USA TODAY International Edition
Lady Gaga unveils single at Coachella
Radiohead struggles with tech problems in its Friday headliner set at music festival
INDIO, CALIF. Are you OK, Little Monsters?
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival headliner Lady Gaga surprised fans Saturday night by performing a new song, The Cure, about 45 minutes into the set.
“You cure me every time with your love,” she told the crowd.
Gaga was interactive and authentic, sharing personal anecdotes and random thoughts, and even pausing during Edge of Glory to wrestle off her sweatshirt.
Her first of three outfit changes came after Just Dance. She started the night in a black police hat and leather trench coat, then re- emerged in a black leotard, sequined boots and a denim jacket for Born This Way.
“I remember when I released this album, it caused so much trouble,” she announced. “Which I loved, because I love causing trouble.”
The pop queen was drafted into the Saturday night slot after Beyoncé withdrew, citing her doctor’s concerns about performing while pregnant. Gaga performed Telephone, which the two collaborated on, and fell silent during Beyoncé’s portion.
She played a mixture of old and new songs, drawing some of the biggest cheers for Telephone, Alejandro and Born This Way.
Near the end of the hour- anda- half performance, she took to the piano to play Edge of Glory, Speechless and You and I. As fans sang along, she told them they made her so happy she could cry.
For an emotional, remixed version of Million Reasons, she ran along the wall that separated her from the crowd, high- fiving people at the front of the pit.
Gaga went in for her last costume change of the night as Applause played, switching into a sheer black bodysuit covered in sequins with black underwear be- neath to close out her set with Poker Face and Bad Romance.
Earlier in the weekend, Radiohead tried valiantly to rally past momentum- derailing sound problems in their headlining set, but could never quite overcome the setback.
Radiohead twice had to exit the stage within the first seven songs while technicians tried to fix the speakers that buzzed and then went out entirely.
After the second time, frontman Thom Yorke asked, “Can you actually hear me now?” to nice applause from the now- thinner crowd. “I’d like to tell a joke and lighten the mood, but we’re Radiohead so ( expletive) it.” The band then went right into their eighth song, Street Spirit, and didn’t have any more trouble the rest of the night, but the damage had been done.
The crowd tried to be encouraging both during the outages and after, but could never get fully entranced.
One surprise was that they played their biggest hit, Creep. It’s a song they rarely do anymore and hadn’t played at all on this tour. Perhaps it was planned, or perhaps it was an olive branch to the patient crowd. They played more than two hours total.