Author: Rhian Daly

NME

In the comedy world, improv has long gotten a bad rap. It’s looked down on by other comics and considered cringey by punters. Usually, its shows are confined to smaller venues – a reflection of the attitude towards it. But, in recent years and with a variety of live shows, Ben Schwartz has been growing his improv touring to prestigious new levels.

“It’s very surreal,” the comedian – widely known for playing Parks & Recreation’s Jean-Ralphio or voicing the latest Hollywood incarnation of Sonic The Hedgehog – tells NME. Last year, he took his current show, Ben Schwartz & Friends, to iconic venues like New York’s Radio City and London’s Eventim Apollo. Next month, he’ll return to the UK to headline another – the Royal Albert Hall.

“When we first started touring Middleditch & Schwartz [his previous show with comic pal Thomas Middleditch], it was like, ‘Will anybody show up? Will anybody care?’,” he recalls, squinting in the morning sun across a stone table at an outdoor cafe in LA’s Griffith Park. “Now, with Ben Schwartz & Friends it’s like, ‘Well, how big can we go?’ It’s to try to show me and the improvisers I bring on tour what we’re about, what we love doing and try to spread it.”

Schwartz first fell in love with improv over 20 years ago, after he auditioned for a short-form group at the behest of a friend in college. He also tried his hand at stand-up and, while he says he had “one or two good shows”, most of his attempts didn’t go so great. “It was so lonely and sad when I failed, but [with improv] when you fail, someone picks you up on stage,” he says. Where many people might find the prospect of getting on stage with no script and no idea of what’s about to unfold terrifying, he relishes it. “I love the idea of coming on with nothing and us creating together. It feels like magic to me.”

The 42-year-old doesn’t just do improv, but is actively trying to improve its reputation – or at least turn more people on to it. He theorises that comedy fans’ attitude to the form likely comes from seeing “a class show and it wasn’t good” and has worked to make improv more accessible, including through three Middleditch & Schwartz specials on Netflix. “That was a big deal – we were like, ‘Hey, we could be just like stand-up in those big venues and we can also do specials.”

One tricky thing about improv when it comes to getting more people interested is also one of the things that makes it exciting. Each show begins with a new prompt and builds from there, meaning no performance is ever the same. Other than Middleditch & Schwartz, improv TV specials are rare. There are few chances to just stumble upon it without actively going to an event. “Improv exists in the moment and then disappears forever – I love that!” Schwartz explains. “I love that nobody will ever know [if they weren’t there]. The joy of it disappearing is so fun.”

“I love how improv exists in the moment and then disappears forever”

Lately, though, that temporary nature has been something he’s been thinking about more, both in terms of promoting the discipline and his personal career. “I’ve done thousands of shows and three are online,” he says. Right now, he’s considering taking a break from touring next year, but has “nothing to show” for the time he has been on the road. Recently, he’s begun recording the audio of his shows to give him some document of what he’s done. “So much comedy has just been dying and, after 22 years of everything disappearing, I want to have something to remember that I did these things.”

Schwartz has done a lot since he started as an intern at New York’s famed comedy theatre, Upright Citizens Brigade – a venue he was drawn to because of one of his heroes, Amy Poehler. “I was like, ‘Well, if she’s so talented, so funny, where did she start from?’” he recalls. His night on the rota happened to coincide with Poehler’s show with Ian Roberts and Matt Besser, while the likes of Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers and Jack McBrayer were also involved in UCB at the time. “This tiny theatre was underneath a supermarket – I was like, ‘I can’t believe the funniest place in the world to me is underneath this place and I’m barely a part of it right now’,” he smiles.

In 2010, Schwartz’s breakthrough on-screen role brought him back alongside Poehler. Originally, he was in the running to play the boyfriend of her Parks & Rec character Leslie Knope – eventually portrayed by Louis CK – until it was decided he was too young. “Then I got offered Jean-Ralphio, but they offered it to an old agent of mine and his assistant passed on the role without talking to me,” he shakes his head. [Parks writer] Katie Dippold called him a few days later to find out why he’d turned it down. “Someone made a huge mistake, it was insane – it was my biggest role and changed my life.”

“They offered ‘Parks & Rec’ to an old agent of mine and his assistant passed!”

