This post is almost two months old and has been sitting in my drafts, completed with the exception of a picture I didn’t have on hand when I wrote it. I forgot about it, it became dated, and it has sat in my drafts feeling sad and lonely. I made some minor changes to fix date references, but in case I missed any, that’s why. Mostly, this is now just filler because I wrote it and…well…yeah. That’s it. That’s the entire reason this is happening. If you’re new here, go back to my previous post on my childhood humiliation. If you’re bored and/or love Coachella half as much as I do…onward:
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On Tuesday Too long ago for this to still be relevant, my obsession, Coachella had a big announcement to make. I was working a day shift at my Abandoned Mall Job, and had loads of time to obsess over this big news. Unfortunately for me and everyone following me on Twitter, my friends were busy being real people and the best friend is probably the only person I know who cares about this anywhere near this much. Her absence this year was a bit of a crushing blow, particularly during my favoritebandatmyfavoriteplace moment.
To summarize: in 2012 the festival is expanding to two weekends. In theory, the lineup and art and everything should be the exact same. They are also openinged up a week long ticket pre-sale, starting June 3rd.
At first I stared blankly at the computer with my “wtf mate?” face on.
The next reaction was frustration. Frustration that they tried to pretend that this was all for the benefit of us loyal fans, instead of owning the reality: the business folk who took over the festival a few years ago witnessed the insanity of this year’s ticket sales and saw an opportunity to double their paychecks. For the most part, I try to refrain from commenting on the ways in which they have been maximizing event profit over the last few years. Every year something new is noticeable, but (1) the change has been gradual -and- (2) yes, someone’s going to make money off of this. It’s silly to pretend otherwise or to complain about that reality. Putting on an event of this scale involves a substantial team and a lot of work and those people have to get paid. Deal with it.
So I reminded myself of that little speech. The two weekends deal also bothers me because it makes me feel like the event is diluted somehow by being split in half. Or maybe it’s just the uncomfortable feeling of change.
The biggest grievance I have is the fact that they gave a couple days notice for people to make plans for something that is over ten months away. Of course, they learned with this most recent Coachella that there is now a loyal enough base (hey girl hey!) to secure decent ticket sales before a lineup is even published. Even for this weird new experiment. The lack of warning makes me feel like that loyalty is being taken advantage of.
But then I remember how much it sucked that the one person who has been with me since the beginning couldn’t go. I thought of all the other people I know who probably would have gone, if they had more of an opportunity.
I started going to this festival in 2003. I was a freshman in high school and we had just left California. It fell right around my birthday. I was obsessed with Rooney and anything that involved going back to California. Back then it was a two day festival and passes for each day were sold individually. We had a time share in Palm Springs, several desert towns over from Indio, where the festival is held. My birthday present that year was four Sunday passes to Coachella. I took three of my closest friends — two of whom had never been to a concert before — and it is the single happiest memory I have from that whole wretched year. I discovered all sorts of new music and had this amazing experience with friends I feared I was losing. I was in awe of the overall atmosphere — obviously a substantially higher turnout than any of the bar or even amphitheater concerts I had previously attended, and yet the vibe was just so…happy. This experience was a far cry from the many other concerts my emo-kid self attended.
Speaking of attendance: I don’t know what the numbers were that year. I could probably google it. I know that a few years later Madonna played one of the two days. I think it was Sunday, and it was supposedly the first time that the festival sold out and I recall hearing the number 40,000. Every year after that, attendance broke records as capacity was increased.
What comprises the festival grounds has expanded over the years. The stage set-up was more or less the same (barring smaller additions like the Oasis dome) but the grounds themselves were smaller. You didn’t have nearly as many interactive elements. No DJ-stage-operated-by-hamster-wheels-and-bicycles, no ferris wheel (I think 2009 was the first time I saw that). No on-site camping either, which certainly expanded how much of the Empire Polo Field’s grounds they use, though I have yet to add that to my list of Coachella experiences.
Obviously less of the corporate presence — no tents for companies like H&M or Sony. In 2004, the festival was the first weekend in May (1st and 2nd, I think) and that Sunday it set record heat for that weekend. In the middle of the fucking desert. It was around 115 degrees outside and KROQ had the only air conditioned tent at the festival. Pretty shitty AC at that. If you’ve been in the last few years, you know that nearly every tent except for the actual performance tents now has some air conditioning. It’s a big part of how they get people inside.
I have watched this festival grow and change. Hearing about massive changes like this from a distance always makes me uneasy (I was furious when they forced three-day passes in 2009). However, I have also felt, once I actually get there, that same general euphoria that I felt the first year. It feels like home. I don’t know any other way to describe my attachment to this festival.
Each year when that lineup is posted, it marks the beginning of my new music exploration for the year. Once you’re actually there, you wind up with gaps in your personal lineup or bands you see in order to get close for whoever is up next. Or a band that your friend really wants to see. Or about a half dozen other ways you are bound to hear several acts you had not heard before. Pulling numbers out of my ass, it’s probably a reasonable guess to say that something like half of the music I listen to now (after all these years as a Coachella attendee) has been discovered through this festival.
And every single year I am desperately trying to convince other friends and people I love that they need to come too. They need to come be a part of it. Their presence is always the only thing I can think of to make it better. All of my bitching aside, I can’t help but be grateful that I have a better chance to make that happen. I also get to watch Coachella take another big step. Regardless of whether or not I’ll admit it, I think I’ve made it pretty clear that all of this change gives me a sense of glee that I get to be a something of a Coachella veteran. I can lay claim to having watched all of these changes. I can play the “I remember when it was …” card.
Last December they tried out this pre-sale business. Passes were released for a short period of time, well ahead of the lineup. In January, when the lineup was announced and ticket sales reopened, it took all of eleven days to sell out. The 2009 festival (the first year of the wristbands and the three-days-or-no-days policy) didn’t sell out until about a week before. In years before that they never sold out the whole weekend.
Part of how the festival has reached this point was the sheer number of people like me who went, fell in love, and resolved to go back every single year. In that way nothing has been diluted because this is something I feel like I am a part of. A trivial part, perhaps, but a part all the same.
I will be returning for 2012. Yes, it might be my sole trip back to the US in 2012, but fuck if I’m letting a silly thing like moving to another country keep me away… My pass for weekend one has been purchased. (And as of a week ago, our room is booked!) Hopefully I’ll get to see a few more familiar faces there.