Hot bands lined up for Coachella
By Robert Lines
April 15, 2009 9:36 p.m.
It’s already time of year again. Gather your tents, sleeping bags and silly hats ““ festival season is upon us.
The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which has been held in Indio every spring for the last 10 years, takes places this weekend, a little earlier than usual.
The headliners this year include Paul McCartney, the Killers and the Cure, with the ex-Beatle expected to pull in a huge crowd when he takes the stage tomorrow.
The festival has been able to book several big-name acts over the past few years, and past headliners include Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007 and Depeche Mode in 2006.
The festival also plays host to a diverse mixture of smaller alternative, hip-hop and electronic artists.
Throughout the three-day festival, there will be five stages to play host to the countless bands playing over the weekend.
However, it appears such household names as McCartney and the Killers came at a big price for fans, as the three-day ticket package this year costs $269.
However, students who were able to afford the steep prices are excited for the variety this year’s festival will offer.
“After seeing Crystal Castles indoor before, I want to see how they transfer their show to the live venue,” said Gabriella Cox, a third-year political science student. “Bands often step up a level performance-wise at festivals.”
On the other hand, Stefi Pavlou, a third-year history student, was looking forward to seeing M.I.A. “I want to see M.I.A. so I can get a piece of her hair and attach it to my mini shrine of her,” she said.
Although the temperatures predicted for the weekend are lower than usual, they are still are likely to be quite high, with Yahoo Weather predicting highs of 88, 95 and 98 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Fans are advised to bring sunscreen and to drink water regularly throughout the day.
The Coachella organizers have been busy preparing to take the festival into the information age.
New to this year’s festival is an official, accompanying iPhone application. The application allows fans to view an interactive map of the venue, view the full lineup, and pick the bands they want to see on each day, using a feature called the Coachooser.
There is also an option to upload photos taken from your iPhone onto the application, as well as a friend finder, which enables fans to stay in contact with their friends.
Additionally, like many other music festivals this past year, Coachella’s organizers have adopted new initiatives in an attempt to cater more effectively to the environment.
The festival is launching a new filtered water program in an attempt to cut back on the amount of plastic water bottles sold at the show.
Alternative options this year include three free drinking fountains on site, the option to buy 24-ounce water containers for $10, and numerous refill locations where any water containers up to 32 ounces in size can be filled for $1.
The festival is also running EnergyFACTory, begun in 2007, a “green” initiative that involves cell phone-charging bikes, a solar-powered DJ station and a collection of environmentally friendly re-engineered golf carts.
For fans still looking for a cheap way to get to the festival, Greyhound has just announced a $39 round-trip fare for festival-goers traveling from Los Angeles.
The coach can be boarded from stations at Hollywood, North Hollywood and downtown. Tickets can be bought at the official Greyhound Web site, Greyhound.com.
For more details about Coachella, festival-goers can visit the official Web site at Coachella.com.
