click on the thumbs for bigger versions of the pics:
saturday
hybrid

i've seen these guys a few times and they tend to blow hot or cold. they were great. i'm a big fan of elec tric guitar meets electronic music and that sounded good. perry farrel is a beautiful freak and it was great to see/hear him playing with these guys
joey beltram
an electronic legend - he played a blinder.
carl cox
i read a bunch of good reviews of this set but i was disappointed. i felt like it was constantly on the verge of going off but never quite getting there. i missed ladytron for this and that blew.
imogen heap

i had never heard of her but my friends wanted to check her our. quirky and beautiful stuff but i think the huge outdoor arena is not really the environment for her.
kanye west
started late so i got about 5 minutes fo this. at the risk of sounding like my dad, i'm not sure what all the fuss is about.
sigur ros
i caught sigur ros at my first coachella a few years ago and i've seen them a handful of times since. i'm starting to think seen-them-once, seen-them-all.
franz ferdinand
relentlessly upbeat and highly enjoyable. they're starting to sound very samey but it was still a great set.
the juan maclean
i caught about five minutes of these guys while i was waiting for the tesla coil to crank up. i must check them out as what i heard was great.
depeche mode
celebrating my 20 year anniversary with these guys - saw them in 1986 in edinburgh! i felt they phoned it in a bit but still great to hear them in this venue.
daft punk
the absolute highlight of the weekend. their set was non-stop dance and their light/show, costumes, etc. were beyond belief. one of the most spectacular live sets i've ever experienced.
sunday
the magic numbers
another act i had never heard of but glad i caught. folksy, hippy pop. we bought the cd to listen to on the return journey and it's great.
matisyahu

i thought this was a gimmick but this guy really has talent. his wordplay is amazing and he did about 10 minutes of beatbox which was incredible.
paul oakenfold
played a blinder. i saw him recently in slt and, again, he played a great set. previously he's disappointed but these last couple of times, he's played up to his hype.
jamie lidell
another one i caught about 3 minutes of in passing but must check out.
madonna

she may have been 30 minutes late and only played 325 minutes but it was worth the wait. she's truly talented on stage. it was a very dancey/electronic set and the highlight, for me, was ray of light.
the go! team
these guys remind me of bis. again, i only caught a fraction of their set but i need to seek them out. very upbeat. very fun.
scissor sisters
they were pretty much everything i expected (good thing) but by this time i was so drained by the heat and the weekend, i had to sit down and just listen. my feet were killing me by this point
tool
i've never really understood the fuss abotu these guys so i figured it must be their live show. i enjoyed this a lot. they put a huge amount of thought into the spectacle and i was pretty impressed. i need to listen to more of their music.
related stuff
joshua tree

we camped in joshua tree national park which is about 40 minutes away. great decision in retrospect. it's beautiful. highlight was barker dam which is just the trippiest place:


tesla coil

pictures and words never do a giant tesla coil justice. you really have to be there. i've got a movie somewhere - i'll upload that soon.
finally, i got to meet oopsy daisy and furnace and wished i could have had more time. next time...
alasdair