30 April 2007

Love Music. Will Travel.




Friday morning, Julie and I woke up at 6:30, did some pre-roadtrip stretching, packed a cooler, gassed up, and hit the highway by 8:00. Arizona to California via I-10 is a quick trip--the speed limit is 75mph and there's not many cops in the desert. I made it to Indio (240 miles) in barely over three hours. We sat in festival traffic for a little while, then parked, and got ready. We greased up with sunscreen, got our bearings straight so we could find the car later, and headed to the main gates. It was quite a walk--we had to go through a few parking areas, around the entire camping area, and into a courtyard. Thankfully, I printed electronic copies of our tickets because there was a HUGE line of people waiting for will call tickets. We made a bee-line for the age verification booth, where a very un-attentive gentleman attached a Heineken armband so tightly to my wrist that it felt like my arm was going to fall off.





Once we got in to the festival grounds (Empire Polo Fields), we picked up a map and got the lay of the land. We immediately bought our merch and headed to the beer garden for a $7 Heine Light. There was quite a hub-bub, as Jael (sp?), a recently disqualified contestant on America's Top Model, was waltzing around in a bra, a pink tutu, and combat boots. Anyhoo, it was really neat to be there so early--we had arrived two hours before bands were scheduled to start. We wandered around, checking out the installation artwork, the hippie-esque carnival rides, the three food courts, the two stages and three music tents, and everything else Coachella had to offer.





I have to tell you, I'm ultra impressed with this festival. First of all, they had a program called 10-for-1, where for every ten plastic bottles you turned in to recycling centers, they gave you a bottle of water--recycling flourishes and dehydration is avoided. Second of all, unlike other festivals I've been, I felt safe without feeling like there was an oppressive, aggressive, offensive police force lurking about. There were no piggies harassing random festival goers, just your run of the mill security dudes checking IDs and making arrests for blatant drug sales. I've been to Lollapalooza, Lilith Fair, Ozzfest, X-Fest, and other similar festivals, and I've never been so content!





Another huge reason why I loved Coachella so much was the art and the performers. There was an entire area of bicycle-powered carnival rides. There was a steam-engine (yes, a real steam engine) powered carousel. Also, there was an energy arena where you could pedal a bike to charge your cell phone. Walking around everywhere, there were street-like performers, grim reapers on stilts, Vaudeville-ish artists soaking heat-drenched people with strangely-shaped water hoses, and awesome flower- and petal-shaped huts that were close to the ground and a perfect place to get some shade. There were metal sculptures that incorporated fire that was controlled by music. There were solar-powered installations. There was concept art in every direction. And, the food courts offered selections from Europe, Mexico, Asia, and America.





Well, back to our day... It was probably 100 degrees or hotter for most of the day, but we were very diligent with the sunscreen and didn't burn. We had plenty of food and water throughout the day--in fact, when we were thirsty, we just went trash-picking for empty bottles to redeem. We got to see Nickel Creek, Gillian Welch, Stephen Marley f/ Jr. Gong, (walked by a bit of) Rufus Wainwright, (listened to & watched while waiting in line for burritos) Peaches / Jesus & Mary Chain, and finished off the evening with Interpol, Sonic Youth, Bjork, and DJ Shadow. We spent an incredibly frustrating hour looking for the car in the wrong lot. There were all EXACTLY the same--same fence, same bushes. Until we realized that the green grass we parked on in the morning was suddenly brown, and that it meant we were in the wrong lot, we were ready to give up.





We FINALLY found the car and ended up sitting in traffic for another hour. That left us not leaving town until 2:00 in the morning. (I know, I know--we should have camped out, but the passes were all sold out. Plus, Julie had to work at noon on Saturday.) I got us heading in the right direction and drove for a while to the first gas station outside of town. Julie took over, but was soon getting drowsy, so we switched again. She snoozed while I struggled to stay awake. Just as I was about to pass out, Julie woke up. We switched again. Julie drove the homestretch and got us back to Phoenix safely. Of course, the I-10 was close and we got detoured. Why the hell there was bumper-to-bumper traffic at 5:30 in the morning is beyond me. It just made our last half hour in the car unbearable. At long last, we made it to Tempe, where Julie jumped in the shower and I promptly crashed on the couch. I slept for about two hours before I was awoken by other couch guests. I drove back to Avondale, went through another highway detour, returned the rental car, and spent the rest of the day zoning out.





Major props to Julie, as well. She spent a week getting her Friday shift covered. She was a joy to travel with. She was a perfect festival buddy. She enjoyed everything as I did. And, she helped drive us home safely. So, the road warrior struck again--almost 500 miles of driving, an $86 dollar one-day pass, 24 hours awake, and 10+ bands was well worth the drive, money, and effort of festival going. I avoided sunburn, got a rad T-shirt, ate some yummy food, kept myself hydrated, had wicked fun playing around hippie, alt-energy toys, and, in the end, had the time of my life. Word.


Coachella photos up at:

COACHELLA: Indio, CA - 4.27.07
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