Comments on: Just In Case You Were Wondering: No Coachella Lineup So Far

By: Maura Johnston

Maura Johnston — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:04:45 +0000

Ryan Seacrest's Web site posted this list as if it were real.

Oops.

By: MayhemintheHood

MayhemintheHood — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:14:56 +0000

@2ironic4u: I think you're right, but I wasn't necessarily talking about around the date of Coachella. I just meant that eventually, any act I want to see will come...may have to wait months, but they'll come.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:06:14 +0000

@T'Challa: How does the VIP section work? I usually prefer to be in the general crowd because that means you can get closer to the stage.

@MayhemintheHood: If you live in the OC/LA area, don't count on headlining shows from most acts near it (as I think there is some sort of out-clause that prohibits acts from playing competing shows).

By: MayhemintheHood

MayhemintheHood — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:04:51 +0000

@Ned Raggett: Boredoms blew my mind, but only because I had not only never heard of them, but I didn't listen to anything that resembled them at the time. I basically went for Rocket From The Crypt, Get Up Kids, GBV and Sonic Youth. I got introduced to a bunch of rad bands that day(like Superchunk, and Sunny Day Real Estate, Sleater Kinney).

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:53:31 +0000

@MayhemintheHood: Wow, I had totally forgotten about This Aint No Picnic. I went in 1999

That makes three of us. (I was there with Mackro and a couple of other friends visiting from Arizona.) That Boredoms set was a monster.

By: MayhemintheHood

MayhemintheHood — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:39:44 +0000

@mackro: Wow, I had totally forgotten about This Aint No Picnic. I went in 1999.

I also went to the first Coachella(I snuck in...and on a weird note, I've never met anyone that paid for the first Coachella). I don't think I ever need to go again, because as Mackro said, 99.9% of the acts that play there that I'm interested in will play a show around OC/LA area that I can go to(and will most likely be better). I do like to do drugs though, so Coachella was kinda cool for that reason. But again, I could probably do that here.

By: T'Challa

T'Challa — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:24:52 +0000

All of the above points are valid: Coachella is an amazing weekend that can border on spiritual. Coachella is an overpriced weekend that especially sucks for the general admission crowd who spend too much time trying to find a way into VIP. And then there's the whole drama of the VIP section...

There are a million reasons for and against the festival, and they're all true.

I try to go every year, and every year I think at one point, "I am NEVER doing this nonsense again!" And every year at one point I think, "As long as I'm in the area, I'll NEVER miss coming to Coachella!"

It's a love/hate relationship that hurts so good...

By: T'Challa

T'Challa — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:24:52 +0000

There are a million reasons for and against the festival, and they're all true.

It's a love/hate relationship that hurts so good...

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:10:49 +0000

@mackro: Also, as a non-driver, Coachella is extremely inconvenient for me. (Public transit out to and in SE Cali is lite, to make an understatement.)

Big issue for me as well (as you well know!) -- but they did a special one-off Amtrak run out there from Union Station last time around and perhaps that's the case again this time, who knows.

By: mackro

mackro — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:04:09 +0000

I've avoided Coachella because of the main problem with big festivals: lines, lines, lines.

Lines happen at all annual festivals, but they get exponentially worse the bigger they are. Especially in the heat, they're even worse than that. Also, as a non-driver, Coachella is extremely inconvenient for me. (Public transit out to and in SE Cali is lite, to make an understatement.)

And every group that's been a big deal at Coachella has headlined a show in Seattle, right in the city. (Yes, Prince, Daft Punk, etc.)

So, just due to logistics and financial reasons, there was never a need.

I have been to the dry run of Coachella, This Ain't No Picnic, in O.C. in 1999 and 2000. These were much smaller and simpler (and much easier to get to.)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:16:13 +0000

@Lucas Jensen: There's nothing really special about it. It was basically the first BIG festival to highlight hyped indie acts. However, they seem to have to keep outdoing themselves year after year in terms of reunions, exclusive bookings, etc. My guess is they probably have a pretty stellar line-up already booked but are still looking for that one-off to play so they can boast about it/sell more tickets.

