(ALMOST) LIVE FROM COUCHELLA

Avoiding the sandstorms, sun stroke and snake-like lines for everything, we viewed this weekend's proceedings from the comfort of our living room, on three separate YouTube feeds (plugged from our iPad into the flat-screen TV) which offered a terrific overview of the three days in the desert, with plenty of great camera angles and a sound that probably beat being there. And all you had to do is click from one performance to the other, without having to trek halfway across a polo field to do so. Ahhh, the beauty of modern-day technology. Heck, you could catch the proceedings on your iPhone. That beat even a coveted orange wristband.

Highlights of Friday night were certainly the back-to-back sets from reunited Brit bands Blur and Stone Roses, though the latter's performance was reportedly one of the least-attended main stage events in recent memory. The You Tube cameras captured Damon Albairn nervously puffing on a cigarette moments before taking the stage for the band's triumphant gig, which featured vociferous sing-alongs to the likes of "Girls & Boys," "Parklife" and "Song 2" (otherwise known as the "woo-hoo" song) . Earlier in the day, red-hot buzz band Alt-J continued conquering the world, one country at a time, turning the overflow Mojave tent into their own left-field disco, Jake Bugg captivated early-comers with his mid-afternoon opener, while Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ bleached blonde Karen O made her Janis-at-Monterey moment count for all its worth, entering like the Pope in hooded hat and exiting like Elvis with fringed silver lame pants, shimmying pelvis and all. There was also lotsa blog love for L.A. band Local Natives' sprawling set and old-school hip-hop act Jurassic 5, while Beach House was suitably shimmering.

Saturday saw nostalgic reunion shows from Violent Femmes (who played their entire debut album end to end), Orange County raucous punk pioneers the Descendants and influential alternaband The Postal Service (with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis), while the Daft Punk promo shown on the Jumbotron with Pharrell and Nile Rodgers before Phoenix, almost, but not quite, overshadowed their fellow Frenchmen’s headlining set, where the band was joined by R. Kelly for a medley which included a mash-up of “1901” and “Ignition.” Other must-see raves went to U.K. sensations Savages, Major Lazer, a disco-ready Hot Chip and raucous rapper 2 Chainz, who showed up 25 minutes late and still drove the crowd beserk. New Order’s headlining set confirmed their seminal influence on the rock-dance proceedings, even as lead singer Bernard Albrecht fell on the slippery stage. Elsewhere, Janelle Monae dazzled as the female Prince, Moby wowed the crowd with a scintillating DJ set and Grizzly Bear confirmed themselves as a band on the cusp of the big time with a lush, orchestral performance that perfectly mirrored the surrounding dusk.

Sunday’s big moments included a mesmerizing Tame Impala set at sundown, as lead singer Kevin Parker apologized for the band’s lack of cool before launching into a lacerating “Elephant" in their own Woodstock moment. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ remarkable performance featured the lead singer wading into the audience for a wrenching “From Her to Eternity," doing Jim Morrison on "Red Right Hand," then capping it off with "The Mercy Seat" and “Push the Sky Away,” complete with the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music children’s choir. Other Sunday standouts: Father John Misty's woozy, Country Joe and the Fish-like jam; Social Distortion's old-school punkabilly; the Airborne Toxic Event's dreamy soundscapes, the Lumineers' martial Americana, Wu Tang Clan's OG swagger and Tanlines' chiming guitars and percussive tribal thump. By the time the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on to close the three-day extravaganza, the crowd had pretty much been battered into submission by the dust in the wind, but the bare-chested funk-rock vets gave it their all just two nights after their beloved Kobe Bryant did the same, complete with a few snippets of "Beast of Burden" to allude to who was missing.

That said, the YouTube coverage was top-notch, so let’s do it all again next weekend, where we’ll try to catch up with what we missed.