I was clearly experiencing a whole new Coachella. It was less about the music and more about the supplemental details that composed a unique environment upon which the festival was hinged…Radiohead’s sound cut out three times during their set; Future’s stage seemed too big for him; The Migos performed twice without being on the official lineup. Things that I would not have noticed before were overwhelmingly obvious…yet, I still had high hopes for Kendrick to hit a musical home-run.
The night of day two surprisingly made the whole trip worth while. Jeremy Scott’s production: a Moschino X Candy Crush event was the energy for which I had been searching! Colorful lights reflected off of the lake; DJs were playing ‘THIS IS MY SONG!’ songs, drinks and bites were readily available. Oh yeah, and there was also valet parking—you know, to make it more convenient for us. Thanks, Jeremy! There was a Candy Crush themed slide! Whaaat? Photographers all around ready to snap you and your crew should you want a Candy Crush boarder around your digital photo for memory; lollipops, gummy bears, and jelly beans filled to the tops of jars with mini shovels to scoop out whatever your Willy-Wonka heart desired. The eclectic mix of people was incredible.
I ran into middle and high school friends who were now famous. I saw homies I’d known from running the streets, faces I’d seen in movie sagas, rappers I heard on the radio. Queens were dressed better than everyone who thought they were going to win that award. Ethnicity, race, gender, non-conforming, celebs, new kids on the block, you name it—there was someone representing. If only the diversity and swag that was here, was at the actual music festival, oh what a world this would be.
After a night of dancing, meeting lovely, new people and catching up with old ones, taking photos, and drinking endless flutes of rosé, I was not hopping out of bed to rush to the festival grounds on day three. I, instead, took a ginger ale and sat down to breakfast, then hit up the pool to contemplate the day’s goals. Day’s Goals: meet up with Vince (Staples) and stay longer enough to see Kendrick’s set at 10:35 pm. Easy.
Meeting up with Vince was a breeze, sticking around the dusty, arid desert in the relentless heat, not so much. The hour long cat nap taken in the rental paid off big time.
At 10:25 pm my alarm rang. I got up, splashed some water on my face, and trekked back to Coachells to attend the event for which I had been anxiously waiting….