We were checked out by Bob who commented “Woah! This is the healthiest shop i’ve ever seen… and you’re going to wash it all down with beer.” Damn straight Bob.

After more driving we arrived in Indio, completing the long drive from Grand Canyon. It’s hard to believe that in the morning we were in -10C and the very same afternoon when we arrived it was 35C! Talk about one extreme to the other! I have been looking forward to this festival for a long time with great interest on how an American electronic music festival would differ from the ones we have at home. My first thought was that it would be much larger and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. It was enormous! It was also extremely well organised.

As we got there on the Friday afternoon we had managed to miss most of the rush (which arrived the night before) and just drove straight in and set up camp. Nighttime is when the festival really came to life, it was noticeably colder at night and I actually had to put my jeans on and a cardigan, it’s strange how much the temperatures fluctuate in the desert.

A few things that stood out to me in terms of Coachella’s look and organisation:

1. You have an electronic wristband and have to be scanned in and out of the festival every time you enter and leave – the campsite is a separate area. Bag checks are thorough. There was no huge security presence but when we did come across them they were courteous and polite. No egos here.

2. No drinking anywhere in the festival except for designated beer gardens – this sounds like a shit rule but I think it really worked. The atmosphere of the party was friendly and welcoming the entire weekend and I felt that they maintained that vibe by ensuring that people didn’t get so smashed. It was a younger crowd average age around 25 but also very diverse – great for people watching

3. Amazing neon art and sculptures… there was so much to see including an amazing electricity sculpture that would go off intermittently throughout the evening. The stages (8 of them) were also really well themed with state of the art high tech lighting. One of them was in an igloo type building, which was like a fridge. Perfect for escaping the extreme weather during the day.

4. They have huge phone charging stations with many power points all over for anyone to charge their phone or iPod. They also having anything else you could need including the expected crap food stalls, General store, arts and crafts tent and a roller derby! Awesome.

5. One of my favourite things about Coachella was that every night the perimeter of the festival was surrounded by powerful spotlights, which went high in the night sky making you feel like you were in a massive tepee! Was a pretty cool effect and made it feel like quite the community.

All up we had a pretty chilled out time (by my standards anyway!) The heat was too oppressive during the day to venture from the shade of our campsite and in all honesty we were so exhausted from the jetlag and first week that chilling was perfect. In the evening we went and saw some great acts and art. Some standouts were Lauryn Hill, Beardyman, Scissor Sisters, Freq Nasty and Leftfield. I really enjoyed The Presets also and was surprised by what a large following they had. With so many stages there was never going to be enough time to see everything we wanted. We met up with our friend Kate who was also there from Sydney for the festival, she had also done Coachella last year with TK and Sarah and it was great to hang out with her.

Once Monday rolled around we were well and truly ready for a night in a bed and a nice long hot shower. We said our goodbyes to Matt and Ange and drove down to LA. Thank god for the iPhone and Google maps! Both Simo and myself were slightly concerned about tackling the mega freeways of LA but we managed just fine. We stopped at Denny’s Diner for lunch on the way. Like Blueberry Diner in Vegas this did not disappoint with the ridiculous food options – it was Bacon week so what better to eat than a bacon sundae topped with maple syrup and more bacon!

It sounds gross (something tells me it’s probably moreish) and we chose not to try it. Instead I opted for a grilled chicken salad, the healthiest thing on the menu. With that and a gym session at the hotel I am starting to feel normal again.. On the plane to Canada and Matty as I write so stay tuned for our next instalment!

Photos