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Coachella 2010: More queer every year

I have been going to Coachella for years and I love this festival: the desert, the sun, the people, the food – but especially the music. Year after year, Coachella is the place where I get to see my favorite bands that, for one reason or another have not been able to see live. It’s also where I discover the bands that, if I were truly hip, I would/should already know about.

The Coachella Music and Arts festival experience can be whatever you want it to be. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure book for adults. This year’s lineup showcased over 130 bands crossing over all musical genres. Let’s be real – this festival had it all. From electronic to rock to mainstream hip-hop, there was something for everyone.

The other thing that I noticed was how this lineup was very queer friendly. Grizzly Bear, Sia, Owen Pallet and supported several female-fronted bands including Camera Obscura, Dead Weather, Beach House and She and Him, which I followed on my own adventure.

I arrived everyday before 1 p.m. on Friday to make sure to see the early bands. Usually, I can’t stand the heat of the sun and being out on that polo field for 12 hours, but there were so many bands that I wanted to see, and it just so happened that the temperature out in Palm Springs was probably about 10 degrees cooler then any other time I’ve been there. (Big ups to whoever or whoever decided to move the festival dates to the middle of April this year, instead of the last weekend. My skin and sweat glands also thank you!)

My adventure started out at Mojave stage where Jets Overhead were playing. I completely lost myself when they started playing “No Nations” – they sounded amazing! I continued from stage to stage catching Fever Ray’s lazer show, Vampire Weekend and then danced my booty off at La Roux.

Seriously I can’t believe I didn’t put together who La Roux was until I was dancing up and down, somehow singing a long to her songs. Have I been living under a rock? Her set left me literally breathless easily one of the best of the festival, if I am gonna play favorites.

Then I saw Them Crooked Vultures, and I really can’t say enough about Jay-Z – or maybe I’ll just randomly speak of him throughout this little recap as if he isn’t one of the hugest most famous people that I have ever seen standing 10 feet from me. “Oh that Jay-Z! We were totally watching Beach House together on Saturday!” As if.

Which leads me to my next point: Being that the Empire Polo Fields (home to the music festival) are just 130 miles from Los Angeles, it is a no-brainer for those who love a good stay-cation, and the celebrities come out by the hundreds. It was television, movie and musical celebrities galore this year.

I couldn’t walk more than 20 feet with out seeing someone that looked familiar that I would’ve sworn I went to high school with or knew through a friend, until after a while I realized I didn’t know them at all and they were actually famous. Which was exactly how it was while watching The Gossip (or rather Gossip as they are called now), and I tell you what, they can call themselves whatever they want, they intoxicate me. Beth Ditto delivered a high-energy performance that drew us all in and spit us out screaming for more. When she started doing the robot on stage I just about died. Really she can do no wrong in my eyes.

At this point I think I am going out of order, but all the days have sort of started to blend together in my mind. The xx were everything that I expected from one of the biggest buzz bands of the year and I am so happy that I was able to find a square of grass big enough to fit my shoes on it. That staged was packed.

I haven’t mentioned Tiesto yet. I had the most doubt in my mind about a headlining DJ – I guess you could say that large raves were never really my thing – so I had no idea what to expect. Was it even possible for a DJ to entertain tens of thousands of people on the mainstage? One man with a couple of turn tables?

I said before: I have been coming to Coachella for years and maybe I forgot to mention that I love Coachella so much that in 2007, I got a job with the promoter, Goldenvoice. That was the year that Rage Against the Machine headlined and I never thought I would see more energy on that field then I did that year.

So can a DJ control and satisfy 50,000 hipsters, rockers, hip hoppers and club kids? I stood in the middle of the field watching the crowd go completely bonkers as Tiesto played “Feel it in My Bones,” his latest collaboration with Tegan and Sara, and as their faces lit up the huge screens above the mainstage, I realized that I was witnessing the why it is called trance music. It was like the light bulb went on in my brain – tah duh, get it now!

And to answer my own question: Yes, yes, yes, 50,000 times yes.

Maybe I was still in a trance the next morning when I woke up, because it was back to the field for more the third day of fun in the sun – more music and more of the best lemonade I have ever tasted (mmmm, I want some right now). Owen Pallet, MUTEMATH, Glitch Mob, B.O.B., De La Soul, Deer Hunter packed Sunday’s line up as the must-sees so as to keep everyone there and I am glad I stayed.

Looking back at the lineup right now, I wonder what my adventure would have looked like if I spent more time at the Sahara tent or maybe stayed for Pavement on the last night. I think I will just read all the other articles that I can find to learn about everyone else’s adventures and compare them to mine.

I love you Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival. See you next year!

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