Guest Post - Jeremiah Hayes (concert-goer extraordinaire)

...and my oldest friend just returned from Coachella several days ago.  He saw Kimora Lee Simmons at LAX on his way home which clearly sounds like it would be the highlight of the trip but apparently the concert itself was.  I've asked Jeremiah to tell us about it.

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Hello, this is Ann's friend Jeremiah, in the blog's first guest post. I've been invited by Ann to write about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, otherwise known simply as Coachella. It's a festival that began in 1999, and I've been to nine out those eleven years. It's a great festival, and if you know me, you've probably heard me talk about it. You may have even read about it in the news. And speaking of the news, let's go ahead and get to this elephant in the room: at the 2009 edition of the festival, I was prominently featured in a photograph taken by and published in the NEW YORK TIMES. That's A-list celebrity status, folks. Here's the proof:

As Ann says, I look like "the village idiot" in this picture, and while that may or may not be true, it does hang on her refrigerator, and this village idiot was in the NEW YORK TIMES.

So, back in September of 1999, I was living in Denver, having just started law school. I noticed a flyer in a local record store for this two-day festival called Coachella, taking place in Indio, California, with a list of bands and DJs that pretty much covered everything I listened to at the moment. At the time, I had connections to record companies from my stint writing for the Daily Texan at UT, so I was able to score tickets and a photo pass for the festival. I arranged to meet up with a friend of my roommate in LA who I had met once when she visited Denver. And by sheer luck, one of my classmates had won tickets to the festival with hotel; we were offered the floor to sleep on when we arrived. So I landed in LA (pre-cell phone) and waited for my roommate's friend, who was an hour late. That was nerve-wracking, but everything turned out ok, and the weekend was great. It was also hot: 115 degrees.

The festival took a hiatus in 2000, but it returned in a much cooler April of 2001 as a one-day festival. This is one of the years I missed. In 2002, though, the festival came back as a 2-day event, and it hasn't stopped since. Once my friends and I saw the lineup that year, travel arrangements were quickly made. This time, one of my law school classmates offered his parents' condo in Palm Springs. I've been going ever since, and the festival has grown to three days and tens of thousands of people.

What makes Coachella so great? First in my book is the music. I've seen tons of smaller bands and DJs, but also huge names like Prince, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, Madonna, and many more. But the grounds themselves are what makes Coachella stand out. This festival takes place in the desert, yet the grounds are a massive polo field, so you are on a grassy, flat field, lined with palm trees, and mountains set in the near distance. It's a very real oasis. The weather in April ranges from the mid-80's to near 100, depending on the year, but as soon as the sun goes down, it's chilly. The air is dry, so even if it does hit the high 90's, it's nothing compared to the Texas summer. The festival offers camping on site, but it's close enough to Palm Springs and other desert towns with plenty of hotels, you don't have to camp (unlike other festivals like Bonaroo). And unlike most events, they don't gouge you on water – it's only $2, and you can refill it for free.

As the title states, this is a music and arts festival, and the art is a lot of fun too. There are massive installations that change every year, from the double Tesla coil producing actual purple lightning, to a fire-breathing dragon sculpture and massive trails of LED-lit balloons. Some installations are interactive, like the robot that wanders the grounds and converses with festival goers, or the crazy morphing mirror that made its debut this year.

It's also family-friendly – there are plenty of strollers and little ones with big headphones on. There are also attendees of an older age, so it really encompasses a wide range of people. It's not perfect – sometimes the traffic can be a mess, and port-a-potties are never fun, but overall, it's a nice vibe with nice people enjoying all types of music and art in a beautiful, natural setting.

I've included pictures here, but if you want to see more, check out my Flickr pages:

2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

If Ann approves, I'll be back in another post in the near future. Two words: pad thai.