Frank Ocean confuses, Blondie delivers: 7 most memorable moments of Coachella Weekend 1

Ah, the Monday after Coachella. The traffic's insane, the Palm Springs McDonald's is completely overwhelmed with customers heading out of the desert, and our heads are throbbing after three late nights in a row of headliners who, for various reasons, couldn't start on time.

But let's not be Negative Nellies. There was plenty to love about Weekend 1 of Coachella 2023, and The Desert Sun festival team is here to tell the tale. Here's a few of our most memorable moments from the past weekend.

Musical generations uniting

It was a small moment, but to me, a sort of powerful one at Coachella this year, when The Breeders, helmed by 61-year-old twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal brought up The Linda Lindas, a band from Los Angeles whose four members range from age 12 to 18.

The Linda Lindas had played the set before The Breeders at the Sonora Tent on Saturday, and it was a set marred by technical difficulties and shoddy microphones. Whatever bummed-out vibe the Linda Lindas were feeling was quickly erased when the Breeders, whose heyday was in the 1990s, had them sing backup on the Breeders' song "Saints" (with working microphones). The girls of The Linda Lindas — Bela Salazar (18), Lucia de la Garza (16), Eloise Wong (15) and Mila de la Garza (12) — were beaming as they shouted out the chorus "Summer's ready when you are" on stage with a female-led band they clearly admired.

The young musicians then exited the stage, came out of a side door and joined the crowd to jump and sing through the rest of the Breeders' set. You could tell it was a special life moment for them. And for me it was a crystal clear reminder that music, rock and roll specifically, is not confined to a certain generation or age group.

— Shad Powers, columnist

Belting '70s, '80s hits with Blondie

Even though I was born in the 1990s, I am an '80s girl at heart. I grew up listening to all the biggest hits from the decade, and to this day you'll find me singing whenever I hear a banger from that era, whether it's in the car or the middle of the grocery store. You can only imagine how excited I was to learn Blondie would be performing at Coachella.

The band's hits have a special place in my heart. I've sang those songs with my mom all throughout my childhood and adolescence, and we've made plenty of memories in the car together. But being able to sing along with Debbie Harry during "One Way Or Another," "Heart of Glass" and "Rapture" was truly an experience I never thought I'd have. The rocker looked and sounded great, made the crowd go crazy and looked like she was having a blast up there. I know I certainly was − if only my mom could have been there to jam out too!

— Ema Sasic, features reporter

Rosalía bringing out Rauw, offering a captivating set

Rosalía, whose genre-blending music and vocals got her a spot performing at Coachella’s main stage Saturday night, gave the fans just what they wanted, proving her “Motomami” nickname and bringing out her new fiancé during her set.

The Spanish singer was joined by Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro, the two of whom got engaged last month after nearly four years together. The couple played a couple songs from their new joint EP, “RR,” with some raunchy dancing that drew swoons from the crowd.

But before her man emerged on stage, Rosalía reminded the crowd of her own commanding stage presence. She first emerged on stage wearing a large motorcycle helmet, a nod to her latest acclaimed album, “Motomami," and later stepped down to the crowd’s level with a selfie camera and let people belt a song's chorus into her mic.

Her large crew of male backup dancers also brought heaps of energy to the set, even forming a human motorbike that Rosalía sat on at one point. With the event livestreamed online, Rosalía did plenty to engage with folks at home, often smirking directly into the on-stage camera – sometimes even facing away from the crowd – as it moved around her amid great choreography.

The interesting camerawork and kinetic energy brought by the dancers paired well, offering a great roadmap for future Coachella acts who want their show to be as enthralling for people watching from their couch as it is for people at the Empire Polo Club.

— Tom Coulter, mid-valley reporter

Connecting with a local business amid the LA-dominated crowds

It's no secret that the festival's marketplace, the Indio Central Market, usually has nothing to do with Indio. Instead, the inside is filled with pop-up versions of trendy Los Angeles-based Korean BBQ joints and vegan hot dog spots.

That's why me and my fellow undercaffeinated coworkers were so psyched to see Everbloom Coffee at this year's market. The craft coffee outpost, which is the only business inside the Indio Central Market that's actually based in Indio, was full of smiling employees providing excellent service. When we mentioned we were locals and so happy to see them there, their smiles widened and they apologized for the prices, which are more than double the cost of a beverage at their brick-and-mortar location off Highway 111 due to festival upcharging.

Everbloom's menu also made my fervent non-coffee-drinker-heart swell. Their two teas on the menu were delicious — I highly reccomend the chai latte, but you can't go wrong with a matcha either — and I really appreciated how fast the line moved. The drinks are all iced and pre-batched, so you're in and out quite quickly (unless you get caught up conversing with the compassionate barista like I did).

"This is my hometown, so it's really cool to be here," co-owner Efrain Mercado, 28, told reporter Erin Rode. "And hopefully, we can be a catalyst for other small businesses to see that you can be from your hometown, and still make it to the biggest festival in North America, and still be able to kill it and still be just as cool, and just as trendy and popular as any L.A., San Francisco, New York location."

I'm happy to see Goldenvoice recognizing a local business run by passionate entrepreneurs who grew up in the city the festival calls home, and I plan to stop by their stand daily to get me through Weekend 2.

— Niki Kottmann, features editor

The triumphant (but raunchy) return of Blink-182

Even by Coachella standards, it just doesn’t get much more iconic than seeing three of pop punks’ undisputed royals walk onto a smoke-filled stage together for the first time in over a decade to the grand theme from “2001 A Space Odyssey.” But Blink didn’t drink up the weighty moment for long; instead, they quickly launched into “Family Reunion,” a crass, expletive-filled tune that has been a staple opener for the band since the end of the last millennium (and let’s just say it set the tone for a set that showed the band has only grown raunchier over the years). But it was what came next that really gave me goosebumps.

As the first few chords of “Anthem Part Two,” it suddenly set in that the boys were back and somehow sounding better than ever (particularly in the case of Tom DeLonge, who sings in a sneering pop punk voice that doesn’t always translate live but did on this day). Let’s just say I haven’t felt this in touch with my childhood self in a long time.

— Paul Albani-Burgio, Palm Springs reporter

Frank Ocean went full Kanye West?

WTF?

That’s all I (and seemingly everyone filing out around me) could really say after Frank Ocean ended one of the weirdest, most perplexing and ultimately just surreal (and mostly not in a good way) live performances I have ever seen by announcing that he had been informed that curfew had been reached and he would need to end the concert. That this came after the set started nearly an hour late made the whole thing all the more head scratching. He didn’t even play “Thinking Bout You!” But I do know this: I’ll be thinking about this trainwreck for a while (and wondering if Ocean will somehow still get paid the millions Coachella headliners command).  Maybe this was just a Late April Fools and we'll see the real show next week?

— Paul Albani-Burgio, Palm Springs reporter

Dancing to BLACKPINK's historic set

The best festival moments are when you're able to just be fully present, and that's how I felt dancing to hits like "Kill This Love" and "Pink Venom" surrounded by my friends and coworkers during BLACKPINK's Saturday headlining set. For a fleeting 40 minutes or so, I was able to forget I was on break during a hectic festival work day, and was able to soak in the reality of being surrounded by thousands of other music fans watching the first K-pop group to ever headline one of the world's biggest music festivals.

There was one particularly magical moment when a friend who we couldn't find in the crowd for the first half of the show magically appeared out of nowhere, and our trio roared with happiness when she joined us just in time to jump around and scream along to "Typa Girl" off the band's latest album, "Born Pink."

— Niki Kottmann, features editor

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: 7 most memorable moments of Weekend 1