"Now go be mischievous and defiant!" decreed Satellite Party [ tickets ] frontman Perry Farrell following his outfit's opening-day, late-afternoon set Friday (4/27) at the much-hyped and heavily anticipated Coachella [ tickets ] Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA. The new band featuring the leader of rock icons Jane's Addiction may have been one of the first acts to take the stage for the three-day festival (4/27-29), but it was also one of the best of the more than 150 performers, headlined by Bjork [ tickets ], Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine.

Though only a handful of the nearly 200,000 that would pack the Empire Polo Fields over the next three days were present for Farrell's declaration, his bidding was done: There proved plenty of mischief, no lack of defiance, and an abundance of the musical pomp, circumstance and revelry that has become synonymous with the golden ticket of North American music festivals.

FRIDAY

Backed-up nearly the entire 120 miles east of Los Angeles to the Palm Springs suburb of Indio, CA, traffic was no doubt a factor as attendees slowly trickled in on Friday afternoon, the opening day of the eighth annual Coachella (the festival began in 1999, skipped 2000, and has been a rite of spring's musical passage ever since). That said, there was no shortage of first-day highlights for those fortunate enough to either hit the road early, or travel in the night before.

Satellite Party may have been only the third band of the day on the largest of the five stages (Coachella Stage), but it was one of the festival's best, with Farrell's latest musical offering serving a lush pastiche of musical flavors to a throng of enthusiastic revelers. Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt displayed the same versatility that he became famous for more than 15 years ago as the fleet-fingered main attraction of the rock band Extreme, sizzling with Led Zeppelin-inspired riffs, swaying along to more reggae-inspired melodies, and kicking it up a notch with a funky fervor that made the perfect vehicle for Farrell's quirky bravado. Revisiting Jane's Addiction's "Stop" proved the highlight of the 50-minute set, but new material from the band's May 29 "Ultra Payloaded" debut sparkled and shined in the midday sun, including "Wish Upon a Dog Star," "Mr. Sunshine" and "Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party."

Starting moments later at the adjacent Outdoor Theater stage, Of Montreal felt the ill-effects of following one of alt-rock's preeminent personalities. Performing a rambling menagerie of minimalistic '80s new-wave influence, bouncing rhythms and colorful personalities, the group's stripped-down songwriting couldn't quite live up to the creativity of its couture, offering concertgoers an opportunity to venture forth and explore the more traditional acoustic folk of Gillian Welch in the smaller Gobi tent, and the indie-rock carnival atmosphere of Tilly and the Wall in the Mojave tent en route to the more expansive (and most distant) Sahara tent, which featured predominantly techno dance acts and DJs throughout the weekend.

As was the case throughout the festival, Sahara was an early-evening oasis for electronic music, with Friday's DJ set from France's David Guetta offering a too-early-in-the-day opportunity for fans of house music (and the otherwise curious) to check out one of the genre's featured talents. During a set highlighted by the percolating pop beats of dance favorite "The World is Mine" and new single "Love is Gone," it was samples of The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" that inspired the most movement on the floor.

On the other side of the vast grounds, Arctic Monkeys breathed new life into the British scene on the main stage, the infectious swing of their fuzzy guitars offering a dance-beat-laced take on indie rock. Amy Winehouse looked good strutting her stuff and touching herself, her sorta-trashy serving of jazz-driven, art-house cabaret working wonders on the overflow crowd at the more eclectic Gobi. She sounded good, too, her raspy vocals swirling through the tent with enough substance to suit her smoky style.

Stephen Marley offered paint-by-numbers reggae and might have been better suited for the more multi-culturally diverse leanings of Sunday's billing, as opposed to preceding--in the words of adult movie icon Ron Jeremy, who introduced her--"the lady mac of filthy rap" Peaches and the seemingly endless array of "bush" double-entendres that followed. It wasn't the most appropriate precursor to the back-to-back billing of Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker's solo explosion of witty rock into the sonic crunch of modern day indie heroes Sonic Youth, but the Outdoor Theater crowd sustained throughout.

Actress Scarlett Johannson joined The Jesus and Mary Chain on backing vocals for their "Just Like Honey," highlighting an otherwise uneventful stateside return for the reunited pioneers of post-punk alt-rock on the main stage. Immediately following, Italian DJ Benny Benassi delivered an erotica-tinged, hour-long set of house beats before a sizeable crowd at Sahara, which overflowed in anticipation of his worldwide dance hit and finale "Satisfaction." As for the rumors that The Police would be appearing at Coachella? The closest they came was Benassi sampling "King of Pain."

