Coachella

Dove

Has this world ever really been the same since Perry Farrel introduced the music festival (or shall I say reintroduced it after Woodstock)? I remember first hearing about Lallapalooza and being excited and fascinated at the novelty of so many great musicians being in one place at the same time. Well, now music festivals are practically a dime a dozen, but that doesn't diminish the fact that they can be very yummy.

The lineup for Coachella was announced yesterday. In case you are unawares, Coachella is a 3 day festival in the Palm Desert that occurs every April. And for those same unawares...Palm Desert in April = HOT! I'm puzzled about why the planners don't move it back just a month before the sun becomes unbearable there. I imagine there is a method to their madness...???

There are PLENTY of names I don't recognize on the lineup list, but a few that cause heart palpitations for me: The Cure, The Killers, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Band of Horses, Perry Farrel & (Flava Flav is the one) Public Enemy (number one).

I found myself at the event for 2 of the 3 days last year and it was a treat. I don't know if I will end up going again this year, but in case you want to attend, here is a users guide. Trust me...these are life & death issues when you are dealing with the blazing sun in the middle of the desert.

DO:

Bring water. They say you aren't allowed to bring it in, but when bottled water is 4 bucks a pop & the sun is sucking the life out of you, you gotta have some, rules or not. We came equipped with backpacks and stuffed Camelbak bladders into inconspicuous places inside the packs. We found water spickets within the park & were well hydrated the whole time.

Bring snacks (again, they are supposedly not allowed, but when security is doing bag searches they are mostly looking for drugs). Food is expensive, it's an all day event and there aren't any options to leave the park once inside. We put a decoy banana on the top of our bags with the idea that they would take the banana & not look further, but they didn't even care about the banana so we brought in pb&j, fruit & granola bars.

Bring a hand towel. This was a LIFE SAVER. We would wet the towels when we were filling our bladders and drape them over our heads to keep us cool.

Bring a hat for shade. Wide rimmed if your neck is exposed.

BRING SUNSCREEN!!! Apply liberally and often. We saw so many miserable flame-broiled people. If you haven't heard me spout about sunscreen, get prepared to hear about it in the near future when we discuss skincare on here!

Hang out in the KROQ tent. It is lined with leather couches and has heavenly water misters.

Create your own shade by stacking the square cardboard garbage bins 2 high and sitting on the shady side.

Plan a schedule & map out a route of the acts you want to see. There are 7 (I think) tents & they all have shows going at the same time. You have to be prepared or you will miss some good shows.

What to expect:

Great people watching

Great Art

And of course...good music. This was Tegan & Sarah, who were a serious delight to watch.

Here is Shane sleeping through Jack Johnson. He had sun stroke or something & despite being a fan, couldn't muster enough energy to get up & groove.

Shane deserves a shout out for being a fantastic festival guide last year. It would have been a much lamer experience for me without his veteran knowledge.

Anyone else been to Coachella? What did you find helpful? Anyone planning on going this year? Anyone care to know that the dude in the tie-dye jumper had a hole in the butt of said jumper?