Music, the desert & finding peace in the dance tent…

I am so glad I went.

There were a million reasons why Coachella wasn’t a good idea.  I had been sick for 10 days.  I shouldn’t be spending money when my job is uncertain.  I had to leave late Thursday night, after Parent Night, meaning a long drive down California in the middle of the night, when I was already tired.  Still, somehow, deep inside, I had an inkling that going was just what the doctor ordered.

As we set out down the road, late Thursday night, with the music loud & the stars shining above, I knew that I’d made the right choice.  Sure, driving through the night when you’ve been awake since 5 am, & worked a 12 hour day seems kind of ridiculous, but I managed to stay awake the whole trip & watching the sun rise over the desert was gorgeous.  I spent the car ride & trip with my old friend, Brian, my original partner in Coachella crime back in 2008.  The conversation in the car ranged from silly to serious back again — the sort of conversations you can only have at 5 AM when you’re exhausted & trapped in a car.  It was a great start to the trip.

We made it to Indio & set up camp with visions of a mid-morning nap dancing in our heads.  Instead, it was hot as hell & the people next to us were blaring Howard Stern & then moved on to horrible 70′s rock & the kids who’d been up all night were running around camp like whoa.  Instead, we got dressed for the day & headed into the festival to grab a spot on the grass for a nap in the shade before shows began.

Resting under the shade of a tent in the Do Lab, an art installation + DJ dance area

The day started with a mellow performance by Jets Overhead, a band I’d only heard a smattering of before leaving.  They were chill, but very talented & the lead singer was incredibly happy.  After a mellow morning, the rapper P.O.S. kicked things up a notch with some sarcastic lyrics & amazing beats — it was the shot of energy needed to get things really started.  As Tall As Lions played next, & their set was okay, but didn’t warrant watching the whole thing.  I’d had a sneaking suspicion that they might be better in studio than they were live, & yeah, I was right.  Instead, we high-tailed it over the the Avett Brothers, who for me, played a flawless set, full of my favorites: January Wedding, Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full of Promise & I And Love And You.  It was a soulful set, full of a lot of emotion for me, & by far, one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.  After that set, it was back to the dance tent for Proxy, who was mind-blowingly awesome.  The set was full of energy & cutting loose in the dance tent is always a good time.  She & Him was up next & their set was adorable.  Or at least Zooey Deschanel was.  Next, back to the dance tent!  Wolfgang Garter & Pretty Lights did two awesome sets, leading to three hours of dancing.  After dinner, it was time for Imogen Heap, one of the most insanely talented people I’ve ever seen perform, ever.  She does all of her own tracks, meaning that if she’s performing something with a drum riff in the background, she plays it first & records it using a leaper so you can hear it in the track.  Her sound team was absolute crap, but she was still AMAZING.  Her voice was incredible & she is seriously so cute.

Imogen!

After Imogen, we caught a few minutes of Benny Benassi, before moving on to the next one: Jay-Z.  Jay-Z absolutely killed it, going through almost his entire catalogue of hits, getting the entire crowd to bounce with him & bringing out Beyonce to finish the set with Forever Young, before closing it with Encore.

We made it back to camp, & I slept so hard.  I had been up for 44 hours straight, save for a little nap, & had no problem sleeping through the partiers around me.  It was sweet, sweet sleep.

On Saturday, we sort of napped while watching John Waters (yes, the filmmaker) tell some of the most offensive jokes I’ve ever heard.  Next, we headed over to hear Sam XL & Jason Bently spin in the dance tent, before heading over to see Camera Obscura.  I have loved Camera Obscura for awhile, & their last album was my soundtrack through some difficult times.  Seeing them was on my Life List & I was SO STOKED to cross it off.  They were so cute & fun & it was great to hear the songs I’d grown to love so much live.

Another piece of art from an installation...

Next up was The Temper Trap, whose rendition of their major hit, “Sweet Disposition” didn’t disappoint.  We checked out Band of Skulls, who were a little hard rock for my taste, before going to the dance tent once again for Dirty South, who was definitely one of the best DJ’s I’ve ever seen, ever.  We caught part of The XX, who were cool, but a little too mellow to really hold my attention.  After some dinner, we saw MGMT, who were sadly a total disappointment — they sounded like they hadn’t really been practicing, & sort of gave off a “we’re too cool for school” vibe.  I was sad, because I love that band.  For our final foray into the dance tent, we saw Z-Trip, who is a mash-up artist.  He may officially replace Girl Talk as my favorite.  It was an absolutely amazing set.  Tiesto closed down the night — we caught a few minutes before heading over to see Sia, one of my all-time favorite artists & a great way to end the festival.  Sadly, work was calling, so Sunday meant driving home.  Still, so much awesome packed into two days.

These bracelets were everywhere.  I’m sort of naive, but judging by the fact that one reads “DRUG” I’m guessing these have some sort of…meaning.  I don’t know.

There were so many great moments over this weekend: conversations that made me laugh until I had tears, amazing people watching, seeing musicians I’ve loved & respected for so long put on amazing shows, discovering new DJ’s that I know will comprise much of my summer playlist.

One of my favorite moments came when I was in the dance tent, feeling the beat reverberate through every bone, cell & pore, jumping & dancing my heart out, when I was caught off guard by happiness.  It’s been a hell of a year, rife with stress & tears & uncertainty, but there, in that moment, jumping along to a Daft Punk sample against a rap beat, I felt a joy & peace that I hadn’t had in months.  Maybe it’s weird to find peace in a moment where you can’t even hear yourself think, but that’s where it was, in a white tent, under a hot desert sky.

Who knew that here, in the lights & the noise, is where I’d be surprised by happiness.

I am so glad I went.