Coachella 2009

There should be a shirt at the merchandise booth that says "I survived Coachella."

A lot went down this past weekend, but I'll do my best to summarize and paint a vivid enough picture for ya'll :]

Let's start with generalizing. For those of you who don't know, Coachella is a music and arts festival. It's basically a big festival of various bands and art installations. It's held in Coachella, CA, which is basically in the desert. Coachella has been graced by bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, Keane, and other big artists like Madonna.

The whole thing takes place on a HUGE grassy lot and generally it's in a U-shape. You enter on one side of the "U," right into a sort of pre-main area. This is where the vendors, merchandise stand, and water tent was (of course there were other water tents & restrooms on the ground, but this was by the entrance). You pass by the water tent to walk through some gates into the "main" area. A little ways in front of you is the main stage, to your left is the first beer tent. If you continue to walk to the right, you pass by 4 other stages/tents.

Thursday
The drive was less than two hours, with wonderful weather when we arrived. The resort was BEAUTIFUL and I'm glad we made the decision to stay in a hotel. Actually, it was more like me saying I AM NOT CAMPING. hahaha

Friday
We woke up fairly early, wanting to get there early to see what was going on. Most of the parking lots required quite a bit of walking to the venue, so we opted for one of those biker people to give us a ride. It was too hot to walk that far! After about a 5 minute ride, we got to the grounds.

There weren't TOO many people, since it was only about 12:30PM. They scanned our ticket, patted us down, then we went in!

I was STOKED.

Ok, enough with the play by play.

We basically walked around to figure out the grounds, admired the installations, looked at the vendors, then made plans.

We Are Scientists was playing at 3PM at the main stage, so we agreed we'd see them. I had to make the decision regarding my own schedule - should I camp out at the stage ALL day? Paul was on at 10PM, and staying at the stage would almost guarantee me a good spot.

You guys know me. I stayed. For 7 and a half hours.

I ended up seeing some awesome bands, actually. I'm trying to remember the positives, here. I'll try to forget the scorching hot sun, not eating since 1PM, and the insane pushing :P

I got to see We Are Scientists, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Morrissey, then Paul McCartney. It was worth every minute.

Seeing Paul McCartney was definitely a dream come true for me. I fell in love with The Beatles when I was 10... they were pretty much the only band I listened to for a LONG time. They were the first band I ever loved, and I still love them to death. Being able to see one of them in person, performing some of my favorite Beatles songs was so surreal. I know I don't have to tell you how amazing Sir Paul was live... it's kind of a given. One thing I will tell you is how surprised I was at how much he interacted with the audience and acknowledged so many members. He made eye contact with everyone in the front, and read signs. It just made the experience that much better XD

He played a full 2 and a half hour set and I went home extremely happy. It was unbelievable.

Saturday
Frankly, I didn't care about anything Saturday. I had accomplished my goal and that was good enough for me!

I wanted to take Saturday easy... and that's what I did. Looking back, I think that was the most fun day of the weekend. We knew to get to Coachella later, since the bands didn't start until 2, so we had some extra time to sleep.

I caught the last couple songs of THENEWNO2, Dhani Harrison's band, and honestly I was impressed. I wanted to see them purely because of Dhani, but I ended up really liking their music. After that, we just really took it easy. The headliners weren't going to start until 8:55PM so we had time to just walk around, listen to new bands, eat, people watch.

We walked by the autograph tent (which I didn't even get to see on Friday) and saw that THENEWNO2 was doing a signing! OF COURSE I HAD TO GO.

I was 4th in line because I was there 30 minutes early, and the band was SUPER nice. I got to talk to all of them and tell them how impressed I was with their set. Then I got to Dhani. They were being strict about pictures, so I decided to get a hug instead. I asked Dhani for a hug and he said, "Sure! That's the spirit! That's the way we should go. Just hug!" I honestly wanted to cry XD

I saw Trv$dj-am on the lineup and told Arika. She loves them and I really wanted to hear them, so we went to the Sahara tent to listen and dance. IT WAS MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF FUN.

After that, Alex went to get a spot for MIA and Arika and I decided to chill. After MIA, I went into the pit for the Killers, but decided at the last minute that it wasn't worth the hassle. They were really good live and I enjoyed dancing around :]

Sunday
The last day :[

I was determined to make the last day count the most, but it was really chill and I didn't mind. There wasn't really anyone we wanted to see, so we took the day easy. I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere, admire the art, enjoy the people. It was really a day of sitting around and staring up at the beautiful lights, watching the installations change color, and laughing.

I did get to see two bands that I really like, so it wasn't like we didn't do ANYTHING, but I was still a bit disappointed with myself.

But by the end of the night, just sitting under a palm tree, listening to the Cure (who I don't listen to) and watching the lights in the sky was so fulfilling.

Overall, I think Coachella was a great experience. I got to live out one of my dreams, see great bands, discover new music, finally tan my legs, and see beautiful sights. I could sit here and try to further describe them, but it was just too beautiful.

Just wait until I post the videos :]

xoxo

Song of the day: Back to You - THENEWNO2

Coachella, Hannah Montana, Mocha

It's been a while since I've blogged... things have been really quite crazy lately and I've been truly busy.

Anyway, I figure I should update.

1. I'm seeing the Hannah Montana movie in a few hours. Epic.

2. Coachella is in a week! Words can't express the excitement I feel right at this moment. Erica and I are also getting some henna done next Wednesday just for the occasion :]

3. I was really worried about my classes this quarter, but I'm actually enjoying them. My 11A class is an exploration of avant-garde films, which is absolutely fascinating, my anthro class is entertaining, and my performance art-based class is actually fun. My teacher is legit and I can tell that she really is open minded when it comes to student work.

4. This is relatively insignificant, but I finally got those shiny black tights... and I'm wearing them to Coachella :D

5. Jeremy Ten added me on Facebook. He's such a sweetheart and an AMAZING skater. I can't wait to see him Vancouver! Oh, and I got mail from Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. Exciting much? Absolutely.

6. I love my hair. Love, love, love it.

7. I have a potential roommate for next year, which is honestly comforting. I'm a lot less stressed about that.

I think I can say that I'm happy again. Things are under control, and frankly, I've made the committment to myself to not give the silly stuff any attention. There are people that aren't worth it and they better be prepared to not get any time from me. They don't deserve it.

So that's it for now...

:]

xoxo

Song of the day: She's my Winona - Fall Out Boy

Believe in me.

I am independent.

I don't need to rely on people to be happy.

In fact, they're the reason I'm usually miserable in the first place.

God is my comfort.

If He brings me to it, He'll bring me through it.

Art is my self expression.

I am an artist. I don't need any institution or authority to tell me that.

I am unique, even if I feel like I'm not.

When I get overwhelmed, I have to remember all of the things I've already been through.

I have done many things people would kill to do.

I need to give myself more credit.

I don't want to be afraid
I want to wake up feeling beautiful today,
And know that I'm okay
'Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways.
You see,
I just want to believe in me.

xoxo

Song of the day: Believe in Me - Demi Lovato

I'm obsessed.

I've caught the skating bug again.

I actually WANT to get on the ice.

Amazing.

Anyway, here's the first video I've made from last week's videos/pictures :]




xoxo

Song of the day: One Day Like This - Elbow