Coachella 2007 Day 3 - part one

I have so many photos for this day that I decided to make it into two parts. And there's a reason why I have so many photos. What were the two items that were given to us on Saturday night?

Coachella Main Stage Wristbands! Not only were they promised to get us backstage and VIP access, they deflect bullets too! As the story goes for mere mortals like us, we know someone who knows someone (who actually IS someone) who wasn't going to be there for Sunday. They wrenched the bracelets off their wrists (they are meant to be unremovable, but it's surprising what a little brute force will do) and gave them to us.

Rob was a little worried that the wristbands were color coded for each day, so we approached the security guards with trepidation.

Would they let us through?


Oh yeah... I'm chilling backstage. So please bear with me as I talk about our Sunday VIP experience - we never get to do anything like this so it was a big thrill.

For me, the biggest advantage to having the wristbands was AIR CONDITIONED BATHROOMS! Out among the masses, there are only port-a-potties, which are in questionable condition. In the VIP area, there were trailer style air conditioned bathrooms. But in the back of the mainstage, there were deluxe wood-paneled bathrooms with art inside! Hmmm... why did I have to go to the bathroom 10 times on Sunday versus once on Friday? I meant to take a photo essay of the different facilities, but I think I made my point.

The first act was Mika, whose album I've been loving lately. It's just fun to listen and sing to. You may have heard one of his songs on this commercial.

Nice pants! He has the best band and put on an enthusiastic show, which was great, considering he was the first act of the day.

We ran into his drummer and guitarist backstage and they kindly took a photo with me.

Ah, the things I do for this blog! :)

We ventured over the VIP viewing area, which had better food, more drink choices, and, most importantly, shaded areas to sit and watch the stage.

It's funny how quickly one gets used to special treatment.


We watched Lupe Fiasco (a rapper from Chicago) for a few minutes before wandering backstage to scope out viewing possiblities for later acts. One of the nighttime acts was Crowded House, one of Rob's favorite bands. He wanted to see if it would be more fun being in front or behind the scenes. So we decided to watch The Feeling, a new British band.

It was fun watching the band tuning up.

Rob claims the guitarist saw him taking photos and posed for him.

Have you ever been to a concert and see the people at the side of the stage and wonder how they got there? Well, we were two of those people. And here's the view!

The music doesn't sound as good from back here, but it's so much fun to watch the band interact and all the stuff going on behind the scenes. We did feel sorry for the band - most people weren't there for them and I think the venue was too big for them. The audience perked up when they played a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star".

Afterwards, we discovered that our wristband would also get us sidestage access to the tents as well.

This was the Junior Boys, which consisted of a drummer, keyboardist, bassist/singer, and a Mac Computer. Definitely interesting to watch the audience from the performer's perspective as well.

I wanted to catch an act I've heard a lot about recently - Rodrigo y Gabriela. I just want to say, if you get a chance to see them, do it! They are fantastic.

Here is a clip of them on Letterman and on Jools Holland. The crowd went wild for them.

Next post - Kaiser Chiefs, Willie Nelson, Crowded House and a photo with a someone!