Jean-Ralphio has stayed with Schwartz ever since, both as “pieces of him in other roles” and as a mainstay fan favourite. “There’ll be 10-year-olds that come up to me about that character and then 70-year-olds,” he says. Sometimes, he admits, he misses him and suggests a Parks & Rec reboot would be “great”.

“I wonder if I have the energy to play him,” he ponders. “It was exhausting. We did a reunion thing and I remember I was singing like him and I did four or five takes and was like, ‘God, I used to be able to do this forever’. He has so much energy, but that would be the only hard part.”

Much like Schwartz’s mission to take the written-off improv, his on-screen career has largely seen him take unlikeable characters – or “arrogant idiots” as he fondly puts it – and turn them into ones you cringe at but still root for. As well as Jean-Ralphio, there’s the likes of Space Force’s media relations officer F. Tony Scarapiducci and House Of Lies’ Clyde Oberholt. “I try to make my characters arrogant,” Schwartz laughs. “They don’t know that they’re fucking up. Amy had a great line where she’s like, ‘Jean-Ralphio’s like a puppy where, if he pees on the floor, you don’t yell at him. You go, ‘Aw Jean-Ralphio, there he goes again’, because he doesn’t know that he’s being weird.”

Making the unlikeable likeable is something Schwartz thinks makes his characters “even funnier”. “And it allows me to get away with more. If you hate me, it’s probably harder for me to get away with the shit I get away with. If I can make you smile a bit more while doing some stuff, you’re like, ‘Oh, what is this motherfucker gonna do next?’ To get the audience on your side is such a fun thing – and improv is the same. You can be a naughty villain, but if you’re doing it in a fun way, the audience can’t wait to see you do it again.”

Along this path lined with douchebags and idiots, Schwartz has worked with some of film and TV’s legends, from Poehler in Parks to Billy Crystal in Standing Up, Falling Down, Nicolas Cage in Renfield, John Malkovich in Space Force and Don Cheadle in House Of Lies. “I was doing a scene with Cheadle where he was acting so well that I was just in awe – he had a monologue that was four pages long and my character is supposed to look at him,” he says of ‘pinch me’ moments. “You know your line is coming and you have to remind yourself that you’re a character in the scene and not just be like, ‘What the fuck?’. Nic Cage’s Dracula was pretty fucking insane too – when he was dressed up as Dracula choking me. That’s crazy.”

In Space Force, Schwartz appeared alongside Steve Carell, who has his own links to improv. Sure, he spent years studying the form at Chicago’s Second City, but he also played The Office’s improv-busting dunce Michael Scott. What notes would Schwartz have for him? “None. Perfect. He’s flawless,” he responds straight away, before caveating. “I’d tell him that he should just take his time. Try not to kill anybody. Take your time to be confident that we’ll find something. You don’t have to invent something in the beginning.”

Schwartz doing improv with Michael Scott – or, at the very least, Carell – isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. Over the years, he’s invited famous friends onto stage with him, particularly at his old show Snowpants, but recently at Ben Schwartz & Friends when Stranger Things’ Joe Keery joined him. “He did two shows back-to-back and he was like, ‘Next one! Whenever the next one is. I literally can’t wait’,” Schwartz shares. “Sometimes people are afraid and they’ll pass, but it’s so freeing and exciting to live in that scary moment of, ‘What the fuck is gonna happen?’ and to then get big laughs from the crowd.”

After Schwartz finishes up his current scheduled run of Ben Schwartz & Friends, he doesn’t know where to take the show next. He has, after all, reached the kind of venues he dreamed of performing at. “I don’t know if the venues can get bigger – maybe if Sonic 3 is huge,” he laughs. “I have some ideas for bringing improv to TV and making a serialised version, but in terms of the stage show, I’m already way beyond the biggest dream I had for improv and I cannot believe it’s happened.”

‘Ben Schwartz & Friends’ will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 19

The post Ben Schwartz is on a mission to save improv: “So much comedy has been dying” appeared first on NME.

NME

The dust has settled on Indio Empire Polo Club after weekend one of Coachella 2024 wrapped up on Sunday with Doja Cat’s five-star performance. The first part of the annual bash brought with it plenty of surprises, technical difficulties and euphoric moments. Join NME as we recap what went down and get prepared for weekend two.

