Had friends tell me it was very crowded which made sense with 25k extra tickets or whatever they sold. What was everyone else who went feelings?
Also quick FYI for Weekend 2 peeps - my only real logistical headache this year was the Uber line was damn awful. You have to walk a good 30-45 minutes out of the polo fields to the Uber line, and when we finally get there at like 1:40 a good 40 mins after Radiohead, the line was a damn nuthouse. They changed it this year so you don't meet your driver, you just call an Uber and get in line and jump into cars as they swing by (like a taxi stand). Works great on paper, but was terrible in practice - people cutting lines, line rails not working and just causing massive pileups, etc. We bailed after 10-15 mins of waiting and getting nowhere and had to retract a bit to get out of the fields, then had to just walk up and down Madison to pick up a car. Ubers refuse to pick up their so we needed to call a Lyft. Finally got picked up around 2:15 AM, which sucked because our house is only about 2.5 miles away to the opposite direction of the Ubers, so had we known it would have been such a cluster, we would have left in the direction of our house and called a Lyft on the way (as we did nights 2-3 to decent results). Anyway, just saying if Uber is your way home, try to avoid at all costs and plan a day park / shuttle trip now unless you hear it got much, much better.
There was also a taxi line we discovered the last night that wasn't packed at all. We didn't use it because we're fucking dumb and high, but it had a lot of cars and little amount of people.
We saw that too during our Night 1 clusterfuck, but there was enough people in line and few enough taxis we still estimated 30-45 mins to get in a car so just took off walking. We were still home in ~90 mins so I'm not trying to be too petty, just saying i did NOT need those 3 miles of walking and arguments with my group at 2 AM lol
Ended up getting into Coachella Sunday evening. Got there in time to catch Hans Zimmer and Kendrick. The WeedMaps party I worked at all weekend was pretty nuts too. They gave me over a thousand dollars worth of Weed, Vape pens, gifts and swag.
Ended up doing 7 tabs myself through the weekend. Life changing experience. To Movement in the end of May and Oregon Eclipse in August.
Here’s my rundown of the weekend. Skipped describing sets that I mostly watched from the beer garden while paying a little attention to (Banks, Little Dragon) or caught a song or two of while walking by (Mac Demarco) and focused on stuff I saw most of the set. Overall had a fantastic three days in a year I initially perceived as less rock heavy as other years (where my main interests lie). A very deep bench of sets that could have been in my top 4-10 range of the weekend with the top three sticking out as my favorite moments of the weekend and entering my Coachella classics rolodex. Friday King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, A-, First full set of the day answered the “will there be any moshing at a Coachella without much heavy punk/hard rock presence?” question pretty quickly. Raucous set, but with these guys putting out music at an insane velocity, they only played 3 songs off their breakthrough album last year and 2 off the new record with most of their set being brand new or older material. So I wasn’t as familiar with the material as I wished and it took a set that could have been next level into just being great Bonobo, B, Granted we watched a half set from the beer garden (this is my one exception to the preface ha) but the set didn’t go over as bad as expected in the mid-day sun. Just hard to connect with on an energy level from such an open space. Glass Animals, A-, Perfect early evening main stage set. A ton of energy with the crowd into it and they really seemed to seize their performance on such a big stage. Lead singer may have been exaggerating his broken leg a bit, but maybe not, and maybe who cares given the energy they brought Father John Misty, A, Somewhere along the way he became a superstar and I’m not quite sure where, but this will go down as one of his breakthrough performances. Live band sounded great, incredible stage presence and great pacing even with the newer songs Guided by Voices, B+, This is somewhat due to my ignorance; the performance was great but when you’re seeing a band with 100 records (almost literally) it’s impossible to know what you’re getting or what you’d connect with. Band lived up to the raucous promise with Uncle Bob passing out beers to the crowd about 30 minutes into the set, but I was ready to move to the main stage