When the headline act came out for this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, I was so excited, and there were so many artists that I knew, such as Taemin and Justin Bieber, but with tickets selling for $500-600, I would have to sell my arms and legs if I wanted to be there.
(CLICK THE IMAGES FOR YOUTUBE PERFORMANCES)
So the sensible option was just to lie back in bed and enjoy the live streams that happened over the weekend. Websites such as Youtube were streaming and it was a fun experience overall for weekend 1 and 2.
Stage: Mojave
Rating: 9/10
The first artist I saw on the live stream was a K-pop artist named Taemin. He was just a magical force on the screen, showing off with amazing dance moves and singing ability. He was hitting high notes left and right for songs such as “Heaven” and “Guilty.”
He was showing six unreleased songs that were amazing and up his alley for mature and classical themes for past songs like “Criminal.” He was the first to have me regret, maybe not saving enough to see him in person. “This is the bar people need to be reaching for when it comes to Coachella sets.” – muchofficial
His presence completely dominated the stage and captivated not only the audience but also viewers at home, such as myself. You can see examples of his dancing and singing here, where he performs “Guilty.”
Stage: Coachella
Rating: 7/10
After being blessed by Taemin, I was suddenly brought back to nostalgia alley. Though people found Justin Bieber’s performance lazy, as he was just performing with a laptop and nothing else, I found it to be something comfortable as we, along with Bieber, delved deeper into his career.
Bieber was singing old hits like “Baby” and newer ones like “Stay” with The Kid Laroi. It’s a refreshing tone to see him embrace his older songs when he was exploited as a kid and made to do a lot of things at a younger age.
The longevity is what amazed me about this performance, as he still has a great singing voice that pulled the hearts of mine and Katy Perry, who was also in the crowd for some reason.
Stage: Mojave
Rating: 8/10
It’s been a long time coming seeing this man perform on stage, but this performance on my small laptop screen will have to do. Fuji Kaze is an artist I picked up years ago, and to sum up his set at Coachella with one word, it would be “content.” His voice and songs just go hand in hand, which gives the effect of a monk’s mantra. Songs like “Hachiko” and “Matsuri” were pure vibes to listen to, leaving me fully content.
You can listen to this man sing forever, and you wouldn’t get bored with it. Is that an exaggeration, maybe? Though I still will keep following his progress to even bigger stages.
Stage: Outdoor theatre
Rating: 10/10
“Wow,” is all I could think about during their opening and closing. This was the mark of their 20th anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than to just dominate the set and make Coachella into their own concert. You can hear the roars from the crowd even from my screen, and the many BIGBANG merch you saw, like lightsticks, were waved in the air by hundreds of people.
They opened with “Bang Bang Bang,” which just had me sitting up and attentive. I didn’t want to miss anything from such a legendary group praised in Korea. Everything was on point from their vocal ability to their dancing, which was so fun and electric.
Even more praise came through for the member, Daesung. Who brought Korean trot over to the West with songs like “Hando-Chogua” and “Look at me, Gwisun.” Trot is the equivalent of American country songs or European folk music. It’s a cultural genre that brought many Korean fans pride to the max.
This was a legendary lineup with many talented artists. I almost regret not buying tickets, but will I do it for next year? I think not, I’ll change my mind if the tickets were cheaper. For now, I’ll just enjoy my Coachella experience from home.
