YouTube streaming live Coachella sets--with no bathroom line

If you're a music fan but couldn't pull off a trip to Coachella, the massive music festival in the Southern California desert, fret not--YouTube is giving you a front row seat.

Since Friday, the service has been streaming a few dozen live sets, including some by big names like Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, The Kills, and others. And while it's too late to catch any of those performances--YouTube is only archiving a limited number of the sets--there's still a whole day left of live music for you to watch. Without baking in the sun or having to wait in line for the bathroom.

On Sunday, viewers will be able to watch artists like Duran Duran, Nas, PJ Harvey, the Strokes, and others. For free. Of course, they'll have to choose which artist to watch: the sets are being streamed live on three separate channels, so you'll have to pick. It's just like being there and having to decide among great bands playing on multiple stages. Well, almost like that.

This may seem like a poor alternative to being among the tens of thousands on hand in Coachella, but if you couldn't make it there anyway, why not kick back and enjoy rocking out?

For YouTube, this makes a lot of sense, since it has no doubt kept countless people glued to the site all weekend, and for Coachella, it's a great way of attracting new fans--people who very well might decide that they need to get out from behind their computers next year and make their way to the desert as paying audience members. And the bands win too. They can feel good knowing their fans can share in the fun, even if they couldn't actually be on hand. That's been a winning strategy before, such as with U2's massive concert at the Rose Bowl in the fall of 2009.

And according to the official YouTube blog, the site will offer up a series of highlights later in the week.