slightly thereafter with only 1-2 of their classics being played the XX, A, Another act that has completely re-worked their live game to which it almost seems like a different band. While before they traded on minimalism and light textures, now they’ve filled their sound out with Jamie’s beats and full song builds. They still have the shy, awkward stage presence, but that’s part of what makes them endearing Radiohead, B+, Everything was set up for a fantastic performance capping an insane day of music, but you can’t ignore the sound issues. Per some online purusing it seems like it was their band’s digital mixer that malfunctioned, but whatever it was, it really hurt the set through the first 30 minutes. It went smoothly from there and the band laced about as hits heavy of a setlist as they’ll ever give, but a tough break no matter the reason Saturday Mitski, B+, Good showcase of an act whose songwriting seems to be trending ahead of her live show but is quickly narrowing the ground. Some fantastic highs, but clearly seemed a little stiff from performing in a setting like that. Sound also seemed a little low at points but maybe I’m imagining that. I imagine she’ll be back in ’19 as a killer live act supporting a new record. Not at all disappointing; just more a show about how much she can still grow as a live act Car Seat Headrest, B+, Clearly confidence is no longer an issue for him sporting a Dumb and Dumber turquoise suit. Band sounded very good and clear they’ve developed a lot live. Not an expert in their catalog but the singles sounded great and one song sounded like it rambled a bit long and lost the crowd for a minute Roisin Murphy, B, Not exactly sure what her goal with this set was, but seemed to be way more of an experimental, playful set to humor herself than to win over new fans. Didn’t play any of her big bold pop selections, with I believe just one song off “Overpowered.” It wasn’t bad, just clear that she was up there playing what she wanted to without much regard for the crowd Warpaint, A, This was a real “Coachella moment” set for me. Lead singer came out to the stage wearing a sports bra that said “Eat More Pu***” – doesn’t get more confident than that. They then proceeded to play a dynamic set that was moody, intricate, swirling, and electric. It was a spell-binding blend of rock, pop, and dance music that completely caught me off guard. So much so that the first time I checked my phone I realized I was going to miss the start of Bon Iver if I didn’t leave immediately. They then closed with “Love is to Die” into “New Song” and it made that decision immediately worth it. YES I know there’s absolutely nothing rare about Warpaint – they probably play a dozen SoCal shows a year – and YES I know Future, Moderat, and Royksopp were playing at the same time, but in that moment it was perfect Bon Iver, A-, My first time seeing Bon Iver live and caught me off guard with the noise and strength of the full band working in unison. There were heavy guitar breakdowns and moments where Justin seemed more orchestra conductor than singer/songwriter. Unfortunately missed the first 3 – and maybe best 3 – songs from the new full album due to sticking around Warpaint. It was a conflict I could have never drawn out on paper but felt perfect in the moment, and after still seeing 40-45 minutes of Bon Iver, I wouldn’t change it Nicolas Jaar, INCL, Giving an incomplete grade, just saying he starts with ~15 minutes of ambient noise and we bounced at around minute 12 because we wanted to see Gaga in full. I was sort of expecting this, and for Weekend 2 I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays with expectations by going heavy on his best live stuff early and ending with the ambient noise late. Just saying to be prepared for anything Lady Gaga, A, Not the pop set I wanted (that was Beyonce) but maybe the pop set I needed. I’m sure Beyonce’s 2018 set will have a much deeper, impactful message on politics, womanhood, motherhood, all of these, or something completely different, but there was zero harm in just an all-out fun as hell pop set highlighting joy, sex, love and everything else. Maybe instead of making some sort of bold political statement, we just needed a set to make us forget about everything for 100 minutes? Production was massive, her confidence was off the charts, and what a career move for her to be able to step in and deliver, having 100k people remember how many hits she really does have Sunday Skepta, B, Maybe it was playing rap music in an airline hanger of a tent, maybe it was my unfamiliarity other than “Konnichiwa,” or maybe it was just grime sounding