Coachella festival keeps the dance beat

It’s 5 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon at Coachella, and more than a thousand fans are jamming a makeshift dance tent to see Paul Oakenfold, widely regarded as the most popular DJ in the world, in such an intimate setting.

Oakenfold electrifies the crowd with a blistering trance mix of large synthesizer hooks, as well as Prince-like funk and goth-flavored world-music chants. As the two-hour performance extends into early evening, the throng refuses to give in to wilting heat, shaking their fists at every dramatic rise in the music. Lasers flashing overhead illuminate the revelers, adding to the club feeling in the tent.

After a disappointing performance at Coachella 2001, Oakenfold seemed a longshot to deliver arguably the most stirring dance set last year. The special lure of Coachella is knowing there’s no way to predict which dance act will be ready for the close-up the festival offers.

It may be a new act (like Kosheen last year), a veteran underrated artist (Plaid in 2001) or a heavy favorite (Chemical Brothers last year). Still, it would be hard to argue against Underworld as the key dance music pick for Coachella 2003.

The throbbing keyboard-and-bass grooves of duo Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have an energy that can easily expand to the larger outdoor setting; Hyde is a natural performer, and in the anthem “Born Slippy” (from the film “Trainspotting”), Underworld has a recognizable tune that figures to set fans off from the opening note.

In addition to the musical diversity, the feeling of community flowing through the dance tents, and the chance to discover new talent early in the day, there is a strong mutual respect between dance fans and the festival.

Dance fans took great pride when the Chemical Brothers headlined Day One last year: a dance act closing out the main stage of the most influential alternative rock fest in the U.S.

One of the few downsides of experiencing dance music at Coachella -- besides the difficulty choosing whom to see -- is the facelessness of some acts. Unless an act has an exceptionally distinctive style or its name in lights on video monitors (infrequently), even aficionados can have a hard time knowing who is actually spinning.

Still, those are relatively minor complaints compared to the wealth of riches Coachella offers dance fans.

Besides Underworld, “don’t miss” acts this year include DJs Deep Dish and Roger Sanchez, both making Coachella debuts.

While both have achieved crossover successes as producers and remix artists -- they’ve won the last two Grammy Awards for remixing -- their roots are as DJs.

Sanchez has evolved, over the years, from a house-music icon to a genre-busting DJ who fuses his crowd-pleasing house grooves with world beats, Latin rhythms and expert percussive grooves.

Deep Dish, which also started as a house music act, has shown in recent L.A. appearances that the duo can rise to a big occasion as well as any act on the dance scene. Expect Deep Dish to bust out something special for its inaugural Coachella set.

On the live tip, down-tempo specialist Thievery Corporation will have a full band, as well as guest vocalist Emiliana Torrini. The Icelandic singer’s gorgeous, hushed vocals, featured on TC’s latest album, “The Richest Man in Babylon,” are a perfect fit with the group’s lush grooves.