Day one alone--Saturday (4/26)--would have been the perfect antidote for ADD sufferers the world over. Kinky, the action-packed five-piece from Monterrey, Mexico, looked out at the afternoon audience and saw a giant, living, breathing piņata. The band then pummeled the crowd with big beats and goodtime Latin guitar riffs. Introducing one track, vocalist/guitarist Gilberto Cerezo intoned, "Are you ready to destroy this place!" The band's pulsating mix of house and world beats triggered spontaneous mini-raves throughout the audience.

Meanwhile, on the main Coachella stage, Swedish rockers the Hives were giving a vastly different but no less seismic performance. Decked out in their familiar matching black and white outfits, the band railed off a set of punk barnburners. Between songs, singer Pelle Almqvuist, was condescending, hysterical, preachy and downright cocky--just the right attitude for any respectable punk frontman. "Here's a song that, as you Americans would say, is awesome. Well dudes and dudettes, here you go," he announced before the Hives launched into their biggest hit, "Hate to Say I Told You So."

A football field away, in the massive rave tent, Felix Da Housecat was providing the soundtrack for lots of people showing lots of skin. As waves of deep, thumping bass and rumbling drums rose up off his turntables like heat off a summer sidewalk, the Chicago DJ simply beamed a smile from earphone to earphone.

Michael Franti and Spearhead [ tickets ] came armed with an American flag with brand logos in place of stars, socially conscious lyrics and undeniable grooves. Rappers Black Eyed Peas' old school flavor kept the mostly white audience bouncing to every B-boy move they offered, and rock's rising contingency represented well with the tight neo-punk of the Rapture, the artsy balladry of Badly Drawn Boy [ tickets ] and classic-rock throwbacks Hot Hot Heat and the Music--all in the same tent. The young quartet of acts came ready to pounce on the unwitting crowd. As night fell, swarms of bodies converged at the foot of the big stage for Queens of the Stone Age. The band then delivered a pile driver of a set on the main stage that improved on their Coachella performance of a year ago.

Ben Harper [ tickets ] and the Innocent Criminals, quickly becoming one of America's premier rock acts, easily provided the day's most visceral performance. Their set, highlighted by the funky "Steal My Kisses" and roof-raising medley, "Like A King/I'll Rise," was proof enough of this band's musicianship.

Then, at about 11 p.m., the Beastie Boys [ tickets ] took the main stage and the crowd went mad. Choosing hits from their entire catalog, MCA, Mike D and Ad Rock worked the Coachella crowd like the old pros they've become. Then MCA asked the concertgoers to "Vote for anyone except Bush in 2004," causing a mixed reaction. All, however, were thrilled once the B-Boys went back to their roots with a brief rendition of "Brass Monkey."

Now in its fourth year, Coachella has improved steadily with bigger and better acts. Customized for this era of short attention spans, the Saturday portion of the two-day festival also featured disparate acts like Blur, the Donnas, N.E.R.D. and Amon Tobin. In all, Coachella featured nearly 80 acts on five stages that jammed and juiced the huge West Coast crowd into submission.

Coachella is now officially a one of a kind American experience where fans are offered a truly super-sized festival. Asked to choose between Groove Armada, Ben Harper or Blue Man Group, fans have more choices than time. Saturday's lineup of hall-of-fame-caliber headliners, internationally renowned DJs, rapid-fire punkers and funky hip-hop crews--all within amplifier distance of one another--should have satisfied even the most virulent fan.

And yes, Palm Springs was ready to rock.