A glimpse into the future

Each year at Coachella, there are a couple of standout performances from smaller artists that make you whip out a metaphorical crystal ball and start predicting future headliners. Former NME Cover star Chappell Roan’s set made her the first candidate for this role in 2024, with the singer turning the Gobi tent into one big huddle of euphoria and joy. The rapturous response, coupled with her infectious, theatrical stage presence, conjured images of a steady climb through the festival’s ranks for Roan to come, hopefully ending at the very summit of the bill.

On Friday night, K-pop boyband ATEEZ also made their bid for future greatness with their debut Coachella performance. The eight-piece group are known for their big production-utilising concerts but didn’t let the constraints of a festival stop them from wowing. There were nods to traditional aspects of Korean culture and world-building sets, like the saloon-like bar that popped up behind them in the middle of their block. Coupled with performances shot through with ferocious energy, ATEEZ suggested their history-making relationship with Coachella likely won’t end at becoming the first male K-pop act to take part in the festival.

A distinct lack of vibes

“Coachella sometimes has crowds that are just dead as hell, but tonight was great,” Tyler, The Creator told the audience during his Saturday headline set. He might have been blessed with an enthusiastic response, but that wasn’t the case for everyone in Indio this weekend. Those gathered for Doja Cat a day later were largely unmoved by the star, even when she brought out a gigantic dinosaur skeleton to slowly creep after her down the runway – if ever there was a time to show even a hint of a reaction, it was then. Blur’s main stage set, too, was greeted with a damp squib of a crowd who chattered through much of the setlist and responded to Damon Albarn’s attempts to connect between songs with bemused silence: “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well fucking sing it”, he shrugged during ‘Girls & Boys’.

It would be easy to chalk this all up to excitement around Coachella dying down, but that wouldn’t strictly be true. There was plenty of energy in certain pockets of the festival, just perhaps not those soundtracked by middle-aged Britpop blokes. Instead, it was the EDM sets that got the crowds the most electrified, while the quieter, more subtle artists like Lana Del Rey were met with scorn. After a year of slow ticket sales, it wouldn’t be surprising if 2025’s line-up features more dance music at the top of the bill.

Coachella is still the best festival for surprises

Despite the lack of energy in the main field, Coachella 2024 upheld its reputation for being the festival for surprise appearances. Billie Eilish and A$AP Rocky took to the stage not once but twice over the weekend, while Childish Gambino, 21 Savage, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, Kesha, Justin Bieber, Mac DeMarco, Lauryn Hill, and countless others all popped up too. Weekend two could be just as big, with rumours still abounding about a certain Miss T Swift. Whether she shows up on stage or not, it’s clear that the desert festival is still the weekender du jour for artists.

’90s heroes returned

This year’s line-up boasted two legendary ‘90s acts making a big return – No Doubt and Sublime. The latter gave a wider unveiling to its new line-up, with late frontman Bradley Nowell’s son Jakob taking his dad’s place in front of the mic. The young Nowell seems to have had no trouble slipping into the role, and looked entirely comfortable on stage, teasing the crowd.

On Saturday night, No Doubt made their first live appearance in nine years, and Coachella-goers packed out the main stage to get a glimpse at their big comeback. Even such a big comeback couldn’t lift the energy levels that high – until Olivia Rodrigo joined the band for ‘Bathwater’ and, later, Gwen Stefani climbed up a piece of scaffolding to get the audience to take part in some call-and-response during ‘Just A Girl’.

The post Coachella 2024: surprises, technical difficulties and a distinct lack of vibes appeared first on NME.

NME

“Express yourself,” a whispered voice hushes through the main stage as the lights flicker. Doja Cat is about to take to the main stage to headline the final night of Coachella 2024, and when she emerges at the end of the runway in a hazmat suit, you know she’s going to do as those two words say.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog day three: Doja Cat, Justin Bieber and all the news from Sunday

For the rapper, expressing herself often means doing things others might not – either because her form of expression is too off-the-wall for the rest of the world or too controversial. Tonight, she proves the former spirit is well and truly alive, bringing a touch of brilliant weirdness to the desert.

After the opening two songs, she takes off the white suit that leaves only her face visible to reveal a body suit covered in long locks of blonde hair. Ominous tones roll out over the field as she crawls up to the main stage before ‘Demons’ cuts in, and she’s joined by dancers dressed in yeti costumes. If these are the demons she’s rapping about, they don’t look too bad – cuddly, almost – and she embraces them fully, climbing on one’s shoulders to deliver the final parts of the track.

