If when you hear the word Coachella and if you immediately think of the city of Indio, CA rather than the word music then you need to be cultured and turn your crappy radio stations off. Coachella is a once a year arts and music festival. I have wanted to go for years but haven't due to either tickets being out of my budget, tickets being sold out (2 weekends were sold out in one day) and refuse to pay scalper prices, and/or wanting a friend who can stand me and I them for 32 straight hours as well, not to mention finding a woman in her later 30's such as myself who are into this kind of music are hard to find.
So let me first address this later 30's and still attending concerts topic. I know some look at it as immature or think that I immediately submerse myself in a mosh pit or am wanting to get a contact high. That's simply not it at all. For me, it's 100 percent about the live music experience. In my opinion, the quality of a band is based on their live performance. Anyone can go into a recording studio and make themselves sound halfway decent. In a live experience, what you hear is what you get. It will either make or break it for me. I've bought albums based on if a band played an amazing set. I've also stopped listening to a band if their live music was unimpressive.
Another reason I'm passionate about music is for whatever reason, my brain and body function better with it. I get inspired, I am more productive, and I also associate memories with songs. There will be things from childhood I forget, but a particular song will play and soon floods of memories come back.
SO, Coachella 2013 I had the pleasure of going with an equal music enthusiast, my brother.
Our parents would be thrilled knowing we spent that much time together and managed not to fight or tattle on each other.
Top reasons I enjoyed Coachella:
1. The bands. There were only a few that were disappointing, but that was more to do with our purpose wasn't to see or listen to them, we were there to sit under the shade and listen to some music while we waited for our specific bands we wanted to see. The bands we purposely saw were: Metric, Modest Mouse, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Blur, Band of Horses, Local Natives, Of Monsters and Men, Beardyman, FOALS, Alt-J, Phoenix, the Postal Service, Hot Chip, Violent Femmes, Two Door Cinema Club, Grizzly Bear, Franz Ferdinand, Moby, Vampire Weekend, Tame Impala, Dinosaur Jr., and The Oh Sees. We wish we could have done some of our other favorites, but when a several were playing the same time on different stages, we had to pick and choose.
2. The people. This was a people watcher's heaven. I've never seen so many in random costume outfits, very little outfits, and props. I was in a t-shirt and shorts and was severely overdressed. By the end of day 2 I actually caught myself realizing I wasn't noticing the clothing so much. There was so much (or little) displayed by so many that I had completely desensitized to the abnormality of it all.
I was curious as to the behavior of people there. So many thousands compiled in an area could lead to many contentious situations, but if there were I didn't know it. We did notice a few spats between immature young couples which entertained us but most everyone was completely cordial and we ended up having conversations with individuals randomly. Others outstretched their hands as we talked music, where we were from, our regular daily life. I was worried about having my stuff stolen therefore I was always conscience of where my phone and satchel were and even wore a substitute wedding ring for fear of it being ripped off my finger in the masses. Obviously I was a first-timer and a bit over the top. I was pleasantly surprised when I'd see others purposely track strangers down to give them their items they accidentally left behind. On the other hand, I'm sure if weed would've been left, others would gladly have confiscated it for their own benefit.
3. The security. It was unnerving in the week prior to Coachella the bombing at the Boston Marathon occurred. Soon I realized being in a place with a big group of people may not be the safest. I've seen security checks at sporting events and came away thinking how I could have easily gotten something through because the security seemed not thrilled at the fact they were working and it showed in their lack of quality checks. At Coachella, we waited in a sizable line and once through I had no issues and felt completely confident in my safety. All items from my purse were removed, I was patted down, and even a search of my hair took place. They even used my brothers sunscreen to ensure it was in fact sunscreen. Security made themselves known around the event and were good about upon spotting questionable items, those items were confiscated. Even the lots were secure, don't even think about stopping or parking your car without a wristband.
4. The food. I was expecting only extremely over-priced crappy food, but there were great selections with big portions at a decent price. They had the usual Mexican, Italian, and American but also had fruit only vendors, Vegetarian, Greek, and Asian BBQ vendors. We ate a couple meals but mostly survived on flavored Icees during the day to keep us hydrated and cool.
5. The signings. I respect bands that take time to do signings. I bought the new Phoenix album and therefore wanted them to sign. The record store workers wanted people moving as quickly as possible but the band did great with taking time to talk and shake hands. So my big introduction went like this: Me (lamely): Hi, Phoenix, I'm from Phoenix. Thomas Mars (shaking my hand): Well hello Phoenix, we were just in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. Me (completely clueless): Seriously? Where? Deck D'Arcy: At the Marquee theatre. Me: I had no idea.
Yeah, I'm sure I came across as a true fan.
Let's just say bookmarking the Marquee events website was added to my to do list. Phoenix was probably the best in my eyes of bands I saw. They put on a great show.
Now that I am home and go to bed before 3:30 a.m. and wake up before 9, I am feeling halfway human again yet the let down was a little tough. The stimulus of three days of events makes it difficult to sit on the couch and quietly read a book. Overall, it was a great experience. Would I do it again? After going for our first time, we learned some tricks of the trade and what we would do differently. Hopefully, we will get to put that knowledge to use in the future. Yes I'd do it again, after my year of recovery.
