The History of Coachella Arts Festival:The Music, The Memories
By Guest Writer
In 1993 two bands played in front of 25,000 fans at a free concert. Pearl Jam and Tool put together a free show in protest of Ticketmaster’s monopoly over concerts and the high price of tickets. A crappy, undeveloped area of land at the Indio Polo Grounds was chosen to host the event, little did they know that fourteen years later the biggest money making concert event in the United States would be held on that same hollowed ground.
It wasn’t until 1999 that the “free concert” officially received a name and thus was no longer going to be free. The Coachella Music & Arts Festival was born and the months of April and May in Palm Springs and Indio would never be the same again. Unfortunately even with big name acts like Rage Against The Machine and Tool, by the end of the two-day event the festival was unable to generate any profits. Because of the disastrous Woodstock 99 they were also unable to give out camping permits, so you can only imagine how many people that turned away. As a result of the financial funk leftover from the inaugural festival, the year 2000 went by without a second Coachella.
On April 28th 2001 the powers that be decided to give Coachella another try. It’s also at this point that I began attending the festival. This time around the event would be a one-day and it would prove to be a very successful day at that. Headliners such as then, newly reunited Jane’s Addiction and Weezer gave the show it’s masses of people, and secondary acts such as Iggy Pop and DJ Paul Oakenfold gave Coachella its credibility.
In 2002, Coachella as it is today really got its start. It went back to the original two-day format, but upped the number of performers and raised the level of superstar headliners. Bjork was the first days treat and Oasis closed out the second. The group I run with is committed to every year the festival happens and 2002 was no difference.
Unlike most rock festivals (see Lollapalooza, Live Aid for references) Coachella in 2002 didn’t have the drunk, push & shove thing going on. It was more artsy and appreciative of the music and the people around. I just remember when Bjork played no one danced or really moved; she had mystified the crowd and subdued the beast. That year I also recall something happening I’d never experienced publicly, a sing a long. As the second day came to a close Oasis was finishing up their set and began playing Don’t Look Back In Anger. A personal favorite of mine I was very excited about hearing it. Suddenly the sheer number of people singing along with me took my breath away. In tears I sang the chorus along with 50,000 people and I never felt so pure and happy as I did for those five and a half minutes.
2003 was the most commercial Coachella up to that point in its history. Headliners like The Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers brought a very unorthodox crowd of fans that tended to be there more for the booze and scantily clad women than for the music. The music is all that matters at Coachella, an individual is worthless in comparison to the whole. A person must be willing to sacrifice certain luxuries that may have seemed at one point to be impossible to live without. Basic necessities like air, water, and at least an arm’s width of personal space, are thrown into the volcano that is Coachella, in order to please the Gods of rock & roll.
The follow up year to the commercial circus that was Coachella 2003, wiped away all previous complaints and hang-ups surrounding the longevity of the festivals credibility. In 2004 Coachella would transform yet again and this time it would be a beautiful butterfly that emerged and not a McDonalds. The greatest band of the modern era, Radiohead, finally graced the desert stage at the festival, causing it to quickly become the Woodstock of the west coast.
The Saturday show saw the reunion of legendary rock band The Pixies and German synth group Kraftwerk. Sunday was a bit less dramatic, although The Cure played just about every song they ever recorded and some they didn’t. The Flaming Lips put on a rather odd show, lead singer Wayne Coyne played “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” by surfing atop the crowd in a giant inflatable sphere.
The year 2005 was a bit of a disappointment overall. Saturday night’s headliner Coldplay put on a very soft rock show. It felt a bit like a Paul Simon concert during his “Graceland” period. Sunday night kind of made up for it, Nine Inch Nails and a very buff Trent Reznor tore up the stage and fulfilled some of the obligations taken on by Coachella through the years. A reunion by Bauhaus was another treat but did not provide much more than a little sparkle in comparison to 2004.
Coachella 2006 was a return to the badass style audiences were becoming accustomed to. A truly packed line up made it impossible for anyone to talk shit this time around. 1980’s mega group Depeche Mode closed out Saturday night and put on a hell a concert. Combining a lot of their old stuff with the harder edged new sound was a real experience. For someone who is familiar with the history of Depeche Mode’s live sound, I was just as blown away at Coachella, as I was the first time I saw 101 on VHS. Sunday was a night of Tool, a bit to hardcore for my taste, but their presence was enough to make me respect them and their fans.
Finally we come to 2007, last years Coachella. A new three-day look was the 2007 motif. Personally I felt the added third day was long overdue. The original Woodstock 69 was a three-day event, if we want to follow in their footsteps than adding a third day was a step in the right direction. For the first time Friday was the starting point of the festival, and for most people it felt very natural, as if it had always been three days long. Bjork returned to the Coachella stage and was spot on as always. The Chili Peppers closed out Saturday. It was a bit boring as usual, except for lead guitarist John Frusciante came out on stage alone and performed Fleetwood Mac’s “Song Bird” from Rumours. Sunday was what everyone was waiting for. A return performance from newly reunited Rage Against The Machine, a long anticipated event, which played out in front the largest viewing audience Coachella has ever seen. Over 85,000 people squished together to see something everyone thought would never happen again. The fans lit things on fire and climbed up the scaffolding; it was all quite exhilarating and enjoyable. I’m glad I was able to be a witness.
So what do we have to look forward to in 2008? Who really knows, the Coachella line-up spies are out all over trying to dig up any piece of credible or incredible information pertaining to the artists performing this year. What I do know is whoever does show up at this years festival will no doubt be big time stars with big time shows to put on. All you really have to do is get a hotel reservation or a camping site and save up at least $300 dollars for the tickets. You know I’m going to be there with my whole Coachella group, we are certifiable veterans by now and have got the entire event clocked. If you want to find us will be on the left side of the main stage, all three days, come see me at my office anytime.
