Party in the Desert - Coachella '16

Our Savannah babe Rachel was out in the desert at Coachella last weekend. Her daily recaps from the the cali festival below:



Day 1: Thursday
Arrived Thursday night with co-worker turned festie bestie Alyssa. We went straight from work, got to the festival grounds around midnight and started drinking Don Julio out of La Croix cans while we waited in line for about an hour and a half. One bottle of Don later we loaded our mound of stuff on a pedicab and headed to our site. Thanks the the fact that we're pros, we were able to set up our tent up in record time and were soon snuggled up in our mini Queendom for the night.



Day 2: Friday
We were feeling the Don a little bit, but when the sun came up we had to get out of the furnace (formerly known as our tent). We loaded up on vitamins, coconut water, and KIND bars and headed to the venue.  By a stroke of good fortune, we managed to catch all the best songs as we bounced around the different stages. We even caught Seal on stage with Gallant doing “Crazy".



The highlight of our night was definitely LCD Soundsystem. It was like Talking Heads meets Muse, with a full band plus elaborate percussion, synth, and male and female vocals. Every song was so catchy you were already singing along before it was over. We made it back in one piece, phones and IDs safe and sound.  Now it was time to put on our eye masks and ear plugs and get some beauty sleep.

Day 3: Saturday
Saturday morning, we escaped the grounds for a little and stopped by a friend’s place where for some screwdrivers and a dip in the pool.  We got a shower in and headed back to the venue feeing refreshed.  Ice Cube killed it, bringing on special guests like his son who starred as Cube in the N.W.A. biopic and even Snoop Dogg for "The Next Episode".


Next up was Guns and Roses. We were all bummed that Axl was confined to a chair the whole time due to his recent foot injury but Slash shredded all the classics and ACDC's Angus Young joined GNR for "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Riff Raff” which totally made up for it.  They closed with "Paradise City" and suddenly the temperature dropped and it was time to snuggle up at the campsite.

Day 4: Sunday
It was the hottest day so far. The sun came burning in at 8am so I decided to take some time to explore the grounds some more. Plugged my phone in at the activity center, caught a yoga-lates class and then made a body chain in arts and crafts. By the time I grabbed a Coachella burger my phone had a full charge so I checked out some vendors on my way back to camp. It was so hot by that point that everyone was laying on blankets spread out under the pop-up tents and I joined them and shot the shit until it was time for Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros. This was definitely another highlight and by the time they played "Home" we were all feeling emotional about the eminent end to our weekend. Since Alyssa and I had managed to inch our ways to a nice spot in the front we decided to stick around and enjoy the view for the next band "Beach House" who ended up surprising us with their trippy dream pop and mesmerizing light show.


We grabbed some pizza from the infamous "Spicy Pie" place in the beer garden and headed to Sia. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Sia (she never shows her face on stage) but she more then made up for her own lack of stage presence by bringing on celebs like Kristen Wiig and Paul Dano as well as dancer Stephanie Mincone for some dramatic cameos and interpretive dance.  We ended up staying longer than planned because the show was so captivating.  Finally, we tore ourselves away, headed to the car and hit the road and began to mentally prepare for a long day at work on Monday.



I have to say, as a southern girl new to the Cali scene I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from Coachella but despite the mass attendance I was pleasantly surprised at how organized and well run the festival was.  The one thing I did find really shocking was the amount of high heels walking about the grounds. I thought I was pretty chic in all terrain Palladium boots, Mamie Ruth kimono, and bikini but I’m a simple girl from Georgia so what do I know. To each her own, but personally, I’ll stick with the boots…