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  Photos by PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Dressed in a white jumpsuit and a funky fedora, Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell entices the crowd at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

By Ruvin Spivak

Daily Bruin Contributor

On Saturday, the music was hotter than even the weather as tens of thousands made the pilgrimage to the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., for the second annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

With 35,000 people in attendance, the only thing worse then the scorching weather was making the decision between which of the five stages of music to choose from.

Headliners included The Roots, Jane’s Addiction, Paul Oakenfold, Weezer, Mos Def, Ozomatli, Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim.

In addition to the headlining bands, early performers of the day ranged from Medusa and Souls of Mischief to the Dandy Warhols, and Nikka Costa to Planet of the Drums and Jason Blakemore.

One early act that got the crowd’s respect was the up-and-coming DJ Z-Trip, with his trans-genre mixes. Spinning the Fugees, Nirvana and Beastie Boys in the same set, Z-Trip drew many fans to the Sahara Stage early in the day. What kept them though were the DJ’s unique musical overlays, lacing Dr. Dre with Outkast, or Christina Aguilera with Led Zeppelin.

Late in the afternoon, other top acts took to their respective stages in front of loyal fans. Among these were Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Uberzone and old school punk rocker Iggy Pop. L.A. favorites were also representing as Aceyalone and Ozomatli displayed their unique local styles.

One of the highlights of the festival was Philly’s own The Roots. The unique, organic hip-hop sound left viewers entranced for about an hour with a nonstop, no nonsense, musical performance, accompanied by Dice Raw.

Known for its live shows, The Roots boasted its skills on and off the microphone as Black Thought gave his sprained ankle a rest, giving the other members a chance to move the crowd. Most notably, keyboardist Kamal along with “vocal turntablist” Scratch impressed the pit with classic material like A Tribe Called Quest’s “World Tour.”

Many also came to see the recently reunited Jane’s Addiction. Perry Farrell and the boys stole perhaps the largest number of attendees for their set, running through new and old material accompanied by an incredible light show and interesting costumes.

  Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo leads the band in a set of old hits and new tracks, which kept the massive crowd moving in spite of the swelteringly hot weather. Another big attraction was Weezer, who performed for a raucous crowd. The band performed several singles off of its first album as well as a couple of new cuts from its album that is to be released May 15.

Music wasn’t the only attraction at the festival though. Aside from the obligatory food, water and glow stick stands, the field was filled with art, movies and even circus acts.

The Coachella film tent featured different documentaries on reggae, punk, heavy metal, hip hop and the desert rave scene of Southern California.

Some of the films included “Rockers,”

“Freestyle” and “Meeting People is Easy,” a documentary that followed Radiohead during the “OK Computer” tour.

The venue was also filled with artwork to accompany the noise. Sight and Sound Labs created a model of the human genome DNA molecule out of helium balloons. Artist Corndog set up an interactive junk metal sculpture that allowed visitors to beat pots, pans, beams, rebar and other scraps to create music of their own.

There was also comic and zine artistry from papier-mâché and live graffiti from In Creative Unity Art.

One of the leading sponsors of the festivities was the preeminent underground music magazine “URB.”

The magazine’s tent in the middle of the field gave fans the opportunity to meet their favorite artists and grab a copy of the publication’s latest issue.

Around 5 p.m. the weather cooled and the stars of the event came out. World-famous DJ Paul Oakenfold graced Southern California with his “perfecto” style, while other foreign DJs, groups and bands presented new and innovative styles to American audiences. Despite being known for his DJ-ing skills, Oakenfold’s set not only fell flat, but was also poorly mixed.

St. Germain performed a unique blend of rhythms that could only be classified as jazz-esque.

Kruder and Dorfmeister made a rare SoCal appearance, and Icelanderic band Sigur Ròs played in front of a Southern California crowd for the first time.

Other electronica acts like Tricky, The Orb, Christopher Lawrence and Doc Martin graced stages on the breezy desert evening as well.

Roni Size Reprazent drew large crowds with his accomplished style of MCing over drum ‘n’ bass.

  Using a cello bow on his guitar, Jónsi Birgisson introduced America to the haunting and beautiful melodies of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós. The Coachella Festival attracted a large crowd that spent a day being entertained by a wide variety of performers, films and artwork.

Brooklyn native Mos Def came out early in the evening with his new rock group, Jack Johnson, playing old and new hits. Mos gave fans a taste of his next album with a new joint called “Ghetto,” in which hip hop meets heavy metal, Black Star style.

Ending the evening were three of the most respected acts in the modern music world.

One such performer was Fatboy Slim who brought the house down with an hour-and-a-half set that got the crowd moving to the funk soul brother’s grooves.

Electronic veterans Chemical Brothers were back to promote their latest album, but they played a variety of unique songs including Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” Most notable was the way in which they accelerated the crowd’s energy throughout the set with hard beats and tripped-out sounds.

Finally, Guru and DJ Premier came back as the group Gang Starr after their last visit at the Smoke Out Festival. Aside from playing its own repertoire of hits, the group made sure to leave the audience schooled in new- and old-school hip-hop history.

When all was said and done – after gallons of water, oodles of sunblock and tons of dry fast-food – the Coachella Festival ended a success.  Visitors were able to see most of their favorite acts because of excellent scheduling and user-friendly pocket maps.

On a whole, the 12-hour day was exhausting but well worth the energy. The vibe was friendly and the music spoke for itself. It was a day to join a variety of music lovers and celebrate great music of all types. Aside from the baking sun that left the crowd with a collective migraine, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was a phenomenal day to remember.

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