Philip Selway plays Coachella to a near-empty Gobi tent

Philip Selway played the Gobi tent at Coachella in Indio, California, on Sunday, the last day of the festival's first weekend, and almost nobody came. Raymond Flotat, reviewing the day for mxdwn, put the crowd at little more than 40 and called it the most criminal turnout of the day. Selway is due back for the second weekend next Sunday, after dates in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

For Mark E. Ortega of Grimy Goods, the tent was so empty that by the end of the second song everyone in it could have been counted. The set ran as the sun went down, with Kaskade on the main stage at the same time and his sound carrying into the tent. With so much room, though, anyone could walk up to the front, where Selway's bass came through.

In this band Selway mostly sings rather than drums, with Adem Ilhan, Kath Mann, also known as Quinta, and Chris Vatalaro around him. “Patron Saint”, from his first album Familial, and “Waiting for a Sign”, from Weatherhouse, came near the end. Both reviewers rated the set highly, and Flotat likened its artful kind of pop to Peter Gabriel.

Ortega reckons a billing that simply said Radiohead's drummer would have pulled in more. Later that day he heard festival-goers say they were sorry to have missed it once they learned who Selway was.