Why I Think Coachella Sucks

That's right I said it. Coachella sucks. My first exposure to the music festival was soon after moving to the Los Angeles area. A co-worker told me about how he was left stranded at a Denny's because his ride ditched him. That was in 2003.

The following year, Radiohead headlined Day 1 so, naturally I had to attend. What I experienced in the desert was unbearable heat, long lines, and no cell reception. I think I maybe saw 4 bands play that day, including Radiohead. Too may bands that I wanted to see overlapped, and when I did make it to the stage/tent where they were playing, there were too many people, thus making it near impossible to enjoy the experience. I even had to miss Radiohead's set closing Bends-era epic "Planet Telex" just so I could avoid traffic. That was in 2004.

I have not been to Coachella since.

Frankly I just prefer seeing bands play their own headlining shows as opposed to the opportunity of seeing many bands in the festival atmosphere. To me it just makes more sense and it is less of an ordeal. Who the hell wants to book a hotel room just to see a concert?

But there is another downside of Coachella that has nothing to do with attending the event. The festival's organizer, GoldenVoice, stipulates in their contracts that the bands participating in the festival are not allowed to play any shows in the Greater Los Angeles area near the dates it occurs. So when Arcade Fire, who this week is playing a 5-night stand in New York City, announced more dates for their North American tour in support of "Neon Bible," I noticed two things:

1.) There were only two southern California dates listed 4/26 (a Thursday) in San Diego & 4/28 (Saturday) at Coachella.

2.) There were 3 more NYC dates scheduled for May (location TBA).

Now, if you're paying attention that is 8 total shows for the Big Apple and 1 show for L.A. that isn't even in L.A. I'm no mathematician, but I'm pretty sure that is an uneven allotment between two of the U.S.'s largest cities. Based on the evidence at hand, my powers of deduction would lead me to believe that the culprit is none other than the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

I hold out hope that shortly before or soon after the blight that is the Coachella festival, Arcade Fire will announce more L.A. area shows, but until that happens my judgement remains steadfast and unwavering. That, my dear reader, is why I think Coachella sucks. Now you may disagree with me, but you'd be wrong.

--M