INDIO, California — The most anticipated name at this year's Coachella took the stage late Saturday and then minutes later disappeared. It's been that kind of a weekend.



Prince came back, of course, but the first 20 minutes of his headlining show was more about his backing band than the man (?) himself. And as much as we love Sheila E., where was the "Let's Go Crazy" opener this festival drastically needed? "Dearly beloved we are gathered here today …" Oh, what coulda been. (Not to be overlooked, however, were the unexpected covers of Radiohead's "Creep" and The Beatles' "Come Together" that His Purpleness pulled off. -Ed. note.)

The hits eventually came (even "1999"), but by then the crowd was so agitated it was hard to move without someone snapping. Not exactly the love Prince preaches.

And while Prince is certainly an influence to so many bands today (as was noted at yesterday's show), his funk jam set felt out of place. At least Madonna played the dance tent.

All in all, Saturday was actually quite an improvement from Friday, lead by M.I.A, who ignited the Sahara dance tent like it hasn't seen since Daft Punk. Although her DJ used the shotgun sound effect about 200 more times than necessary, the Sri Lankan rapper's crisp beats and superfast flow were as compelling as ever.

(Don't miss pictures here and here of M.I.A.'s command performance at Coachella on Saturday night.)

Rilo Kiley were another highlight, as Jenny Lewis' angelic voiced served as the perfect soundtrack to the sunset. The show nearly mirrored the band's set from a few years ago, with the addition of dancey new tracks like "Moneymaker."

On the main stage, Kraftwerk and Portishead sounded pristine, but both could have cut 20 minutes from their set. And they should have given that 40 minutes to Cold War Kids, who mixed in several new cuts with favorites like the soulful "Hang Me Out to Dry," which took on a new meaning as the desert sun baked the band and its followers.

Death Cab for Cutie also worked in new material in their main stage set, and for rather low-fi band, they managed to fill the giant field in front of them with some pretty rocking tunes.

The Mojave Tent, where so many awesome bands have emerged in the past (Wolfmother, Bloc Party, Kasabian, etc.), continued to disappoint on Saturday, especially the highly touted Kate Nash, who seemed off with her band and was just sort of boring.

Scars on Broadway, featuring Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan from System of a Down, showed potential, but were perhaps a little too metal for this fest. But you get the feeling once their songs are more familiar, their shows will be a blast.

In the Mojave Tent, Hot Chip turned in an inspiring afternoon set that had the ravers and rockers bouncing in unison.  

Similarly eclectic was Mark Ronson, whose Outdoor Theater set was all over the map in a good way, and featured guest singers like Kenna and Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson. "These are their songs, I just cover them," Ronson humbling stated after the latter's "Oh My God."

Ronson's backing band featured horns, strings, expanded percussion and a variety of singers, much like Prince's. Perhaps the Purple One could learn a few things from Ronson about entertaining the Coachella crowd.

-Adam Deroy

The Buzznet crew is chatting up the hottest artists and is armed head-to-toe with cameras for photo coverage, so be sure to keep checking back for regular Coachella updates.

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Don't miss these fresh Coachella galleries:


[Portishead: Click on the image to see the gallery.]


[M.I.A.: Click on the image to see the gallery.]


[Death Cab for Cutie: Click on the image to see the gallery.]


[Kate Nash: Click on the image to see the gallery.]


[Cold War Kids: Click on the image to see the gallery.]


[MGMT: Click on the image to see the gallery.]

Don't miss these fresh Coachella galleries.