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Surviving this weekend in Coachella in 100+ degree heat surrounded by thousands of screaming rock-and-roll maniacs will definitely put this weekend in the books. Not because of the heat or because of our camping conditions, but because of the phenomenal performances unveiled before my eyes. What's been said about Radiohead before doesn't need to be repeated, but I will say that it was even better than the last time I saw them. Awesome.

The first act we saw was Q And Not U. We caught the tail-end of their performance right before my main man, Beck, and I'll say what we heard was impressive. First, I thought they sounded like any other punk band, but after a longer listen, the groove set in and I was drawn in. Drawn in enough to warrant checking out their stuff later on. Tower Records anyone?

Following our alphabetical (or syntactical?) experience, Beck played a solo acoustic set for a crowd of apparently 8000 in the smallest tent at the venue. I had no idea there were that many people until I read the Times article this morning chronicling the unpleasant experience of those outside. Lucky us, we got shade under the roof and a great show to go along with it.

Sunday we caught a couple of great acts that I had never heard before. The emphatically named !!! started off Sunday with a full-frontal-funkdafied assault of the senses. From a distance, we couldn't see much, but their musical performance was captivating. Another new catch for me that I'll check out later. Next up was Belle And Sebastian. Not bad, but I guess not entirely my cup of tea.

Ultimately, the most mind-blowing discovery this weekend was Muse. Their musicianship alone was enough to hook me on their sound. Blending piano in with some violently aggressive guitars may sound quite odd, but they pulled it off, and then some. If they're ever in LA, I'm going to see them perform on their own. They have a new fan here. Highly recommended to check out if one has the time.

Air put on a great show filled with a terrific mood and a visually stunning array of musical talent by their drummer. Having listened to a couple of their CD's, I was wondering what a performance would be like and how it would come off live. The answer: flawless transition. They showed utter devotion to a warm vibe, but I now have to re-listen to their discs to see if the lead singer really has that thick of a lisp.

Unfortunately, after descending from outer space in a giant bubble onto the crowd, Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips played a short and somewhat disappointing set. Depressing.

Call me a sell-out, call me a non-fan, but I was so looking forward to The Cure that I imagine expectations were set too high, and I left feeling a little underwhelmed. Either that or my ass was too fatigued to enjoy it. Not only that, but the dude tripping on E next to me was not fun either. Yech. Robert Smith put on a show you have to experience to appreciate. Atmospherically, the darkness may have been too much to handle, but that aspect of their songs was pretty amazing. Closing their performance with "Boys Don't Cry" though: Genius.

Unfortunately due to scheduling I didn't catch Death Cab For Cutie, Basement Jaxx, Paul Van Dyk, and Ferry Corsten. Hopefully they'll be in the LA area soon, I'll catch them then.

Next year? Maybe I'll do one day. So tired...