This is just the beginning of the Doja Cat spectacle tonight, which includes multiple outfit changes and stage antics that get increasingly madcap. After a commanding ‘Tia Tamera’, she disappears behind a curtain, only her silhouette visible, as the buzzing sound of an electric razor whirrs, and she pretends to shave off the thigh-length blonde hair she’s been whipping around until now. When she emerges, she sports a shaved head and a look that can only be described as high fashion cyborg.

As the performance enters its final throes, she’s joined by a very special, unusual guest – the gigantic skeleton of a dinosaur. It rolls down the runway after her as she airs ‘WYM Freestyle’, looking like she’s about to be its next victim. Before the track is up, though, it appears to decide Doja is too formidable an opponent and retreats back to where it came from.

Formidable is exactly what the star is tonight, crafting a fiery set that bounces through her rap-focused songs and never lets the energy drop. ‘OKLOSER’, which gets its live debut tonight, is an infectious highlight, while ‘Balut’ drops the tempo to something a little more soulful but still powerful. When she brings out living human guests to join her on stage, she doesn’t come close to being overshadowed.

21 Savage appears for ’n.h.i.e.’, while Teezo Touchdown ups the weird, vocalising into a flower that seems to require his whole head to be submerged in its petals. A$AP Rocky makes his second appearance of the weekend for a ferocious ‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’, trading bars with his host from the top of a scaffolding tower. Earlier in the evening, South African a cappella group The Joy bring light to ‘Shutcho’.

It’s unfortunate that the crowd tonight isn’t much bigger than it is – or that, other than the fans down the front, its energy isn’t far higher. Sure, it’s the final night of the weekend and the chilly desert winds are roaring, but the reception for Doja is disappointingly flat. Perhaps that’s because she doesn’t give the casual viewers what they want – her pop hits. There is no ‘Say So’ in this set, nor a rendition of ‘Kiss Me More’ – with or without a cameo from SZA. ‘Paint The Town Red’, her latest smash, is saved until the penultimate track in the setlist, but even when its opening notes drop, the response is muted.

Regardless, Doja sticks to her guns throughout and closes the performance in the kind of way that leaves the audience confused. After a brief break from the stage, the rapper reappears back at the end of the runway, which has now turned into a ring full of slimy, grey mud. She and her dancers get stuck into the mess as she closes the set with ‘Wet Vagina’, somehow not slipping and sliding through it but nailing the choreography.

As Doja strides back to the main stage and blows a kiss goodbye, the crowd hesitates, wondering, “Is that it?” They get their answer when the lights finally go out – a subdued ending, perhaps, but one that comes after 90 minutes of pure pageantry.

Doja Cat played:

‘Acknowledge Me’
‘Shutcho’
‘Demons’
‘Tia Tamera’
‘Fuck The Girls (FTG)’
‘Gun’
‘OKLOSER’
‘Ouchies
‘n.h.i.e.’
‘Attention’
’97’
‘Balut’
‘Need To Know’
‘MASC’
‘Streets’
‘Agora Hills’
‘Ain’t Shit’
‘WYM Freestyle’
‘URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!’
‘Paint The Town Red’
‘Wet Vagina’

The post Doja Cat live at Coachella: an off-the-wall spectacular appeared first on NME.

NME

In the weeks leading up to Tyler, The Creator’s Coachella headline performance, the rapper pushed back against fans. Understandably, his booking sparked speculation that new music was on the way and that it could even be premiered at the festival. In a since-deleted tweet, he responded to the suggestion he surely couldn’t just be playing the material everyone already knows: “I sure am […] unless EVERY SINGLE TIME someone hits the stage sometime after their last album has been out they put out new music and I wasn’t aware.”

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog day two: Tyler, The Creator, No Doubt, Olivia Rodrigo and all the news from Saturday

On the drive into Coachella this weekend, fans are greeted with another check from the star. “I would love to see y’all faces and not your phone lights,” reads Tyler’s billboard, encouraging being in the moment rather than pushing his set or any (past) releases. As the countdown for the rapper to emerge on stage begins, one final reminder appears on screen, asking festival-goers to turn their flash off “if you’re going to film”.

When Tyler’s set starts, though, the mood is high. He introduces the performance in a pre-recorded video where he takes on the role of a park ranger – a job he claims he’s taken instead of “heinous rapping”. The skit is full of his off-kilter humour, seeing him lick egg yolks off the floor of his caravan and joke about blowing the vehicle up until he makes his grand entrance – exploding out the side of the van on stage and into the temporary canyon that’s been built around him.

