10 Tips to Make the Most of Your Coachella 2011 Experience

It's safe to say that I am obsessed with Coachella. In the weeks and days before this year's lineup was announced, I was constantly on Coachella.com checking for updates. My heart racing, my palms sweaty, I purchased my tickets the very second that they went on sale in the paranoid fear that they would sell out instantly. This will be my sixth Coachella festival, and I have learned some very valuable lessons that have helped to make my experience better year after year.

I. It's not just about the headliners.Even if you hate the headliners, you should still give the festival a chance. I can't stand Kings of Leon or Kanye West, but it doesn't mean that I'm bitter about the entire lineup. It does mean that most of the insane crowds will be at the main stage late in the evening, and the crowds at all of the other stages will be considerably smaller and easier to navigate through. Most of the headliners are worth watching though; headliners of years past have included Jay-Z, Prince, and Paul McCartney.

2. Dress for comfort. Remember, the venue is located in the desert. Add to that the fact that you will probably do miles of walking each day just going from stage to stage. You will be hot, tired, sweaty, and achy. Don't be that girl who decides to wear her cute new platform wedges and a denim miniskirt to the festival; you will regret it, I promise. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes, lose-fitting, lightly colored clothing, and sunglasses.

3. Arrive early. Maybe you don't recognize any of the bands playing before 6 p.m. on Saturday, so you figure you will show up around that time. There are about 50,000 people that have the same idea as you. Make the most of the $300 dollars you spent on a ticket, and save yourself a lot of grief, by getting to the festival around noon. You will have plenty of time to wander around, get some food, dance at the Do-Lab, lay back on the pristine green grass, etc. The mood of the festival is much more relaxing and easygoing earlier in the day. It's not just a concert, it's a vacation.

4. Research the lineup ahead of time. Visit the Coachella about artists page several weeks before the festival to check out some of the bands. It's the best resource for learning about all the of bands you don't recognize. There are links to Facebook pages and Youtube videos of almost all of this year's acts. I have discovered some favorite new bands this way.

5. Spend some quality time with the art at the festival.It is the Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival, after all.There are always interactive sculptures & exhibits scattered all over the festival created by talented artists from all around the world. In 2011, Coachella has partnered up with the Creators Project who will be curating the art exhibits this year. Check out the amazing work they do here. Some of the past years exhibits have included The Big Rig Jig and Ascension, (see photos). My favorite is always the Tesla Coils, which were unfortunately missing last year... hopefully they will be back!

6. Spend some quality time with the food, as well. Now is not the time to make a hasty decision about what to eat. There a hundreds of food options at Coachella, and you don't want to make an unfortunate choice and end up with indigestion or worse. The best formula for me has been as follows: eat something relatively fresh, healthy, and full of protein earlier in the day. It will give you lasting energy for all of that crazy dancing you will be doing. Last year I had a grilled tempeh salad that was simply heavenly. (Tempeh is basically soybeans and/or grains that are cultured and fermented and formed into a cake like shape, for those of you who don't know.) My salad was so beautiful and delicious, that a complete stranger walking by asked me if I would give him one of my tomato slices. I did. 
Later in the evening, when I'm getting tired and hungry, I like to get something greasy and salty The garlic fries and Spicy Pie pizza are both standby favorites of most festival goers. Just avoid items that are too heavy or involve questionable meats, or your evening may end in disaster.

7. Stay hydrated. Again; it's the desert. Don't be a fool. Water at Coachella is only two dollars a bottle; the same price it has been since 1999. I'm always puzzled when people complain about having to buy water. You spent $300 on a ticket and who knows how much else on a hotel or camping space. You're really going to complain about spending $10 a day on water? I assure you, there is not a surplus of free available clean water in the Coachella valley that Goldenvoice is keeping from you just because they are greedy. Remember- beer does not count as water!

8. Plan your potty breaks wisely! Ladies, this one is for you. 75,000 people all using the same port-a-potties all weekend = nasty. As you approach the rows of bright blue Andy Gumps, keep looking past them all the way back towards the fence. There you will find the large, white, air-conditioned, flushable toilet trailers. These tend to be cooler, cleaner, and overall a much more enjoyable bathroom experience than using the port-a-potties. Plus, running water to wash your hands with! Joy! There are restroom areas all over the festival. Find one close to a stage where there is a large crowd; this means that people are busy watching the band and are not waiting in line to use the restroom. If you wait until in between performances to go, plan on being in line for a very long time.

9. Go with people that you love. Going to Coachella with someone is like getting a super concentrated dose of what it would be like to live with that person full time. Avoid going with somebody that you have just started dating recently, if you want to continue dating them. If your priority is to party with friends and spend a lot of time hanging out, then go with a big group of everyone you know. If your priority is to see as many bands as possible over the course of three days, then make sure you go with someone who shares your same musical interests. If someone in your group is bringing you down, sometimes the best possible option is to venture out on your own and meet some new people...

10. ...finally- keep an open mind. There was a lot of publicity last year about how the festival had changed, how it was run poorly, how it was overcrowded, the parking was a disaster, etc. All of these things were true to a certain extent, but I still count Coachella 2010 as one of the best experiences of my life. Somewhere in the middle of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes performance, I stopped caring about the heat and the crowds, and realized that I was having an incredible time. In fact, many of the best experiences of my life have occurred at Coachella: being in the crowd singing along to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"; dancing at the unveiling of Daft Punk's infamous "Alive!" show; seeing Portishead come back after 10 years of not touring. Even more mundane or possibly horrible experiences can turn positive with the right attitude. Perhaps everything about the festival, it's downfalls and it's beauty, is expressed in the following:

"I think music-- having music festivals like this, it bonds people, everybody has a common thing and then all those people get together and we all have an experience together. That's all anyone's looking for. It isn't to hear, y'know the Flaming Lips play again or to see Radiohead's light show or any of that. It's just to get together with your friends and have an experience.

And if we're lucky, you know, enough things will happen and some adversity will happen and something unexpected will happen and you'll get tired, and you'll get hungry, you'll have trouble going to the bathroom, and you'll lose your car keys, and all these wonderful things will add up to some powerful Coachella experience that 10 years from now you'll say "Wow. We lived. We lived."

- Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips speaking about the festival on the official Coachella DVD