The xx felt somewhat dwarfed by their surroundings on the main stage. Photograph: Charles Reagan Hackleman As one would expect, the main stage at Coachella is a grand spectacle, reserved for the headliners and those earlier acts that require a larger setting. Theres a certain expectation attached and as darkness falls on the festival, the crowd is primed for a party. Serving as an opening act for the nights headliner, the xx felt somewhat dwarfed by their surroundings.
Backed by a shimmering set of psychedelic screens that alternated between mirrors, lights and a picture of the sunset split among them, the aesthetics werent lacking but the crowd remained restless throughout. A combination of their first, second and most recent albums showed that, well, all sound awfully similar when paired together. Despite slick staging, there was an unavoidable flatness that meant the set never really sparked to life. They were clearly enthused to return to the desert (theyve played here multiple times before) but ultimately it was disappointingly middling a forgettable mismatch of stage, act and timing.
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