k boys and girls, it's time for the longest Coachella 2004 review ever. So sit back and pretend it's 105 degrees outside!

Where do I  begin" I can begin with Coachella 2003, and a very important moment. The moment that had me booking reservations for this year before last year's show was over. The White Stripes blasting out "Ball And Biscuit" on Sunday evening was the moment I knew I would be back. They're a band I enjoyed but never knew they could do that kind of serious rock and roll damage. So I would wait a year to return to the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA.

February 2004 came along and the show date was announced! Hotels were booked, flights as well. March came and out with the band list, and off to the CD store for me, to check out some of the bands I had only vaguely heard of. This Coachella would be special because my favorite band Radiohead would be headlining. The Cure, Pixies, Death Cab For Cutie, BRMC, Muse, The Stills and Adam Freeland already favorites of mine, but new purchases of Dizzee Rascal, Stellastarr*, and Cooper Temple Clause had me knowing I would be in for more than a treat! "

So the spring flew by and all of a sudden it was time to go. After spending two days in San Diego and Sea World, my girlfriend and I headed out to the desert to our Motel 6 in Rancho Mirage, CA. It was hot already -- 82 degrees at night -- and we were sunburned before day one. But that didn't stop us.

When we walked through the gate and heard The Sounds rocking the main stage, we knew it was going to be even better than 2003. The Swedish band cranked the very hot crowd up even hotter with its 80s pop style of rock. Maja (lead vocalist) teased the crowd with lewd behaviour and a pair of cowboy boots. Certainly enjoyable, but wait, there's too much going on to just stand here. Howie Day was next on the second stage. Strumming his acoustic guitar and singing his love songs, it wasn't really my type of thing, but people seemed to be getting warmed up, so it's OK. We heard a couple familiar numbers, "Perfect Time Of Day" and "Collide" from his latest album, and then we headed out to see what the " Beck tent" had in store.

Beck was scheduled for 4:35pm and by 2:30pm we already realized that seeing him at anything close to an enjoyable distance was not happening. The beer garden was calling us and then Stellastarr* was in another tent. Stellastarr* were very good, though I wonder if the vocalist needs some lessons" But I was hopping around to "My Coco" and "Homeland" just the same. The Mojave tent (the larger of the two band tents) was just packed for Stellastarr* and was a virtual sauna, so half way through, we decided to see the rest of the place.

Artwork and sculptures were on exhibit out in the common areas of the festival. A non-conventional playground was in the middle, with some strange swings, a spinning see saw, and a bike rodeo. Don't ask. We just passed on by, shade and water was in order. It's one of the things you don't count for when planning your tour of bands before getting in the gate. We found a place to sit and eat a burger in one of the many, yet still jam-packed, shade tents. Shade was at a premium and nothing short of a retractable dome (suggested by my girlfriend) would've saved that.

As we watched from the shade, "Trail of Dead were having some technical difficulties and it was looking like the second stage (called the Outdoor Stage) was going to be the "technical difficulties" stage again this year. ß foreshadowing .

Around 5:30pm, after confirming a disappointing Beck acoustic set, we met some weird Canadians and saw Death Cab For Cutie and their Beastie Boys- looking janitor suits. By this time there were maybe 7,000 people to watch -- maybe their biggest audience to date. You have to wonder what's going through their minds when they are playing triple the largest crowd they have ever played in front of. Mid way through their set it started cooling off a touch and then I could only think of one thing ... Pixies and Radiohead!

Off we went to the main stage where we would plant ourselves for the next few hours. Sparta was just finishing and a thick buzz was in the air. Such anticipation, and you could hear the drone of people talking and waiting. This was Coachella excitement.

7:20pm, and Frank Black and posse swaggered out on stage. I don't remember the entire set list, but it was great -- "Debaser," "Bone Machine," and "Wave Of Mutilation" were the early highlights. It was hard to believe all this was happening and I was still waiting for MY favourite band ever! As "Here Comes Your Man" came on, the crowd really started singing along and it was like they hadn't gone away for 15 years. "Where is My Mind" is my favorite Pixies song and boy was I glad to hear it. A good song for Coachella too because "where was my mind"' Who cared at that point because this was heaven. The Pixies closed with "Into the White" and off they went, into the dark.

Thirty minutes till Radiohead, I thought. While we were waiting we met someone from down the street from our home in Baltimore!! 3,000 miles away at a rock show and along comes someone from our street. This was Coachella excitement.

At 9pm the stage went dark, and the crowd went bezerk as the five men we call Radiohead strolled on stage and busted into the tribal "There There" opener. "This is really happening' my girlfriend said to me with eyes as wide as saucers. Yes, it was. For the next 90 minutes it was like nothing else mattered. Not even the 6'8" cowboy standing right in front of me. "Lucky" had been my pick to hear at the festival and it came early. The crowd knew every word and for a moment, Thom and Co. really were my superheros. I didn't notice his voice sounding hoarse at all. Maybe it was their unparalleled light show or maybe it was the sheer excitement that my favorite little rock band in 1993 had turned into a musical powerhouse right in front of my eyes. I couldn't have asked for a better set list, save them playing their entire catalogue. When the thumping bass of "Idioteque" came on I knew this was going to be the climax. It was. When Thom busted into the second verse "Ice age coming, ice age coming" I leapt in the air with some 30,000 others totally freaking out to the most intense live song I have ever heard. Thom ran back and forth across the stage, standing on the speakers, waving the crowd to get crazier and crazier. They did. Their encore included "Creep," which they don't play much anymore -- and I don't even know if I like it anymore -- but nothing makes me remember what made me love them in the first place. "Everything In Its Right Place" was the closer and they walked off the stage one by one to a roaring ovation and then the music stopped and the light show in the back streamed the word "FOREVER." I wish they could have played forever.

