Coachella – Weekend 1 (Saturday)
Do have the right to write my partial thoughts about a festival I only spent a day at? Of course! We all have opinions. But mine aren’t challenging or deep. Sorry to say. Gonna sum it up with this statement: I liked Coachella. Understand why it is so popular now. Truly felt out of this world. Can only imagine how the campers felt. Four or so days in this cordoned off world of music, art, and expensive excess is a disconnecting one. Visiting these Indio prisoners for a day was enough for me (for now).
COACHELLA ROOKIE NOTES & A LONG DAY IN INDIO
Overall, my experience at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was one of exploration. Certainly was a different planet; full of Boho-chic females alongside their “frat boy” baes acting a fool. The Empire Polo field becomes this amazingly lively community 8 days out of the year (12 if you could Stagecoach). This strange experience can best be described by the sight of everyone wanting a picture of themselves as apart of this culture: in bandanas, funny headdresses, power ranger costumes, and ultra revealing attire. Saw so many SELFIES once we hit the gates. (My god. Us millennials are reaching a new level of vanity. Kind of sick really) And I indulged in taking secretive, voyeuristic shots. Go figure. Never expected my trip to be like Charles Darwin or Jane Goodall spying on this culture of music animals. They are a strange bunch. But wherever I go I feel like an outsider. That’s probably why I like photography so much.
Had one goal set for myself: See a showcase in each area/tent. That’s it. If this was my one shot at Coachella life… had to get experience each spot at least once. Left the iconic Ferris Wheel off my list strangely enough… just in case I ever came back. So, I built the early part of my schedule around the stages. After CHVRCHES, it was a free for all of whatever we could get too. Which was difficult cause we had come to see that much buzzed about Guns N’ Roses reunion. So, we waited in the massive crowd. The shots came out decent. Only plus from that wait.
Take a look at my planned list of artists for our small crew. Stuck by the main stage to wait for GNR’s reunion then booked it to Zhu, which was the greatest detour ever!
The music was non-stop. If you didn’t time out a break for yourself earlier than 6 P.M., you’d find yourself juggling tents and stages during the peak hours. So much good shit happens after 3 P.M. Eat a big breakfast and drink yourself through the day. You’ll be sweating enough as it is This is the desert… so the night brought in a breeze of dirty coolness. Caused me to sneeze like a mofo. Still the cool made it tolerable enough for me stand in a human sardine can until midnight.
But if you were curious for weekend 2, these are the artists who I recommend you check out. The cameos will probably change BTW.
My Top Five (Saturday) Acts [That I Saw] were:
- Zhu (with Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony)
- Lost Frequencies
- CHVRCHES
- The Dead Ships
- James Bay
- Favorite Cameo: Snoop Dogg
All five of those artists initially topped my must-see list. Was really disappointed by Rhye. Run The Jewels messed up his laid back Sade vibes. He needed to be scheduled in one of the tents during the nighttime. Not on the outdoor stage just before twilight. Good thing he has another shot next week. Saw a girl that looked like Taylor Swift in the VIP area during that set. Fun to speculate, huh?
Overall, really wish I was able to move between The Main & Outdoor Stages that way I could’ve saw Halsey and/or Zedd. It’s okay though. Another day, another time. Watched the live streams of everything I missed already (including Disclosure’s Full Set). If I had it my way however… probably would’ve stayed at the Sahara Tent & DoLab the entire time. EDM flowed like sweet cherry wine.
Those DJ showcases were the best overall photo experiences for me: Light filtered through water, colorful banners, and LCD screens. Plus, love to dance a tad too much.
Of the 2000+ shots, only roughly 750 remained after edit. Shooting these mini-showcases were quite easy. If you have covered festivals or SXSW, you kind of know the proper way to get the guerrilla shot. I’m a 6 year pro at blurriness. James Bay was by far the hardest because that tent was packed and nobody was budging. But I love those kind of challenges. Me, being a tall chubby fool, actually is the worst thing to happen to any concert goer. For that, I’m always sorry. But my height actually assisted in getting some really rad James Bay shots from the back of the tent (see above). Could’ve got closer to CHVRCHES, but I’ve shot them plenty of times. Go check out my other artistic guerrilla shots of Lauren, Iain, and Martin (or head to Getty).
Here’s my vacation slideshow! You didn’t even ask for it. We even stopped off at the legendary Cabazon Dinosaurs on the ride back to LA, so I could relive The Wizard. Those shots have more hits than any of my Coachella shots so far. (lol)
FINAL WORDS:
Felt like I did my Coachella experience right. I wish I met up with a few more party going friends that got a hold of me throughout the day. Drank & smoked with a few. (Backstory: My phone died about halfway through the festival. Remember kids: CHARGE. YOUR. PHONES. Being one of those charging station kids isn’t my bag baby. That’s why I didn’t have a backup plan in place… doubt they don’t hold it against me.)
The only other regret was not be able to attend all three days. And you should. Tackling one day is fine for jaded old me, but you’re young (at heart). You’ll see just as many bands if you visited SXSW. Trust me, the math works. You’ll find that Coachella is cheaper with more guarantees. $20 is the worst though.
Grab your click, camp in a polo field or rent a overpriced hotel room, and drive past Palms Springs to find an musical oasis in the desert; full of nymphs leading a song and dance around modernist art. This isn’t Woodstock. It’s the culturally expanding Coachella Music and Arts Festival. Join one of the cool kids (Stole A.C.’s term, not mine) in a weekend of overpriced fun and excitement!
Thanks for reading my imperfect words. More photos and rants coming soon…
