Still reeling from the pure awesomeness of Coachella. This will probably be my last post on the event in a while (maybe), and after having a few days to process everything that went down, I can safely say this was money and time well spent.
This post will be about Coachella randomness, oddities, and opinions. Hopefully will give you a better idea of what the musical festival is like, and why you should definitely consider checking one out in the near future.
Food – What is a music festival, or any event for that matter, without the food? Coachella had a huge variety of food in the festival grounds this year, ranging from typical fast food to ethnic food from Indian to Japanese. Food was overpriced, ranging from $8-$12, not surprising or too out-of-the-ordinary. Best value food? The fully-loaded baked potato for $8. You get a giant baked potato, chili, cheese, sour cream, corn, plus your choice of seasoning.
Recycling program – Water costs $2 at the festival grounds. They don’t let you bring in filled water bottles (you can bring in empty see-through bottles, though), so the other option is to wait in line at the water refilling station, which can take a while. We had a pack of water in the car, so we walked to parking every once in a while to get hydrated. Coachella has a cool recycling program where you get a free bottle of water if you pick up ten empty water bottles on the festival grounds. A win-win situation.
Stages – There were a total of five stages this year, including a main stage, another outdoor stage, and three tent stages. The outdoor stages were pretty typical, but the tent stages were very cool because they could be set up in different ways. For instance, Madeon’s set had all the speakers blasting into the tent, kind of like a gigantic surround sound, with four strips of animated screens stretching across the ceiling of the tent.
Things to do – Other than concerts, there were plenty of other things to do and places to explore, including record and merchandise stores, sponsor tents, bars and restaurants, and the Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel is a must. For only $5, you get an amazing view of the entire music festival, which is even better at night. Plus, it’s an iconic symbol of Coachella, so might as well experience the festival to the fullest.
Temperature & cooling methods – It was consistently hot during the second weekend of Coachella, the weekend we went. Temperatures were over 100 degrees, with a high of 105 degrees. However, there’s a nice breeze in the area, and it isn’t humid, making the heat much more bearable. Just make sure to wear shorts and use lots of sunscreen. Cooling methods include sitting in the various shaded areas, hanging out at the Do Lab, where people use water cannons to spray the crowd dancing to dubstep and EDM, or visiting sponsor tents (some are air conditioned!).
Why music festivals? Final note – This was my first music festival, and I had an amazing experience. I believe that you don’t really get to enjoy music to its fullest potential unless you experience it live. Not even the best headphones or sound systems can replicate the emotions, subwoofer blasts through your body, or crowds of like-minded fans, all in the moment, enjoying the music. It’s sublime, no other way to describe it. And with hundreds of bands playing, festivals provide awesome value, definitely a better value than going to a concert for a single band. And finally, music festivals open up new avenues to enjoying music. You don’t even have to be a fan – you’ll discover new music, hear old music in new ways, and overall broaden your musical horizon.
That’s about it! Coachella 2012 will forever be ingrained in my memory, and I look forward to future music festivals, hopefully with some of you guys, too!
Love of music at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
