Danny Elfman, the legendary composer of such scores as Sam Raimi, was in Indio, CA to watch Nightmare Before Christmas. I was able to get press credentials for this year's festival, which was the one I was going to attend. Elfman was one of the artists who played at the festival, which is known for being eclectic with its artist selection. Elfman's official return to the stage was what stood out about this year's festival. Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton and a live performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas were both performed by me. In those cases, the Orchestrations were usually done by other conductors with Elfman appearing briefly to perform as Jack Skellington along with guests like Catherine O'Hara, Paul Reubens, and more recently fellow Coachella performer Billie Eilish. Elfman was supposed to perform at the festival in 2020. Maybe his set in 2020 would have been similar, but thanks to the Pandemic, Elfman recently produced a new solo record. It was clear that his show at the festival would be more than just a concert in the desert, and that we would be getting a rock show. I was out of my element, but luckily I had a Burton-esque outfit to blend in as much as I could, because I am not as cool as most of the people who were there. Jack Skellington felt like he was going into Christmas Town when he entered the festival. I was prepared to be on my feet for hours waiting for music sets at the theme park. The performance was affected by the dust storm that hit the Elfman set the week during weekend one. They were ready for a smooth second round.
Elfman opened his show with a song from Big Mess. It was a way to introduce his set, which would cover not only his pop culture scores but his entire discography. Elfman was a full on rock star before leaving the public stage for a sound stage to make movie music. It was the first time we heard Oingo Boingo, with the band's former guitarist Steve Bartek performing classics like "Only a Lad" and "Dead Man".
We watched the screens and stage in awe at the orchestra and choir Elfman used for big, cinematic, sweeping score moments. Hearing Elfman's Batman theme was epic. The crowd started off modestly but grew as selections like the Spider-Man theme or The Nightmare Before Christmas became popular. Jack Skellington was performing live at all places. She would laugh at me and double down on being straight-edge.
I couldn't see too far past myself in the crowd that was fully behind Elfman. One moment he was performing wickedly twisted verse from his slick new industrial tracks, the next he was observing an orchestra doing his work for Marvel, and then all of a sudden he was playing guitar to The Simpsons.
The balancing act of a rock set mashed in with his greatest movie hits speaks to Elfman's greatness. I don't think there's ever been a performance like this that compares to this one, but it made sense. Good luck to anyone who experienced hallucinogenic hijinks at the festival and enjoyed the sounds of Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman gave fans a chance to see decades of his formative music live, and delivered one of the most memorable sets ever witnessed at the festival. It's great to have him back on stage after nearly 30 years, but we want to know when the tour will be, and if San Diego Comic-Con will be one of the stops.
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