As we walked away from the stage and toward the rest of the festival, I looked at my girlfriend as if to comment on what we just saw, and she said "Don't say a word." I didn't have to. As we walked toward the Electric Six in the Mojave tent, we looked at all the people buzzing around in all directions and she said to me: "Look at all of these people. They are all so happy." Yes, they were. And that was definitely Coachella excitement.

I can go on about Saturday night but I will stop and move on to Sunday.

Sunday we got there around 2pm and in just enough time to hear Hybrid playing the rocking breakbeats they are known for. If this were a rave, I would've been going nuts. But we had a long day ahead of us. We stayed in the Sahara Tent (the huge DJ Tent) to see the first few tracks of Peretz, a.k.a Perry Farrell. Nothing too exciting to be honest, tribal house with some Perry vocals overlayed. We left quickly because there was much more to see. Muse was on at 3:45pm and we wanted a good spot. Muse has been a favorite of mine and I have never seen them live! Just another reason why Coachella is the best concert I may ever go to. We took it easy, checking out !!! and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra from the beer garden until it was time to make our move.

Muse didn't disappoint. They came out hard and fast and drove through rock song after rock song. Matt Bellamy is a damn genius and is the force of the band. His voice was on key and the guitar riffs and piano he played went along with it perfectly. It was a shame they played so early, but hey, you can't have everything. Or can you"

Next was The Thrills in the Mojave tent. A good band, with a nice lot of catchy pop songs, mostly singing about California and sunshine or something, but it was entertaining and a break from the heat. I will check these guys out again when they come to Baltimore. We headed over to the dance tent again for 2many DJs and got everything we wanted from them. Two guys just mixing up the best rock songs, pop songs and dance classics. Everything from Slayer to Madonna to Daft Punk and overlapping all of them. These guys give any DJs a run for their money and the crowd was eating it up.

The afternoon continued with Cooper Temple Clause, Adam Freeland, and Dizzee Rascal, who is the freestyle king of the UK, I presume. I couldn't understand much but it sounded great! At only 19, that kid can hold his own.

Sunday evening was another thing Coachella is about: picking your bands. We had to skip Cursive, Bright Eyes, Air, Crystal Method, and Sleepy Jackson to hear the bands we heard Sunday evening. It's impossible to see all the bands you want to see here, but you will rarely find yourself sitting through a dud.

8pm was upon us and darkness fell on the final day of Coachella. We got front and center (literally) for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. We had seen them in March and were hungry for more. Unfortunately, as I had presumed yesterday and others found out Sunday afternoon (see, Atmosphere's record melting fiasco) the Outdoor stage was the "technical difficulties" stage and BRMC got hit the hardest. "Spread Your Love" started us off, and the mics weren't working. Ok, next is "Six Barrel Shotgun" and we can hear them now. Oops, the bass died and then again on another one. So we are going acoustic and the three guys from San Fran looked like they wanted to die. They played it out very, very well, and I commend their courage and determination. I think they finally got one song "Whatever Happened to My Rock And Roll" to come off in true BRMC style. But more problems arose and finally: "OK, so we're going to play 'Love Burns' and then get outta here." Poor guys.

After BRMC, we headed to see the Flaming Lips. Blah Blah Blah, the bubble in the crowd, you've heard it all by now. Five songs later they are done and I was super glad. I didn't really care for seeing them. I don't know what their deal is but they seemed to waste half of their set being cute.

The Cure wasn't really on our must-see list so we then headed over to check out Basement Jaxx, since the show seemed to be winding down. A ton of people left after the Lips and everyone was either sitting or walking slow, including us . . . and everyone was watching the Jaxx.

We missed half of their set but when we got to the stage it was pandemonium. People were just going nuts. Girls dancing in their underwear, everyone getting their second wind, this was cool. "Are you guys ready" one of the Jaxx guys yelled into the microphone. The crowd yelled back and "Where's Your Head At" just blasted across the stage.

This was the moment I referred to earlier, that happened last year. I have rarely ever seen a crowd get so fucking hype for a song in my life. And this was at 10:15pm on the second day of a 100-degree, 24-hour rock show! This was definitely Coachella excitement, and this is the moment I will to hold onto until next spring.

We stayed until 12am, dropping in on Ash and The Cure, but that moment at Basement Jaxx is all I remember of Sunday night. And it's those moments, that maybe, just maybe, you can only have at Coachella.

So to sum it up

Best Show: Radiohead
Biggest Surprise: Basement Jaxx
Bummer: BRMC
Favourite moment: I can't pick but I am sure it happened during Radiohead or Basement Jaxx
Worst part of the whole thing: Going home on Monday, God is that hard.

If you made it through all of this, then you definitely need to go next year.

Thanks for reading.

Until next year.
Jarrod G