L’Imperatrice, a French sextet that plays a joyful blend of vintage French pop, funk and disco, delivered the first real Coachella moment of 2022 at their mid-afternoon set in the Gobi tent on Saturday.
A true Coachella moment can’t be planned or predicted, you see. There’s an element of surprise that’s required. It needs to be unexpected.
That’s why Arcade Fire’s set Friday night doesn’t entirely count. You knew what greatness they would deliver. They had their Coachella moment that night in 2007 they played the Outdoor stage at sunset.
L’Imperatrice, however, had scant U.S. experience, and none at Coachella. So when its six members walked on stage in coordinated Pierre Cardin outfits in various shades of orange, it could have gone any direction.
And when the large plastic hearts pinned to their chests started to pulsate with red lights and a low bass heartbeat; well, that was intriguing, but still no guarantee.
Then the music started and everything fell into place for the Coachella moment to come.
With Flore Benguigui, the group’s singer and sole female member at the center of the stage, the rest of the band lit into one deep groove after another to the dancing delight of a crowd that overflowed far beyond the canopy of the Gobi tent. (Spillover crowds are another sign of a moment, natch.)
“Peur des Filles,” or “Fear of Girls,” was an early highlight. Did we mention Benguigui sings primarily in French? Please forgive us for the absence of more song titles; we’re long past our last college French class.
The grooves were mostly fat bass riffs and squelchy synths with skittering funk guitars mixed in.
Benguigui was très enchanté as a frontwoman, but the guys were fun, too. At one point, two guitarists and the bassist delighted the crowd with their coordinated dance steps, playing their instruments as they stepped forward, back, side to side, finishing as they kneeled at the edge of the stage.
I’m well into the bounce-and-sway stage of my dancing at concerts life. By the end of L’Imperatrice, I was pogoing up and down with the rest of the crowd. Another sign of the Coachella moment.
Here’s what else I caught before the sun went down on Saturday.
• The Los Angeles band Wallows drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Outdoor stage on Saturday afternoon. Their fresh-faced indie rock, and songs such as “Especially You” and “Pleaser” delivered catchy rhythms and singalong lyrics.
• British singer Arlo Parks played a lovely set in Gobi after L’Imperatrice. She’s got a classic songwriter feel on songs such as “Caroline.” She joined Phoebe Bridgers to sing on a pair of songs Friday night. On Saturday, Bridgers returned the favor, coming out to sing with Parks.
• Japanese Breakfast, the indie rock band fronted by Michele Zauner, had played Coachella before in the Gobi tent. On Saturday, they thrilled a large crowd in the larger Mojave.
• R&B singer Giveon, who grew up in Long Beach, drew a huge crowd to the Main stage for his sunset set. His rich soulful voice was a warm delight on songs such as “For Tonight” and “Heartbreak Anniversary.”
• Japanese singer Rina Sawayama, who now lives in London sometimes earns comparisons to Lady Gaga for songs of self-empowerment and self-love, as well her LGBT-positive anthems.
Songs such as “Love Me 4 Me” and “Bad Friend” had the dancing crowd, the majority of whom self-identified as LGBT when Sawayama, who identifies as queer, asked. She finished up the packed Gobi set with “Cherry,” which she introduced as her “coming out song,” and “Free Woman,” a Gaga song she was asked to cover for the Lady’s “Chromatica” remix album.
• The singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek reminds me a little bit of Kate Bush, with whom she shares a similarly dramatic and dance-oriented stage presence.
Her set in Gobi was captivating with both fan favorites such as “Bunny Was A Rider” and a few new songs such as “Smoke.” In the crowd watching was Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, a similarly creative artist.
Turnstile, the Baltimore punk rock band, had the most joyful energetic crowd of the day. Most of the half-full Mojave was a raucous mosh pit of sweaty smiling fans. Singer Brendan Yates ended the show singing “T.L.C” as he crowd surfed the mosh pit.
