My third year attending Coachella brought a few new experiences since attending in both 2009, and in 2008, most notable of which was actually attending all three days, rather than simply the first two.

Overall, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it was a great weekend. Temperatures were moderate (80s), people were (mostly) friendly, and the musical acts were amazing, seemingly more so than in the previous two years. As such, it’s been difficult for me to pick out my favorite musical experience from the weekend, as there were simply so many. Going in to the festival, I hadn’t really heard of many of the bands, but thanks to a handy online playlist, I was able to whet my appetite and get a sense of who I actually had an interest in seeing. Circled are all the sets I attended, followed by comments regarding my favorites:

Friday:

• Proving that yes, in fact, good music does come out of Syracuse, Ra Ra Riot rocking with a perfect blend of guitars and strings. Wish we’d seen their whole set.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

• Passion Pit basically redeeming the concept of the synthesizer.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Saturday:

• Temper Trap being one of only a handful of bands that can realistically use falsetto to actually bring a level of beauty to an otherwise driving rock song.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

• In what was perhaps my favorite (although it’s a tough call) set of the weekend, MGMT proving that the influence of The Kinks can still be felt in 2010. I had only planned to catch the beginning of this set and then move on to see another artist, but I simply had to stay and hear the whole thing. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

• The blues is not dead! Jack White’s newest musical incarnation (as the drummer, no less!), The Dead Weather absolutely reinventing what you can do with 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 drum kit, 1 singer, and 3 blues chords.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Sunday:

• Taking a cue from my man Jon Brion, Owen Pallet proving that a violin, a voice, and a looper is all that you really need to create a musical feast.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

• Living up to the hype, Phoenix being perhaps the best showmen of the entire festival. Everyone in the crowd was 100% into their set. I was a bit skeptical at first, but they won me over.

  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Overall, an amazing festival that I will be sure to attend next year as well. Who’s with me?