During his Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival debut last week, Pharrell Williams looked miserable. His voice was shot, his head was hung, he said the high desert winds were “stupid” and if the weather conditions didn’t improve he threatened to come back a week later wearing a gas mask.
Saturday night was round two of Pharrell versus the Coachella elements, and Williams declared himself the victor. No designer gas masks were needed, his voice didn’t fail him and the producer-singer-rapper brought out another round of celebrity guests — Jay Z one moment, Usher the next, as Williams once again viewed the live music experience as something akin to one long all-star medley on the Grammy Awards.
As confetti rained on the crowd and inflatable air dancers sprang to life, making Coachella’s Outdoor Stage look like the most festive, celebratory car dealership in all the land, Williams concluded his set with Happy and then declared that the previous 60 minutes were the “best” live performance “of my life”. There was no complaining this time around, just professionalism and Williams’ good-guy charm.
“The desert got me last time but not this time,” Williams said earlier.
By and large, the set was a relatively faithful, albeit slicker, re-creation of the one he attempted last week, a performance that was broadcast live on the web with every close-up of the artist’s pained face making for gripping drama. This time, like an Olympian who stumbled out of the gate, Williams got the gargantuan, celebrity-packed crowd (Andre 3000! Beck!) in full-on cheerleader mode.
Of course, it helps when one has much of the past year’s defining radio hits on his side — Blurred Lines, Get Lucky and the aforementioned Happy among them. Looking beach-party dapper in sneakers, a cardigan and denim shorts, the latter of which appeared more like swim trunks from a distance, he was the rare pop star with everyday appeal. (Oh, yes, he was wearing the hat.)
His approach on stage is as casual and sly as the arrangement of set opener Lose Yourself to Dance, one of Williams’ 2013 collaborations with Daft Punk. Less is more, as the groove is driven by a deft funk bass and Williams’ feather-light falsetto. With a versatile combo behind him, Williams tackled selections from his solo album, G I R L, as well as his hits working as a producer for other artists.
Williams once again brought out Busta Rhymes for a bracing Pass the Courvoisier, Part II and handed the stage over to Usher for his U Don’t Have to Call, a light-stepping morsel in Indio with its stuttering groove and effervescent space-age synths.
Last week’s big surprise, Gwen Stefani, didn’t make a repeat appearance, but Coachella second-weekend attendees were treated instead to an extended appearance from Jay Z.