just ok live, but it took me a long time to connect with this set until he closed with “Shutdown” into “Man.” Ended up being 8 fun minutes of moshing but kept the overall experience down a bit Future Islands, A, What an intense, emotional, resonant experience. These guys have known how to rise to the occasion at every turn for the last 3-4 years and they turned in a tremendous performance. Pure connection with the audience and Sam never makes any doubt about how much he’s pouring his soul into every note of every song. With only 4 of their 12 songs coming from the new album, they did a good job of working in new material with the old hits. Just a fantastic set Hans Zimmer, A-, Another emotional experience at the outdoor theatre – doesn’t get much better than listening to “Circle of Life” with a field full of people. Hans seemed outgoing, gracious, and genuinely excited to be there (said something along the lines of “you’ve gotta be a little bit crazy to take an orchestra of 76 people and play in the middle of the desert, but that’s me!”). Only minor knock was I was a bit surprised by the lack of visuals incorporated into the performance, but I guess he just wanted to really focus on highlighting the sounds of the films Lorde, A-, I’m not sure I understood or was on board with the live visual theme going on (looked like 10-12 teenagers trapped in some glass cube simulating an awkward party?) but that’s besides the point. The real story is how well she can connect with an audience while still being so young, and how a handful of the “Pure Heroine” tracks and “Green Light” are certified euphoric live jams. I can do away with a couple of the “Coachella, all 100,000 of you look beautiful tonight!” but maybe that’s what makes her so endearing Kendrick Lamar, A-, I will say this – the highs of this performance were higher than any highs of the weekend. Opening with DNA into ELEMENT into King Kunta pretty much had us eating out of his hand; HUMBLE was amazing; the GKMC tracks all still get the crowd wild. Having the guts to release a new album this weekend, play most of it, and pull it off with a completely new, debut live show is a pretty bold and wild statement of just how in control of everything he is right now. That said, felt the 3 guest spots (all who had their own sets this weekend!) were a little over the top, the encore of just LOVE was a bit of a downer, and the Kung Fu Kenny clips went from interesting transition to “what’s going on here” early in the 2nd clip. Overall a tremendous set, but enough downside here to just keep it out of my top 5 Top 5 Sets: 1. Future Islands 2. Warpaint 3. Lady Gaga 4. Father John Misty 5. The XX
sitting in LAX waiting for my flight home. loved me some sampha, mura masa, majid jordan, galantis, future, dj snake, Dillon Francis, Gaga, and Kendrick was fucking legendary. great weekend overall
Agree with most of this. I had a slightly different experience for Hans Zimmer. I went in with high expectations and the show was great, but I was a little farther back with friends and we were surrounded by people that wouldn't stop talking. After the Gladiator portion I left my friends to move closer to the stage and had a much better time. Also, Radiohead without the sound issues was predictably amazing. We got Fake Plastic Trees which was incredible and I was so thankful they played it. Thought this was easily going to be my set of the weekend, but then Sunday night happened. My top 5 (not necessarily in order): Jagwar Ma - Currently one of my favorite bands. They do so much right... dance music with live bass, guitars, drum machines, synths, and mixers all done by three dudes who are rocking out the entire time. Radiohead - As I said before, their set was amazing and borderline perfect. The entire band are all so good at the instruments they play. Thom Yorke has a great voice, but with the ability to sound like he's completely given up on finding happiness in his life. It was beautiful, impressive, sad, and rewarding. FJM - Great voice, great performer, and I love the subject matter of his songs. Glass Animals - Great band for sunset on the main stage. New Order - Set of the weekend for me and one of the top 5 shows I've ever seen at Coachella. They played from 10:20 until 11:55 and even did a couple Joy Division songs for their encore. I'd never seen them before and I expected to like them, but they blew me away. They stretched each song out with jams but never strayed too far from the beat or melody of the song. The whole tent was getting down, with both band and crowd feeding off each other's energy. I'll remember this one for a loooong time.
