COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL 2008

Prince let members of the Time and Sheila E. kickoff his show before launching into “1999” and nearly two hours of music to close day two at this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Singing into a Shure KSM9, The Purple One proved demonstrably that he still has a hold over audiences few other major pop performers can claim today.

Guitar tech Bill “Ripp” Mayes additionally chose Shure UHF-R wireless for Prince’s guitar. “The reliability and easy-to-use system makes this the only choice,” Mayes said following the show. “Especially when there is no room for excuses.”

In the age of MySpace and everyone-is-in-a-band, it takes performances like those of Richard Ashcroft and The Verve at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival to remind us all that whether it’s infused with punk, progressive, metal, industrial, hip-hop or reggae, the indie landscape is still a righteous place for pure rock ‘n’ roll. Led by frontman Richard Ashcroft on day one of this year’s event, The Verve declared appropriately enough at the beginning of their set that “this is music!” before performing the song of the same name. All the hits followed (“Space in Time”, “Lucky Man”, “Sonnet” and “The Drugs Don’t Work”) as well as crowd-pleasing tunes like “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. Through it all, Ashcroft visibly and audibly displayed his onstage talents with the help of a Shure SM58.