This Is It - Coachella: Day 1

• Author: Mike
• Filed under: Music, Travel
• Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Just before I start - I wasn’t intending for this to come out so late. Real life gets in the way of blogging sometimes, and I hate that it does. I also warn that this is badly put together over several days, so it’s probably not the easiest read. Regardless, let’s get on with the show.

Friday April 27 - today was the day. Sure the trip to America was a big deal for me, given all the extra stuff I was getting up to but really Coachella was the reason I went. Just about everyone that I talked to thought I was crazy for making this trip, hell I still thought I was crazy. The time was finally here - Coachella 2007. But I decided that it was too hot for music, and when I saw someone asking to buy tickets I got rid of them cheaply and decided to head back to my air conditioned room. I was able to watch the festival on the net and all was well.

Oh come on, you and me both know that this did not happen.

I got up at about 8:30 after a decent night’s sleep. I was never really hyped up majorly for the trip or the concert until a week before I went, but today it finally kicked in - Coachella was here and I was going to witness it in the flesh! I chucked on some clothes and headed downstairs for the free breakfast.

Young Coachella-ites hung around the breakfast area, drinking coffee and talking on cell phones. I scoped out the area - cereal, milk and juices, mini crossants, danishes, bagels, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit and the previously mentioned coffee. I wasn’t starving so I grabbed myself a couple of danishes and decided to toast a bagel. Here is where it all went to hell. I didn’t realise that the bagels were pre-cut to fit the toaster, so I jammed it in and watched it get stuck half way down. Since I didn’t want to burn my fingers on a hot toaster, I reached for a plastic fork to try and lift it out. The bagel crumbled. Not knowing what more to do, I did the only thing I could do - I grabbed another bagel and got the hell out of there.

I ate breakfast in my room, washing it down with a Mountain Dew Code Red (bad idea). I had to get downstairs and grab myself a sim card for my mobile phone. I brought my Australian mobile over hoping to get a local pre-paid card while I was here since I’d only be making local calls, but I knew one of the hard things would be finding a provider that was GSM (the majority of American networks are CDMA, and as a result have really really shit phones on offer). I found a few providers thanks to Wikipedia and searched for locations - joy! They are close by. I grabbed my wallet and headed to the local Mobil, ready to buy a cell phone.

I get to the Mobil - no cell phones. I head over the road where an Albertsons supermarket is locate, and walk through what must of been the biggest supermarket I’ve ever seen. I walked around there searching for cell phones - nothin’. After finding nothing at Ralphs, I had to resort to getting a piece of shit phone from CVS Pharmacy with a pre-paid card. I went back to my room and contacted Juan, my lift for the festival. We had a brief chat, he told me that they were leaving at about 11am and I gave him the details for my room and waited in my room, watching the local news before heading downstairs. I waited.. waited some more. Ran Juan.. they were lost and didn’t know where the hell they were. I spoke to the girl at reception and ended up handing the phone over to her, as she eventually explained how to get to the hotel - pretty funny.

Juan and crew rocked up around 12:30 or so and I was quickly introduced to the rest of the guys in the car - Juan’s mate Javier and Evan, a guy they picked up on his way to the campsite who was getting stuck into a two liter bottle of Fanta who can’t seem to stand it anymore, he really wants to get there and quickly. We exchange a few words - turns out that he’s a fellow Australian (what are the chances) that spent the night partying. Twenty minutes or so later and we were pulling up to the Coachella parking lot - I can’t believe it’s finally here.

The four of us wandered towards the entrance before Evan met up with a couple of other Aussies in the other car and headed towards the camp site while Javier, Juan and I walked towards the main entrance. The first thing we noticed were the super long lines weaving all over the place for the ticket booths (and will call). It was about 1:30-2pm by this stage and apparently lines had up to four hour waits - crazy stuff and I’m glad I accidentally opted for eBay. The entrance lines separated into male and female and had decent waits as well, so I jumped in a line with the boys and slowly moved forward. The security checks made us remove everything from out pockets and open our bags while we were patted down, I clumsily did as told and finally got my ticket scanned. I saw the other boys and breathed it in, Coachella baby!

First, a quick trip to the port-o-potties right near the entrance. It didn’t smell bad to me, but I guess it was too early. As we walked passed the palm trees with posters showing the previous lineups, I saw the beer tent and the huge main stage, with Flosstradamus finishing off their set. We all walked passed the map/sign which we agreed would be a meeting place (more on this later) and then Juan headed towards the merch tent. Not wanting to wait ’til the last minute, I had a look around and decided to get a few things. I got myself a red Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Coachella T-Shirt, a Coachella 2007 guitar pick t-shirt and a Coachella 2007 poster for US$60, a bargain as far as I’m concerned. Juan picked up a black version of the RATM shirt and we continued walking towards the other stages.

