Coachella 2013: Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs reaffirm indie rock - Los Angeles Times
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Coachella 2013: Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs reaffirm indie rock

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Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A choir of child “Bad Seeds” on stage for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Show lighting on the Outdoor stage.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The crowd reacts during Father John Misty’s performance in the Gobi tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Father John Misty performs in the Gobi tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple outside the Gobi tent on the third and final day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of the Lucent Dossier Experience performs on the Do LaB stage on the last day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of the Lucent Dossier Experience performs on the Do LaB stage on the last day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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A member of the Lucent Dossier Experience performs on the Do LaB stage on the last day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers on the main stage .  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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A fan reacts to Kurt and The Violators.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple kiss in the audience during the performance by Kurt Vile and The Violators.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Kurt Vile performs on the Outdoor stage.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The scene as the sun sets.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The crowd relaxes and keeps cool while listening to Dinosaur Jr.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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J Mascis, lead singer of Dinosaur Jr.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun sets over the crowd watching Tame Impala perform.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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As part of the art offerings at this year’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival concert-goers could pose with a long balloon chain..  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Hot weather hit the Coachella valley on the final day of the festival.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Jennifer Aaronson helps her children Mikayla, 4, and Brayden, 2, eat watermelon between shows on the last day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Samy Boogaard and Riley Cookie with a homemade sign encouraging concert-goers to smile.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Music fans cool of in the Do LaB on the third and final day of the second weekend, of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Inflatable whales are tossed around by music fans cooling off in the Do LaB.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Mikel Jollett and Anna Bulbrook of the Airborne Toxic Event perform on the main stag.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple shades themselves under a scarf while watching Ghost B.C. perform on the main stage.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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A concertgoer sways to the XX as it performs on the main stage on the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Oliver Sim of the XX performs on the main stage.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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2 Chainz performs on day two of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Backstage with 2 Chainz after his performance.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars on the main stage.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Night falls on Day 2 of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Walshy Fire, of the musical project called Major Lazer, runs across the crowd in a giant ball during Lazer’s show in the mojave tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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DJ Diplo, left, creator of the musical project Major Lazer, along with DJ Jillionaire, at the start of Lazer’s show in the mojave tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Walshy Fire of Major Lazer surfs the crowd in the mojave tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A crowd forms outside the mojave tent during Major Lazer’s performance.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple dances inside the yuma tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Don Munoz of Temecula performs poi with flo lights inside the Yuma tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun begins to set as seen through the sea of people overflowing from the mojave tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Concertgoers dance as the sun sets over Day 2 of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Concertgoers dance on a steamy Saturday afternoon.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Concertgoers dance as the sun sets over Day 2 of Coachella.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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The Helix Poeticus, created by Poetic Kinetics from Los Angeles, makes its way, slowly, across the polo field.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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An aerial performer swings through a performance at the Do LaB stage.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Lead singer Jehnny Beth of the all-female British band Savages performs on the mojave stage.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Hector Gonzalez, left, and Rodolfo Alcaraz, both from Mexicali, Mexico, put on their Lucha Libre masks for some dance time near the Sahara tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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DJ Baauer on stage in the Sahara tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Dancers during the set of DJ Baauer in the Sahara tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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DJ Baauer performs in the Sahara tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A fury dancer during the set of DJ Baauer, in the Sahara tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Sarah Weston, of Venice, waves her American Flag scarf while dancing to Allen Stone.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple held up a sign saying “Boston Strong” before the start of the Dropkick Murphys.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A Boston Bruins hockey team hat is held high during the performance of the Dropkick Murphys.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Josh Wallace of the Dropkick Murphys sported a Boston Celtics jersey while playing his bagpipes on the Coachella Stage.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Al Barr, lead singer of the band Dropkick Murphys, gets close to the crowd of the Coachella Stage during their Boston-patriot performance.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Eric Mor and George Nunez dance with fellow music fans on Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Revelers dance while getting sprayed with water at the Do LaB tent on Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Bebe Ortega dances with Hector Jarquin in the Sahara tent on Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio..  (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)
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Theophilus London performs on the Coachella Stage on Saturday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans cheer for Theophilus London during his set.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Jan Kemper, from Berlin, Germany, enjoyed some down time in front of the Coachella Stage on Saturday.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The Twin Tesla Coils by artist Syd Klinge go off amid colorful palm trees and the Coachella Power Station, left, by artists Vanessa Bonet, Derek Doublin and Chris Waggoner, late Friday evening at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A charging station for cellphones and the like was a popular place as night fell on Friday at Coachella.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The DJ/producer duo making up TNGHT, Lunice Fermin Pierre II, left and Ross Birchard, better known as Lunice and Hudson Mohawke, respectively, perform on the first night of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Damon Albarn performs with Blur to close Day 1 of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Ian Brown performs with the Stone Roses on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Damon Albarn and his band Blur on the Coachella Stage.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The Stone Roses acknowledge an appreciative crowd at the end of their encore.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Nick Cave and his band Grinderman perform in the Mojave tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Isaac Brock, lead singer of the band Modest Mouse, is seen on a screen as the sun sets over the first day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Isaac Brock, lead singer of the band Modest Mouse.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans cheer on the band Modest Mouse.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun sets on the first day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple relaxes inside the Yuma tent.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Emily Haines, lead singer of the band Metric.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Guitarist Johnny Marr performs on the first day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Music fans cool off in the Do LaB.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Music fans cool off in the Do LaB.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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The crowd cheers for Los Angeles-area band the Neighbourhood on Friday, the first day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Jesse Rutherford, lead singer of the Neighbourhood, performs on the first day of the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Attendees make their way to and from the acts at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A full campground seen against a backdrop of the San Jacinto mountains for the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Two women enter the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple celebrate their entrance with an aerial maneuver at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Delaney Rhoads, 18, left, from Des Moines, and Melia Scaletty, 24, from Kansas City, Mo., relax in front of the Outdoor Theatre stage during a performance by the Neighbourhood.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Jesse Rutherford of the Neighbourhood performs.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A picture of actor Bill Murray stands out in the crowd during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Groups of people who carpooled pose for photos after getting their credentials for the second week of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Anya Sergayevna, 24, of Mammoth Lakes, has had her snow leopard mask for the last four Coachellas and stands on top of her car while in line to enter the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A group celebrates their drive from Vancouver while waiting in line to enter the Empire Polo Club in Indio.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Britney Mellone, 24, of Boston, attending her first Coachella, performs acro yoga atop Angelo Vo Vera Sapienza,25, from Phoenix, while waiting to enter the Empire Polo Club in Indio for the second week of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
By Jessica Gelt
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With its wild, discordant sound and bizarre song structure, Modest Mouse is one of the most unlikely superstar rock bands of modern times. Similarly, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the grungy pop rock band helmed by the unstoppable Karen O, seems like a band you might come across at a local underground rock club. Which is why it’s so remarkable to see both on the mainstage at Coachella this year.

