2009 Coachella Festival lineup announced–tickets go on sale today

The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will make you sweat. That desert heat is something else. The headlining musical acts? Ehh, not so much.

Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure will each headline one night of the three-day festival.

Paul McCartney? I highly doubt that his core audience–the type that would shell out the big bucks to see him at a stadium or amphitheatre–are going to make the trek to Indio to watch Sir Paul without the comfort of designated seats or skyboxes. Nor do I think that audience will be very interested in a set that will surely be littered with songs from 2007′s Memory Almost Full and last year’s Fireman album (McCartney and music producer Youth). Now, if you had Paul and Ringo playing the entire White Album with Sean Lennon and Dhani Harrison (George’s son and quite the guitarist himself)… Now that would be a draw for not only Coachella’s demographic, but older concertgoers as well.

The Killers? Yawn. Their new album (which isn’t very good) has fallen out of the top 20 on iTunes and top 30 on the Billboard charts and has been met with overall tepidness by critics and fans alike. And did anyone see them at Street Scene? They suck live!

The Cure? Goldenvoice (Coachella’s promoters) couldn’t sell out the day when The Cure headlined last time (2004), so what makes them think this year will be any different? Especially when the the new Cure album (4:13 Dream, which is kind of like a 10:15 Saturday Night, only three decades too late) was like Coke II. Out since October, it’s just sitting there on shelves, nobody buying it.

But it’s the names below the big ones that might be the most exciting. Amy Winehouse (a draw if only to see if she melts and/or melts down onstage), TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, My Bloody Valentine, Girl Talk, Morrissey (proof that Goldenvoice once again failed to get The Smiths to reunite), the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Antony and the Johnsons and Matodon will all play, along with (holy shit!) Leonard Cohen. I might go on Friday just to see him.

Some music blogs and websites jumped the gun (thanks Ryan Seacrest!) reporting that the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, and a reunited Faith No More and Pavement were to perform. Many were hoping for a night of Radiohead or Daft Punk, but to no avail. David Bowie was also a rumor, and would have been a great Saturday night headliner. There was also talk of Rage Against the Machine playing again, but who would want that when you can groove to “Mr. Brightside” again?

Realizing the economy is in the shitter, promoter Goldenvoice is also giving potential festival-goers several layaway options, where ticket buyers can secure three day passes and then make payments on them up until April. They experinmented with this formula at last year’s Stagecoach Fest (the country music version of Coachella) to great success, but who knows if it’ll work as well with indie kids as opposed to Stagecoach’s audience who are probably a lot more used to having to pay for things on layaway.

Representing San Diego will be John Reis’ new band, The Night Marchers. Even with reunited bands like No Knife and Three Mile Pilot, and new bands like Wavves, Crocodiles and Soft Pack signing major indie deals, it seems San Diego bands are underrepresented for now.

Expect more names, both well-known and otherwise, to be announced over the next few months. Coachella added Prince late last year after ticket sales were slow, and I expect there will be a few surprise announcements between now and April 17. Atleast, I think there should be.