Blood Orange, Brandon Yates’s Father Video

Turnstile’s return to Coachella was as boisterous, unhinged, and powerful as you’d expect from the band who — along with peers like Idles and Shame — effectively have brought hardcore music and mosh-pit energy back to the sweaty Gen Z masses. 

This was even as the set lived in the shadow of a news story that broke last week, when former guitarist Brady Ebert was arrested for the attempted murder of frontman Brandon Yates’ dad in a high-drama case that includes reports of blackmail, restraining orders, substance abuse, and vehicular assault.

The band mostly chose to let the music do the talking, though Yates’ dad did appear on-screen in a pre-taped segment just before the band went on, proudly talking about Turnstile recently graduating from practicing in his basement to renting an actual studio. They opened the set with the synthy slow-burn of “Never Enough” which launched into the first half-time, fist-pump sing-along of the band’s hour-long set. Current guitarist Meg Mills alternated between Edge-style, reach-for-the-sky reverb and chunky riff-heavy power chords, playing off the rest of the band’s high-octane energy for the bulk of the hour-long set. For “SEEIN’ STARS,” the band surprised everyone by bringing out Blood Orange, who joined the outfit and played the cello.

The band went on to pummel the crowd with songs like “Endless” and “Blackout,” encouraging bigger and bigger circle pits before closing with the slamming “Birds.” “Everyone jump” Yates insisted, inspiring crowd-wide catharsis; he ended the set with a prolonged crowd surf, clearly feeling the love from a crowd determined to show Yates and his band their full support.