DROPPING THE BALLS AT COACHELLA

Online music site The Brooklyn Vegan reports it was all the work of a collective called the Creators Project Team, from an idea by Chris Milk (who the band previously worked with on "The Wilderness Downtown").

The plan was to release the balls in time for Arcade Fire's encore and use the embedded LEDs and IR transmitters to light paint all over the audience. A crane positioned at the top of the stage was set up to let the balls drop during the band's last song, "Wake Up."

Continued a member of the Team: “Our job was to throw the balls into the crowd and make sure they stayed there. There was also a giant cage to the right of the stage filled with hundreds more that we were responsible for tossing into the audience, which proved to be no easy task given that they were an unwieldy two or three feet in diameter. When the balls finally did drop, the entire place turned into an epic ball pit, with these giant balls flying all over the place, changing colors all the while from red to blue to orange to pink. Standing on stage and taking it all in, it certainly was a sight to behold.”

The interactive visual performance, dubbed “Summer Into Dust,” continues online. Those lucky few who managed to catch a ball can log on to the accompanying website and continue the experience. Each ball comes with a URL where fans can locate a user manual online and connect their ball to a greater community.