Icelandic songbird Bjork impressed in her billing as the opening night's marquee attraction, debuting material from her upcoming release "Volta" (May 7) throughout an enchanting 75-minute set. The subtle nuances of her cherubic vocals were accentuated by lighting as colorful as her costumes, a 10-piece brass band, and the "reactable," a futuristic instrument that creates sight and sound based on the movement of discs and cubes around a backlit, table-like platform.

SATURDAY

With temperatures topping the 100-degree mark early Saturday afternoon, day two didn't offer as much variety, but rather a handful of spotlight-stealing performances and much-needed opportunities to dodge the sun in somewhat-shaded tents. But as !!! (most often pronounced "chk chk chk") frontman Nic Offer was quick to point out at the start of his band's remarkable 50-minute foray into funk, rock, disco and soul, "[the tent's] not shaded, it just keeps the heat in."

In defense of Mother Nature, the eight-piece band didn't offer many opportunities for the crowd to settle down, instead driving the Mojave temperatures even higher. Featuring Offer, two guitarists and drummers, percussion, bass and keyboards, the crossbreed of influences created a musical meltdown reminiscent of Faith No More crashing headlong into Kool and the Gang.

During a set that proved equally as jarring, !!! was preceded by electronic outfit MSTRKRFT on the Sahara stage. In addition to boasting the '70s-inspired mustache of Jesse Keeler, the DJ duo's noteworthy set of buzzing pulses and bouncing beats also featured remixed throwbacks to Technotronic's "Pump Up the Jam" and House of Pain's "Jump Around," both stirring the otherwise unfamiliar back of the crowd to activity, though often without the rhythm of the more familiar front of house.

Less exciting (though highly anticipated and well received) were the Arcade Fire, who sent ambient ripples through the air with their experimental rock textures and lulling sonic explorations. Like Interpol the night before, the mood overpowered the music, creating an opportunity for fans to get lost in the atmosphere, and the merely curious (and bored) to wander off and explore other stages.

Notable highlights in the pre-Red Hot Chili Peppers interim included the dance-savvy whirlybird of mash-up artist Girl Talk in Gobi (an apparent favorite of Paris Hilton, who made a few cameos on the video screen while dancing sidestage), and Christian DJ dance outfit Justice, who graced a staged adorned with a glowing cross, offering salvation from much of the day's mediocrity in the form of heavy techno beats and prolonged sonic depth charges dropped on the enthusiastic and receptive Sahara crowd.

But the night belonged to The Red Hot Chili Peppers [ tickets ].

With all of the hype and hullaballoo surrounding Sunday's Rage Against the Machine reunion, The Red Hot Chili Peppers left a mark on Coachella that didn't require a militant edge, saturating the sold-out crowd of more than 60,000 with a blues-soaked set that was heavy in mature funk and void of overgrown punk. Playing with a sense of soul and musical flair, opener "Can't Stop" and closer "By The Way" sandwiched a performance that touched upon nearly every crevice of the Chili Peppers' career, from early hits "Give it Away" and "Higher Ground," to their breakthrough ballad "Under the Bridge" and more recent niceties including "Dani California" and "Otherside."

"The more you sweat, the more electricity you conduct," Flea advised the packed grounds, but few fans were waiting for an invitation to get lost in the thick, rich groove of the diminutive bassist and drummer Chad Smith, the warm cocoon of John Frusciante's guitars, or the afterglow of Anthony Kiedis' vocals.

Arguably the world's preeminent mainstream dance DJ, Holland's Tiesto demonstrated his stature by closing Saturday night's Coachella Stage with an hour-long, post-Chili Peppers set. More in line with the high fashion of Miami Beach than the sweaty pulse of underground nightclubs, Tiesto's epic runs and sweeping arcs bordered on elegant in their structure, his polished approach setting him apart from the more adventurous and edgy work of his Sahara tent brethren and landing him in a commercial safety zone that fills international stadiums and arenas. That spectacle served the more expansive crowd well, the dancing lights coupling with dodging rhythms to impressive effect in front of his largest American crowd to date.

SUNDAY

If there was any question as to the direction Sunday would take, it was answered immediately upon entering the festival grounds, as one couldn't turn their head without laying eyes on a bevy of fans decked out in Rage Against the Machine regalia. The pressing question was, how many of those shirts stood for anything more than fashion?

To the point, while there's little doubt that the Rage reunion came with a sizable price tag, it's just as likely that the state of domestic and world politics had some influence on the band's decision to regroup at Coachella for its first performance in seven years. But did it matter to the bulk of the fans of Rage's militant rap-metal insurgence?

Ask the shirtless small army that seemingly escaped the frat house for the afternoon, their RATM shirts hanging from their back pockets as they disruptively half-marched, half-moshed through the Sahara tent during a rousing set by techno dance outfit Soulwax. One of the most memorable sets of the weekend, Soulwax featured two DJs and a live band, and performed material predominantly from their 2005 remix album, "Nite Versions." Stretching the boundaries and blurring the lines between dance, techno and rock, the Belgian outfit offered a compelling case that they just may be their genre's answer to The Flaming Lips.

