Saturday night, my Twitter feed having filled up with the hashtag #beychella and a link to a live feed of Beyoncé Knowles’ Coachella debut being offered, I went in, out of interest, and stayed out of — what? “Admiration” would be too weak a word, “astonishment” would underrate a performer who habitually sets the bar high and clears it. Anyway, there was no question of turning it off, leaving my chair or glancing away.
I used to attend Coachella in the perspiring flesh when single-day tickets were still sold and the crowds were half what they’ve become. This time, I watched in the room where I write, on the screen on which these words are appearing as I type. (They are no Beyoncé.) Yet it was very much an emotional, visceral, virtually communal experience. (My wife was watching over my shoulder; I was in an actual audience of two.)
Coachella livestreams much of what it puts onstage. The festival reliably sells out both its identical weekends; offering the rest of the world a window onto the grounds during its first weekend costs nothing in sales, and only increases the cachet of the event. There is a kind of public service element too, if you want to be generous about the promoters’ intentions. Not everyone can manage or afford to go to Coachella, the only festival where these sorts of major statements are likely to take place. But most everyone who would want to can click into the feed.
Advertisement
“Historical” is a word that has been been much used to describe this performance, before and after the fact. (And it was, literally: “Coachella, thank you for allowing me to be the first black woman to headline,” the singer said, as if she had been a supplicant and not in fact the prize.) Had this been an ordinary television broadcast, commercials would have preceded it for months; billboards would have told you when and where to tune in. You would have had to cover your ears and eyes in order not to know it was happening.
Beyonce at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times )
The camera knew where to be and when to be there; one never felt something essential was being missed.
Advertisement
As it is, they will be watching Saturday’s performance in 5,000 years if anyone is around to watch it and eyes are still a thing. But seeing it in real time, even if not in the real space, mattered. Far from the event, there was still a sense of occasion, of a shared moment in a shared space — and much of this had to do with the quality of the camerawork and the intelligence of the direction.
When Martin Scorsese put a camera on tracks in 1976 to shoot “The Last Waltz,” it felt like nothing we’d seen in a concert film. But successful innovations become bad habits.
Typically, nowadays, the camera and cutting create the action when live music is put onscreen — zooming in, zooming out, zipping from one side of the stage to another, from the back of the room to the front, like a Go-Pro attached to a flying monkey, never lingering on any shot more than a few songs. This has become a kind of standard, sadly; it has become the way we understand that something is exciting. (Admittedly, not every pop act gives you much to look at.)
Advertisement
Or it can be underdone — “camera one, camera two, move in camera three” sort of direction, duly recording an event without supporting or amplifying it, without getting to the heart of what makes it beautiful. And to be sure, often what the camera reports is strong enough to speak for itself. But a brilliant performance can also be dimmed by poor camerawork or dull direction. Many artists commemorate concerts or concert tours; few are much to look at.
None of this was the case with Beyoncé’s Saturday set.
Like a Superbowl halftime show, or an Olympics opening ceremony, the performance was staged both for the crowd on the field and the crowd watching remotely. And if not every angle, move and cut was arranged beforehand, the key moments had clearly been mapped for maximum effect. (By her own people, I would assume, and not Coachella’s.) Nothing else I’ve seen streaming from the festival has had, visually, the same level of organization, intention or sensitivity — indeed few concert films are up to the level this achieved, seemingly on the fly .
It began with a tracking shot — out on the walkway that extended onto the field — moving forward to a close up of one of her female drummers, forward again as dancers gave way to reveal the star as Egyptian queen, and then backward as they processed to the stage. The camera knew where to be and when to be there; one never felt something essential was being missed. When the camera moved, it was for a reason — to follow the action, not to stand in for it.
It was a spectacle but a spectacle made up primarily of humans doing spectacular things, individually, in combination and in unison. (The rest was mostly done with lights.) From afar, you could make out individuals in a yellow-clad cast of musicians and dancers reported to number 100; close up, you could watch individual strands of the star’s crimped hair borne aloft on the Coachella Valley breeze. Shots of her out on the runway, in the midst of the moving crowd, had the clarity and detail and implied scale (even on a mid-sized computer monitor) of an 18th century history painting, where many smaller stories play out within and alongside a bigger one. As befits a performer who seems at once more than human and only human, it was at once grand and intimate, powerful and empowering.
