About six weeks ago, I racked up over $4,000 of credit card debt on a whim while financing a trip to Coachella music festival in California. This is no problem for me, since as a second year teacher with a tendency to gamble more than I ought, $4,000 dollars should only take me about eight months to pay off. Piece of cake. Of course, it's just as likely that I will find a way to double my debt in that amount of time and wind up having to sell a kidney to recover, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I have been trying to organize my thoughts on all that I saw and did over the course of the three day festival.
We missed most of Friday's acts while traveling, which included two plane flights, a train ride, and a taxi, but we managed to make some friends along the way. The closer we got to our destination, the more people we ran into who were going our way. By the time we were cabbing it from the train station in Palm Springs to the polo club that served as the festival grounds in Indio, we shared the cab with a corporate headhunter from Chicago, a college student from Laguna Beach, an Englishman who had lost his friends the previous day in L.A. due to a Homeland Security snafoo, and two Swedish guys, one of whom was a dead ringer for Jack White of the White Stripes (left). 
We arrived at the grounds at 6:30 after nearly 15 hours of travel. After a twenty minute walk through pastures and stables, we emerged at the campgrounds, which was forty acres of flat ground that had been turned into a sea of tents. We made our way towards the back and staked our claim to a small plot near the entrance gate to the shows. I unpacked my tent and joined several groups around us as we all stared at the instructions for assembly (left, below), which seemed slightly less complicated than nuclear fission. 
It was at this point that I discovered my girlfriend has a secret talent she had been hiding from me for the past year and a half. She is a savant when it comes to tent assembly. I watched in stunned silence as she not only set up our tent, but proceeded to set up the tents of our two nearest neighbors as well. Ten minutes later, having been thoroughly immasculated and ready for a beer, I set out for the shows with my girlfriend and our new Swedish friends. The next three days were a flurry of activity. It would be impossible to try to summarize the events that transpired in any sort of rational fashion, especially since I was delirious due to the 105 degree desert temperatures, but these are the non-music related highlights.
1) Seeing a guy dressed like Elvis cold-cock another guy on the way out of the concert Friday night. Generally, the festival was extremely peaceful, as festivals are supposed to be. So it was somewhat surreal watching Elvis split a guy's face open and then run away while the person he hit lay motionless on the ground.
2) Cruising around the tent village prior to the shows each day. This was people watching at its finest. We even saw this guy.
(below)
3) Watching the drunkest fool in town stumble across the grounds at 7:00 AM Sunday morning. I first saw the guy half an hour earlier at the shower trailer. He was next in line for the shower when he fell asleep in his chair and tipped over. Once he righted himself, he apparently forgot why he had been waiting there because he started to walk away...with only one shoe. Someone had to track him down to give him his other one. Anyways, a half hour later I was sitting under the hospitality tent with about 100 other early risers when we spotted him approaching from about 50 yards away. He was stumbling so bad at this point that I didn't want to laugh or crack a smile because I still wasn't totally sure that he didn't have cerebral palsy. As he weaved his way towards the tent, every conversation stopped so we all could watch in silence. He finally made his way to the tent, tried to sit up on a table, fell over and onto the ground in a heap, and was tossed out by security as we began to root him on. I felt like I was watching a boxer, nearly out on his feet, desperately trying to finish the 12th round. To that man, whoever you are, I salute you.
4) Walking through a long, winding sprial of a tunnel that opened up to an oasis tucked into the center. The "oasis" was really just a pavilion for people to gather in peace and spend the afternoon smoking pot in the shade. What a nice surprise. The best part was watching families come flying back out of the tunnel the wrong way as soon as they realized what was waiting for their kids to see at the end of the line. Below is my girlfriend enjoying the atmosphere.
That's her holding the straw hat in the corner, she made me crop out her face to avoid her being associated with such activities. She's a teacher.
5) Looking through the roof of our tent at 3:00 in the morning to see a police helicopter with it's spotlight shining down directly overhead. Apparently, there were some Canadians causing a disturbance and refusing to evacuate the concert area. It's always the Canadians.
6) Seeing Adam Morrison walking through the food court. I give him 6' 6", no more.
But enough about that nonsense, we were there for the music. Specifically, we were there to see Rage Against the Machine reunite, but there were plenty of other bands of interest, too. Without further ado, my Coachella music review...
Arctic Monkeys - They were on while we were setting up camp so I didn't get to see them. But we could hear them clearly and they sounded very good.
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Sounded pretty good for not having played together in years.
Interpol - I don't get it. I have never understood the supposed genius of Joy Division and I don't understand the appeal of these guys. They both drone on and on in a sullen monotone, song after song, without ever changing it up. On the other hand, it's great music to commit suicide to.
Pop Levi - I'd never heard of this guy, but he put on a fantastic show. He performs and struts around the stage like he's channeling Mick Jagger. The music was good, too. I highly recommend seeing him live if you get the opportunity.
The Frames - Solid. One of my girlfriend's favorites.
The Cribs, Fields, The Fratellis - All solid bands. I enjoyed watching them all for a few songs.
The Chuck Dukowski Sextet - Long shot to be a really cool band. This band was put together by the former Black Flag bassest (Dukowski) and includes a normal rock band lineup plus some horns and a wierd hippie frontwoman. After hearing Chuck Dukowski's greeting to the audience, during which he sounded slightly less addled than Ozzy Osbourne, I'm not sure I like their odds, but I'm rooting for them.
Jack's Mannequin - Only saw one song, but I liked it. I'm looking forward to hearing more.<
Kings of Leon - Phenomenal. At the time we saw them, I'd never seen a crowd have so much fun at a rock concert. Check them out.
The Arcade Fire - I'd heard all of the stories about how great this band was live so I was looking forward to seeing it for myself. I will let this message board post do the talking...
"For the past 2 months I have been listening Funeral and Neon Bible trying to figure out why my friends were telling me this band was so good. Up until I saw them this year my opinion of them was usually "they are ok I guess but I don't see what the big deal is." That all changed on Saturday. They were fantastic. Sometimes during the set I felt like I was choked up and couldn't catch my breath it was so good. After seeing them live I definitely "get it" now."
Here, here. Check out this song from their set.
Also, to see proof that Win Butler may be the most awkward frontman ever, watch the beginning of this clip. He sure can write songs, though.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - There was an odd lack of energy during their show. Maybe it was the long, hot day. Maybe it was just that everyone was so psyched about Rage the next night. I don't know. They played a good set, though.
Mika - Took Kings of Leon's title as the funnest performance I've ever been to. This guy is amazing. If Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Elton John combined their sperm and bred a pop superchild, it would be Mika. He will rule pop music inside of the next two years. The most amazing part is that he played his first show just nine months ago. If you're a guy, you might feel a little wierd liking this music, but it's just too much fun. Give in, buy the album, go to the show
The Roots - Lots of fun. Great live band, though it would be more fun to see them at a smaller venue.
Willie Nelson - What can I say? Everyone's gotta see Willie sometime. Plus, it was his birthday. I think I'm still stoned from all of the people in the crowd who lit up when he came on.
The Klaxons, !!! - Both got tremendous buzz in chatrooms after the festival. I missed their sets, but I can't wait to check them out.
Manu Chao - Very fun Mexican band that played just before Rage. The best part was when the frontman delivered an anti-Bush diatribe in Spanglish that no one could understand. It was high comedy.
Rage Against The Machine - I can die happy.
-T