Coachella isn’t just a music festival - between all the stages, beer tents, food stalls and patches of grass there are quite a few abstract art installations. One of such was a twisting set of tents. You walked into the first area and walked through, with it changing colours and getting smaller and smaller to a point where you are crawling. In the centre a bunch of people are chilling out and taking photos, leading towards an exit. We all went through with Javier and Juan taking photos throughout. After this we walked towards the three tents area before heading to the nearby beer tent where the boys grabbed a drink and I worked out who I was going to see. I wanted to go and put my bag away, so I said my fairwells to Javier and Juan and started searching for the lockers.

I walked, and walked, walked a bit more. I don’t know how, but I managed to miss the lockers multiple times. Then there was the wait to get a locker - the guys running the place had no organisational skills what-so-ever, so people who had paid for lockers were getting pushed out of the way for people who had rocked up and wanted to purchase a locker. It took me about 45 minutes to get mine but I wasn’t mad at all, despite putting my stuff into one locker only to take it out. After I was done I started walking towards the far back looking for the Gobi tent, before realising that the lockers were right next to it. This was going to be my hang out for the weekend, as most of the acts playing at the festival were playing in the Gobi.

Comedians of Comedy were up, Zach Galifianakis in particular who was wearing a red dress with polka dots while miming the words of Tomorrow from the musical Annie, all while running through a large notepads of various one liners. I liked a few but along with the crowd cheered the most for his final message - FUCK DANE COOK. Simple, perfect and to the point. A favourite of mine, Brian Posehn was up next and his set consisted of jokes mainly about how he has a small penis and likes listening to Slayer. He had about twenty minutes, doing his odd voices and such. I enjoyed it while and once he ended CoC were done, so I decided to take my chances on a frozen lemonade. I don’t know if it was the heat or drinking something I can’t usually get but this stuff was pure bliss. Sure it was $5, roughly the same price as a beer but I didn’t care - this is Coachella damnit! I will drink what I want!

I hung around the Gobi for a little longer catching Gillian Welch start her act, someone I wasn’t planning on listening to at first but enjoyed for quite a bit. After about fifteen or twenty minutes of her, I decided to move on and have a look at the other tents. For reasons unknown I walked right past the bigger Mojave tent where Tilly & The Wall were setting up, and headed to the dance/electronic tent aka the Sahara where David Guetta was manipulating the same beat into several different songs. Despite this, I enjoyed listening to the music and watching people dance like maniacs despite the fact that it was only 4pm. After ten or so minutes I headed back to my locker to grab some sunscreen and sit down for am minute or two.

Despite the fact that I’d spent the afternoon in the heat checking out musicians, it was still sinking in that after a thirteen hour plane ride and a four hour shuttle ride that I was at my destination - and that it was only just starting. I decided to walk around the food stalls and grabbed myself a very delicious roasted corn with a water, and checked my notes on who I’d be seeing next. There were clashes all over the place, but I eventually decided to check out Amy Winehouse, then run over to Arctic Monkeys. After them I’d see Busdriver then decide at the time if I wanted to see El-P or Faithless. Gogol were definitely going to be last.

I managed to get back to the Gobi with enough time to see Gillian Welch finish up, so I sat down near the back of the tent and zoned out for a while. The one great thing about Coachella was the large amount of grass areas where you could just sit down and relax without worrying about being in someone else’s way or being stood on. Festival goers opened up to other strangers about their day and shared timetables with each other, the vibe was very friendly no matter if you had flown from hundreds of miles away or just came down the street.

I got bored so I decided to check out some artwork nearby and see what the outdoor stage looked like. By the time I got back Amy was on stage and much to my disappointment - very sober. I said screw it, not wanting to hear another normal version of Rehab and headed off to the Main Stage to get a good spot for the Arctic Monkeys. I ended up getting a spot near the wheelchair areas and noticed a half-decent crowd get ready for some British indie-rock. There were a few Poms in the audience, waving a Union Jack around while a soundcheck was done. The Monkeys came on stage and performed a solid set without much time for chit-chat or dilly-dallying, starting off with If You Found This Then It’s Probably Too Late, before bursting into Brianstorm (with a false ending which most people applauded for, myself included) and following up with a favourite of mine, Still Take You Home. It was a well rehearsed set which sounded not much different to their albums, and the boys got a kick from the few Brits in the crowd. I was absolutely stuffed at this stage - and it was only 7pm!

I took this as an excuse to sit down and grab a bite, so after walking around the food stalls for ten minutes tossing up if I wanted a slice of Spicy Pie (Pizza) or a Philly Cheesesteak, I noticed that the corn stall from earlier was also selling baked yams (sweet potato). Oh ship it~! I grabbed one with a water and sat my ass down and watched the telsa coils - a form of electric lightning go off between the main stage and the outdoor theatre while shoving hot potato into my mouth. Really, what more could a person want?

