This year’s early fashion statement: flags of the world.

Goldenvoice promoters acknowledged that there were more European and South American tickets sales than ever for this year’s festival, and visitors to Indio answered their urge to represent. Draped from festival-goers shoulders were the maple leaf of Canada, the blue and gold cross of Sweden, the red and white cross of Iceland and the usual (for Southern California) complement of Mexican flags — not to mention a prized relic, the flag of the former U.S.S.R.

Corrected post: Thanks to reader Brian

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Random quote du jour: “Look at my knuckles! Look at my knuckles! That’s what happens when I don’t have enough water.”

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Danny DeVito just walked by.

He wasn’t checking his knuckles.

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This just in: Most bands have special wristbands that allow them access to the stage.

Bjork and her posse have magic rings.

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On Thursday night at the campground, the must-see TV was the movie &quo

t;The Song Remains the Same,” shown on the big screen at the mini-tent

city.

Noisettes singer Shingai Shoniwa milked the drama for all it was worth in the steamy Mojave Tent, but the British trio’s set never quite took off. Ah, the travails of being the leadoff band. Indeed, the tunes on the band’s new album, “What’s the Time Mr Wolf?” — a collection of garagey blues that could go down fine with a cold beer in a cozy club — are not exactly the kind of fodder for bright, sunny days. The tent, crowded at the beginning of the set, had thinned a bit by the end of the set, but that’s no reflection on Shoniwa’s pipes, or her moves, which included some monitor calisthenics and an improbable balancing act.

Having Brother Ali play a midafternoon set on the main stage could be construed as somebody’s idea of a bad joke. The rapper, an albino Muslim from Minneapolis, turned it into genius, joking that “I’m roasting here in the sun like chicken on the rotisserie” and even shucking his sunglasses to bathe in the adulation of an adoring crowd.

Ali would have been seriously hot in any kind of weather. Playing largely material from his new album, “The Undisputed Truth,” Ali railed against all manner of political and social injustice, as well as detouring to deliver a heartfelt song about having to tell his young son that his marriage was failing. “Sometimes we outgrow the roles that we play / but I’m gonna have a happy ending to my story today,” he said. Another Everyman anthem acknowledged that the rapper, paunchy and in his 30s, is no pin-up — and some of fans might not be model material either — but it’s all about loving yourself.

Photo by Kevin Bronson / LAT.

Amid brutal heat, stifling traffic jams and long lines to enter the Empire Polo Field grounds, Coachella lurched to a start at 1:58 p.m. with Chicago mash-up artists Flosstradamus imploring a surprisingly energetic crowd to “put your arms in the air and dance.” Many obeyed, though those will likely be the folks we will find collapsed in the shade by 5 p.m. No worries. Those revelers weren’t the only people getting an early start — Rosanna Arquette was strolling through the artists’ area, and Kelly Osbourne was on the phone to promoters angling for extra passes. Just send breezes.

Only in the desert could a pond about half the size of a football field be the centerpiece of yacht club. But there it was, shimering in the warm evening, littered with detritus, the body of water that apparently gives the Corona Yacht Club its name. For the second year in a row, it hosted Filter Magazine’s pre-Coachella party, with hundreds being ferried to site in shuttle buses to enjoy free whiskey, free vodka and Red Bull, free beer, free T-shirts, free photography and — of all things — free copies of the magazine.

It was typically festive, for those who like to start a long weekend with a hangover.

The Yacht Club’s vibe — we’ll call it “cheeky tiki tacky” — was perfect for the madness, even if Slash, who was wandering around, looked as if he were searching for directions to a real party. At the end of the evening, the booze was gone, the shirts were in short supply, but the table holding the stacks of the latest issue of Filter had barely been touched. Who comes to these things to read, anyway?

Photo: Kevin Lenhart of the L.A. band Division Day laments the dearth of facilities at the Corona Yacht Club.

[Correspondent Chris Barton reports from Pomona, which rhymes with Corona:]

Reunions are a dicey thing. Sure, it’s a thrill to welcome back old friends, but you can’t help wondering — what sort of reunion will this be? Will Coachella ‘07 find the Jesus and Mary Chain emulating the cathartic returns of Kraftwerk and Gang of Four, who showed a new generation they still had plenty in the tank? Or will this be akin to Cure’s performance in ‘04- — an influential band so trapped by its early identity that their set is best remembered as, well, a chubby guy in runny pancake makeup.

Brothers Jim and William Reid tuned up for their Coachella comeback at the Glass House in Pomona on Thursday night, and although the sold-out crowd didn’t quite witness the riotous, feedback-detonating performances characterizing their early career, they also didn’t get the kind of volatile acrimony that killed the band in 1998 after a disastrous show some 40 miles away at the House of Blues.

