Last weekend, thousands of people from all over the world escaped to Coachella, a music and arts festival in Indio, Calif.
People drove, flew and carpooled to Empire Polo Field for three days of music, towering sculptures, camping and a good time.
This year's headliners were Paul McCartney, The Killers and The Cure. The combination drew in a mixed crowd of all ages. Morrissey, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, M.I.A., Atmosphere and Public Enemy also performed.
McCartney performed his solo work as well as some Beatles songs. The Cure played for so long that eventually its sound was pulled and everyone was forced to leave.
Franz Ferdinand was one of the pleasant surprises at Coachella. The band's stage presence was inviting to the crowd and made everyone get up and dance. Franz Ferdinand is not a band whose CD I would go out and buy, but if the band toured in Albuquerque, I would go just for the mood.
The mixture of music was refreshing because, all in one day, you could go to a rock concert, a hip-hop show, a techno show, a dance party and a spoken-word presentation.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Music didn't steal all the glory at Coachella - the art is also something to talk about. One of the displays was a giant robotic hand called "The Hand of Man." It was about 20 feet tall and mimicked a human hand with the power to pick up a junkyard car.
Another crazy piece was a cube with LED spheres inside. The spheres would light up with different colors and create patterns.
The almost-100-degree heat was hard to cope with, but between gallons of sunblock, ice-water-soaked bandanas and overpriced water bottles, people forged on for the love of music.
In the middle of the venue, there was a stage called the Do Lab where DJs played a mix of techno and dance music while the crowd was sprayed with a mist. The Do Lab had ongoing performances that promised dancing, muddy feet and a glorious cooldown.
Coachella is designed with five stages people can wander among throughout the day. The shows started around 1 p.m. and continued until midnight or later when the heat turned into a more manageable evening breeze.
Camping was set up on a field next to the venue and held more than 1,000 tents. The field was set up with portable bathrooms and showers, an Internet café tent, a general store and lots of food options.
Camping on the grounds gave people a chance to make friends with other concertgoers and build a strong sense of community. On the last night, the campers were upset about the lack of music and dancing opportunities after 1 a.m., so they made a marching band of water bottles and drums. They danced, sang and beat their drums until 5 a.m., reminiscing about the music and celebrating 4/20.
The festival environment is something that lets everyone relax, forget about life outside the venue and enjoy good music. The California-beach-bum lifestyle shined through when women showed up in bathing suits and men came shirtless.
Coachella and other music festivals are good opportunities to hear bands, meet people and remember that life is about more than school, money and jobs.
Upcoming music festivals:
Mile High Music Festival - July 18 and 19 in Denver
Bonnaroo Music Festival - June 11-14 in Manchester Farms, Tenn.
Summerfest Music Festival - June 25-July 5 in Milwaukee
