coachella 2007: baby's first music festival

three days of desert concerts left me feeling tired, but invigorated in a way i have not been in a long time. from the incredible loving-kindness of willie nelson, to the occult energy of ghostface, to the dance punk genius of LCD soundsystem, the weekend was full of generous performances and heartfelt moments. but leaving the event on monday morning, i could not help but feel that it was the increasing class division in america that was really on stage at coachella 2007.

i went in thinking that an outdoor musical festival was, in essence, a populist experience and that part of what would make it special would be its ability to bring together many different kinds of people under the auspices of a shared love of music. but that was not the case at coachella, where class divide, as much as the music, was hugely on display. the experience drove home the truth of an idea that i usually ascribe to the paranoia of those who have an above average understanding of economic history – namely that the class division in this country is greater and more noticeable than it has ever been in my lifetime. (see NYT for more.)

the coachella attendees fell into three categories: glammed up rock stars and their crews, privileged VIP insiders and celebs, and the port-o-potty hoi polloi. such glaring divisions are expected in the hollywood nightclub environment, which is designed based on the idea that everyone wants to be a celebrity and will go to extreme economic (or moral) lengths to gain access to the golden inner circle -- the VIP area (on the good nights) and the after party, high in the hills. but, at least for me, there is something off putting about a music festival that adopts the hollywood model.

scarlett wasn't much of an economist singing

back up vocal for the jesus and mary chain.

unfortunately, she wasn't much of a singer either. (cute look though.)

overall, it seemed that the designer clad VIP crew who were more interested in seeing and being seen than in engaging in a communal experience with the people around them were a blight on the festival experience since the people who attended coachella to get away with the music they loved were constantly reminded of the LA from which they were attempting to escape.

as i watched the interaction between groups taking place, (thought there was not much, as the VIP-ers rarely strayed out into the festival grounds), i couldn’t help but wonder if the class-divided landscape was just an error on the part of the coachella planners, or if it was a sign of an increasingly disturbing shift in overall american culture.

beyond the music, which again, was wonderful (and at times even transcendent) the weekend was a fascinating sociological study. in trying to offer a little bit of everything to everyone, in some ways coachella seemed to effectively offer nothing -- except the ability to alienate attendees who had not paid hundreds of dollars for VIP access. my privileged perspective was the result of my own extraordinary mobility -- access to the VIP area (granted by a music insider friend). even though I was let down by the clear social division, the sets i saw were phenomenal and i absolutely loved the experience. i would even go back to this or another festival, though maybe before next year's coachella, i’ll try a festival that is a little less “LA.” in the interim, if i’m in the mood for that kind of scene, i can always get my fix in hollywood.