Coachella

[One Tonne Baby]

I was looking at the coachella website as a possible glasto sub for 2012 but the FAQ page put me off instantly...

it makes you happy that glasto is so relaxed and welcoming.

Coachella FAQ

Your bag has to be a certain height, width, depth.

and is this for real?

Will there be Disabled person parking/bathrooms? Where?

STAND BY (NO PUN INTENDED)

[Spindles]

NO Blankets

NO Outside Food & Bev

NO Camelpacks

NO Tents

NO Flags

[blue6field]

No fun

[Staggers]

Why would anyone want to go to a festival in America. Based on that FAQ they don't really seem to get it. Get yourself over to Europe next year I'd say. or use the equivalent glasto money to go to two smaller UK ones

[MyTwistedWords]

Erm...what?

[geebus]

I'd like to do Burning man some day, but won't be for a few years before I could even consider justifying it (self employed).

Are you sure the above is a Festival, not say an Opera in an expensive theatre?

[MyTwistedWords]

your camping spot is marked out with white lines and you must stay within the lines!!!

if you dont arrive together you will not be able to camp together

Reasonable amount of beer (limited to 1 case of beer per person) (NO KEGS, NO GLASS, NO LIQUOR)

i thought i'd love to go to this, but i was wrong!

We are so lucky!!!

Edited June 1, 2011 by MyTwistedWords

[Spindles]

I like the idea of having the same festival twice over 2 weekends, would love the idea of glastonbury doing this but you know how it is, those of us who were there for the first weekend would never leave!

It seems that the 'no tents' rule is for the arena area, it costs $75 to pitch a tent (allocated space which allows the footprint of a 3 man) in fields outside the main festival area. Doesn't really sound much like a festival to me, but this year's lineup looks pretty impressive to me.

They are offering a budgeting scheme. Which is pretty reasonable, ticket prices aren't insane (apart from the obvious surcharges such as paying to camp) and if it weren't for the sheer financial impossibility of getting there I'd personally consider it just to experience such a widely different incarnation of festivalling.

[spikytom]

I heard about a festival in America, which may or may not be Coachella, where apparently you're only allowed to drink alcohol in designated alcohol zones. These are fenced off and away from the stages, and the only alcohol available is about $6 for half a pint of weak pish.

[The Nal]

America is quickly going down the pan.

[mrtourette]

I heard about a festival in America, which may or may not be Coachella, where apparently you're only allowed to drink alcohol in designated alcohol zones. These are fenced off and away from the stages, and the only alcohol available is about $6 for half a pint of weak pish.

[pjadnoo]

Their line-up usually seems pretty strong, but this just sounds awful.

I'm sure someone posted here once a blog about Glasto & Coachella, and Coachella sounds bloody awful. I remember talk of there being specific drinking areas -fenced off from the rest of the festival where you have to drink. I think it's gotta be Roskilde or Bestival for me in 2012...

[pastyb]

I heard about a festival in America, which may or may not be Coachella, where apparently you're only allowed to drink alcohol in designated alcohol zones. These are fenced off and away from the stages, and the only alcohol available is about $6 for half a pint of weak pish.

[Staggers]

I take back my earlier rant about festivals in America. They do have Burning Man.

Coachella still looks like rubbish though. No lineup could save a festival from those kind of rules

[posthuman]

Q:What if I cannot find my campsite after the concert?

A: There will be camp counselors to help you if you get lost. But try to remember what area you are in, there will be multiple camping areas.

[Toilet Duck]

Coachella is a diffent beast to Glasto (in fact pretty much all american festies are, Bonnaroo is probably the nearest you'll get, and as noted elsewhere in the thread, Burning Man is a whole different ball game)...but if you take it for what it is then it's a brilliant festival (though some accounts would suggest it's becoming popular with a less friendly crowd and thus diminishing somewhat)...I went on the last Glasto gap year and had a great time. I knew there was no drinking outside the beer gardens (woodstock basically ruined festies without rules for americans (the one in the '90s, not the original!) and the organisers just won't take the risk), so I was prepared not to be able to have a pint and watch a band. To be fair, when it's 100 degrees in the desert, all I was interested in was water anyway. The misters that everybody is laughing at are actually a godsend, it's that hot. Anyway, I went planning a different kind of festival experience, and that's exactly what I got. Brilliant lineup (I saw some amazing sets, notably from Daft Punk), excellent production (the sound is crystal clear, though it did bleed from the dance tent into the tent next door during Cat Power, but she was just so quiet!)...and the location is just incredible. When the sun starts to set at coachella it really is a sight to behold. I didn't camp as I'm not overly fond of baking in a tent in the desert, and since we weren't drinking, we drove in each day from a lovely 5 star hotel in Palm Springs and made a holiday out of it (got up in the morning, had a swim and then trundled in to the festie for lunchtime). So, if you are after something different I can highly recommend it (I definitely saw way more music at Coachella than any other festival I've ever been to), but if all you want to do at a festie is get completely w*nkered, then there's a multitude in the UK/Europe that can cater for that...

[PetePie]

same as leeds / reading and V festival then ,they do the same no beer no tents no food,

[Vieuphoria]

Armed security too isn't it?

[Toilet Duck]

Armed security too isn't it?

[eoinca]

Only festival I'd consider going to in the states is Burning Man tbh.

[ukslim]

Burning Man gives me the ph33r. Dry desert heat that's a genuine health hazard; a requirement that you carry in as much water as you're going to need; combined with wacky drugs going around.

I'm sure it's amazing. I have a friend that's been several times, and is heavily involved in Nowhere, its sister event in Spain.

But it scares the living daylights out of me -- and I'm not all that timid, for the most part.

[Torcs4]

ye its the same at Big Day out in OZ and NZ

load of shite

[FunkyDenz]

From the sounds of it the closest US festival to Glastonbury is Bonnaroo. It's celebrating it's 10th birthday this year, so is still a young festival, and generally has a good line-up. It is smaller than Glastonbury, and has VIP camping and VIP viewing areas(I believe it is in front of the plebs viewing area for main stage, side of the stage for smaller stages), but my American friend reliably informs me that the atmosphere is good, and you can take beer anywhere.

[droneoid]

Armed security too isn't it?

[swilsh]

I went to coachella last year, was really fun. You can see the stages clearly from the drinking spots and they have their own djs in the bars and stuff, obviously it is different to uk festivals but it has a nice vibe about it, hot weather, good music and the majority of people were relaxed its pretty tough not to have a good time. I would recommend it to anyone.