Though Childish Gambino’s weekend two Coachella set didn’t vary too much from his electrifying first one, it did feature a new but familiar face.
When Gambino popped backstage during a band feature, accompanied by the cameramen that made his set in part like watching a concert film on a massive screen, Grammy winning musician Chance the Rapper appeared to give Gambino a hug and share a few bottles of water. Though the pair’s exchange took place off-mic, the audience was nonetheless thrilled to see the “Coloring Book” artist.
They were perhaps less thrilled that Chance did not reappear for a guest performance during Gambino’s set. During some of the lulls in the spectacular visuals that were designed to build tension for the next song or beat drop, some attendees called out, “Chance!” and a “We want Chance” chant even broke out, though briefly.
Gambino’s set, while essentially the same as the previous weekend’s, still proved to enthrall a second audience. From his now-trademark jerky dance moves to the incredible cinematography of the feed, which often showed dramatically lit close-ups of Gambino’s face as he passed through contorted expression after expression, Gambino’s headlining spot was clearly deserved — a sentiment the performer himself questioned at one point.
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“I been depressed all week,” he explained about a third of the way through the show, referring to the blowback some weekend one attendees expressed at his speech referencing the audience’s mortality. “I get really upset if I feel like I’m not giving people — not to give you guys your money’s worth. And then I saw Janelle’s set and I was like, ‘Oh s—, she’s having so much fun.’”
“I owe it to being alive to have fun and that’s why we’re here,” he continued. “Last weekend I said some s— that bummed people out, so yeah, one in 100, but everyone here is chosen. You could’ve been a rabbit, you could’ve been a snake, a tree…But being human is such a high form of energy. We can protest a lot of things, we can come up with anything our brains allow and I know it’s hard not to take it for granted but it’s a special thing. You can change anything if you want to.”
Though Gambino’s music is not always the most riveting to listen to in one’s home, his live show is undoubtedly a work of art. The stage direction, pyrotechnics (read: fireworks), laser light displays and audience interaction are clearly planned with near-military precision, evident in the fact that all Gambino’s on-camera security crew were decked out in adidas-branded jackets. Yet Gambino knows how to work his own presence to make the performance feel spontaneous.
At one point, similar to weekend one’s impromptu sharing of a joint, Gambino headed off the catwalk that he spent most of the show prowling and into the audience. There, he took selfies with audience members despite having told the crowd minutes earlier to put their phones down.
Watch video of Chance’s brief appearance below.