It’s been a week since Coachella, and I’m still missing the desert and music. This will be my last Coachella-themed post in a while, so I’ll just share some of my personal top moments/memories at Coachella 2013, in no particular order.
Intense dust/ dust storms
I’ll never forget staring into the horizon Friday night and just seeing dust clouds endlessly stretching out on our way back to the car. Much of it was caused by the huge crowds moving towards the parking lot after the last set, but there was quite a bit of dust in the air throughout the day at the walkways between the field and the parking lot. Thank goodness the field and stages were pretty dust-free, we would’ve developed smoker’s lung. I’m definitely bringing a mask or cloth or something for next year, plus some more eye drops.
Religious experience during the xx
About three-quarters into the xx’s set on Saturday night, I was kind of zoned out and enjoying the music when I had a religious experience of sorts. I find that I get flashes of insight when my dominant Ti (introverted thinking) isn’t active, which allows my Ni (introverted iNtuiting) to run free and think up really cool stuff. Hence shower and waking-up-from-sleep epiphanies. Anyway, I don’t recall exactly my thoughts during this particular experience, but I remember that it had to do with heaven and friendships. It was a very euphoric and calming feeling.
Cooling off in the Heineken Dome
It’s almost like an oasis in the desert. Feeling too much sun or heat? Take a quick break in the Heineken Dome, a fully air-conditioned pop-up club complete with a bar and DJ music. One of the few places we got to enjoy some AC, and a great place to just cool off and enjoy the time with friends and music.
Ferris wheel at night
One of the highlights from last year’s Coachella was riding on the Ferris wheel and getting an awesome view of the entire venue. This year, they raised the price to $8, but it was definitely worth it because we went on it at night and caught one of the prettiest glimpses of the festival grounds, lit up in rainbow splendor. We could see the stages, various landmarks and artworks, and the people milling about like ants. Such a beautiful place.
Thomas Mars of Phoenix 10 feet away
I’ve probably mentioned this a lot already, but we made it to the front portion of the crowds during Phoenix’s set on Saturday night. At the end of the set, the lead singer hopped down from the stage and walked over to the barriers separating the crowds from the band, and proceeded to serenade us from about 10 feet away. He then walked through the crowd to climb a speaker tower so people further back could see him, then crowdsurfed back to stage. What a boss.
Crazy old guy tripping out during RHCP
During the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s set on Sunday night, Dow and I were next to a middle-aged guy who was definitely tripping out on something. He was so out of it that people gave him a nice little bubble of space, which was great for us because we didn’t move and suddenly had a ton of space. Plus it was fun watching him trying to film the performance on his phone diagonally and then randomly pointing it into the night sky. In any case he was really enjoying the music and didn’t hurt anyone, so all was good.
The Postal Service reunited
Ten years in the making, plus they played almost all their songs from their Give Up album, including my favorites “Such Great Heights” and “Brand New Colony.” Definitely felt very surreal to me – I was finally listening to them perform live, after all these years. Plus they looked like they hadn’t aged a bit and sounded great.
Monster fries at the food court
The food court gets props for variety and semi-affordable prices. The food isn’t amazing, but definitely holds people over until late-night post-concert eats. The Monster fries we ordered were actually pretty good. Fries with pulled pork and coleslaw made an excellent combination.
Tailgating at the parking lot
This year, we drove an SUV and brought a cooler along, so we could have a proper tailgating experience. It was pretty fun going back to the lot and hanging out in between sets. Plus we’d get people walking over asking us if we had extra drinks or ice, so that made us feel pretty well-prepared and we were glad to be of help.
All-nighter drive back to Berkeley right after the festival
Festival ended at 1 AM on Monday. Our goal: to get back before noon because some of us had Monday classes. So we stopped by the motel, took a quick break and grabbed some coffee, then headed out around 3 AM. We had buddy system shifts – Dow and I took the first leg, about three hours, with Dow driving and me spotting. The second shift (2 hours) was James and Jay, and I took the final leg (2 hours) with Jay. Pretty smooth drive overall, plus we made excellent time. We got back to Berkeley by 10 AM.
Read about my Coachella 2013 recaps here – Day 1 and Day 2 and Day 3.
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Coachella 2013 at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