More expectation-setting comes quickly after, with Tyler telling us he’ll be “yelling and singing off-key”. Then, he howls into the set proper. ‘Lemonhead’’s horns provide a dynamic contrast with his raspy voice before a sublime ‘WusYaName’ takes over the PA, the star sardonically referring to the refrain of “What’s your name, girlfriend?” as his “pick-up line”. These opening moments are accompanied by bursts of colourful pyrotechnics and their commander putting all his energy into the event.

Tyler might not be giving us brand-new music tonight, but he does switch things up to keep his older material fresh. ‘I Think’, from 2019’s ‘IGOR’, is given a new, extended outro, while there’s a live debut, too, for the soulful ‘Best Interest’, the rapper delivering the pitched-up vocals from the recording in his deep, booming voice.

It’s the kind of performance that keeps you guessing. It’s never obvious where the setlist is going to weave next, how the chosen song might be presented, or even who might appear during it. Towards the end of the night, Kali Uchis makes her first live appearance since becoming a mother to sing an all-too-brief snippet of ‘See You Again’, while The Gap Band’s Charlie Wilson joins an obviously thrilled Tyler on a piano stool at the top of his mountain for a rousing ‘Earfquake’.

Earlier in the set, the headliner brings out two more stars he says he used to “hate”. First, Donald Glover makes a surprise appearance, taking to the stage under a knit bucket hat that obscures his identity until the camera zooms in on his face. He and Tyler trade lines and bounce around the middle of the stage together like old pals, but after, the latter admits his old animosity toward the musician known as Childish Gambino. “Seriously, I don’t know why – I have to go to therapy to work it out,” he deadpans.

Moments later, another guest emerges from among the rocky background. A$AP Rocky remains on stage for two songs – electrifying versions of ‘Potato Salad’ and ‘Who Dat Boy’, the latter made all the more enlivening by the giant green UFO that hovers behind them and the dancing aliens that disappear in puffs of green light. “You know what’s crazy?” Tyler laughs after. “I used to hate that n***a too!”

It’s not just his growth in relationships that’s on display tonight. Prior to his set, there were rumours Tyler would have some kind of Odd Future reunion as part of the performance. That proves to be unfounded, but he does treat us to a run-through of some of the cuts from that period of his career. The likes of ‘Tron Cat’ and ‘Yonkers’ whip the crowd into a frenzy while also showcasing how the artist’s sound and style have developed over the years.

Tyler’s set has plenty of room for fun, too. Before ‘Running Out Of Time’, he faces off against a stuffed mountain lion and loses, falling dramatically off the back of the cliff he’s performing from. Later, he runs through ‘IFHY’ in front of a green tent, munching on a sandwich he pulls from a ziplock baggie between lines. Before ‘Tron Cat’, he addresses the audience as “n****s” – one of multiple instances of this. “Calling this many white people n***a and they responding,” he says wryly. “That’s crazy.”

Although the crowd gathered to watch this all go down is relatively modest, they make their presence felt – even if they do ignore those pre-show requests about phones and flashes. It’s a reflection of the rapper’s cult icon status and a rebuttal to those in his life who didn’t believe in him. “I told n****s I’m gonna have my Coachella one day, and they said, ‘Nope’ – they can all suck this dick right now,” he shares. After tonight, it feels unlikely that anyone will doubt him again.

Tyler, The Creator played:

‘Igor’s Theme’
‘Lemonhead’
‘WusYaName’
‘Lumberjack’
‘I Think’
‘Best Interest’
‘Dogtooth’
‘Stuntman’
‘Running Out Of Time’
‘Sorry Not Sorry’
‘Potato Salad’
‘Who Dat Boy’
‘She’
‘Tron Cat’
‘Yonkers’
‘Tamale’
‘Odd Toddlers’
‘Smuckers’
‘IFHY’
‘Earfquake’
‘Sometimes…’
‘See You Again’
‘New Magic Wand’

The post Tyler, The Creator live at Coachella: a brilliant reminder of a cult hero’s power appeared first on NME.

