Orange County Register

Took us an hour and a half to get from a hotel 15 minutes away … but Team Coachella still strolled in casually to find Rogue Wave kicking off the main stage at 1:30. I left that set to Heidi and high-tailed it to the Sahara tent, where I was greeted by DJ Mehdi spinning Bowie’s “Lady Stardust” (what a nice way to start the afternoon) just before the trio Midnight Juggernauts emerged.

Good electro/trad-gear hybrid stuff, with paisley melodies and falsetto vocals over meaty beats — Scissor Sisters de-disco-fied and covering the Flaming Lips. Twenty minutes was enough, though — decent visual backdrop, but as you’d expect early afternoon, it’s just a morsel of an appetizer for the real attractions in the tents tonight, Aphex Twin and Fatboy Slim.

Hanging now on the grass in the shade (whew!) watching veteran L.A. power-punk-pop outfit Redd Kross kick up a few garage-raw favorites from its deeper-than-you-realize catalog. I’m definitely feeling like it’s gonna be a dancing day, heavy on the synthetic and loopy and fun. But it’s nice to know there’s still a home for something like the Kross at Coachella.

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