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:55:32 +0000

@Audif Jackson Winters III: Very true -- I remember at the time too they had to fight a bit against what was seen as lingering fallout from the Lollapalooza model, in that big multi-act touring festivals had been the overall approach and were starting to wear thin. (It's also worth remembering that the first one was held in late summer rather than early spring...and it's not surprising at ALL that they switched to a rather more comfortable time of the year.)

By: Audif Jackson Winters III

Audif Jackson Winters III — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:35:39 +0000

Coachella also has some residual cachet from being the grandfather of multi-day, Euro-style music festivals in the U.S. These events are a dime a dozen these days, so it’s a little hard to remember how big of a deal Coachella was in ’99 and the early ’00s. It was pretty much the only event like this in the country. Some of that reputation has stuck, even after dozens of copycat festivals sprung up and started replicating the Coachella lineup.

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:20:16 +0000

I haven’t been myself for a variety of reasons — sometimes there’s been a conflict with the EMP Pop Conference, which I now attend regularly and which often lands on the same weekend, like this year (explains why I missed the Daft Punk performance, the one show I think I truly regret not being able to see). But even when that weekend’s free there’s never been a truly must-go sense I’ve felt about it, too many bad or indifferent bands for me to fully commit to such a sprawling endeavour — I used to joke the only thing that would finally make me go would be if MBV played a reunion show there, but that got taken care of a few months back, so hey.

But all the positives mentioned so far ring true, and I think this one — ‘under the nighttime desert sky’ — is the truest, really. It’s been a long time since I went out camping and hiking in the California desert, and that’s a different experience from attending a huge show there admittedly, but as mentioned, you really do have to be there to understand.

That all said, I think it was an earlier post here someone commented about the jock meathead nature of certain bands’ fans at such big gatherings, and having had my share of Lollapaloozas in the early nineties under my belt, I can’t say I miss them at all…

By: moomintroll

moomintroll — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:18:15 +0000

Coachella always has the potential to be the "perfect storm" festival for me. They always have something totally amazing that no other festivals even try to get.

I think the anticipation this year is even worse because a lot of people can't afford to plan a trip on blind faith, and if the lineup sucks would like to start using their Coachella money for other things. (A lot of people = me).
I mean seriously, plane tickets only get more expensive the closer it gets!

By: Maura Johnston

Maura Johnston — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:10:18 +0000

Coachella and Bonnaroo, to me, are interesting in the way that they serve as a sort of bellwether for the American festival circuit (the growth of which has been a pretty new development) — it’s been trying to stay ahead of the glut of other, lesser festivals in other areas of the country by booking different acts (Roger Waters, Prince, etc.) and getting ahead of their competitors as far as booking big reunions (hence all the Blur rumors regarding this year’s installment). But with what’s going on in the economy this year, not to mention the music business, I’m not surprised that the lineup announcement has been so fraught. (This doesn’t even take into account the fact that California’s Inland Empire, where the festival site is located, is in something of an economic tailspin thanks to way too much overdevelopment, particularly of overly fancy houses. I saw a preview of this of sorts when I went this year; the house I stayed in was in a 10-residence cul-de-sac. At least half had “for sale” signs out front, and the Xeroxes advertising the house’s availability that were stocked on the wet bar showed that the owner was slashing the price by $200k.)

Also, it’s just a lot of fun. Three days in the desert sounds like a slog, but it’s so great.

By: Whigged

Whigged — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:07:58 +0000

@Lucas Jensen: I agree with Mexiback; it's all about an amazing experience you have while there. Sometimes it has borderline sucked musically, but then there are the most amazing performances under the nighttime desert sky that make it all worth it. But it is definitely one of those, "you have to be there" sort of things.

Then again, with all of the celebrity trash frequenting the event in recent years, there is a distinct feeling it has jumped the shark on a few levels.

By: mexiback

mexiback — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:04:41 +0000

That’s why you don’t care, you haven’t been there. I have been there 4 times since 2002 (I live relatively close)and let me tell you, some years are better, some are worse, but everytime it has been an EXPERIENCE. And music is just a part of the whole experience, if you go with good friends it can be a pretty good weekend.

By: Lucas Jensen

Lucas Jensen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:53:26 +0000

Can I ask an impertinent question? Having never been to Coachella, what’s the big deal? Why the breathless anticipation and fake lineups and everything every year? I feel like I’m supposed to care, but I couldn’t care less.