Desert dealings, Vol. 6

Buzz emanated from several sets that we didn't have time to take in fully -- especially the remarkable stylings of beatboxer Kid Beyond, who packed an afternoon set in the Gobi Tent.

The Kaiser Chiefs did all they could to prove they belonged, too, promoting their sophomore album -- as well as spontaneous athletic endeavors -- when frontman Ricky Wilson climbed the rigging at the Ourdoor Theatre.

Rodrigo y Gabriela turned in another in a growing line of stunning Southern California appearances when they unleashed their flamenco metal on the Gobi Tent crowd. "Almost evil," somebody called it. And almost instrumental, too -- except when they executed their cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." The crowd sang. Hearing that, we wish we were there.

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Then there was the requisite end-of-the-night crush to exit the Empire Polo Field. At the "back door" to the VIP area, a wristband-toting crowd had assembled, hoping the leave through the very same gate they left the night before. But things always change from day to day at Coachella. Always.

Beefy but friendly security blocked the gate, until a dude with an entourage made his way through (tapping a man wearing a vintage Motley Crue T-shirt on the shoulder and saying, "Nice shirt"). The dude cracked the gate and yelled, "I'm Tommy Lee, let me the ---- out."

The guards obliged. And Mr. Vintage Motley Crue tried the blend in with Lee's entourage, but that didn't work. "I'm never wearing this damn T-shirt again," he said as he was exiled back to the land of the lesser VIPs.

Thankfully, more exits were open at the end of Coachella 2007 than were open last year, when the crowded was herded into a single walkway.

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Overheard in the Mojave Tent while the Klaxons plied their Nu-Rave: "I don't want to be here! I want to at Willie (Nelson)!"

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Final thought: 2007 was the year Coachella bashed Bush. Could 2008 be the year Coachella feeds the world?