Coachella

[bennyboi]

Not being able to take in your own booze is one thing (and there is more than one that allow you to do that) but not allowing you to drink whilst watching a band is another entirely.

I've been to festivals in four different countries outside the UK an never had a problem.

I've been to boomtown twice now and they have this retarded 16 cans each, at once . But you can go back out and bring more in. Not sure if it still happens but it was in 2012

[Bisque]

Global Gathering not even letting booze into the campsite is a stupid move.

[TheBurns]

I was at sasquatch a few years back and the search going from the campsite to the festival grounds was more thorough than I've ever experienced at an airport, it was a nightmare paying $10+ for a can of pbr. From what I've heard coachella would be worse than this.

[WS_Jack_III]

I've never been... But from what I've read/seen/heard, it makes me think of something...

You know how America likes to take something cool from Britain (The Inbetweeners, for example) and Americanise it? It then turns to total shite...

Yeah, it seems like they tried to do that with Glastonbury... It's an American, half-arsed, unnatural, corporate version of Glastonbury.

ah but American Office is great.

[Mezhyp1]

Global Gathering not even letting booze into the campsite is a stupid move.

Do they not, I've never heard of that anywhere that's absolutely ridiculous

[Bisque]

Do they not, I've never heard of that anywhere that's absolutely ridiculous

Was a rule when I went in 2010, may have changed it.

You were only allowed in with 2ltrs of soft drink.

Edit: There were a few threads that popped up about it...

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/173251-ummmm-just-seen-the-no-alcohol-noooooooo/

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/115418-alcohol-into-campsite/

Everyone there is on drugs anyway but I managed to get two bottles of gin wrapped up in my tent (thought security wouldn't be arsed to get a tent out to check then hassle getting it back in).

Couple of girls I met put their vodka into Listerine bottles but decided to leave a bit of the mouthwash in so it had that bright blue authentic look!

Edited April 12, 2015 by Couchy

[rainbow girl]

No drinks at all this year at Global Gathering. Nor food. Nor performances or camping.

[GlastoSimon]

No drinks at all this year at Global Gathering. Nor food. Nor performances or camping.

Absolute disgrace, they may as well not have a festival!

[Bisque]

No drinks at all this year at Global Gathering. Nor food. Nor performances or camping.

[rainbow girl]

Absolute disgrace, they may as well not have a festival!

Well, I won't be going. And neither will anyone else I know.

[thewayiam]

Not being able to take in your own booze is one thing (and there is more than one that allow you to do that) but not allowing you to drink whilst watching a band is another entirely.

I've been to festivals in four different countries outside the UK an never had a problem.

As I say I think there is more to it than just the festivals choice. Europe generally has no strict rules though Opener does I believe.

[thewayiam]

I've never been... But from what I've read/seen/heard, it makes me think of something...

You know how America likes to take something cool from Britain (The Inbetweeners, for example) and Americanise it? It then turns to total shite...

Yeah, it seems like they tried to do that with Glastonbury... It's an American, half-arsed, unnatural, corporate version of Glastonbury.

No it's not, they haven't tried to do Glastonbury at all. I don't know where you get this from?

[russycarps]

Okay, they can have one

Their beer is better than ours these days too

[XIV]

I attended Coachella a few years ago, back when the Dre & Snoop headlined.

Main differences between the two, Coachella is massively corporate.

There was a tent at Coachella one of many, which had several PS3s with huge Sony tvs. It was to sign up and buy yourself a lovely new tv, at a festival. There was other tents to do with the commercial and money side of life.

Coachella is broke into sections of crowd. To get to the very front of certain stages you need a different colour wristband. That’s why you see many celebrities walking around Coachella like all is fine and well. In reality they’re walking in the VIP section where you need a much more expensive wristband. It is especially annoying on smaller stages were one section is ‘VIP’ and the other side is for us lower class with standard tickets. Usually there is a lot more space in the VIP section, I can’t remember who I saw but they were basically playing to about 6 people in the VIP section.


You can’t walk around drinking, only allowed to drink in fenced areas and the bouncers aren’t too pleasant with you. I had my english license and the guy was refusing to let me in the area saying it was fake id. Eventually after a lot of messing around I got in.

I was watching Bon Iver on the main stage and you could hear the other stages, especially the dance music stages. Highly annoying. The other stages are so close to each other too barely space between them. Watching Radiohead and a guy held his iPad up for 50% of the gig, the other 50% he would be on his phone texting...

I think Coachella is more a fashion thing then a ‘festival’. At a festival I want to feel like we are all equals and all in it together, come rain or sun or whatever everyone is together and one. Coachella felt like the polar opposite to that, VIP sections for people who pay more dollar and poor sound.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-festivals/11525662/Coachella-looks-like-my-idea-of-festival-hell.html

The article above is very, very good.

[loppy]

The last time I went to Coachella was in 2014. It was so cool back then. Spring in the valley is beautiful. The colors are striking. The weather is perfect. 90 degrees in 5% humidity is about as comfortable as it gets. Sweat on your brow evaporates like rubbing alcohol. It actually works the way it's supposed to. It was easy to find space in the shade, and the lawn was dry and comfy. It was one weekend and 2 days.