Instead the packed house of twenty- to fortysomethings got their favorites delivered by a band that’s aged well, given their past. Jim Reid’s hair has gone gray, but he’s still lean, angular, and surprisingly more congenial with the crowd. Brother William, a bit more paunchy and withdrawn under a tangled Scottish ‘fro, can still coax the occasional blast of unholy racket from his guitar.

Now a five-piece, JAMC hit their stride with “Between Planets” and “Blues From a Gun” from 1989’s “Automatic,” and even invited a reverent Annie Hardy (from L.A.’s Giant Drag, which opened) to provide backing vocals on “Just Like Honey.” Scarlett Johansson is reportedly taking Hardy’s spot during Coachella, surreal and disconcerting even if you’ve never seen “Lost in Translation” (and if you haven’t, why are you even reading this?). Yes, the desert landscape in Indio could be turned into one big Sofia Coppola movie once and for all. Reunions, after all, are a dicey thing.

The Cribs played a karaoke bar on Wednesday night and drew blood. I pronounce them ready for Coachella. The West Yorkshire, England, trio played a lively set at Dimples in Burbank — now that will undermine your punk credibility. But, no fears, the location was obviously chosen because of its proximity to the offices of its label, Warner Bros., and sure enough, the set turned into a raucous employee mixer as the trio debuted songs from its forthcoming album “Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever” (which was produced by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand).

At some point during the set, singer-guitarist Ryan Jarman bloodied his lip. But he has a reputation for no-pain, no-gain. After all, here’s how he accepted the band’s NME Award.

Will the Cribs’ volatile live act hold up in the desert heat? We’ll see at 1:45 p.m. Saturday when they play the Mojave Tent. Temperatures are expected to be in triple digits.

Most uttered phrase of the past few days: “If I weren’t going to Coachella…”

Of course, I am. Already here, as a matter of fact, trying to assemble some thoughts into a Buzz Bands-worthy post or two before I shrug off the 95-degree heat by hitting the pool. But if I weren’t, there’s plenty to do and see around L.A. this weekend.

Tonight, the Echoplex — the cavernous, 700-capacity space beneath the Echo in Echo Park — gets a proper christening with a show featuring four of L.A.’s finest. Earlimart headlines, and if you haven’t heard from them enough lately, it’s because the band was finishing its excellent next album, “Mentor Tormentor,” and fretting about how that album is going to get released. (Look for a possible late-summer release, possibly on the band’s own imprint — and if that isn’t couched enough, just understand that these things sometimes change quickly.) Earlimart will be preceded by Sea Wolf, the solo project of Irving’s Alex Church. Sea Wolf’s first proper EP, “Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low,” is serene as an ocean sunset, featuring poignant storytelling and lovely orchestration. Folk duo the Watson Twins and feelgood collective the Parson Redheads also perform.

The Echoplex — or the Ex-Plex, as it has been called — has been getting mixed reviews, with most of the complaints having to do with unfriendly sightlines. Let me know what you think.

Also tonight, the Nerd Pack will be out in force for MC Lars at the Knitting Factory; Vast rocks the El Rey; and Jet has (mystifyingly) sold out the Troubadour. On Friday, singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips is at the Troubadour (although I would opt for Daedelus’ stylings at the Alterknit Lounge); on Saturday, Apostle of Hustle plays Spaceland; and on Sunday, Travis follows up its appearance in the desert heat with a show at the ostensibly cooler Fonda Theatre, while CocoRosie plays the El Rey.

It’s be hot, crowded and dusty here. If you’re back in the city, take some comfort.

The Nightwatchman’s shift was a bit special last night at the Hotel Cafe.This installment of the Tuesday residency by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello celebrated the release of “One Man Revolution,” his solo debut as the Nightwatchman. As in his past Tuesdays at the Cahuenga Boulevard nightspot, the evening was a star-studded affair, with Morello playing a handful of his clenched-fist protest songs solo, and then turning the stage over to a parade of other artists, each doing two or three songs before an all-star jam at the end.

Morello’s mother, Mary, flew in from Chicago with the artist’s hometown pal (and fellow rocker) Ike Reilly, and had a seat upfront for the likes of Alanis Morissette, Ben Harper, Alexi Murdoch, Reilly, Jill Sobule and Perry Farrell. Morello, who will perform at Coachella as the Nightwatchman on Saturday (the eve of the Rage reunion), finished his mini-set with “Guerrilla Radio,” saying, “This is dedicated to those of you with tickets to Coachella, and more importantly those of you who plan to climb the fence to go to Coachella.”

That got some chuckles. So did Morissette (who also turned in a rousing cover of “Guerrilla Radio”) when she made brilliant use of the dramatic pause, saying, “Thank God for artists like Tom … and Fergie.”

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The Nightwatchman joins Ben Harper for a benefit show on May 4 at Pomona College. Photo by Sean Ricigliano

We have the Coachella hour-by-hour lineup.

It’s here.