*
Humity is Very, Very Low

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The Next Band up i would Like
Tilly and the Wall