What to expect for the Coachella Festival?
I attended Coachella in ’04. Let me begin by saying that it was the finest outdoor concert / camping experience of my life. I would trade a dozen Bonnaroo’s for one Coachella, any day. Here’s the list of stuff that sucked: ABSOLUTELY NO BRINGING WATER INTO THE FESTIVAL SITE. They will definitely search your bags and they will chuck your water. They even have special gigantic trash barrels for water-bottle disposal. Workaround: I brought a camel-pack. There was one hose with a long line leading to it, but I was able to fill my camelpack and provide nourishing water to myself and my buds. Food is ridiculously expensive, which is to say no more or less than any other festival. Make sure that you get a camping pass. There’s no where to stay if you aren’t camping. People were sleeping on the side of the road and stuff. Camp. Camping is fun. It was impossibly hot. 114 degrees. Dress accordingly. Also, during the Radiohead concert a large section of the audience was attacked by a swarm of bee
The thing that shocked me the most when I got there was how well organized it was. I can’t remember the temperature when I was there, but it was pretty comfortable. I wore jeans and a t-shirt the whole time. For food, the prices were medium for a festival. I remember they had corn on the cob, hamburgers, some vegetarian smoothie options, and some other ethnic option. They weren’t bargain, but they also weren’t outrageous either. They had separate tables for just water. They thoroughly check bags, and your food and water will be confiscated. There’s the main stage, another stage and 3 smaller stages if I remember correctly. One of these smaller stages is the dance tent. The worst part for me was that the first day, I had to stand in line for quite a while to get in.
Weather could be pretty variable. I went in 2002 and the weather was great–about 80, sunny, light breeze, no problems whatsoever. I went in 2004, and it was mind-meltingly hot, something like 110. It could be either one of those extremes or anywhere in between, but I’d feel pretty safe betting that it’ll be *warm*. I’d plan for high 80’s/low to mid-90’s. b) Resistance is futile. They’ll search you pretty well, and there’s a giant pile of water bottles and other stuff that they’ve confiscated when you reach the head of the line for the security check. Prices inside aren’t great, but they’re not totally gougy either. I paid $2 per bottle of water last time I went, which is a bit of a rip but not insane. c) There’s a number of outdoor stages and tents. One stage is the big major stage where the serious headliners play (like Radiohead and the Pixies in ’04), then there’s a smaller side stage where lesser known bands play (…Trail of the Dead in ’04). Your opinions of who’s major and who’
More or less same advice as baby balrog. They’re fairly effective about preventing smuggling into the festival proper, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get water in undetected. The hose that baby balrog describes came from a source that has a sign on it identifying it as non-potable, but it’s probably safe to drink (if it’s still there). You can smuggle beer and liquor into the campgrounds fairly easily. Temperatures during the day will be hot and dry. Wear more sunscreen than you think you need. After the sun goes down the weather doesn’t get cold, but you’ll be happier with a hoodie you can throw on. Food was pricey, but good selection. If you’ve got a group, bring a couple of cheap walkie-talkies. Cell towers are quickly overwhelmed by the number of users.
Nthing ridiculous heat although both shows I attended were much later in the year. That may help. Surprised no one has mentioned the oft-praised bottle redemption policy from last year’s event. Too lazy to search for a link, but the gist of it was that if you brought 10 empty water bottles (regardless of their condition) to a particular tent, you could redeem them for one free water. The grounds were *spotless* because of this — it was actually hard to find water bottles to redeem (and there really weren’t enough redemption tents). Great environmental policy, probably not the most efficient means of getting a sip of water. I suspect they’ll bring back a beefed-up version of this program this year, with more redemption tents.
