Coachella diary
Behind the scenes at festival’s most exclusive party,
INDIO, CALIF.— What do the rich and famous do after partying at Coachella?
They head down a dusty, dimly lit, two-lane highway in search of another illuminated oasis in the California desert.
On the concrete slab outside an airport hangar about 30 minutes from the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a carnival fit for celebrities is waiting.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of music fans descend on the small city of Indio for Coachella, which runs over two consecutive weekends in April. This year’s event wraps up on Sunday. But only about 2,000 festivalgoers make the cut for the nighttime Neon Carnival amusement park bash, which takes place on the festival’s first Saturday night.
It really is a party like no other. The carnival rides, the giant waterslide, the games, the soft toys, the tequila shots and the ice cream are all free.
So is the spotting of celebs indulging in all of the above.
Late last Saturday, hundreds of hopefuls adorned in festival outfits hung around outside the Thermal Airport hangar trying to figure out a way to sneak inside or get a glimpse of arriving celebs.
Aggressive security guards pushed the crowds back: “If your name isn’t on the list, get off the grounds!” they yelled.
Outside, the scene was chaotic; inside it was electric.
Those lucky enough to have a name on the list walked down a dramatically lit tunnel that emerged into another world.
It was a hive of flashing lights, giant astronauts, open-mouthed clowns, bumper cars, margaritas, music world moguls and beautiful people.
Tall women wearing little clothing stood at the bar chanting “Coachella” before downing tequila shots.
Leonardo DiCaprio fist-pumped on the open-air dance floor. Paris Hilton posed for photos in front of the ferris wheel.
As I was heading toward a water pistol game stall, Justin Bieber walked past with swagger, surrounded by his entourage and with his hair in a man bun.
Aslew of other celebrities attended, including Chris Brown, Adam Levine, Ashley Greene, Josh Henderson, Joe Jonas, Scott Eastwood, Jamie Chung, Kellan Lutz and Aaron Paul.
Revellers sailed down the giant waterslide, screamed on bumper cars and danced atop tables to pop music blaring from the stage.
Carnival games in multicoloured stalls lined the outskirts of the hangar and soft toys were handed out like candy.
The dolphins, monkeys, bears and other fluffy stuffed animals were tossed around the party and most ended up crushed on the dance floor, covered in booze.
Neon Carnival starts after Coachella wraps up on the first Saturday. The outdoor party doesn’t end until 4 the next morning.
Most partiers come straight from Coachella, still in their festival attire. Some were wearing little more than underwear, others feathered headdresses, reflective sunglasses and floral-printed flares.
Professional hair and makeup artists were available inside the gates for those wanting to freshen up for free after a day spent in the desert sun.
While Neon Carnival is only in its sixth year, Coachella has been running since 1999.
The music festival’s headliners for 2015 included Drake, AC/DC, Jack White, Florence & the Machine, the Weeknd, Tame Impala and Alt-J.
On Friday night, Australia’s classic hard rock band AC/DC riled up the crowd, with 67-year-old lead singer Brian Johnson screaming into the microphone: “I hope you guys like rock ’n’ roll, ’cause that’s all we do!”
Fans went wild as lead guitarist Angus Young, 60, did his signature dance/hop/shuffle across the stage wearing his red velvet schoolboy uniform.
The first weekend (April 10 to 12) was awash in celebrity scandals, such as Bieber being booted out of the festival in a chokehold; Tyler the Creator dissing Kendall Jenner during his set and surprise-performer Madonna kissing Drake onstage.
The massive music and arts festival also hit the headlines for apparently missing the memo on the California drought.
In early April, California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a first statewide mandatory 25-per-cent reduction in water use.
Despite this, Coachella’s grass fields were lush and green, and flowers bloomed in the manicured rose gardens.
Campers were also given the option of free, communal showers or paying $10 to jump the queue and have a private shower. The camping ground stretched for miles, with sites decked out with tarpaulins, tables, sound systems and even kissing booths.
Chase Vandergrift, 33, of San Diego, was camping with 21 other mates for the second year in a row.
The crew has an established routine now: arrive Thursday morning, set the camping site up with the barbecue, canopies and tents, party for four days and pack up Monday morning.
An essential item when camping is ear plugs, he said.
“Camping is better than staying in a hotel. We are five feet away,” Vandergrift said, holding on to the handle of a pot full of scrambled eggs.
Some festivalgoers have been flocking to Coachella religiously for years.
Jack Catlin, 36, of Los Angeles, arrived for his 10th festival. The best live act he said he had seen over the past decade was Daft Punk. When asked why he kept coming back, Catlin said: “I just love music.”
There’s no shortage of that. Nonstop live music blares from six huge stages from around 11 a.m. to midnight each day.
Beer gardens, gourmet food stalls and quirky art installations are dotted across the festival grounds, giving those music-ed out a break from the intense concert scene.
A gigantic caterpillar stretched across the middle of the main field and provided some much-needed shade from the beating desert sun. By Sunday, it had morphed into a huge, glittery butterfly with moving wings.
One of the most popular art installations this year was The Corporate Headquarters, a three-storey office structure with floor-to-ceiling windows that had hippos in business suits working inside. The hippos (or men in hippo masks) were seen banging on typewriters, throwing and eating paper, and destroying the office.
The scene fit right in at Coachella, where people were tattooed with gold and silver tribal markings, and dressed in panda masks, fairy wings, horns and see-through crochet dresses.
During the day, old men napped on couches in the shade. At night, young women were seen holding their heads in their hands, vomiting onto the grass.
One reveller was passed out on the ground in the middle of the crowd during Tycho’s Saturday-night performance. Rather than shifting her, the people nearby placed LED lights on her body so she wouldn’t be crushed by the crowd.
It was a weekend to remember, even though some may struggle to.