The bands were all either underground or unknown. Their were no major top 10 artists headlining. It was manageable. You could easily bounce from act to act without fighting mobs. Say you hated all the bands on Saturday but loved the bands on Sunday. You could buy a single day ticket the day of the show to see the bands you wanted to.

2004 was okay, but it was the beginning of the end. I remember leaving on Sunday night and taking a picture of the crowd behind me, and thinking that it was getting too big. I never went back

Edited April 12, 2015 by loppy

[Harry3]

Was a rule when I went in 2010, may have changed it.

You were only allowed in with 2ltrs of soft drink.

Edit: There were a few threads that popped up about it...

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/173251-ummmm-just-seen-the-no-alcohol-noooooooo/

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/topic/115418-alcohol-into-campsite/

Everyone there is on drugs anyway but I managed to get two bottles of gin wrapped up in my tent (thought security wouldn't be arsed to get a tent out to check then hassle getting it back in).

Couple of girls I met put their vodka into Listerine bottles but decided to leave a bit of the mouthwash in so it had that bright blue authentic look!

I went in 2010 and I dont remember this at all... I mustve put cans in my bag or the crate at the bottom of it or something... weird

Will never go again though, shit atmosphere

Edited April 12, 2015 by Harry3

[Bisque]

Will never go again though, shit atmosphere

The first day was just horrible. Just full of people that had taken far too many drugs.

Next day the sun came out, the day ticketers arrived & the Hospital Records tent was open. Found the whole day just to have a much better vibe.

My ticket was only £30.

Won't be going back.

[Bobs]

Yeah i've been told that it's just a place full of Hipsters. Naturally, it's 'Cool' and in Cali, of course it's going to be a place full of hipsters.

Yet, in advance, you need to buy a space to pitch your tent, A Space for your car, you're searched thoroughly on arrival to ensure you aren't smuggling prohibited items, and you're only allowed to drink alcohol in the designated areas.

As for the NFRNFC, thats all well and good, but i'd rather have Lots of Clouds and warm throughout, than the minus temperatures it reaches in the night, what, being a desert and all.

Bonnaroo is the place if you're a Yank.

Coachella has the most money, and is the most renown one abroad, so in that regards, it beats Glastonbury (Maybe), but everything else is just a fail.

Also, if rumours are to be believed, they all booed the Roses when they headlined, because they thought it was the stones

[The Placid Casual]

If I see another Coachella vs Leeds Festival picture on my Twitter, somebody's getting a slap. Is anyone else seeing a ridiculous amount of those all of a sudden?

[Bobs]

If I see another Coachella vs Leeds Festival picture on my Twitter, somebody's getting a slap. Is anyone else seeing a ridiculous amount of those all of a sudden?

I don't really care.

It is a Glasto thread

And Leeds has gone to the dogs.

Edit: This sounded WAY to snotty.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Bobs

[General Lee]

Their beer is better than ours these days too

Nah.

[The Placid Casual]

I don't really care.

It is a Glasto thread

And Leeds has gone to the dogs.

Edit: This sounded WAY to snotty.

I gave it a miss last year so it's fine

[jomilky]

I went a few years back, it was fun as the line up was decent, but it's definitely more comparable with a V Festival or Wireless in size/attitude/commercialism. It's also in the desert in the middle of fecking nowhere! I sent more money on ice cream and frosted drinks than alcohol and that's just not right;)

[rubenz]

Some of this food looks alright mind!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/coachella-foods#.lyeBA38R3

[iamthehorn]

As someone who has been to all the major US fests, and is hoping to finally hit Glastonbury next year, I thought this thread was pretty amusing. 

 

The couple people who said Bonnaroo is the closest to a Euro-style fest are probably right, especially in its heyday from 2003-06ish.   I love Bonnaroo, but the weather and the festival site are both completely miserable, and the lineups have been pretty hit or miss the last few years.

 

Coachella is easily my favorite US fest.  It's just a fantastic venue to go and watch live music.  It's great for people who's primary interest in music festivals is, you know, music.  They tend to have my favorite lineups of the big US events, the weather and the venue are perfect, the sound is really quite good.  I've never had an issue with security either.  Yes there's a lot of corporate influence, but it's far from the worst (Lollapalooza would take that title).

 

As for the beer jails, I thought I'd hate them when I first went, but they're actually not that bad.  They all have views of the various stages, so you can still watch music while you have a drink, plus there aren't as many drunken idiots running around pissing you off.  If you're really concerned, it's not hard to bring in a flask. 

 

Finally, the people really aren't that bad.  Yes, some people's #1 concern is seeing and being seen, but that's true at any fest. Plus, those people tend to keep to themselves and let others have their own fun.  Frankly, I find the fans there more open minded than at Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza.  Coachella doesn't have the BS of annual petitions to get this or that artist removed from the lineup because they were deemed "offensive" for some arbitrary reason. 

 

 

 

Oh, one more thing.  I'd just like to point out how crazy it seems to go to the Pyramid stage to watch a headliner and only being able to see other peoples flags.  I mean, I'm looking forward to trying it, but come on.