10 Best Bands to See at Coachella

The Coachella music festival takes place every April in the scorching heat of Indio, California. It's not possible to see every band that will be playing, but if you're headed to Coachella and you're wondering, "Which bands should I see at Coachella?," here's one suggested itinerary.

This year's lineup features a number of interesting rock bands and a few gems from other genres. With that in mind, here are the ten best bands to see at Coachella 2010.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #1: Thom Yorke & Atoms for Peace
The Radiohead frontman has created a side project for a summer U.S. tour. Yorke will be backed up by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, producer Nigel Godrich and REM touring drummer Joey Waronker, among others. Yorke is expected to perform much of his solo album, and perhaps a few Radiohead cuts, if fans are lucky.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #2: Jonsi
Speaking of lead singers heading out without their bands, Jonsi of ethereal Icelandic group Sigur Ros is making Coachella one of the stops on his first solo tour. Word is that Jonsi has put together a multimedia concert experience which will feature songs from his solo debut Go. You won't want to miss Jonsi, if only to see his trademark move of playing the guitar with a cello bow.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #3: Jay-Z
Jay-Z has shown up at a number of festivals over the past couple of years, and his performances are a notch above the typical "throw your hands in the air" rap shows. Jay-Z plays with a live band and puts new arrangements on many of his biggest hits, including an "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" featuring the backing track from the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." The new Sinatra? Check him out and judge for yourself.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #4: Florence & the Machine
Lungs, the debut record from Florence & the Machine featuring complex instrumentation and soaring vocals, went platinum in the UK and won the prestigious award for Best Album at the Brit Awards. The Coachella stop is in the middle of the band's U.S. tour designed to help them win over audiences here as well.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #5: Matt and Kim
The cutest indie duo in the world, Matt and Kim make feverish pop music and play it with the energy of punk rock and with giant smiles on their faces. Among the many highlights on their last album were "Daylight" and "Lessons Learned," the latter of which won an MTV Video Music Award for its music video in which the couple stripped down in the middle of winter in Times Square.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #6: Imogen Heap
Combining ambient, electronic, pop and rock elements, Imogen Heap has one of the more unique sounds in popular music today. The accomplished singer/songwriter recently won her first Grammy Award when her last release Ellipse was named Best Engineered Album at January's ceremony.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #7: John Waters
I don't know exactly what John Waters is doing at Coachella, but it's probably subversive and entertaining, much like his cult-classic films Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. The legendary film director just released a compilation CD called A Night with John Waters which includes songs by Ray Charles, Dean Martin, and Ike and Tina Turner.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #8: Girls
Actually a band of dudes, San Francisco act Girls' 2009 album called Album was one of 2009's most acclaimed records. "Lust for Life" and "Laura" both show off the spunky energy and lyrics that have helped build the band's fan base in a hurry. In addition to Coachella, Girls are also playing the Sasquatch and Pitchfork festivals this summer.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #9: Pavement
They never had an album reach the Top 50 and had only one song that reached the Top 30 of the Rock chart, but indie rockers Pavement were one of the most acclaimed and influential rock acts of the 1990s. The band is back for a reunion tour and their concert at Coachella is one of the most widely-anticipated shows of the entire weekend.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010 #10: Hot Chip
One of the many electro-dance-rock bands enjoying success these days, Hot Chip are touring behind their latest release One Life Stand, which Pitchfork calls their best record yet. The album entered at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart and #5 on the Electronic Chart.

Best bands to see at Coachella 2010: Other bands to check out
The Coachella 2010 lineup is loaded with other bands worth seeing as well, including Yeasayer, MGMT, White Rabbits, Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, Tokyo Police Club, Deerhunter, Phoenix, Dirty Projectors, and Owen Pallett.

Check out the festival's website for a full list of acts and bio information so you can decide which bands make up your own personal list of the best bands at Coachella 2010.

See also: Ten best bands to see at Bonnaroo 2010

Source:
www.coachella.com
www.grammy.com