COACHELLA 2011: Party on, Garth
Here at Best of Fest, we try not to fest-discriminate, but the truth is, there are some fests we happen to like or want to go to more than others, the “Holy Grails”, if you will. Oktoberfest, Holi, Bonaroo, Mardi Gras, Outside Lands and Carnival, to name a few prized fests. But, lying there at the top of the list is the one and only, COACHELLA. To call ourselves festers seems a reach seeing as we’ve never been (like for reals, last year was just a halvesie attempt), but fear not! This year we’ve got wristbands firmly planted on our arms and are ACTUALLY going, and to say we are amped about it would be a severe understatement.
The Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival began in 1999, three months after the last disaster-ridden Woodstock (remember fires and riots? yeah, shitty). Rewind to about six year earlier in 1993, Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club fields in front of 25,000 fans and proved that the venue was suitable in many ways for a large scale music festival. It had easy accessibility from populous areas like LA, OC, San Diego, Vegas & Phoenix, the surrounding area was sparsely populated and the high volume of accommodation all contributed to making Indio the perfect spot for the next big music festival.
The first Coachella’s bill included acts like Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, Rage Against the Machine and Jurassic 5 and had a crowd of 25,000 people. The next Coachella was held in 2001 and since then, has continued to grow and gain recognition as one of the worlds most notable music festivals. Over the years, legendary modern day acts like Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Daft Punk and Coldplay have graced the stage.
- Image courtesy of wired.com
This year, the lineup is looking incredibly solid and due to the displeasure of many fans last year, Coachella lowered the number of tickets being sold so the coined term of ‘clusterfuckella’ shall hopefully be no more. Wanting the camping experience yet needing a bed and real toilet led the group of five ladies we are heading out with to rent an RV as our mode of accommodation. None of us have ever driven one of those beasts, so it will be interesting to say the least.
I personally am most excited to see Robyn, I’ve been a fan since the girl belted out Show Me Love in the 90′s, but her current electropop is stellar. Also on my must-see list: quirky-voiced Cee lo Green, ever cool Ms. Lauryn Hill, the sexiest band out there right now, Kings of Leon, the fun and timely Marina & the Diamonds, hard rocking Sleigh Bells, electro-heavy Crystal Castles, Afrojack, flamboyant and fun Scissor Sisters, Australian favorite Empire of the Sun, English band of the moment Mumford & Sons, and of course, Ratatat, classic 80′s band Duran Duran, and the cockiest mofo on the planet, Kanye West.
We’ve stocked up on food, booze, water, glitter, feathers, flowers and hipster clothing to make sure we are not only looking but totally acting the part of music festival attendee. Though I know these three days may lead to sunburns, aching feet, extreme thirst, exhaustion, etc., there is no way that this weekend will be anything but exciting as all hell and one of the most memorable weekends of our lives. Chances are that we’ll end up at some insane parties, get ourselves into interesting situations, and undoubtedly have wonderful stories to bring back and share.
Peace, love and MUSIC! Party on, garth!
Fest on,
Shayna
