Muse covered Nirvana and incorporated elements of 'The Star Spangled Banner' in their Coachella set on day two of the festival yesterday (April 17).

The Devon band were forced to scale down their usual extravagant stage show for their second headliner slot (behind Tiesto) but still managed to include lasers and fireworks in their 90-minute set. At one point, they also spliced in a Jimi Hendrix-esque interlude of 'The Star Spangled Banner' into proceedings, and more randomly threw a sequence of Nirvana’s ‘School’ into the mix too. Later in their set, the trio ad-libbed several interludes of music that made reference to Coachella's Californian setting, including a section of mariachi riffs and a mock spaghetti western score, which was played just before the finale of ‘Knights Of Cydonia’. 

Elsewhere at the festival, The Raveonettes were forced to play a stripped down show after their drummer and bassist were left stranded in Denmark due to the Icelandic volcano explosion, joining the likes of The Cribs and Bad Lieutenant on Coachella's casualty list. As a result, Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo played as a duo in the Gobi tent.

Meanwhile, The Dead Weather rounded off the night on the Outdoor stage with a set that showcased a number of songs from their forthcoming second album ‘Sea Of Cowards’, including the Jack White sung ‘Blue Blood Blues’ and another album track called ‘Hustle And Cuss’ which saw him duet with frontwoman Alison Mosshart.

Earlier in the day, MGMT had also played a highly-anticipated set on the Outdoor stage which featured much of their new album ‘Congratulations’, released earlier in the week. “I’ve met so many cool bands at this festival and they’ve all signed my pants,” enthused Andrew VanWyngarden mid-way through the show. Although the Brooklynites did give airings to fan favourites ‘Time To Pretend’ and ‘Electric Feel’, ‘Kids’ was once again conspicuous by its absence.

Some of the festival’s heavier acts turned in performances across the Polo Fields yesterday, including prog-rockers Coheed And Cambria, and recently reformed San Francisco legends Faith No More. As well as running through classics including ‘Midlife Crisis’ and ‘Epic’, the group also chose to cover Michael Jackson's early hit ‘Ben’ as singer Mike Patton opted to do some crowd surfing. Dressed all in red, the frontman attempted to stir the desert crowd by asking: “What do you say Coachella, are you still fucking horny?”

Coachella festival comes to a close tomorrow with performances from Gorillaz, Thom Yorke and Pavement’s first proper American show in a decade.

REF: http://www.nme.com/news/muse/50707