Despite Richie Hawtin's status as an innovator on the dance music scene, blending Brit pop tradition with Detroit's stripped-down industrial soul, Soulwax ultimately proved too tough an act to follow on the Sahara stage. Hawtin's spastic techno beats, blips and spasms sustained a steady sonic course, but never attained the primal release of his predecessors, leaving many standing still when they were manic a mere half hour earlier. He didn't fall flat, but he'd have been better suited for a night slot, with lasers, lights and fog providing a more apt backdrop than the setting sun.

German DJ giant Paul Van Dyke immediately followed Hawtin, drawing one of the tent's largest crowds of the weekend as he melded trance, techno and house into a propulsive, 90-minute set that sustained movement throughout, building from steady beats to a rabid jump-up-and-down peak. Unlike Hawtin, who went on in daylight, Van Dyke benefited greatly from the nighttime visuals that accompanied his mixes.

While the reunited Happy Mondays were one of the weekends marquee draws for many, the listless delivery proved distracting, particularly the nonchalant, dress-rehearsal demeanor of frontman Shaun Ryder. The absence of full-time dancer/hype-man Bez (whose visa was denied at the eleventh hour) became quickly apparent, and despite the spot-on musicianship, a slow exodus started from Sahara early in the set.

The migrating crowds led to an influx at the Gobi tent, where the Teddybears put on a mesmerizing set of raucous rock riddled with synth and punk, and delivered by a band of musicians wearing black suits and costume bear heads. Chants of, "When I say 'teddy,' you say 'bear,'" volleyed between the stage and the overflow crowd, and clips from such classic movies as "The Warriors," "Spinal Tap," "Taxi Driver" and "The Shining" featuring bear heads on the lead actors were shown as a backdrop; the proceedings were so utterly absurd, they actually transcended ridiculous and became remarkable. Equally as fascinating was the replacement for Iggy Pop, who sang "Punkrocker" on last year's "Soft Machine" release; in his place was theSTART (and former Human Waste Project) frontwoman Aimee Echo, who proved equally as compelling throughout the set.

If anyone had told Willie Nelson that he'd be turning 74 in front of an audience of Rage Against the Machine fans, he'd have probably thought he'd finally smoked too much of his own special blend, but sure enough, the country legend found himself strumming his beaten-up acoustic guitar and singing "Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," as metal zealots warbled along in mock appreciation on his birthday. More appropriately, he will return to the Empire Polo Field this weekend for the first annual Stagecoach country music festival.

The final day offered an interesting billing, to say the least, as soft-rockers Crowded House reunited after an 11-year absence, performing such hits as "Don't Dream it's Over" and "Something So Strong" before a crowd that was growing more and more impatient for the festival's headliner; at least singer Neil Finn knew it, commenting wryly to all the Rage Against the Machine fans, "don't wear yourselves out ..." While the sedate set might have been better appreciated in the daylight hours, the songs proved viable as much as two decades later.

With staggered scheduling critical to seeing as many bands as possible, the Outdoor Theater experienced a hiccup when, after Placebo ended their set nearly 10 minutes early, the ambient musings of Air started 40 minutes late.

Opening with "Testify," Rage Against the Machine played with the same fury (albeit out-of-place at Coachella) that they had before frontman Zack de la Rocha left the group seven years ago. And without new material to bolster the set, it might as well have been the next stop on their last tour, as guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford displayed a tenacity that overpowered that of their current band Audioslave. Hits "Bulls on Parade" and "Guerilla Radio" didn't miss a beat, and closer "Killing in the Name Of" was as vindictive and adrenaline-charged as ever, de la Rocha spewing his lyrical fireballs, and the band laying down a cover fire of funk-metal riffs.

The Rage Against the Machine event shirts read, "The Battle For Coachella." Make no mistake, Rage may have won the battle, but Coachella won the war. Culminating with what was the festival's biggest performance to date, organizers not only extended Coachella to three days for the first time in its history, but did so with three sellouts.

The only losers? The late-night bands that had to play while at least 50,000 fans were packed at the Coachella Stage. Notably, alt-rockers The Lemonheads at the Outdoor Theater, the full-metal racket of techno-dance shredders Infected Mushroom in Sahara, and The Killers-on-speed electro-rock ravers VNV Nation in Mojave.

Even without the crowds that witnessed many of the weekends earlier acts, Sunday night's closers who competed head-on with Rage can stand proud: They were part of one of the most dynamic and diverse billings North American has ever seen. In terms of music festivals, Coachella has raised the bar to unprecedented new heights.