DIGITAL JOURNALIST
Coachella has turned up to be lucrative for at least one local high school. For the third year in a row, Vancouver, Wash.-based West Coast Events has partnered with Cathedral City High School athletics to sell gyros and earn money for the school’s programs at the same time.
Last year, hungry fans netted the high school’s football team $4,500. Football coach Mitch Donnelly is hoping for much of the same this year.
Because ironic tees can often be a barometer for public sentiment, what does the public at Coachella want?
To “Free Katie Holmes” and “Barack to the Future.”
Granted, there wasn’t a Republican choice available.
The shirt slogans are two of the most popular offered up by Brooklyn, NY, shirt maker Neighborhoodies, one of just 10 independent vendors allowed to set up shop in the venue this year.
“It’s kind of an honor,” said company founder and president Michael de Zayas.
It’s the only music festival the company has sold its wares at, citing Coachella as the biggest among their peers.
While their location is lackluster (in between the portable bathrooms and the lockers at the entrance) compared to their festival appearance two years ago (facing the main stage), they have a best seller — a T-shirt with a wigged-Obama and the slogan “Barack Me Amadeus.”
OK, so Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip’s set was great yesterday.
And, as promised, they brought 5,000 fans, of the cooling off kind, to their set at the Gobi tent yesterday afternoon.
The pair flew in from the U.K. just for the show and stayed in between LAX and Indio in a little town called Colton.
The pair played the Gobi tent Friday evening, the smallest of the three tents at Coachella.
“It’s the perfect size for us,” Pip said.
The duo gave out fans made to look like Pip’s beard, out to audience members. On the back, it says “Just a Fan,” a play on the repetitive “Just a band” lines in the duo’s song “Thou Shalt Always Kill.”
Pip got very excited during the interview and lost track of what he was saying when he saw Alice from Goldfrapp walking by, fanning herself with his beard.
So if you have any photos of people with Pip’s beard, send them in. Here’s mine:
Dan Le Sac was great, but a little bummed because he missed Battles to do press. But we still love you, Dan!
OK, I got some of my dancing out. And then I passed out on the lawn. Just kidding, but it is hotter than even Buster Poindexter can start a conga line about.
Even VHS or Beta has felt the heat, even if it is in a little bit different way.
“You guys have put a real warm feeling in our hearts,” singer Craid Pfunder told the crowd in front of the Coachella stage. “Thank you for being here so early.”
VHS or Beta are really fun. I have their first CD but I think it translates much better live.
Here are a couple of other pix for you:
VHS or Beta has jumpstarted the hot, hot, hot day two of Coachella with some ignitable dance rock. I know it’s too hot too boogie, but I just might have to, like in “Footloose” when Kevin Bacon just has to dance, dance, dance it out because he’s so angry, so very angry.
I’m not angry, I just want to dance.
I knew my luck was too good to be true.
Last year at Coachella, I only got stuck in traffic leaving for one night and that was for only 45 minutes or so and I’ve never been stuck in traffic going into the festival.
I even thought I hit the jackpot yesterday because I got a decent parking space where I could pull out and was closer to the exit, or so I thought.
I ended up sitting in traffic for two hours trying to leave, along with everyone else in lot 3. And by sitting in traffic I mean, not moving, and it got to the point where it was like the R.E.M. video for “Everybody Hurts” and getting out of their cars.
“I can’t believe this,” lamented Sean Rocca, of Newport Beach, incredulous at the jam since the festival is in its ninth run.
“They don’t have the logistics down?” he asked.
He figured it would have been quicker to walk the 3.5 miles to his parents’ house in La Quinta.
Others were annoyed, but said it wasn’t unexpected.
“This is typical. I think you accept it when you come here,” said Matt Hooker, of San Francisco, who was attending his second Coachella.
His friend, David Taylor, also of San Francisco, suggested that since the festival spends money on production of the shows, “they could afford to build a better road out here.”
The pair then amused themselves by making up rumors about why the traffic was so jammed, including an elaborate story which included a shattered gas tank (that part was true, the vehicle ran over something and cracked the tank, it was next to my car) and an alien being born out of it and getting revenge.
The real reason?
An officer from Indio PD said that departure traffic from three major lots were being put into one lane and much bottlenecking ensued.
Here’s a special treat for you. Amanda Lucidon, just one of the fine photo staff at The Press-Enterprise, went on the Coachella Express Thursday afternoon from Los Angeles to Indio. Oh yeah, and Junkie XL was on the train DJ-ing. How cool is that?
Read her take on the train below:
It was different than any train I’ve ever been on. The Coachella Express was a party on rails. Live electronic DJs in several railroad cars, a 2ft by 4 ft. makeshift dance floor, VIP passes to Coachella Music and Arts festival, ice cream sandwiches, magazines-the perks kept on coming on this 3 hour train ride from L.A. to Indio. And did I mention it was all free?
Goldenvoice, the festival’s producer, and Amtrak partnered to provide transportation for 300 campers from Los Angeles’ Union Station to Indio for the three day music festival in efforts to reduce the event’s carbon footprint.
“What’s the catch?” Several passengers from around the globe asked themselves the same question when they received information about the free train via e-mail.
“I thought it was a great service because until a week ago I didn’t know how I would get down to Coachella. I just assumed it was near L.A. and it’s really not,” said Alex Moore, 18, of Bristol, England.
He said that considering most festivals are trying to add extra costs onto the price of a ticket, a free train ride was a generous offer.
The Coachella Express couldn’t be found on the Union Station departure marquee, but a stream of music fans seemed to know exactly where they were going.
Platforms 11 and 12 marked the passageway to the desert’s largest music festival.
“It was like Harry Potter going to Hogwart’s and we were all going to disappear and go to this special festival,” said Jordan Fulawka , 23 of Manatoba.
Serj Tankian’s Coachella set started with the sound of gunfire and explosions, while the stage lights mimiced flashes.
He called his music “romantic music for the end of a civilization.”
Note to self: Buy “Elect the Dead” as soon as possible.
Serj Tankian’s work with System of a Down and on his solo album speaks out very clearly about political issues.
So it seemed natural that his Coachella audience would include deep thinkers.
Todd Newkirk, 21, of San Diego, wore a modified military shirt that had an anarchy symbol spray-painted over the stripes on the chest and the phrase, “Art is resistance.” He said he thinks the mix of politics and music is important.
“It’s not necessary; you can have good music without the politics,” he said. “But you’re using music as a way to bring issues to people who might not hear them.”
And he thinks that’s necessary.
“I think we’re in a situation that demands more attention.”
The audience is “ready, willing and needs to hear these messages.”
Glen Hansard also spoke about performing at last year’s Coachella festival with his band, The Frames.
He said there was a big difference between this year’s set, which started at 8:25 p.m., and last year’s, which he said was at noon.
“Us Irishmen, we fall apart” under bright sunlight.
And he wins the award for best analogy while trying to explain how he felt about the success of “Falling Slowly.”
“You know when you’re playing with a ball? And you hope you kick it and it goes far?
“This is like you kick the ball and it goes over the wall, and you think to yourself, ‘Did I really kick the ball that hard?’ ”
Later he gave away a man’s secret to trying to pull one over on women: “Sidestep, guffaw and slip into nonsense.”