The Coachella Valley Music Festival is sort of like the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival: I’ve always wanted to go, but never got my act together to do it. This year I finally did, and boy have I been missing out. It didn’t hurt that the lineup (Radiohead, The Pixies, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure) was comprised of rock legends, or that my school started standardized testing (requiring me to do little more than pass things out and read scripted directions) the week after the festival. My high school buddy Dan and I hit the road (well, Oakland and San Jose airports, respectively) to Coachella Friday after work, and the rest is rock history.
We had some planning issues. By the time I called to book a hotel (I purchased my two-day pass as soon as they went on sale, but the hotel thing took a while), everything in the area was sold out, so we ended up staying at a resort in Indian Wells, two towns away from Indio, where the festival takes place. This cost us a pretty penny, but the room was nice, and they did have a fitness center, and the Sahara Hotnights (a Swedish rock band comprised of all women) were staying there, so there were some serious perks. We flew into Ontario airport on Friday, dodged several hundred NASCAR fans to grab our Dollar Rent-a-Car, then sat in traffic for two hours before arriving at the hotel in time to eat dinner before the restaurant closed down.
One could feasibly fly into Ontario or Palm Springs for the festival Saturday morning, and drive straight to Indio. With traffic a certainty, it would take about three hours from Ontario, one and a half from the Palm Springs airport, or around four hours from LA. We only had three towns to go through, and it still took us about an hour and a half to get into the parking lot, due to high traffic on one and two lane roads in Indio.
We arrived at 1:00 P.M. to start seeing bands at the beginning of the day, though I did see many groups of people arriving later in the day. It was incredibly hot, so I don’t know how anyone chose not to wear shorts and a T shirt, but I did appreciate those who came in (mostly 80’s) style. We’re talking asymmetrical haircuts, that gelled Mohawk ‘do that’s coming back (thank you, Gwen Stefani), little flat shoes with colored polka dots, striped tube tops, pegged pants, the whole 80’s thing minus the acid wash. Definitely some cute outfits. I also saw four other people wearing my Old Navy tank top, and five colors of the tub top with the maternity skirt thing that must be Banana Republic’s latest spring must-have, so there was a range of fashion (or lack thereof, on my part).
We started out watching Erase Errata, whose lead singer left her trumpet in San Francisco, but wailed a competent set anyway. They were followed by one of my favorite bands, Sahara Hotnights. I remember bursting into a smile when I heard their album, Jennie Bomb. These 23-year-old girls write all their own stuff, and they can rock and sing. Plus, they’re adorable.
Doused in our own sweat, we moved on to hear the Stills, Trail of the Dead, and Death Cab for Cutie on the smaller of the two outdoor stages. I had only heard the Stills’ single, but they played a great set. Trail of the Dead, whom I had never heard, sounded great, too, and Death Cab for Cutie were in top form. Benjamin Gibbard’s voice is so melodic, and the band really has a strong following. There were a lot of “moments” at this festival—when you’re listening to a really fantastic band and the world just sort of stops while you hear one song. I was having such a moment when my personal space was accosted by a group of drunk people who seemed to think that the Death Cab for Cutie set was the place to continue their beer bash. Totally annoying. We moved, fortunately. Gibbard played many songs off Transatlanticism, which came out earlier this year.
After that, we caught Sparta, from Texas (but they don’t like George W., either—they even wrote a song about it), on the larger outdoor stage. I expected them to have a really heavy metal/punk sound, but they were still poppy, like most bands at the festival. I was pleased to find that I really liked their sound and their manner with the crowd. Lead singer Fred Ward thanked us several times for being there and mentioned that opening for the Pixies, the band that inspired him when he was twelve, made this the best day of his life. The Pixies’ set probably made Saturday the best day of many people’s lives—it seemed like the entire crowd stopped to hear the Pixies’ set. I had such an immensely prideful moment in Generation X at that point—I think most of the people there who are around my age last heard this great band in 1991, as I did. We’ve been listening to them ever since, learning to appreciate all the hard work that goes into music of that caliber, and then suddenly, here they were back on a stage, and they played and played and rock history was made. The guy next to me was the happiest man alive, dancing away. He knew the words to every song.
Radiohead was on next and again, the entire crowd seemed to focus in on them. They are truly one of the greatest bands playing today. The innovation in each of their songs, the uniqueness present in their lyrics, rhythm, and melodies is unrivaled. Thom Yorke’s performance was upbeat and intense—it is so clear that this man loves his job with a passion. They played “Creep,” and he giggled every time he forgot words. He closed by saying that the Pixies and R.E.M. changed his life in college and that he felt like a creep coming after the Pixies, but of course we all realize that we have the Pixies to thank for a great band like Radiohead even being around. And then Dan and I went through the list of great bands of our time, and we only could come up with a small list of new bands that might achieve that caliber, and then we decided we were showing our age and being arrogant.
The last band we heard was another favorite of mine, Phantom Planet. It seemed like the real music connoisseurs went to hear Kraftwerk, from Germany, in the tent next door, but I love my Phantom Planet, so the other college students and I stuck by them. They were jumping around, so excited to be there, getting the crowd to dance after a full day of dancing in 100-degree heat. I was impressed with their energy, and with the enthusiasm of the kids in the crowd. They didn’t play my favorite song, “After Hours,” but they did whip out “Big Brat,” “First Things First,” “The Meantime,” and a new song from the just-released album. Their new drummer, who replaced Jason Schwartzman of “Rushmore” fame, was solidly churning out beats, so I think the band has a good future ahead of them.
The only bummer of the day was that we then spent two hours waiting to get out of the parking lot and didn’t get home till 3:00 A.M., but it was still one of the best days of my life. We waved off Sunday, because we had flights to catch that were too early to allow us to see Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Air, Le Tigre, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes, or The Cure and still make it to work the next day. Instead, we ditched the heat and went hiking in Idlylwild before heading back to the airport. One would need to plan to stay Sunday night if going to the Sunday shows and head home Monday. I think that’s what most people did.
