Friday got us dancing with LCD and Jay-Z, Saturday featured less clothing, and Sunday closed things out with a generally mellower lineup (plus more amazing weather). It was fitting the reunited Pavement played “In The Mouth A Desert.” Because the desert is where people were watching them. Even if it didn’t feel especially arid. Less great? The crowd they drew was sparse. Sparser than last year’s loveless gathering for MBV. (Another “influential” band who won’t sell out MSG.) Regardless, the faithful were present and Malkmus & Co. opened with “Silence Kit,” did “In The Mouth,” an moved forward to “Stereo” and “Frontwards” and onward. It wasn’t as long a set list as the band’s pre-Coachella warmup in Pomona — still, plenty of jams. As far as folks from the ’90s who don’t have to worry about packing a place, Thom Yorke/Atoms For Peace‘s set was excellent: You don’t know how much The Eraser is missing Flea until you hear Thom performing The Eraser with Flea. (Yorke dedicated “Atoms for Peace” to Pavement, which is basically dedicating your band to another band, right?) After Thom and his Atoms worked through The Eraser, he returned with a solo “Airbag” (on guitar) and “Everything In Its Right Place” (on piano), then brought the band out for “some mad shit.” (Speaking of mad shit, what’s up with Sly and his extended delay/on-stage lawsuit tirade?) (A: Sly was just being Sly.) Another big finale set came via Gorillaz, who had a pre-recorded Snoop Dogg as well as real-life De La Soul, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Bobby Womack to help them bring their Plastic Beach to Indio. They also had strings and gay sailors. There was actually tons of this kind of cross-pollination and guesting: Justice did a set as part of Club 75, at the Sahara tent, Spoon brought Bradford Cox out again, etc … Sadly, though, no Beck for Charlotte Gainsbourg. Otherwise, regrets were few. As these photos — taken by lenses abler than ours — illustrate.

Last night the reunited emo legends gave Jimmy Fallon “Seven,” the first track from their classic 1994 full-length debut Diary. There was more anticipatory energy in the air at that secret show at Hell’s Kitchen in Tacoma a couple weeks ago, but as far as Late Night outings go, the guys do bring it. Not surprising: Between Jeremy Enigk’s solo work and the Foo Fighters, they’re old pros even with fifteen years of SDRE rust. That, and it’s not the first time they brought “Seven” to national TV. Contrast/compare, and take a pass at these shots by Mehan Jayasuria from Sunny Day’s Sunday-night headliner at Terminal 5.

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The audio’s not great, but these clips offer an excellent view of SDRE’s secret show at Hell’s Kitchen in Tacoma, WA the night before the band launched their reunion tour. Sing along at YouTube.

Rumors have been floating around, but it’s time to blast Diary and have yourself a moment because after a 10 year pause, Jeremy Enigk & those Sunny Day Foo Fighters have put together a 20-date reunion tour. It’ll include all four original members and starts this September in Vancouver and then heads south into the States. To help celebrate, Sub Pop will also be reissuing re-mastered, bonus-tracked copies of Diary and LP2 on 9/15. Both will also include new liner notes. But, more importantly, you can see them play those songs live:

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Ex-Sunny Day Real Estate crooner Jeremy Enigk has been creating stately solo music since Return Of The Frog Queen. When it came out in 1996, I remember all the stories about his conversion to Christianity, how it broke up SDRE (pre-comeback), etc. That in mind, I approached the collection with trepidation and lame preconceptions — this was before Sufjan, et al had softened us to these sorts of things — and was pleasantly surprised at its beauty, that it wasn’t preachy. “Mind Idea” is from Enigk’s fifth solo collection OK Bear. I haven’t heard anything else from the the album — one that’s supposedly returning to the heavier Sunny Days — but this would fit well on Return. Maybe too well. So, 10 years later, the only real difference with Enigk’s solo material is that I’m no longer surprised.

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To celebrate a newly mastered and expanded Beartrap Island, Division Day‘s in the midst of releasing previously unheard cover tunes and remixes every Tuesday for the next eight weeks along with tiny pieces of a map to … Beartrap Island. Today’s Wednesday, but we’re still recovering from the long weekend and the young L.A. quartet’s decision to get the ball rolling by taking on that other “day” band. No, not Green Day … read the headline.

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