The sun had gone down so I went back to the locker to switch out my sunnies with my regular specs, then went straight to the Gobi in hopes for getting a good spot for Busdriver. As it turns out, I got to the front without pushing through packs instantly, setting myself up on the right hand side near the speakers. They did a sound check for about ten minutes, trying to get an effects microphone to work as it should. After a decent delay it was time to start the show, and I decided to head further back where my ears weren’t blasted out. He put on a decent set, constantly referring to the young people but song wise I couldn’t name anything apart from Unemployed Black Astronaut.

After deciding on hip-hop or dance, hip-hop won and I got in with a medium sized crowd to see El-P. The downside to this was that I had to put up with the end of awful rap-rock hybrid Peeping Tom, headed by Mike Patton. It sounded terrible, and I was quite happy to clap them off the stage for just being finished. El-P came on at least half an hour with live band wearing a bright orange prison style jumpsuit and put on a really great set despite noticeable sound problems. The one thing I was sure of when I got back was that I wanted to get his album because apart from The Overly Dramatic Truth, I really wanted to hear more of his stuff and fast.

So it’s time for the main event of the evening - GOGOL BORDELLO! As more people left after El-P I took it as an excuse to move forward, eventually being about six or seven behind the stage, looking straight ahead. The soundcheck took ages, at least half an hour and it didn’t help that an annoying guy behind me was constantly going on about how great Gogol were, using the following words: last year, gogol, i saw them, gypsy music, really good. Ugh, great stuff. Gogol finally came out at 11:30, about 15 minutes after their due start and the people appeared out of nowhere.

And that’s when it started to get INTENSE~!

A pit breaks out in front of me nearly instantly, and more and more people are rushing to the front to get involved. Crowd member after crowd member was going up for a bit of crowd surfing. The crowd was swaying forward and back, and in the process I was thrown at least ten rows back as more people rushed to the front to get take it all in. It was hot as hell in there and I was fearing I was going to fall over and get stamped on due to the crowd, but I wouldn’t of wanted to be anywhere else. As for the band? They were easily the best act of the entire festival, with anthem Start Wearing Purple uniting the crowd in song. The real highlight was when their female drummer (who had a big base drum as opposed to a drum kit) threw it into the crowd, then proceeded to surf on it for a while before lead singer Eugene joined her on it, all while continuing to sing! Insane stuff to watch a few meters ahead of me, and definitely something that won’t be topped for a long time to come.

Gogol Bordello finished at 12:15 and I headed back to the meeting spot (the map/sign near the entrence) looking for my ride. I noticed that Bjork had rapped up much earlier, and started worrying. After about five-ten minutes of waiting, I started ringing Juan. His phone is switched off. Great. I start panicking and more people are walking back, then notice that DJ Shadow is still going (as it turns out, he finished about 1am). I contemplate walking over, but decide to hang near the meeting spot. I finally get through to Juan, who tells me that they are in the car waiting to get out. Shit! Despite being extremly tired, I bolt the mile or so back to the car.

I probably didn’t explain it, but the layout of the car park compared to festival isn’t the best path. In order to get back to the car park, you have to walk past the Polo Field stables, which are covered in fences/horse jumps. Now if you have seen an equestrian event in the past, you will know that horse jumps are flimsy plastic things that are not the steadiest, and not really meant to support the weight of several humans launching over them. Needless to say, I didn’t have time to wait in the crowd to slowly walk through, I needed to get to the car. I jumped the fence with the others, dropping my phone in the process (and a big thank you to the kind Americans who called out that I dropped it). I finally made it to the car park to find the boys sitting in a queue waiting to get out. Yup, the run was all for nothing. I cool down for a while and wait in the long queue to get out of the place.

I am dead - I can take no more despite having two more days of this to put up with. We eventually head on the highway and I don’t think any better of it, with my eyelids closing several times during the drive. We finally get off a while later and I noticed we were near an airport, prompting the following tired conversation at about 2:30am.

Mike: Where are we?
Juan: Near our place.
Mike: You’re not taking me back to the hotel?
Juan: Your going back to there?
Javier: Yeah I thought we were taking him back.
Mike: All my stuff is there, I got to ring home.
Juan: Ugh.

We pull over at a Mobil and Juan asks for some cash to get petrol, agreeing to take me back. I hand over $40 and he gets some directions from the man in the booth. Javier and Juan switch from driver to passenger, and about fourty or so minutes later we are outside my hotel. I say my goodbyes and ask what time in the morning to ring - I’m just told to ring early.

I get out and start walking towards the reception. I reach for my wallet.. no wallet.

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK.

The boys are gone by now, and it doesn’t help that Juan’s phone was dead. I am totally fucked. I’ve got all of $100, my passport, no room key, no credit card (!) and no real way to get back into the hotel since it’s room key restricted.

I’m in a foreign country, it’s been three days and I’m totally fucked.

(Coachella ‘07 Saturday, hopefully coming within less then six months..)