When Vanessa Franko, the Press-Enterprise’s veteran entertainment gal, asked if I’d like to help cover Coachella this year, I was embarrassingly a little unsure.
Vanessa, you sure you want me? A guy who’s never been to Coachella, or any festival so big — who’s admittedly far from any semblance of a music buff?
It only seemed to excite her more, that I would be such a rookie. Fresh set of eyes, she said. Pretend you’re a cultural historian.
I liked the sound of that, and so here I am. Hopefully I can highlight a few of the cool and random things that accompany the festival outside the music — some of the art installations (massive astronaut, anyone?) and the higher-end food that’s a first here this year — in addition to the people that travel from all over the country for this weekend-long party at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
It’s day one, the crowds are growing, and the weather is hot.
Here are a few first impressions and an initial walk-around of the festival grounds, in pictures:
The weather isn’t too bad — low 90s, with a few clouds. I’ve been told to expect heat, though. It’s quite a hike from the parking lot to the venue, and you’ve got to go through three checkpoints.
The merch tent was jam packed already, and it’s just after noon on day one. Get you swag on.
British singer-songwriter Tom Odell was rocking the Mojave tent, which had one of the larger crowds so early on in the day.
Whoa! Big astronaut was a hit with the iPhone photography crowd. We’ll have more on the many are pieces on display in a larger story later.
On the Outdoor Theater stage, it was Brooklyn hip hop group Flatbush Zombies getting the crowd rolling — and smoking — with lyrics like “Murder! Murder! What you gonna do when them zombies come for you?”
A likely refuge for me later on in this festival weekend will be the foliage-covered snail structure. Plants sit on the outside, you sit on the inside.
Check back for some food taste-tests later tonight. And follow me on Twitter, @lramseth, or shoot me an email if you’d like me to check something out, lramseth@pe.com. Help a rookie out.