Coachella: The Good, the Bad, and the Unpotty Trained

Ah, so sad that it's now over and I have to wait another year!

Anyways. All was quite excellent.

~Saw some really good bands: Arcade Fire (Highlight! Love, love, love them now!), Interpol (Excellent!), Bjork (Entertaining, pretty damn good show!), The Decemberists (Good, mellow set), Placebo (They played "Blind" and "Running Up That Hill"; that's all I needed to be happy!), Silversun Pickups (As always, great!), Tokyo Police Club (Not bad. Had never heard them before.), Regina Spektor (Good. Reminds me too much of Tori Amos.), Travis (Loved), Rufus Wainwright (Boring. Realized I'm really not into him.), Red Hot Chili Peppers (Even though it meant skipping Blonde Redhead, I'm glad I stayed so I can now say I've seen them--even if I hate their latest album!), Tiesto (I went to a Eurotrash college and have spent a lot of time in Europe--thus, a misguided love of techno/electronica), Lily Allen (Glad I skipped Air to see her), Air (Saw the last two songs of their abbreviated set; weren't as cool as I thought they would be under the desert night sky), Damien Rice (Oddly, rocking!), Willie Nelson (One song, just to say I've seen him), and capped off the weekend with a little Rage Against the Machine, the Lemonheads, and VNV Nation. I know the RATM reunion was the big draw, but I've never been a fan (and I value my physical safety), so I watched their first song from afar and then took advantage of the short lines at the restroom and merchandise tents. Followed that up with a brief listen to the Lemonheads (kind of boring) and VNV Nation (just randomly stummbled into on my way out of the bathroom; entertaining for a few songs). Then went back and stood (securely) by the police lines to watch the Rage encore.

~Had to make some sacrifices: Jose Gonzalez (figure he plays in LA every once in awhile, so will catch him then), Blonde Redhead (already saw them, hadn't seen Red Hot Chili Peppers), Sonic Youth (how old are they now?), Peter Bjorn & John (wanted to see which one sounds like the girl!), Crowded House (okay, really just wanted to hear the one song that everyone knows--"Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over."), Klaxons (had heard good things), and Teddybears (although, I did see one of the bears wandering around by the merchandise tent in the afternoon.).

~Managed a decent tan to get the summer started and to not die of heat stroke! You know once it hits 100 degrees in the desert, finding out it was really 105 doesn't really matter. Anything over 100 is just hellish!

~Found a shortcut into the parking lot (NO, I will never tell!!! Let's just say I figured out a way to bypass the mile of cars waiting to make a left onto the road that takes you to the parking lot. Ah, you fools baking in your cars!).

~Discovered that a significant portion of the Coachella population was never potty trained! Seriously people, how hard is it to aim!??!?

~(On a related note) Confirmed that port-a-potties suck & are truly disgusting. It is totally worth the time to stand in line for the trailer toilets. For those few forays into the port-a-potties, fully appreciated the travel toilet paper and seat covers!

~Couldn't decide if there was any actual alcohol in the margaritas.

~Got a second-hand high from all the pot. I'm convinced there were more flies the second and third days because all the Friday flies told their fly buddies to come on by Saturday and Sunday to get stoned.

~Amused by the guy who threw an empty, then a half-full water bottle at the girl in front of us that was sitting on her boyfriend's shoulders and blocking everyone's view during Red Hot Chili Peppers. Sadly, she was uninjured and undeterred. But bottle guy still gets kudos for trying.

Just some of the memories to hold me over till next year. I think for year three, it might be time to shell out the money for VIP tickets (better bear garden and possibly better bathroom facilities--it's all about the bathroom facilities!!).