Thanks to its proximity to L.A., Coachella is known not only for top-notch headliners and broiling temperatures, but for its celeb-packed VIP area and plentiful parties. Junkie XL got the ball rolling early on Thursday by performing an hour-long set on the Coachella Express, the Amtrak train that took concert goers from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Indio. “It was a great experience,” he said. “I’m from Holland and it reminded me of how they do things there. Public transportation is big and they always try to make it comfy and fun. So, I thought of that and how they do it when I decided to do this. And, it’s very green and a great initiative that Coachella took.” Junkie XL’s train set included some of his remixes and original material done in what he said was “super amateurish but really fun. People were dancing the aisles.” We didn’t mean to be rude, but we just had to ask how (er, why) he was wearing a brown leather jacket in the midday desert sun. “Leather is a statement,” he laughed. “If I don’t wear it, I burn like a lobster.” Fair enough.

Meanwhile, Rock Daily bumped into Steven Tyler (with two beefy bodyguards) in the VIP area and spotted Sean Penn camping out with the civilians, demonstrating his commitment to green living. We also caught up with Elijah Wood at the Viceroy Hotel in Palm Springs midday on Saturday where the big talk was that night’s Prince show. “It’s going to be great,” Wood said. “He’s smart. He’ll play the hits. I saw Aphex Twin, the Breeders, and Datarock [Friday] and they were extraordinary. Coachella is great because anytime you can be in a massive field with any number of bands that are amazing, it’s a good thing.”

• Complete Coachella Coverage
• Coachella 2008 in Photos

Over at the BPM Hpnotiq Smurf House, at a private residence in Rancho Mirage on Saturday, Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden spun records in the afternoon while his girlfriend Nicole Richie watched on, snapped photos and boogied. Madden showed his presidential choice by sporting an Obama T-shirt and giving the candidate a shout-out during his set.

Twin brother Benji Madden joined Paris Hilton, Nicky Hilton, MGMT, Eric Balfour and more stars to get their groove on the T-Mobile Sidekick Tone-Def After Party on Saturday night at the private airport hangar, in Thermal, CA. DJ Steve Aoki and model Agyness Deyn danced to Basement Jaxx’s “Where’s Your Head At?” spun by DJ AM.

Burlesque star Dita’s Von Teese expected extreme temperature, great music, and a huge crowed at her first Coachella, but she didn’t expect the music fest to be such a celeb fest. “I was most surprised that it was such a Hollywood scene,” Von Teese, looking her fashionable self in a retro red and white shorts/top one-piece, told Rolling Stone. She said she was protecting her fair skin with “layers of sunscreen, a parasol and a hand fan. But I still didn’t stay cool; it was sweltering,” and noted that she was drawn to the fest by M.I.A., but “also enjoyed Yelle, Hot Chip, and Calvin Harris. I spent most of my night in the tents that were playing electronic music.” So would she ever consider doing burlesque at Coachella? “Sure, but I think it’s meant to be a music festival, so it would have to be one heck of a band backing me up!”

• Complete Coachella Coverage
• Coachella 2008 in Photos