By Cathy Maestri

InstantRiverside.com

Hazy clouds, sports drinks and strong lineups in the tents saved the day for sun-weary concertgoers for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival in Indio on Sunday.  With Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters as the headliner, we began wondering how many local kids had their Sunday tickets confiscated by their parents when they got home late after Prince’s Saturday-night set — because mom and pop wanted to see Waters themselves.

Coachella’s always-diverse crowd got even more diverse as the sun set; there had been babies and strollers all weekend, but just before dusk a sizable contingent of Baby Boomers and AARP members entered the mix and settled on the grass to watch Waters’ big-production set that included parts of “The Wall” and all of “Dark Side of the Moon” — and, of course, a giant white pig that floated over the crowd.

The shaded tents were the place to be during the afternoon; Perry Farrell spent his ninth year at the festival with a set in the Sahara tent, followed by Dimitri From Paris.

(The following video is provided by youtube.com)

We saw our favorite of the day in the Mojave tent — the accidental Swedish collective I’m From Barcelona (pictured, top in video).  Think the Polyphonic Spree with confetti instead of robes; their name is taken from John Cleese’s comedy TV series “Fawlty Towers,” in which “he’s from Barcelona” was the running excuse for beleaguered waiter Miguel.

The band began as a one-off lark by the vikingesque Emanuel Lundgren and 29 friends, a few of them actually musicians. But the cheerful pop was so infectious that they wound up with a record deal; somewhere around 20 members, one clad in a cape and red tights, made it to Coachella.As much fun as the audience had, the gleeful Swedes seemed to be having more, tossing confetti during “We’re From Barcelona” as the crowd sang along. Lundgren then plunged into the crowd, followed by pretty much the entire band; then they happily posed for pictures with grinning fans.Then there was Duffy, more petite and just as soulful as fellow Brit Joss Stone — but with a softer sense, a la Dusty Springfield.

The pairing of the day was also in the Mojave tent: The first show by Swervedriver (pictured) in 10 years, followed by Spiritualized.  Swervedriver picked up just where it left off with its thunderous, melodic squalls of guitar and bass lines that worked their way up through the soles of your feet.  As one of the original “shoegazer” bands, they held true to form — both guitars ran through nearly a dozen effects pedals. Each.The sound system didn’t seem to be as flexible as the music.

When Spiritualized came out for a highly-anticipated acoustic set, complete with a four-piece string section, they were met show-stopping feedback. As disappointing as that was for the audience, it was even worse for frontman Jason Pierce.   But once things got sorted out, the set was gorgeous.

The final act on the smaller outdoor stage was Love and Rockets, veterans of Coachella’s predecessor, the 1996 Organic Festival. What with guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist David J (pictured) and drummer Kevin Haskins being busy with the now-over Bauhaus reunion during the past few years, we’d sort of forgotten how great Love and Rockets’ glam/goth sound was. And, boy, their version of “Ball of Confusion” has never sounded more relevant.

We also realized that the outfit never got enough credit. David J and Ash did some stunning harmonizing against only Haskins’ drumbeat in “Yin and Yang and the Flowerpot Man.” The appearance of the Bubblemen — a trio of black-and-white bumblebees — and a set-ending pillowfight that sent feathers floating into the crowd were just icing.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008