NME

“Everybody post us on your story,” Kim Chaewon grins. LE SSERAFIM’s leader stands at the front of the Sahara stage, throwing up peace signs to the front of the crowd while she and her bandmates take a water break. We’re only three songs into the girl group’s debut Coachella appearance, but it’s already clear the festival airwaves are going to be jammed with fans trying to share footage of the moment once the set is over.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog day two: Tyler, The Creator, No Doubt, Olivia Rodrigo and all the news from Saturday

Ever since BLACKPINK were first booked to perform at Coachella in 2019, K-pop’s presence on the festival’s stages has slowly become the norm rather than an oddity. This year, LE SSERAFIM have set a new record, becoming the fastest-invited K-pop group to perform here, making their mark in the desert before their two-year anniversary. It’s a reflection of the impact the five-piece have already made on the music scene, carving out a space for themselves as a badass girl gang with a grungy edge.

That feeling shines through from the first moment of their set tonight (April 13). Joined by a live band, the members strut onto stage one by one to the grinding riffs of ‘Good Bones’, taking their individual moment in the spotlight but coming together as one powerful entity. As they launch into ‘Antifragile’, it’s clear they didn’t come to play – and that they get what the energy of a festival performance should be. The chorus lines become chanted boasts of the group’s toughness, their full-bodied shouts matching the crunch of their backing band and getting the crowd hyped up further.

Where K-pop can often be focused on pristine perfection, LE SSERAFIM’s set loosens things up and brings out a new rawness. The viral ‘Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s wife’ feels even more electrifying on this stage, its closing “girls wanna have fun” rally a call to arms the group immediately answers with the bright ‘Perfect Night’. ‘Smart’, meanwhile – preceded by Huh Yunjin cheekily asking the crowd: “Are you ready to shake some fucking ass?” – becomes even more irresistible, with pockets of the crowd break into groups performing their own takes on the hip-swinging choreography.

That looseness colours the attitude in LE SSERAFIM’s new song, ‘1-800-Hot-N-Fun’, which receives its premiere on the Sahara stage tonight. “I like to dance when I party / I like to kiss everybody,” the group sing over a surging, bass-y riff, the English-language song growing into a contender for the world’s new weekend anthem. It lives up to its title perfectly, its playfulness coming to a peak with the closing refrain “1-800-hot-n-fun, that’s my number / Hit my line” a coquettish invitation.

Although the focus tonight is strictly on the girl group, they bring out one special guest for the performance. As they bring the spaghetti western ‘Unforgiven’ to life, Nile Rodgers – their collaborator on that track – quietly slots into the band behind them. It’s not until the group shout out his presence the crowd picks up on his presence, but when they do, he’s greeted with a roar befitting of such a legend.

It’s just one part of what makes this performance “a dream come true” for LE SSERAFIM, as Sakura describes it towards the end of their time on stage. Watching the group, you get the sense that, for the group, another big part of that feeling comes from being able to conquer Coachella with each other.

As they take a final bow, all stood in a line with hands clasped, they can’t help but show their excitement about what they’ve just done. Torsos still bent towards the floor, the five members giddily shake their still-interlocked hands, an action that wordlessly screams, “We did it”. If “it” is put on a fierce, fun performance that makes the Sahara stage their own, even if just for 40 minutes, then LE SSERAFIM certainly did.

LE SSERAFIM played:

‘Antifragile’
‘Fearless’
‘The Great Mermaid’
‘1-800-Hot-N-Fun’
‘Unforgiven’
‘Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s wife’
‘Perfect Night’
‘Smart’
‘Easy’
‘Fire in the belly’

The post LE SSERAFIM live at Coachella 2024: K-pop girl group get raw and loose appeared first on NME.

NME

Before Coachella 2024 kicked off, Lana Del Rey appeared to hint that her headline moment was the crux of a narrative arc of redemption. On the side of the highway leading to the desert festival, she posted a billboard nodding to the 2012 SNL performance she was mercilessly crucified for. “Has anyone else died for you?” it pointedly asked, designed in a way that sent up the advertising hoardings that populate America’s Bible Belt.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog day one: Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, and all the action from Friday

When she arrives on stage tonight (April 12) – making her grand entrance via a motorcade of motorbikes, riding through the crowd – it doesn’t feel like redemption. Del Rey has long proven what she’s really capable of, both on record and in her live performances that have seen her become a festival headliner around the world. Instead, her first time atop the Coachella bill feels reflective; a survey of all she’s done and created over the last 12 years.

