Hacking Coachella

[SallyMae]

We have heard the hype about Coachella, but there was no chance that we could pay $500-900 per person for tickets, 1K/night for glamping, etc. Still, it's only about a 3 hour drive from where I live, so we decided to hop in the car and just head over. We have attended Phish concerts where we never bought tickets or went inside, we just hung out with the groupies and vendors outside the stadium and rocked to the music for free. There's always plenty to do.

Well when we got to Coachella, the traffic was blocked off for miles around the venue. We parked at a Walmart (with big signs that said "No festival parking!") and walked for an hour to get to the show. Unlike the Phish concert, there was no supporting crowd - we were practically alone walking down the street (except for cops in the distance enforcing the traffic barricades).

And yet, it was magical. From across the street we could see right into the venue. We could hear the music, we could see the performers on the big screen with all the visuals and lasers, and we could hear the roar of the crowd. As we walked along, we could see all the art pieces, the long balloon line, the giant Ferris wheel lit up and sparkling. All alone, we danced on the sidewalk outside and grooved to the beat. Then when the music changed and got kind of lame, we just left, no regrets.

I have since watched some video from inside and it was packed. I'm glad I was not in that crowd. Where we were, we had Coachella all to ourselves, we had an amazing time, and it cost us only gas money and sore feet. That's my confession, and I recommend it!

[RIZZY]

How wonderfully bohemian and romantic!

[mommy_jules]

Glad you had fun. It’s baseball season, so I’ve just been hanging out at baseball and softball games. DH is coaching DD11’s softball team, and I’m learning how to keep the score card or whatever it’s called.

[SallyMae]

Glad you had fun. It’s baseball season, so I’ve just been hanging out at baseball and softball games. DH is coaching DD11’s softball team, and I’m learning how to keep the score card or whatever it’s called.

I love (non-pro) baseball and softball games where you can just hang out and watch and root for the underdog, lol.

[WellPreserved]

This sounds wonderful! We have a 5-day music festival in our county that is pretty large (about 20,000 people) and fairly big name bands. My favorite days are Wednesday (day 1) and Sunday (day 5). Less crowds but lots of magic!

[Slimshandy]

Glad you had fun! I went to Coachella like 15 years ago and almost died getting smushed in the crowd trying to get close to Tool performing…lol that was my last time.


Your way was probably a lot better than being in the crowd.