What to expect for the Coachella Festival?
Some thoughts, although I haven’t been for about two festivals: The last one I was at they were denying some people from bringing in Camelbacks, but some people did get in with them, so YMMV with that. I remember Gatorade costing about $3 a pop and I went through at least $20 worth of those in one day. I doubt you’ll be able to smuggle in actual water bottles. I’ve camped and stayed at a really nice condo nearby, if you can go in with a bunch of friends on a condo, I think it’s worth it, but camping is not too bad either. One thing I noticed is that if you like both Rock and Electronic music, you’ll have to make some hard choices, two bands you like may be playing stages on opposite sides of the festival. Another poster mentioned this but its worth repeating, at a certain point, you’ll want to get to the main stage near the front and resign to never leaving that space, because there’s no way in hell you’re going to get close after the big act has started. I did this on the Sunday in 20
I’ve been to two Coachellas (Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine years) and off the top of my head I can think of a few things: -It’s hotter than you can imagine so stay hydrated as much as you can. There’s not much in the way of shelter once you’re in the concert area, and all shade is at a premium. It’s not much better even when it’s night time. -Allow for LOTS of traffic getting into the parking area. You’ll sit for an hour or even two because all the traffic funnels into one two-lane road, so be prepared for that. -There’s so much dust, and I forget this every year. Bring a bandana or something similar to filter your breathing. The year that Rage played I was hacking up dirt for a week afterwards. -I was able to get items into the concert area, but YMMV. I also tended to go a little later in the day when the guards were tired and not searching bags as much. I hid a lot of my water on my person (inside pockets/underwear/jacket/etc.). -In reference to the heat again, I recommend A
I did Coachella in 2004 as well, so I’ll repeat what the others have said – it was mind-bogglingly hot. (Of course, I’d come west from New England, where we’d just had one of the coldest winters in history, so I freakin’ *loved* it. But I did bathe in sunscreen every couple of hours.) As I recall, the searching was way over the top – when I went in, they were confiscating *pens* for some reason. But as a veteran of concert searches, I still brought my glass and weed. Getting in & out was definitely an arduous process; I did not camp and was just fine with that decision (waaay too hot & dusty – I was quite glad to have air conditioning and a pool to retire to after a day in the sun & dust). Get there early, and be prepared to chill for some time afterwards. LionIndex perfectly describes the crush at the main stage for headliners – I stayed close to the front, but off to the side, for the Pixies (claustrophobia prevents me from even entertaining the idea of being front & center in such a
