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Kanye West's last-minute addition to the festival was the big buzz. He rocked the main stage after a standout perf from Common.

RODEL'S COACHELLA RUNDOWN

A Weekend in the Desert with Kanye, Madonna, Wolfmother, Depeche, A&R Weasels, More
An exclusive report by Rodel Delfin
Friday: Filter Magazine threw a private party at a run-down country club at an undisclosed location to kick-off the festival. Invitations instructed party revelers to meet at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Indio to hop on a shuttle to the private spot. Of course, the shuttle line was an hour wait. Our crew followed the shuttle in our car and talked our way past security to park inside the venue and get in through the back entrance. The party was packed with multiple DJs spinning, but the bar ran out of booze by midnight.
Saturday: Kanye West's last-minute addition to the festival was the big buzz. He rocked the main stage after a standout perf from Common. Main stage headliner Depeche Mode had the crowd singing and dancing. Other notable perfs from Wolfmother, My Morning Jacket, Lady Sovereign and Daft Punk, who headlined the big dance tent and mixed and DJ'd their set in robot costumes.
(Sidenote: The VIP area had a mix of L.A. hipsters mingling with industry folks. Numerous agents, label A&R execs, publishers and other industry types were talking about the performances as well as the parties going on outside of the festival like the Anthem Magazine party at the Frank Sinatra house or the URB Mag pary at a Palm Springs mansion. We saw The Firm's Pete Katsis rolling through the VIP section with his entourage of female, model-types, while we rapped with Warner Bros. A&R guy Craig Aaronson about Head Automatica's festival set. BTW, lots of WMG folks were at the festival after being in La Quinta all week for the Warner Music Group's worldwide A&R conference/retreat held at the La Quinta resort and hosted by Lyor.)
Sunday: Madonna's set seemed to be the most anticipated and probably the most viewed. Her six-song mini-concert in the Sahara Tent, which had a capacity of 30,000 people, was overflowing with festival revelers beyond the tent area. Sunday night's total sold-out attendance was numbered at around 60,000 people. And it seemed like all of them were congregated around Madonna's set. She played for about a half hour, leaving the crowd wanting for more. She played a few songs from the new album and a few of her hits. It was surprising to see music heads from all backgrounds getting into it. Other notable perfs were from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Coheed and Cambria, who rocked the crowd, the bass-grooving Scissor Sisters and a stand-out high-energy set from The Go! Team.
There were rumblings that festival organizers have lost their lease for next year and this will be the last Coachella at this location, though the report was denied by Goldenvoice officials. Saturday's attendance clocked in at 50,000 people. It was very organized and everything ran on time and very smoothly.
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