My friend made me go to Majid with him and I am happy he did, awesome performance and I now listen to them regularly I'm probably the only one who went but also Gucci Mane bringing out 50 Cent and Chief Keef was great imo. He had Sahara rocking
He was probably my #1 must see heading into the festival Travis Scott was my favorite performance of the weekend
A buddy purchased two Coachella tickets for me, and another two Arcade Fire tickets to me, while I was in a music festival in Spain away from my CPU. It was at that moment I realized I may spend too much money on live music.
Eminem is fine with me. No desire to see Weeknd. I'm expecting a pretty awesome undercard this year given how many great bands released albums in 2017.
Expecting the lineup to drop in the next 36 hours since Boston Calling confirmed a Thursday release date. More specifically, think it happens today early afternoon (just a hunch).
Literally j-ing off in my mind. Supposed to be working in ATL til may. Hopefully able to come back tho
It's not literally run by Philip Anschutz. AEG operates AEG Live which operates Goldenvoice which runs Coachella. Paul Tollett, the CEO of Goldenvoice, runs Coachella and has probably 4-5 layers of management between him and Anschutz. AEG runs pretty much half the festivals in the country (including Firefly, Hangout, Panorama, FYF, etc. etc.) operates a ton of arenas - including Staples Center - and books tours of probably 1/3 of live acts. If you're boycotting Coachella, you have a whole ton of other shit to boycott too. Also, if you're boycotting giving money to billionaire Republicans, you've got a whole lot of shit to boycott on top of that.
Cross-posting here from the festival thread: Probably a long shot but figured I’d ask here... Anyone looking for Coachella weekend 1 ticket? Just found out today I tore my ACL and have to have surgery, so I won’t be able to go. Asking for cost $430. PM me if interested.
I know it's highly unlikely, but we've got a house rented walking distance to the Polo Grounds (in the development right across the street) that due to a couple late drop-outs has a couple open spots in it. Nice, new 3 bedroom house with pool, hot tub, etc. and like I said, short walk to the festival. Good group of fun people in our late 20s. If anyone knows anyone who needs housing and/or has a refundable hotel on hold and may be interested in staying in a house and learning more, shoot me a message and I'll send you more details.
Two days til I drive out - WOO HOO Set times probably out tonight, worst case early tomorrow. Map leaked but should be posted soon too. Lot of changes including the Sahara Tent increasing 25% in size and moving to the lower corner by the entrance, Mojave increasing size and moving to old Sahara, Sonora moving between the Gobi and Mojave, etc.
Still recovering, but that was a great weekend. Top 5 in order: 1) Greta Van Fleet - Hoooooly shit these guys lived up to my expectations and more. Singer can effortlessly hit insane notes and the band is incredible. Great stage presence from everyone. Don't care if they sound 'too much' like Zeppelin. It was a fucking blast and I'll definitely be seeing them again. 2) Portugal The. Man - They've been one of my favorite bands for years and Sleep Forever is one of my favorite songs. The end of their set when they did a Sleep Forever - Plastic Soldiers - Hey Jude medley was my favorite moment of the weekend. 3) Nile Rodgers & Chic - Was a little apprehensive about this due to the start time (3:00 pm), but luckily some clouds rolled in right as his set started so it wasn't too hot to dance. 4) FIDLAR - High energy So Cal punk rock. Fun set with a great mosh pit. 5) Soulwax - Been hoping to see this for years, but left a little underwhelmed. A great show, but not the transcendent performance I was expecting. St. Vincent, War on Drugs, David Byrne, X Japan, Jean-Michel Jarre, Jamiroquai, B0RNS, Jungle, and Chromeo were as great as you'd expect them to be. Japanese Breakfast, Benjamin Clementine, Ron Gallo, Sir Sly, Big Thief, and Fazerdaze were small-print acts that were impressive and will be billed higher in the future.