Saturday 10 September 2016

MY COACHELLA EXPERIENCE




One thing I really miss about Coachella, the dusty sunsets. 

A lot of people (including myself before I tried and tested it) wonder what exactly the difference is between Coachella and our UK festivals, what does Coachella have that we don't. There's always so much hype around the Californian Festival, especially in the last few years since the Jenner sisters have been in attendance and instagrammed the whole thing.

So i'll tell you, Coachella has gorgeously dusty sunsets, unbearably hot weather, and an excellent line up. There's always amazing art installations set up around the site, and plenty of choice for food. Everyone who attends looks absolute perfection, although they all look exactly the same. Coachella also has designated drinking areas. There's not a trace of rain or mud in sight, but if you catch it on a windy weekend (like I did) you'll struggle to drink your $16 margarita without getting a mouth full of sand. It's a lot smaller than I'd imagined, comparably about the size of Reading & Leeds  main arena, and the air of pretension is strong.

Over the three days we managed to see - Foals, The Last Shadow Puppets, LCD Soundsystem, Chvrches, The Arcs, Halsey, Disclosure, Ice Cube, Guns n Roses, Nathaniel Ratliff & the night sweats, Wolf Alice, Cold War Kids, The 1975, Sia and Calvin Harris.  
My highlights were; Sia, who was phenomenal and like no other artist I ever seen (and I've seen a few tbh) and watching the 1975 on sunday afternoon - I am not a huge fan of theirs, but the mood amongst the crowd seemed to be the most upbeat all weekend and whenever I hear them now it takes me right back to that moment. 

We originally bought our tickets back in May 2015 on the payment scheme they have, we paid about £40 each month up until December. Which made everything very easy. The most difficult part was finding a place to stay. We decided against camping, the idea of that 30+ heat with no pool seemed like a nightmare to me, so we hunted down a hotel. With Palm Springs being a fairly small place, all the hotels hiked up their prices whilst the festival was on (obviously) but we managed to find a place to stay at the ingleside inn (it's worth noting that this isn't a cheap hotel, but compared to others was reasonable) This place was famous back in the day, as it's where all the rat pack used to vacay - as soon as I found this out I was sold. So, we stayed in luxury, lounged by the pool until midday and then caught the shuttle bus to the site. Easy.

So Coachella, possibly the most stylish festival in the world..
What Coachella lacks however, is the amazing atmosphere that we do at UK Festivals. There's no idiot covered in mud, who's had a box of wine for breakfast. There's the whole "Yeah man, Coachella man" phrases been shouted across from time to time, and a little buzz of excitement, but it's not quite the same. It's hard to put into words but it is just not as fun as our festivals back here (sorry Cali) 
After lusting after a ticket for the last 10 years, I am so glad to finally say I have done it and feel unbelievably fortunate for the experience. But you couldn't pay me enough money to swap my Glastonbury ticket for a Coachella one.

Chanel x








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