The crowd goes wild for New York band Interpol on the main stage Friday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Icelandic pop princess Bjork sports some typically bizarre headgear during her performance Friday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Scarlett Johansson, right, performs with Jim Reid, lead singer of Jesus and Mary Chain during the band’s Friday night performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Jim Reid, lead singer of Jesus and Mary Chain, hangs out well out of microphone range during the band’s main stage performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Fans enjoy the Jesus and Mary Chain during their Friday night performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
One fan rises above it all during Satellite Party’s performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Arctic Monkeys lead singer/guitarist Alex Turner (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Noisettes singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa wields her instrument in a threatening manner. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Paul Banks, lead singer, lyricist and guitarist of the New York City-based band Interpol (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Peaches is bathed in colored light while performing. (Branimir Kvartuc / AP)
Julieta Venegas reaches for the fans while performing. (Branimir Kvartuc / AP)
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Kim Gordon performs with her band Sonic Youth, complete with eerie green backlight. (Branimir Kvartuc / AP)
Rufus Wainwright performs on day one. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)
Singers Kelly Osbourne (L) and Amy Winehouse attend day 1 of the Coachella Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)
ON THE MAIN STAGE: Perry Farrell says Coachella “is the place music fans look to now for community. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Lucient Dossier Vaudeville Cirque performer Linda Borini helps kick off the music festival. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
COACHELLAS DRIVING FORCE: Paul Tollett, who started the concert in 1999, takes a hands-on approach in selecting bands. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
After all the expenses of traveling to Indio for the 8th annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, patrons are relieved of all the booze.carried in at the gate. If you’re 21 or over, you can pay top dollar for a drink at the bars around the event. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
STOKED: The crowd, and ‘Coachella Skully’ Stefan Liden, gets up for Fridays first acts at the festival, which this year features the reunion of Rage Against the Machine. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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WIDE APPEAL: Fans from every state and two dozen countries converge on the low desert for the three-day concert. Like everyone attending, Andy Scherrer, from Ontario, Canada, is screened. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Campers received their wristbands for 8th annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, as they arrive at the campground. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Raising the flag, music fans from all over the world set-up camp for the 8th annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, at the festivals campground. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival can be expensive, as all the local hotels charge a premium. Many choose to camp at the event. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Chill area, filled with soft resting spots, is outside of performers’ dressing rooms. It sporting a large flower decorated Coachella sign. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Old school records fill the Jesus and Mary Chain dressing room. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
El-P’s dressing room sports a custom-painted turntable. At the Coachella music festival, rock stars receive the royal treatment when it comes to their dressing rooms. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
A custom painting for Artic Monkeys and their appearance at Coachella 2007. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Bjork’s dressing room is decorated with handmade art. Artist Mary Anne Campagna created this dress out of analog recording studio tape. Campagna designed a specially themed room for each performer. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
New Yorker Abigail Plumhof rocks out in one of the dance areas on Saturday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Dance tents, and art installations glow on Saturday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
A fan is pulled from the crowd during the Arcade Fire performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Paul Simonon, better known as the bass guitar player for The Clash, plays with his new band, The Good, the Bad and the Queen. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Damon Albarn, frontman for The Good, the Bad and the Queen (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Joe Goddard of London’s Hot Chip (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Anthony Kiedis and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were the headliners Saturday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Flea, left, and John Anthony Frusciante face off during the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
London’s Hot Chip are, left to right, Owen Clarke, Joe Goddard and Al Doyle, not pictured Alexis Taylor and Felix Martin. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, arrives on stage for his performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Fans cheer and wear silly costumes during Saturday afternoon’s performances. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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The Arcade Fire’s Regine Chassagne, on vocals, and an accordion worth listening to. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Richard Parry performs with his band The Arcade Fire. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Rock-n-roll pioneer Roger Kynard “Roky” Erickson (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Roger Kynard “Roky” Erickson (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Willie Nelson finishes his Sunday afternoon performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Lucient Dossier Vaudeville Cirque performers cool the crowd by spraying water on them during the performance on Sunday afternoon. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Very early Sunday morning, after the Saturday night entertainment had ended, Bill Goodwin of Denver is still entertaining the crowd with flashing lights as he dances. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine performs during Coachella’s finale on Sunday night. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Rage Against the Machine fans dance during the band’s closing-night performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Zack de la Rocha rocks out with Rage Against the Machine. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Fans watch crews make preparations for Willie Nelson’s performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
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A Rage Against the Machine fans dances around a small fire during the band’s performance. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
Lucient Dossier Vaudeville Cirque performer Paul Neuman cools off the crowd with water. (Spencer Weiner / LAT)
