The band Abe Vigoda performs onstage at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on Friday, April 13. Photo: Michael Buckner, Getty Images for Coachella

It’s great to be back for my 11th go-round at the Coachella festival – especially after being wowed by a lot of last weekend’s festivities online.

The Gobi tent was my first stop of the afternoon, where LA-via-Chino alt-rock band Abe Vigoda drew a decent sized crowd. The low-key quartet did several recent songs that utilized a synth and recalled Bloc Party, but with far more dramatic vocals. It was a major improvement from their noisy mid-2000s No Age punk days.

Over at the Mojave tent, there was a party going on, despite the sweltering heat. Oakland band Wallpaper had a big audience waving their hands in the air and singing the Cobra Starship-leaning tunes with abandon. One young gal wearing hot pink shorts enthusiastically blew on a whistle. But a muddy bass mix and rhythms from three drummers made it a little overwhelming at times. Charismatic frontman Ricky Reed was definitely excited to be onstage during “T Rex” and “Two Pair of Shades.”

by GEORGE A. PAUL, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Coachella 2012

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For more Coachella coverage all weekend go toocregister.com/coachella.

Coachella 2012: Wallpaper draws big audience in Mojave tent is a post from: Soundcheck

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