I’m glad I was there, even from here.
(There will be no Coachella livestream during the festival’s second weekend, but SirisuXM will be broadcasting through April 25.)
Beyoncé closes the night with an electric performance.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
2/44
Beyoncé brings a big band sound onstage with her.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
3/44
Fans take in Beyoncé’s performance at Coachella.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
4/44
Beyoncé closes out Day 2 at Coachella.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
5/44
Beyoncé on the bleachers.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
6/44
Beyoncé pulls out all the stops for a grand finale at Coachella.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
7/44
Back with a vengeance, a barefoot David Byrne performs.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
8/44
Byrne provides a bit of musical theater as he shares the stage with a model brain.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
9/44
Rapper Tyler, the Creator performs.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
10/44
Aman Mbande of Nairobi, Kenya, takes in the scene.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
11/44
Festival-goers mill around the Etherea structures as the sun sets on Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
12/44
British singer Jorga Smith performs.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
13/44
Jorga Smith onstage.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
14/44
The sun sets on Day 2 in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
15/44
Guitarist Danielle Haim performs with her sisters in the band Haim.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
16/44
Bassist Este Haim performs with her sisters.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
17/44
The band Haim performs.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
18/44
Danish singer, songwriter and electropop producer Mo performs.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
19/44
Danish singer, songwriter and electropop producer Mo.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
20/44
People are cast in silhouette as they walk in the Antarctic visual experience.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
21/44
People make their way between performance stages, art installations and food vendors as the sun sets behind the Santa Rosa Mountains.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
22/44
Angel Olsen onstage April 14 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
23/44
Angel Olsen’s keyboardist and backing vocalist (NAME N/A) shakes a tambourine against a backdrop featuring Angel’s cat on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
24/44
First Aid Kit’s Johnna Soderberg onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
25/44
First Aid Kit’s Johnna Soderberg on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
26/44
L.A. resident Danielle Thomas, 30, wears flowers in her hair on the way to a performance by Nigerian singer/songwriter Wizkid at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival on April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
27/44
Vocalist/violinist Sudan Archives performs African-inspired music during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio on April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
28/44
Vocalist/violinist Sudan Archives performs African-inspired music during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival on April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
29/44
Vocalist/violinist Sudan Archives performs African-inspired music during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio on April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
30/44
Singer Folami performs with Nile Rodgers, background, during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio on, April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
31/44
Nile Rodgers, left, and bassist Jerry Barnes perform with CHIC during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio on April 14.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
32/44
Chloe Bailey, left, and Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle perform during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds on April 14 in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
33/44
Musician Chloe Bailey of Chloe x Halle performs during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
34/44
Halle and Chloe Bailey of Chloe x Halle perform during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
35/44
Declan McKenna and band perform during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
36/44
Declan McKenna performs at the Mojave stage during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
37/44
Declan McKenna performs at the Mojave stage during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds on April 14 in Indio, Calif.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
38/44
Katie Alice Greer, of the musical group, The Priests, performs with the band, at the Sonora tent during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14 in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
39/44
Katie Alice Greer of the Priests performs at the Sonora tent during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds on April 14 in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
40/44
Katie Alice Greer of the Priests performs with the band during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
41/44
Daniele Daniele of the Priests performs during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on April 14, 2018 in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
42/44
Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle performs during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds on April 14.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
43/44
Daniele Daniele of the Priests performs with the band, at the Sonora tent during Day 2 of the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds on April 14 in Indio, Calif.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
44/44
GL Jaguar, Katie Alice Greer and Daniele Daniele of the Priests perform April 14 at Coachella.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
1/43
The Weeknd performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
2/43
The Weeknd performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
3/43
The Weeknd performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
4/43
Jay Kay fronts the British funk and jazz band Jamiroquaion Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
5/43