It begins by dialling things all the way back to 2012 and her debut album, ‘Born To Die’ – or, more specifically, one of its bonus tracks, ‘Without You’. It’s a surprising but beautiful opening, even if its “Hello hello, can, can you hear me?” line takes on a prophetic slant later in the set. There are songs dug out from Del Rey’s cupboard that haven’t been played in years – the hazy ‘West Coast’, and her take on Sublime’s ‘Doin’ Time’ among them – and, even when she’s playing some of her biggest hits, there’s a feeling that you’re watching a setlist of lowkey gems. The stuttering ‘Bartender’ melds smoothly with the dreaminess of ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’, ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’’s yearning shifts quickly into the more gently acerbic ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’.

As that ‘Without You’ lyric predicts, though, Del Rey’s set – like much of day one across the festival – is mired by sound issues. At several points, she stops singing to check on technical issues and, after the gorgeous ‘…Ocean Blvd’, sings: “As quiet as I am, how are you doing?” That seems to be both a reference to the sound and her not spending much time interacting with the audience – immediately after, she continues her melodic inquiry: “As little as I have to say, can you hear me well?”

Some festival-goers and critics have pointed to Del Rey as an “odd” choice of headliner – someone not exactly known for putting in energetic, flashy performances. Tonight, unswayed by those opinions, she sticks to what is true to her and instead focuses on something artful rather than gimmicky. After arriving on her motorcade, she enters a stage built to look like a palatial old mansion, where she’s joined by dancers moving down the grand staircases and, later, guests who stop by to stay for a moment. The beauty in the performances comes in the small details – the star lying back on her dancers for ‘Pretty When You Cry’, all of them dressed in blue like a pool of sparkling tears, or her leaning into the narrative of ‘Bartender’, briefly, coolly, checking her appearance in a mirror while the performers around her venture into choreography that feels almost occultist.

There is a subtle flash, though. When Jack Antonoff takes a seat behind the piano for ‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have – But I Have It’, he’s not joining flesh-and-blood Lana on stage, but a hologram version of her that spins slowly, gracefully in one spot. When the song arrives at the “Hello, it’s the most famous woman you know on the iPad” lyric, it feels like the stage has become our screen, Del Rey’s virtual image beaming through from somewhere else.

As rumoured, a handful of guests make an appearance, too, including Antonoff. First, Jon Batiste joins her for a sublime ‘Candy Necklace’ that closes with the pair ad-libbing together in harmony. After, Billie Eilish sits next to Del Rey on her balcony, duetting versions of their respective breakthrough songs, ‘Ocean Eyes’ and ‘Video Games’. It’s a stunning coming together of two of music’s most distinctive voices.

As well as an impressive catalogue, what Del Rey has also created over the last 12 years is impact – something that’s evident across Coachella this year. Earlier in the day, Chappell Roan projects her image onto the screen behind her as she performs, while throughout the bill, you can spot more artists who’ve been inspired by the headliner, like Suki Waterhouse and The Last Dinner Party. After ‘Video Games’ ends, Del Rey turns to the crowd to remind them Eilish is “the voice of our generation”, but her guest has her own truth to share: “This is the reason for half of you bitches’ existence,” Eilish bluntly declares. A short while later, Del Rey returns backstage on her motorcade. As she waves to the crowd like a 1920s beauty queen on an elegant victory lap, it’s clear redemption is not the theme of the night but a celebration of a star who always stays true to herself.

Lana Del Rey played:

‘Without You’
‘West Coast’
‘Doin’ Time’
‘Summertime Sadness’
‘Cherry’
‘Pretty When You Cry’
‘Ride’
‘Born To Die’
‘Bartender’
‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’
‘The Grants’
‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’
‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’
‘Arcadia’
‘Candy Necklace’
‘Ocean Eyes’
‘Video Games’
‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have – But I Have It’
‘A&W’
‘Young and Beautiful’

The post Lana Del Rey live at Coachella 2024: distinctive star stays true to herself appeared first on NME.

NME

Before Coachella 2024 kicked off, Lana Del Rey appeared to hint that her headline moment was the crux of a narrative arc of redemption. On the side of the highway leading to the desert festival, she posted a billboard nodding to the 2012 SNL performance she was mercilessly crucified for. “Has anyone else died for you?” it pointedly asked, designed in a way that sent up the advertising hoardings that populate America’s Bible Belt.

