Danny Elfman took the stage at Coachella on Saturday for a festival set unlike any other.
The rare appearance by the legendary composer — which he introduced as a “strange little show” for the crowd — included a plethora of songs from films he’s scored, as he led a full orchestra through highlights from Edward Scissorhands (“Ice Dance/The Grand Finale”) and 1989’s Batman to a medley from The Nightmare Before Christmas (“Jack’s Lament/This is Halloween/What’s This?”) and a rocking version of The Simpsons theme song — by which point he was shirtless.
Elfman also dusted off a number of Oingo Boingo tracks, including “Insects,” “Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself),” “Only a Lad,” “Dead Man’s Party,” and closer “Who Do You Want to Be.”
Related Video
Joining on stage was an impressive backing band that included Josh Freese on drums, Stu Brooks on bass, Nili Brosh and Wes Borland (of Limp Bizkit) on guitars, as well a a full orchestra and choir conducted by Oingo Boingo’s Steve Bartek.
Advertisement
The ambitious and inventive set came six months after the four-time Academy Award nominee put on a live-to-film concert version of The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, which coincidentally starred Saturday headliner Billie Eilish as Sally.
Next, Elfman will re-team with longtime collaborator Tim Burton to compose the music for the latter’s upcoming Wednesday Addams-centric Netflix series, Wednesday.
Watch footage of Elfman’s performance and see the full setlist below.
Ed. Note: Head here to find our complete coverage of Coachella 2022.
WHO THOUGHT THE SIMPSONS THEME AT COACHELLA WAS A JOKE??? NEVER UNDERESTIMATE DANNY ELFMAN#coachella pic.twitter.com/HOu2OdbD7I Advertisement — главная фанатка Макрона и Разгромов (@VasilySupremacy) April 17, 2022
Nightmare Before Christmas live on stage at #Coachella during Danny Elfman’s set pic.twitter.com/0MlP0tlROX — Andrew Cunningham???????????? (@GatorAndrew) April 17, 2022
Danny Elfman watching over his masterpiece as it plays (The Original Batman 89’Theme) #Coachella pic.twitter.com/J5Y8XAgoNX — PCP (@rotator_) April 17, 2022
We’ve got Danny Elfman giving the #Coachella crowd a taste of his Batman score tonight pic.twitter.com/6B2T9LedJz — Ema Sasic (@ema_sasic) April 17, 2022
Can we talk about how cute this Steve bartek and Danny Elfman moment was ???? pic.twitter.com/dKttnI76mW Advertisement — Annihilation???? (@ANNIHILATIONXXX) April 17, 2022
Setlist:
Sorry
Insects
Spider-Man Main Title
Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself)
Just Another Day
Jack’s Lament/This is Halloween/What’s This? (From The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Breakfast Machine (From Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure)
Kick Me
Insanity
The Batman Theme
True
The Simpsons Main Title Theme
Only a Lad
Love in the Time of COVID
Ice Dance/The Grand Finale (From Edward Scissorhands)
Dead Man’s Party
Alice’s Theme (From Alice in Wonderland)
Happy
Who Do You Want to Be