St. Vincent performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
6/43
St. Vincent performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
7/43
St. Vincent performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
8/43
The Regrettes perform Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
9/43
The Regrettes’ Lydia Night performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
10/43
Jean-Michel Jarre performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
11/43
Masked fans enjoy Jean-Michel Jarre onFriday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
12/43
Jean-Michel Jarre performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
13/43
“Supernova,” an art installation by Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt, at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
14/43
People walk inside the “Spectra” art installation at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
15/43
People walk inside of the “Spectra” art installation Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
16/43
A view from above the Empire Polo grounds through the colored panels of the “Spectra” installation.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
17/43
Fans crowd into the Sahara Stage for an electronic dance music performance Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
18/43
Friends from San Diego take a group selfie inside “Etherea,” a wire mesh sculpture by Edoardo Tresoldi, Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
19/43
A festivalgoer alone inside “Etherea” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
20/43
The American indie pop band Bleachers performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
21/43
Jack Antonof of the American indie pop band Bleachers performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
22/43
A dancer sprays the crowd with water at the DoLab pnFriday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
23/43
Festival fashion at the DoLab at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
24/43
The crowd gets sprayed with water at the DoLab on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
25/43
Indie pop artist Perfume Genius performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
26/43
Indie pop artist Perfume Genius performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
27/43
Indie pop artist Perfume Genius performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
28/43
Kali Uchis on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
29/43
The crowd dances to the Regrettes on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
30/43
The Regrettes on stage Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio..
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
31/43
Rapper Vince Staples performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
32/43
Rapper Vince Staples performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
33/43
Electro-pop artist Kelela, center, performs on the Mojave Stage on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
34/43
Knox Fortune perfoms at the Outdoor Theater on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
35/43
Festivalgoers with parasols walk past the “Supernova” sculpture Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
36/43
Fans cheer as Los Angeles Azules takes the stage Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
37/43
The Mexican group Los Angeles Azules performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
38/43
Los Angeles Azules performs Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
39/43
Festivalgoers walk under the “Palm-3 World Station” art installation Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
40/43
Electro-pop artist Kelela performs on the Mojave Stage onFriday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
41/43
Indie rock singer-songwriter Moses Sumney performs on the Gobi Stage on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
42/43
Indie rock singer-songwriter Moses Sumney performs on the Gobi Stage on Friday at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
43/43
Amanda Dihn, front, 29, is joined by her bridesmaids Friday on Day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
1/32
Nahim Quintana, 37, of Mexico City. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
2/32
Jose Lepucio, 23, of Des Moines
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
3/32
Jonathan Trinh, 20, of Santa Monica. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
4/32
Phoebe Price, 38, of Los Angeles
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
5/32
Jamaal Carroll, 35, of Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
6/32
Lena Kayed, 20, of San Diego
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
7/32
Santiago Garcia, 21, of Miami
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
8/32
Jazmine Solozano, 23, of Vacaville, Calif.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
9/32
Travis Moelter, 28, of Valencia. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
10/32
Lauren Jones, 32, of Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
11/32
Aaliyah Hugie, 21, left, and Raphael Carrasquillo, 21, right, of San Diego. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
12/32
Fash, 22, of Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
13/32
Juliet Caven, 29, of Washington.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
14/32
Daren Stone, 29, of Santa Rosa. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
15/32
Mary Sue Jurgella, 21, of San Diego. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
16/32
Ed Tessier and son Victor, 14, of Pomona.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
17/32
Hannah McClain, 17, of Denver. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
18/32
Ice cream vendor Erik Bruza, 24, of Santa Clarita. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
19/32
Alexander Sanchez, 32, of Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
20/32
Alessia Paciulli, 22, of Arcadia. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
21/32
Jessica Pradin, 22, of Chicago.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
22/32
Michaela Hope, 16, of London is attending her first Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
23/32
Ewan Phomvongsa, 24 of Garden Grove
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
24/32
Ivan Gaxeola, 21, of Sinaloa, Mexico
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
25/32
Monique Iniguez, 21, of Bakersfield is celebrating her birthday at the Coachella.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
26/32
Chelsea Chang, left, 26, and Trisha Fuerte, 24, right, both from San Francisco
