Honestly, America’s most beloved festival (as well as its No 1 fan Lindsay Lohan) has a lot to teach us Brits.
Ah, Coachella. Everything that we’ve got, you can do better: music line-ups (Wu-Tang and Blur), amenities (when was the last time you heard of someone dying on a Coachella portaloo?), weather… As Indio, California readies itself for the final Coachella weekend, we let you know what partygoers can expect the second time round.
1. It is possible to do Coachella sober (according to Lindsay)
Our Linds wouldn’t let a little thing like court-mandated rehab stop her from attending her favourite music festival – but she did tell TMZ that she stayed off booze and drugs for the whole weekend, so who are we to judge? Here she is with her 16-year-old brother, Cody, who presumably kept his sibling on teh straight and narrow.
2. Americans love bermuda shorts
The last time we saw a pair of bare legs was in last August. So we were a little overwhelmed by all the hairy, male all-American limbs on display – especially when they were accompanied by that other great American sartorial innovation, the bermuda short.
3. Nobody knows who the Stone Roses are
“Did they spell Rolling Stones wrong?” one Coachella bystander was heard saying. Turns out Americans are less amenable to the current vogue for indie revivalism than we are. Admirable, really – it’s kind of hard to fly the flag for Madchester when the Hacienda’s been turned into a block of high-rise apartments.
4. The most popular people at Coachella have pools
Temperatures at Coachella hit 98 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend, which meant that any excuse to down cocktails and hang out by a pool was very, very welcome. Step forward Lacoste L!ve, who were happy to oblige Coachella-goers with everything we needed to cool down.
5. Hipsters fucking love R Kelly
There are songs that will always get a crowd on their feet, no matter how redolent the accompanying smell of cheese. One of these songs is Ignition (Remix), so thumbs up to Pheonix, who got R Kelly onstage to sing his big hit while the band jammed out to ‘1901’ behind him.
6. Wu-Tang Clan’s still got it
An unexpected sandstorm provided the perfect backdrop for this reunion, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and got everyone salivating at the promise of a new album (rumoured to be out this summer). And ‘Protect Ya Neck’ still sounds box fresh.
7. Savages did Britain proud
Buzz band of the festival? London’s Savages, an all-female band so fierce that they could probably stare Death in the face and win. Expect to see their second outing this weekend to be rammed.
8. EDM is going strong
Far be it for us to piss on someone’s MDMA wrap, but there’s still something hideously awkward about Americans dolled-up in rave gear and shouting about the drop. Thankfully, the man now known as Coachella Rave Dad has nailed the most important thing about electronic music: just get on your feet and dance like nobody’s watching.
9. Danny DeVito, call us
Sure, Kate Bosworth and Vanessa Hudgens and all those other ‘Coachella starlets’ were out in full force, but we’d rather watch Blur with The Penguin. His one-liner Twitter reviews had us cracking up (“Yeah yeah yeah great” is our favourite) and seriously, who wouldn’t want to hang with this guy?
10. Solange is friends with everyone
She hopped onstage with the xx to perform Aaliyah’s ‘Hot Like Fire’, she got Janelle Monae to sing ‘Losing You’ at a gig, her fave producer is Dev Hynes aka Lightspeed Champion – is this girl the most-connected person in music or what? Fast forward to 18:36 to watch Solange with the band.
Image 1, 3 and 5: Matilda Goad