• READ MORE: Coachella 2024 liveblog day one: Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, and all the action from Friday

When she arrives on stage tonight (April 12) – making her grand entrance via a motorcade of motorbikes, riding through the crowd – it doesn’t feel like redemption. Del Rey has long proven what she’s really capable of, both on record and in her live performances that have seen her become a festival headliner around the world. Instead, her first time atop the Coachella bill feels reflective; a survey of all she’s done and created over the last 12 years.

It begins by dialling things all the way back to 2012 and her debut album, ‘Born To Die’ – or, more specifically, one of its bonus tracks, ‘Without You’. It’s a surprising but beautiful opening, even if its “Hello hello, can, can you hear me?” line takes on a prophetic slant later in the set. There are songs dug out from Del Rey’s cupboard that haven’t been played in years – the hazy ‘West Coast’, and her take on Sublime’s ‘Doin’ Time’ among them – and, even when she’s playing some of her biggest hits, there’s a feeling that you’re watching a setlist of lowkey gems. The stuttering ‘Bartender’ melds smoothly with the dreaminess of ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’, ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’’s yearning shifts quickly into the more gently acerbic ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’.

As that ‘Without You’ lyric predicts, though, Del Rey’s set – like much of day one across the festival – is mired by sound issues. At several points, she stops singing to check on technical issues and, after the gorgeous ‘…Ocean Blvd’, sings: “As quiet as I am, how are you doing?” That seems to be both a reference to the sound and her not spending much time interacting with the audience – immediately after, she continues her melodic inquiry: “As little as I have to say, can you hear me well?”

Some festival-goers and critics have pointed to Del Rey as an “odd” choice of headliner – someone not exactly known for putting in energetic, flashy performances. Tonight, unswayed by those opinions, she sticks to what is true to her and instead focuses on something artful rather than gimmicky. After arriving on her motorcade, she enters a stage built to look like a palatial old mansion, where she’s joined by dancers moving down the grand staircases and, later, guests who stop by to stay for a moment. The beauty in the performances comes in the small details – the star lying back on her dancers for ‘Pretty When You Cry’, all of them dressed in blue like a pool of sparkling tears, or her leaning into the narrative of ‘Bartender’, briefly, coolly, checking her appearance in a mirror while the performers around her venture into choreography that feels almost occultist.

There is a subtle flash, though. When Jack Antonoff takes a seat behind the piano for ‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have – But I Have It’, he’s not joining flesh-and-blood Lana on stage, but a hologram version of her that spins slowly, gracefully in one spot. When the song arrives at the “Hello, it’s the most famous woman you know on the iPad” lyric, it feels like the stage has become our screen, Del Rey’s virtual image beaming through from somewhere else.

As rumoured, a handful of guests make an appearance, too, including Antonoff. First, Jon Batiste joins her for a sublime ‘Candy Necklace’ that closes with the pair ad-libbing together in harmony. After, Billie Eilish sits next to Del Rey on her balcony, duetting versions of their respective breakthrough songs, ‘Ocean Eyes’ and ‘Video Games’. It’s a stunning coming together of two of music’s most distinctive voices.

As well as an impressive catalogue, what Del Rey has also created over the last 12 years is impact – something that’s evident across Coachella this year. Earlier in the day, Chappell Roan projects her image onto the screen behind her as she performs, while throughout the bill, you can spot more artists who’ve been inspired by the headliner, like Suki Waterhouse and The Last Dinner Party. After ‘Video Games’ ends, Del Rey turns to the crowd to remind them Eilish is “the voice of our generation”, but her guest has her own truth to share: “This is the reason for half of you bitches’ existence,” Eilish bluntly declares. A short while later, Del Rey returns backstage on her motorcade. As she waves to the crowd like a 1920s beauty queen on an elegant victory lap, it’s clear redemption is not the theme of the night but a celebration of a star who always stays true to herself.

Lana Del Rey played:

‘Without You’
‘West Coast’
‘Doin’ Time’
‘Summertime Sadness’
‘Cherry’
‘Pretty When You Cry’
‘Ride’
‘Born To Die’
‘Bartender’
‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’
‘The Grants’
‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’
‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’
‘Arcadia’
‘Candy Necklace’
‘Ocean Eyes’
‘Video Games’
‘Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have – But I Have It’
‘A&W’
‘Young and Beautiful’

The post Lana Del Rey live at Coachella 2024: distinctive star stays true to herself appeared first on NME.