Tent city is filling up outside of the gates of the Coachella music festival. Most of the tents are low, dome-shaped, “Globetrekker” types.
Tent city is fenced off, and guards aren’t being nice to people who try to sweet-talk their way inside without authorization. Tent city check-in is the first hurdle for campers attending the festival. The line rivals some of the lesser Fantasyland attractions at Disneyland.
The next hurdle is Ticketmaster, and folks trying to buy have been walking away empty-handed.
There is a backup at the entrance because everybody gets patted down. Single males get their own express lane.
Once inside, the first stop is the T-shirt tent, where people are in line up to four deep. Same goes for the ID tent for people trying to get into the beer gardens.
—Fielding Buck
fbuck@PE.com