Starting tonight, tens of thousands will begin an exodus ““ from metropolis and suburb alike ““ to the desert city of Indio, armed with tents, tarp and $300 wristbands.
Among the wristband bearers lucky enough to buy Coachella passes before they sold out are UCLA students sacrificing a weekend of studying for the rare chance to see many of their favorite musical acts perform in the same place.
“Coachella is the one thing I wanted to do this year,” said Jessica Du, a first-year international development studies student originally from Oakland.
Moving to Los Angeles for college finally brought Du close enough, so as soon as the lineup was announced, she got her ticket.
“I really want to see Animal Collective,” Du said. “I have waited so long to see them, because when they were on their “˜Merriweather Post Pavilion’ tour, they sold out super fast.”
Du’s must-see list also includes Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes and Cut Copy, whom she saw perform at a festival in Northern California.
“They’ve blown up ““ it’s going to be an incredible dance party,” Du said.
Kassidy Miller, a third-year communication studies student, will also be going to Coachella for the first time with a mix of Delta Gamma and Zeta Beta Tau students.
“It’s going to be one of the best weekends of my life,” Miller said.
To organize its large group, Miller’s party made a communal Google document to compile detailed lists of essentials to bring.
Miller said she is most excited to see Ellie Goulding and The Black Keys, who hail from her hometown of Akron, Ohio.
“I would like to keep going,” Miller said. “As long as I’m interested in the lineup, I think an expensive ticket is worth all the memories.”
While Miller and Du will be camping with friends, Matt McBurnett, a first-year psychology student, is taking another path: going with family and staying in a hotel.
Last year was the first time he went with his family, who attends every year, and the hotel option offers respite from the heat and desert grime.
“Taking a shower after a full day (at Coachella) is amazing,” McBurnett said. “Unfortunately, I’ll have to bring some homework, too.”
To get the most out of his festival experience, McBurnett has been researching lesser-known bands and planning which ones to see.
“Go see the smaller bands. They tend to be very good and some eventually become headliners, like The Killers,” McBurnett said. “Also, go see the older bands. I saw Devo last year ““ they’ve still got it.”
As for his own favorites, McBurnett named The Black Keys, The Morning Benders and The Strokes.
“Coachella brings in a mix of artists from many different genres,” McBurnett said. “It’s nice when you can listen to four or five different types of music at a concert.”
Christian Rodriguez’s third time at Coachella might also be his last.
When Rodriguez, a third-year international development studies and anthropology student, first went in 2009, the festival still sold single-day passes. When they began selling only three-day passes, the time commitment, as well as money, became an issue.
“The friends I’m used to going with ““ because we’ve gone together every time ““ are moving away next year for graduate or law school,” Rodriguez said. “It might be one last hurrah.”
Rodriguez said he is most looking forward to seeing Robyn, Lauryn Hill and, he added as an afterthought, Kanye West.
“I’m not a big fan, but he’s really big right now so it could be a great chance to see him,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez advises those going to Coachella in large groups to fill out a schedule of which people are seeing which artists and when.
“Charging stations for phones fill up quickly and you have to wait a long time,” Rodriguez said. “So many people are using their cellphones, so reception dies. Your phone kind of becomes useless.”
While not all have been as fortunate in getting passes, some ticketless fans might employ a tricky bit of innovation to get onto the seemingly hallowed Coachella grounds.
“People have snuck in before,” Du said.
According to Du, a friend of her boyfriend paid a garbage disposal worker $40 to hide him inside a trash can and sneak him into the festival last year. It worked.
“I guess that was better than paying hundreds of dollars,”
Du said.