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SASHA & JOHN DIGWEED
America was quick to embrace the UK DJ tandem of Sasha and John Digweed, and the love affair has lasted for more than a decade. While the pair made scattered domestic appearances last year, including the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June and a four-hour New Year’s Eve set in Los Angeles, the 21-city trek they launched March 27 at the Winter Music Conference in Miami is their first tour together in six years—And will no doubt pack the Sahara Tent Saturday night. Sasha closed the opening night of the tour with a Steve Soulwax remix of the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” that is still being talked about. No worries, you can always get what you want at Coachella.
TRANCE TIME: Sandra Collins (Friday), James Zabiela (Saturday), Boys Noize (Saturday), Booka Shade (Sunday)

SERJ TANKIAN / SCARS ON BROADWAY
I love hard rock more than the next guy, but Coachella is the last place I want to see anyone turn it to 11. Of course, there are always exceptions, and System Of A Down would be one of them. Their last two albums were called “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize,” need I say more? They are more art house intellect than heavy metal muscle, but that doesn’t stop them from hitting hard and leaving a mark. Why am I talking so much about a band that aren’t going to be in Indio? Because they pretty-much will be. Twice. System’s eclectic frontman will be a marquee attraction Friday night, while Scars On Broadway, featuring SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan, will make their grand unveiling Saturday night. Fans of System’s past have every reason to be excited about these two bands’ futures.
HEAVY GETS ECLECTIC: Black Mountain (Sunday)

SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO Electronic dance music and major labels hardly seem to go hand in hand, but Interscope Records has landed a gem with Simian Mobile Disco, the infectious byproduct of producers James Shaw and James Ford [Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons]. It’s nothing too brainy, but it’s damn catchy, blurring the urban flavor of ‘90s breakthrough Technotronic with super-glossy breaks of Shaw and Ford’s acid house and techno influence. Their 2007 debut “Attack Decay Sustain Release” is slick and smooth, but still retains an undeniable warmth and ecstatic glow that makes them one of my don’t-miss sets on Coachella’s Sunday lineup.
FEEL GOOD LONGER: Sebastian (Friday), Busy P (Friday), Kavinsky (Saturday), Justice (Sunday)

THE VERVE
One of the most acclaimed and storied bands of the ‘90s, The Verve were known as much for their drama as they were for their music. And that says a lot. Inspired by an equal wash of the psychedelic and melodically sound, the band that became best-known in America for its “Bittersweet Symphony” offered an astonishing balance of indie viability and mainstream sensibility. They broke up nine years ago, reunited in late ’07, and Coachella’s Friday night headlining performance will mark their first show on domestic soil in nearly a decade. It will be huge.
INDIE SENSIBILITIES: Black Kids (Friday), Midnight Juggernauts (Friday), Death Cab For Cutie (Saturday)

VHS OR BETA VHS Or Beta raise the age-old question, “Which outdated medium do you prefer?” I’ll take disco for $100, then new-wave for $200, Alex… Fortunately, there’s nothing outdated about the band’s sound. Blending equal parts new wave throwback and dance floor dynamite, they stir a sweeping panache of disco glitz with guitar-punctuated fits. Music aficionados (Coachella has more than its share) use the term “pop” like it’s a dirty word, but VHS Or Beta make pop a sugar-filled capsule that goes down smooth and leaves you feeling good happily ever after. Consider yourself warned.
SYNTHESIZED GOODNESS: Datarock (Friday), Calvin Harris (Saturday), Yoav (Saturday), Chromeo (Sunday)

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—Paul Gargano
04.21.08