Coachella 2014. There and Back Again.

Im often asked which is the best festival experience. Glastonbury was always hands down. The history. The vibe. The diverse acts. The size. The journey.

But after two weeks in the Palm Springs desert recently, I think Coachella is not far behind. Like all of them - the experience comes at a cost. Not just to your wallet but your legs, throat, liver. Friendships. Reality.

If Weekend One was partying and festivities, the second one felt a bit like work. If you can call it that! I was lucky enough to receive an artist pass from my friend Bjorn who was tour manager for Netsky. After tossing up whether I was ready for another weekend in the desert, it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. After grabbing a strong coffee in Silverlake I soon hustled a ride with some kiwi musicians living in LA.  Getting dropped off at the Indian Wells Tennis Center to pick up my ticket, I found a ride to the venue and came in the VIP entrance.

The artist pass gave access to backstage festivities as musicians, agents, managers and friends gathered around riders from buckets of ice, enjoying the limited hospitality and industry chat. Large TV's broadcast the festival while people chomped on the free ice creams on offer. Everyone seemed friendly and professional, all with a purpose and confidence warranted of being backstage at such an iconic festival. I bumped into Amanda Dunbar who worked for R&V and was a working for a charity on site. She offered me a place in her tent in the staff campsite which was an ideal accommodation option, just a stone's throw from the main entrance.

I took the long way around the outside of the festival and was able to get access to watch Capital Cities from the side of stage.  Dillon Francis was warming things up in the Sahara Tent, bringing out Martin Garrix – the DJ of the moment. The Rose Garden was a divine enclosure with mixologists and cocktails. A large dinner party was taking place in the unique setting amongst the thorns. I had not even known it existed from previous attendances.

From there it was back to the main stage to watch Queens of the Stone Age. They had remained elusive from me for sometime. Heavy, tight, grunty with Josh Homme in full control of some of the best session musicians around. The drummer especially prominant. I now understand the respect and appreciate the hype! Backstage I ran into Boris and his girlfriend along with Bridget one of the singers from Rudimental. We shared a golf cart around to Outdoor stage to watch Pharrell. The guest pit was full but we scrambled around back behind the catering until we found a tent to jump through and found a possie. He had an eventful week in LA with Disclosure, Rudimental. Ed Sheeran, and Ellie Goulding all getting up to mischief. Along with meetings with top line producers.  Exciting times ahead.  Meanwhile as we conversed Pharrell dropped his smash hits Get Lucky, Blurred Lines and Happy bringing our Usher and Jay Z in the process! He seemed a lot more confident and on point than playing in the sand storm the week before.

Pharell / Jay Z - Coachella 2014

  

The Artists pass gave access to the pit so I was super excited to catch Muse again.  I was able to see the guitar god that is Matt Bellamy from about 10 meters away. I studied Matt intricately on the guitar to find a fault but to no avail. Guitars and bass were changed each song to remain in key. The balls of the band is really bassist Chris Holm who brings the rock with his thundering distorted bass. Bellamy’s guitar work is ridiculous. His singing is the only thing that perhaps niggles me, but his pompous rock opera-like vocals covers 4 octaves not unlike his idol Freddy Mercury. It is unlikely to see a more complete musician and I left suitably inspired as Saturday night came to a close.

Muse - Madness

Staying on site meant I was up at 8am as the sun beat down our tent. If that didn’t get me out of bed the sound of Arcade Fire sound-checking soon did. I was over to the campground to check out the set up and have some breakfast from the long line of food vendors.  Fresh Fruit, avocado on toast and iced coffee was a great way to start the day. Meanwhile the young campers were fueling up on breakfast burritos ready for the long day ahead.

I arrived just after gates opened and caught up with kiwi friend Tom Worley who was managing the PA on the main stage. It has become an annual visit to the front of house to catch up with him and hear the industry and festival goss. The music programming of the main stage is a bit like R&V with more reggae and funk acts in the afternoon so saw fantastic trombonist band from New Orleans along with reggae / ska Fishbone.

I was into the vortex of the Yuma Tent at 2pm to see Martinez Bros whose mixes have been the soundtrack to my trip so far courtesy of my friend Trent Bowler. Their deep progressive house is all the rage at cutting edge festivals like BPM in Mexico.  Poolside and STRFKRS provided a chilled warm-up to the evenings festivities. Frank Turner is one artist I have admired for some time and his band of punk troubadours did not disappoint. Although I probably would rather see them in a muddy UK field or at a rowdy pub after a few pints. On to The 1975 whose dreamy mumbly indie rock seems unchallenged by the current crop of bands coming through.

 Frank Turner - Photosynthesis

1975 - Chocolate

Poolside - Harvest Moon

STRFCKRS - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I was able to sync up with some kiwi friends to watch The Naked and Famous. Definitely had a shiver down the spine as they dropped their hit Young Blood. Amazing to think a little band from NZ playing to a huge crowd on the main stage. With the success of them and Lorde anything is possible!

After checking out Little Dragon from side of stage, I found Netsky crew over at the catering. A well stocked and healthy buffet kept everyone fed and prepped for the night ahead. The band were chilled, probably excited to end their run and have a break. We had a couple of drinks back stage with Rudimental who had just come off a memorable performance in the Mojave tent.

As Boris and crew began their pre match rituals I popped out to see Arcade Fire with the kiwis. They began with the well publicized Paft Dunk spoof. At first it was an OMG moment but the joke soon fell flat. Perhaps a weekend or even a year too late in my eyes. Loved seeing the band again though. Ready to Start and We Exist were two songs that stood out. And my new favourite Afterlife.

Arcade Fire - Afterlife

I awoke again to the sun beating down. Poking head out of the tent the carpark. Amanda was not due to finish work until the mid afternoon. I started the long walk to town to grab some lunch and wait for her before making the trip back into LA.

Thanks Coachella. What weekend to do again? I seriously think the double header is the way to go. The first weekend is all the hype. The celebs. The special guests. The intensity that the festival lacks as a whole compared to their European counterparts.

Then the second week is perfect to attend in an industry / music lover capacity.  The crowd feels more real and intimate. Less sceney. Easy to pop between stages. The artists are more relaxed too. You can catch up on seeing acts you hadn’t seen the week before.

The only thing I would try and do different is stay as close to the venue as possible. The transport each night is a ball ache and can really drag at the end of the night. Also far away from distractions of getting caught at a pool party for too long!