It’s not that either band recently broke out. They both have had massive hits and have accumulated a worldwide fan base. It’s just that they remind us that indie rock is alive and well, and their performances at Coachella on Friday night proved that.

COACHELLA 2013: What to see and do

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Modest Mouse took the long road to fame, having formed in 1993, and putting in years on the road until it saw mainstream takeoff. That’s why it was so great to hear singer Isaac Brock joke about how the band prepared for its Coachella set. Lighting, check. Elaborate stage rigging, check. Backdrop, check. And a wild sunset crowd to prove it matters.

Later, Yeah Yeah Yeahs took to the stage like a firestorm with Karen O aflame in an embroidered canary yellow rock ‘n’ roll pant suit. With her choppy bleach-blond hair, smeared mascara, single leather motorcycle glove and wild stage moves, O is by far one of the best frontwomen of our time. She’s like a cross between Joan Jett and Debbie Harry, but with an early aughts twist.

“Cheers, Coachella!” she yelled midway through the band’s energetic set, raising a clear plastic cup that looked like it definitely contained a cocktail.

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From there it was all raw and wired rock ‘n’ roll with O swinging the mic over her head like a helicopter, bouncing up and down on the drum riser, getting down on her knees before a raucous guitar solo and once balancing the mic in her mouth upside down with no hands.

“Sometimes I think that I’m bigger than the sound,” she sang during “Cheated Hearts,” her voice blasting through the night like a rusty hinge.

And as the crowd sang along, dancing with abandon, it was clear that, yes, she was.

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Jessica Gelt

Jessica Gelt is an arts and culture writer for the Los Angeles Times.

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