Coachella Day 1 (better late than never)

I never really updated about Coachella, so here goes:

Friday night after work I went over to Jeff’s. We went to Macy’s to get sunglasses and I made a third unsuccessful attempt at finding my favorite Clinique Foundation. Oh well. Then we went home to clean his car out. We walked to the liquor store on Main to pick up a couple red bulls. Then we headed out to pick up Lizy and Mark in Hollywood. We were finally on the road at like, 11:30pm. We stopped @ a Del Taco in Fontana– that made me little nervous because the girl in the drive thru window had rotten teeth, and my fish burrito was 1/4th burnt. The IE in general kind of depresses me.

Anyway, since were on the topic of environment, let me tell you just HOW amazing the house we stayed in was. It was Marc Brown’s (my boss) wife’s uncle’s house. So thank you, Mr. Kim, for letting us stay in this little oasis. I slept so well and was so comfortable the entire time. The couches you could totally just sink into, and the carpet felt so good to walk barefoot on. I know, I know– what about Coachella, right? I’ll get to it. If you’ve ever heard me talk, you KNOW how I am about atmosphere and environment. This place was sweet.

Saturday. We wake up, get ready, drink coffee, and leave about 10:30 for the event. Tony gets all slick about driving and helps us avoid an incredibly long left turn lane. Fast forward to The New Amsterdams performance– I’ve decided I really like them mostly because I loved the Get Up Kids like no other, but they have too many memories (of two different ex-flings) tied to them. So I listened to their entire set, even though I was definitely sweating out of every possible orifice. Gross.

Next were the Nine Black Alps. I really like their CD, but they were way more raspy and grunge-like live. Which isn’t to say they’re bad… but I never liked Nirvana. Except for Dave Grohl. But that’s an entirely different entry.

Kanye was the greatest thing to happen to Coachella this year. I don’t care that the man has an ego, he lives up to it. He opened with Diamonds Are Forever, with everyones hands raised up in the corresponding shape. (Does anyone know how the Eartha Kitt lawsuit turned out? I bet her just paid her off, but I never followed up on that). He also played Jesus Walks, Touch The Sky and Gold Digger. During one of the last choruses of Gold Digger, he yelled out “Come on white people, this is your only chance to say “nigga!” Haaa. He also “played” (meaning in the background, and he danced along) us some of his favorite songs, which included “Let’s Stay Together,” “Rock With You” (at least I THINK that’s what that MJ song is called) and– prefacing it by shouting “Don’t pretend this isn’t your shit!”– “Take On Me.” Hahaha. Oh man, it was the best.

We caught the end of Imogen Heap’s set, which included “Hide and Seek.” That song turned me onto her because it was SO well placed in that funeral episode of the OC. Well placed songs make me so excited. Ha. I also like her because she has this electric sort of presence– it’s very distinct, you wouldn’t confuse her with any other artist. Maybe it’s her hair.

Jeff watched Damian Marley, and I forgot that I wanted to check out The Juan Maclean. I was into them for like, 3 days when DFA sent out an email link with some samples. Anyway.

Atmosphere was the last act we caught that day, and he was awesome– I’d say my second favorite act after Kanye. He’s one of those artists who has songs you don’t even realize you know all the words to until he’s playing them and you’re singing (er, rapping?) along. I went around muttering “In the days of Kings and Queens I was a jester” and “God loves ugly!” for days. His wording is intelligent and eloquent, but not so abstract you don’t know what the eff he’s talking about.

I really like the set up and environment of Coachella overall. The grounds were clean, the lighting was cool (even in the eating areas) and the art complemented the rest of the festival. And the grass was perfect. I know, I sound like a correspondent for HGTV or something, but I really was impressed by the set up overall. I love Warped Tour for the bands and for the social aspects, but I don’t know who dreams up those wacky maze-like layouts. The only thing I could’ve done without at Coachella was the abundance of vendors selling tye-died clothing. Nobody REALLY wears that anymore, do they?

That’s about it for day 1. Oh, by the way, the food at Coachella was pretty decent. They had an organic food vendor and their offerings were SO delicious. I wish they would put that kind of stuff on warped tour. Can someone make a call?