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By Christine Lee

Daily Bruin Contributor

clee@media.ucla.edu

The age old saying that good things come to those who wait was certainly true for the thousands of people waiting to get into Sunday’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Complete with troubadours on a moving metal structure, beer gardens and an electricity-producing rod in the middle of the venue, Sunday’s festival allowed attendees to relax on a pleasantly warm day and to partake in the variety of music.

New Jersey’s Saves the Day, emo-punk’s latest crop of fresh-faced young rockers, put on smiles, ready to rock the crowd surrounding the main Coachella stage.

Lead singer Chris Conley started off the show with one of the songs from their new album “Stay What You Are.”

Bouncing around with mic in hand, Conley sang in earnest tones to the younger crowd gathered around the stage. Heads bobbed to album favorites such as “Certain Tragedy” and “Cars and Calories.” Filled with old songs as well as new, the group changed the set up with the slow “Freakish” and brought back the punk with the MTV-friendly radio-hit, “At Your Funeral.” Saves the Day managed to prove that they were worthy to rock out on the main stage.

On the Outdoor Theatre stage were more of indie rock’s best acts.

Blonde Redhead took the stage mid-afternoon, ready to play for the pleasant Indio crowd.

Kazu Makino, one third of the trio, was shy on stage, almost apologetic when she played her guitar and sang in her eerie tones for the crowd. Italian twins Simone and Amadeo Pace set up their drums, guitars and synths to start the set off with a song from one of their older albums.

Birdlike and delicate, Kazu Makino managed to shriek out the oddly dissonant, yet attractive tunes.

They concluded their set with the popular “This Is Not,” causing the mostly contemplative audience to shake their bodies to the electro-dance number.

Makino bowed after every song, showing the group’s quiet appreciation for its audience.

No quasi-European music festival would be complete without elf-rock’s Belle and Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch and team won over the mellow crowd with a variety of music. Taking requests such as “String Bean Jean,” the group members charmed the crowd with their quiet, cheerful banter.

Murdoch managed to endear himself to the audience, asking for a soccer ball to hug while singing, “Don’t Leave the Light On Baby,” claiming that he needed something to hold on to while singing this slow ballad.

And although the band may be known for its quiet rock, it got the audience moving around and dancing in hippie-like movements. The group proved that what Murdoch claimed to be its first-ever outdoor festival performance should not be its last.

But if you talked to any of the festival attendees, the highlight of the day was The Strokes.

In his signature style, Julian Casablancas, lead singer for The Strokes, stumbled on stage, thanking the audience for coming to watch the group.

The Strokes started off the set with one of the songs from its album “Is This It” and included the non-album hit “New York City Cops” as well as songs the members were working on for their new album. The band exuded rock energy, playing “Psoma” and “Last Nite.”

The crowd bounced around harder when Casablancas came down into the audience, inducing more shoving and grabbing. Finishing a cigarette and drinking the last of his Heineken, Casablancas finished the set thanking the audience once again for coming to the show.

Maybe the Strokes should have been the closing act, because Oasis, the festival’s finale, did not garner as much attention as the other fashionable quintet.

While people started leaving the Empire Polo Field, Oasis played songs mostly from their newer albums, with only two songs from the crowd-favorite “What’s the Story Morning Glory.” The Gallagher brothers did get through the show without a scuffle, and ended the festival with a cover of the Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus.”

Although the tickets were pricier than previous years, the smattering of musical talents at the festival was definitely worth digging deeper into one’s pocket for that extra cash.