Coachella – day 2

This morning as the sun began to warm my tent I hoped it would reverse its course and let me sleep a little longer. Unfortunately the cool evening breeze rapdily turned into the desert blanket that topped out yesterday over 100F. Looking around at the hundreds of other tents all in their 7'x7' square per person, I could see the tired eyes of many other campers. I've never seen anything like the rows and rows and rows of multicolored domes from one person "coffin-like" bivy sac to the mutliroom family sized mansions. The proximity of the tents has yielded some interesting side effects. For example, last night we experienced the verbal equivalent of the wave that began at the end by the showers and built momentum as it rushed to our end.

Other campers are easy to spot both at the event and around town thanks to the orange armbands that delineate the herd. In the coffee shop I'm in now, several campers are soaking up the cool asleep in the lounge chairs, a few others have staked out a table, and the line has alternated consistently with locals and the tagged ones.

Hot Chip surprised us with their fast beats and enjoyable tunes. I'm definitely going to add them to my iPod the next chance I get. Unfortunately the tent they played overflowed onto the sundrenched remnants of the polo field it sits on. Not wanting to leave looking like a lobster, we opted to sit in the grass in a tent across the pathway with no view, but decent sound.

While the sunset behind the mountains behind the crowd, the Decemberists played a reduced set of the same songs from the Nashville show. The setting here is really beautiful, the palm trees in the middleground and mountains in the background create a stairstep of scale bounded by a cloudless blue sky. I always enjoy shows where the artists recognize that there's a crowd of fans and interact with them instead of playing like they're in a studio. The Decemberists' ballads lend themselves to crowd participation as they tend to tell intricate stories. Seeing a crowd of 'spirit fingers' during the part of Perfect Crime where the safe explodes changed the experience from just watching to participating. The improptu dance contest that Mr Meloy initiated helped get the whole crowd moving. The finale, the Mariner's Revenge brought the return of giant two-person whale puppet and the lamenting wails of the entire audience.

The main stage drew an enormous crowd for the headline performance, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who are still rocking after more than 20 years. Flea, the bassist, played solos like I've never heard. Instead of treating the bass like a backup instrument, he attacked it with fury. The rest of the band had excellent execution and stage presence. They even played Under the Bridge, my first music purchase, a tape single.

Water is essential in the desert and $2 per bottle adds up fast. The organizers have done something I've never seen; they’re exchanging 10 empties for a full one, which has certainly lessened the load for the garbage collectors. Matt and I have each picked up number of bottles and happily exchanged them.