…and had the absolute time of my life. It would be difficult not to while surrounded by 90,000 passionate music lovers and some of the best modern musical talent for three straight days; not to mention the beautiful setting. Larger than life sculptures were scattered across the polo grounds set against my beloved desert landscape. My favorites were the enormous, neon dandelions (“Wish” by San Francisco artist Robert Buchholz) and the return of the giant tesla coils (“Cauac Twins” by Syd Klinge) which have appeared for several years.
I caught about 25 performances over the weekend, including:
Cold War Kids
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Black Keys
Kings of Leon
Freelance Whales
Tallest Man on Earth
Gogol Bordello (most fun, hands down)
Delta Spirit
Mumford & Sons
The Swell Season
Empire of the Sun
Arcade Fire (Mind. Blowing.)
City and Colour
Jimmy Eat World (awesomely nostalgic)
The National (against the backdrop of a vibrant sunset… unforgettable)
Ratatat
The Strokes
Kanye West (… had to stick around and see if he’d pull any stunts.)
This was my fifth Coachella and definitely won’t be my last. I feel so lucky to live a stone’s throw away from one of the top music festivals in the country. One of these days I’d love to experience Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Wanderlust, or any of the other big fests. Adding it to my bucket list!
