What Act Surprised You the Most?

[kvnty]

Azealia Banks. Fast, furious and fun as hell. Can't wait for her EP/album now.

[iammrcandyman]

Amon Tobin - I stepped in expecting to be disappointed by the show, I stepped out with my brain melted. It's unfortunate most people weren't dancing to his music though, it was great.

The Hives - These guys know how to fucking perform, I had a great time at their set. Pelle Almqvist is cool as fuck.

M83 - Had high hopes, they blew.

[lilee]

i've always liked bon iver, but i definitely expected his set to be a snooze-fest with how mellow his records are & the night set time, but holy moly that show was great. there was way more energy in their live sound than i expected.

[Gribbz]

I was a fan going in... but Death Grips is the answer. Holy shit.

Also, Breakbot. Love me some funk.

[summersnow]

SBTRKT. Thought his album was good but never held my attention, while the live show was really entertaining - everyone was getting down.

[zemorr]

Death Grips and girl Talk

[crombrenner]

Bon Iver. Had heard they were good live, but they blew me away. Extremely powerful and emotional performance. They are a future headliner for Coachella 2014.

[WhatLies]

ya bon iver will headline coachella once they release album 3. But for me the biggest surprise was Dre & Snoop. I was not expecting their show to be that awesome.

[Josesativa]

SBTRKT. Thought his album was good but never held my attention, while the live show was really entertaining - everyone was getting down.

x100000000

LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT![LONG LIVE SBTRKT!

[citizenerased]

The Black Keys. I've seen them before but never with that kind of sound system and presentation. We must've been in the speakers' sweet spot because it blew me, my friends, and everyone around us away.

[Johnnycaker]

Feist, SBTRKT and Azealie Banks.
I knew Feist would have a nice set but fuck! she brought it! that whole orchestra was awesome, she has a great stage presence, totally didnt expect it and SBTRKT was a fat party the whole time and Azealie can fucken can pack the house, the girl can seriously rap...fuckoff Minaj.

[racytraines]

we are augustines. i love the album but wasn't sure about live, but they were awesome.

also the head and the heart, they were great!

i like f&tm but i thought they'd be boring, but i do think they were the best of the whole weekend.

[kvnty]

Feist, SBTRKT and Azealie Banks.
I knew Feist would have a nice set but fuck! she brought it! that whole orchestra was awesome, she has a great stage presence, totally didnt expect it and SBTRKT was a fat party the whole time and Azealie can fucken can pack the house, the girl can seriously rap...fuckoff Minaj.

fuckoff Minaj is right. Move over, kunt, there's a new head bitch in charge.

[clleadz]

Kasabian. Blew my world.

The Hives. Blew my mind.

[TickleMeElmo]

Gotye. I went into the set thinking this is one of the bands I HAVE to see, even just for a few songs and they really blew away my expectations. Such a fun and memorable set. Kasabian also gets a mention here. I've been a fan of theirs for a long time but I wasn't expecting them to have such great stage presence. It felt like seeing a subheadliner-calibre band in the Mojave. Amazing.

[clleadz]

Gotye. I went into the set thinking this is one of the bands I HAVE to see, even just for a few songs and they really blew away my expectations. Such a fun and memorable set. Kasabian also gets a mention here. I've been a fan of theirs for a long time but I wasn't expecting them to have such great stage presence. It felt like seeing a subheadliner-calibre band in the Mojave. Amazing.

Exactly wrt Kasabian. We were lucky to get them in such a small tent and so close. They are headlining Reading in the UK this year and there will probably be 10x as many people there

[zuma1986]

Gaslamp Killer totally blew me away. Didnt really know too much about his stuff but my friend wanted to go and I'd seen a few cool sets on youtube. Killed it, easily one of the best dj sets of the weekend.

The Black Angels were great too. Liked their first album and had meaning to check them out live but never got around to it. Wasn't even planning on seeing them at Coachella but was kinda disappointed by M83 (Was sounding to0 poppy in a corny way) so I went to the set beside them. Nobody was really there so didn't really pay attention but the visuals on the screen caught my attention and then the music clicked and loved it. Stayed for the rest and had a blast.

Azealia Banks was surprised me as well. The crowd didn't really get into it (Most ppl were only there for '212') but I was loving it. She even handled her sound problems like a pro. Wasn't digging too much of her work since '212' blew up but everything she did in her set sounded good.

[leo1991]

Gaslamp Killer totally blew me away. Didnt really know too much about his stuff but my friend wanted to go and I'd seen a few cool sets on youtube. Killed it, easily one of the best dj sets of the weekend.

Agreed, he's such a ridiculously good performer, so fun to watch. Great set too, and he played new Flylo which was awesome. He seemed to have some new tracks too, looking forward to a release.

Pretty pissed I missed Azealia Banks

[thirtynation]

Love & Light in the Do Lab. I feel bad for the mouth breathers at Justice. L&L was where the real party was that hour.

Also, Gaslamp Killer. And yeah, definitely didn't expect Dre+Snoop to be that awesome either, totally exceeded everything I was expecting.

[frizzlefry]

I'm starting to get the assumption that even if Bon Iver bores you recorded they will blow you away live?

[LiquidL]

M83, Flying Lotus, Rapture, SHM, Bon Iver, Miike Snow, and Radiohead

I thought Snoopy and Dre were kinda over rated and the "hologram" looked like 2D animation

[Grandma]

refused

[Bus McRider]

Motherfucking St. Vincent. I fell in love.

[crombrenner]

I'm starting to get the assumption that even if Bon Iver bores you recorded they will blow you away live?

Yes, I've always been a bit bored by their cd's but live was a completely different story. There's nine guys on stage, and the songs have an elegant yet powerful sound that is absolutely captivating live. They were brilliant.

[fireboi]

First Aid Kit

[Stickjohn]

I've seen a partial Beirut set before at Coachella but forgot how good this band is. Terrific set, and I could not hear the Sahara.

[CyberSurfer2099]

DJ SHADOW!!!!!!!

[Ray del Mundo]

Motherfucking St. Vincent. I fell in love.

Seriously! Just so fucking awesome. Was dragged away from Mangum (only after hearing my two very favorite tracks) to see St. Vincent and was not at all disappointed after I got there. She just destroyed and the stage dive was crazy!

[That70sdesperado]

Death Grips. I knew they'd be great, but I did NOT expect them to throw down the best set of the weekend. That was some crazy shit.

[ods..]

Yuck's performance second weekend really surprised me. I had seen them open for Tame Impala in a small club but seeing them on Outdoor in the blazing heat.. I thought they wouldn't be able to do it. Instead they turned in one of the better performances of the weekend... So psychedelic and huge sounding. This band just gets better and better.

Other great surprises (people I thought would be great but absolutely destroyed): Death Grips, Refused, Godspeed, Andrew Bird, Feist. I was especially surprised by how great Andrew Bird and Feist were. I was expecting a much sleepier toned-down set and they both brought the fire.

The Do-Lab was also filled with amazing surprises both weekends. Some that specifically stood out second weekend (where I knew next to no one on the lineup): Natascha Kmeto (girl-Machinedrum), ill-esha, Jeremy Sole.