Danny Elfman performs his first rock concert in 27 years

Danny Elfman performed at Coachella on Saturday after releasing his first new solo album in almost four decades last year. 

Elfman, who was supposed to play Coachella in 2020 before it got cancelled because of the pandemic, played some songs off that album, a bunch of Oingo Boingo songs, and some of his most iconic scores from over the years, including his work for The Simpsons, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and his 1989 Batman theme.

Band members included Nili Brosh and Wes Borland on guitar, Josh Freese on drums, and Stu Brooks on bass. The performance featured a few Oingo Boingo songs, selections from Elfman’s work on memorable feature films and new music from his industrial and goth rock 2021 double album, “Big Mess.”

“This is my first time on stage as myself in 27 years,” the producer, movie composer and former Oingo Boingo frontman told the crowd in the middle of his career-encapsulating turn. “Thank you for bringing me out of whatever it’s called … I forget,” he said humbly at the end of the set. “Thank you … I like it here.”

Film composer Hans Zimmer laid the groundwork for artists in that realm to perform live at Coachella as he took over the same Outdoor Stage in 2017 and played music from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films and “The Lion King.”

However, Elfman and company had better visuals, utilizing the screens on either side of the stage to give those in the back a closer look at the action as the performers launched into “Spider-Man Main Title” and “Breakfast Machine” from “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure." 

“The Batman Theme” received a huge crowd response as did “Ice Dance” from “Edward Scissorhands.”

The visuals for “The Simpsons Main Title Theme,” the opening sequence from the animated series, were colorful, bright and bold as they played out in the desert and the animated mushrooms that paired with “Alice’s Theme” from “Alice in Wonderland” definitely fit the Coachella scene.