Coachella Memories From A Friend Who’s Been There: Eva Crawford

But this blogger, me, has never attended the Coachella Music Festival, so to get an idea of what Coachella’s like I turned to a friend who has done it: Eva Crawford.

Regular readers may remember that Eva attended and helped cover The Night Of 100 Stars Oscars Party and The Oscars Red Carpet with me (and Stephanie Thorpe) on Oscar Sunday 2013:

But we never talked about Coachella! Never came up.

So, Eva Crawford was good enough to connect with me on Facebook, and chat about good old Coachella – ah, without the sex talk!

Here it is:

Eva Crawford
Okay question one this was not my first Coachella
I’ve been to several

9:35pm
Zennie Abraham
Ah!
Nice!

9:35pm
Eva Crawford
this was my first return in a couple of years

9:36pm
Zennie Abraham
Can I ask why the gap?

9:36pm
Eva Crawford
It really was mostly the recession
For the money it’s a good deal but I stayed with local smaller shows that year exclusively while I felt a bit better about finances.
In any case the age old question why subject yourself to Coachella? The weather is inhospitable, there are the crowds and the multiple security checks and pat downs, a long dusty trek to the front gate, porta potties and epic crowds
to that I say it’s definitely definitely not for everyone, but I look at it this way. It’s a badge of honor, and the reward far exceeds the downsides.

9:41pm
Zennie Abraham
Ah! Then I must go!

9:41pm
Eva Crawford
I joked this year I was actually going to draft some “coachella badges” like you’d get when you are a boy scout or a girl scout
“I found my car at the end of the night in a duststorm” badge

9:41pm
Zennie Abraham
Say! Good idea. Design them and sell them at Cafe Press!!

9:43pm
Eva Crawford
in any case the point is 80,000 people do this every year now and that’s just weekend 1 so 160,000 people invest the energy to do this
so why?

9:43pm
Zennie Abraham

9:43pm
Eva Crawford
it’s because there are these experiences in a live show at Coachella and they are unparalled
Whether it’s finding an amazing new band you’ve never heard of

9:44pm
Zennie Abraham
Ah!

9:44pm
Eva Crawford
or standing with thousands of people who know all the words to a song just like you do

9:44pm
Zennie Abraham
LOL
That I like

9:44pm
Eva Crawford
And every time there are performances that are transcendant

9:45pm
Zennie Abraham

9:45pm
Eva Crawford
it’s the collective experience
you are all in the same boat, you all faced the challenge of the heat and the sand, the crowds etc

9:46pm
Eva Crawford
I’ll answer the rest of the questions here and you can ask me more if you need filler
Coachella fashion does dictate what you see on the shelves come summer time but it works both ways, now fashion lines put out “festival inspired” lines long before the summer shows even start

9:49pm
Eva Crawford
That said you will see fashion industry people there, if H&M had a tent this year that should tell you something In my personal opinion there is rarely any ground breaking fashion it’s just the cycle of classic concert wear, think woodstock. Flower headbands and jean cutoffs one year, sundresses and flip flops with big sunglasses another year. Get my drift? It’s nothing epically innovative but it does influence style trends

9:53pm
Eva Crawford
Is Coachella too big… well I can’t lie there was something great about going for a single day or two and just walking up to the ticket booth and grabbing a pass for the day. It’s another enterprise now, tickets are bought nearly as soon Coachella ends for the next year. There are no paper tickets it’s all RFID which is what you’ll see at all big shows from here on out. It’s just more secure. I don’t think there is any going back though. And really all in all there is still plenty of space to move around in on the grounds. My only complaint about this year was sound bleed seemed worse. I’m not sure why but I suspect they are turning up the sound to compensate for more people in the crowds

9:59pm
Eva Crawford
Celebrities: Apparently there were many but most of us aren’t looking for them. But we’ve seen them in years past. Katy Perry, Paris Hilton and I think we saw La Lohan about 3 years ago. they have their own VIP but still often wander the field looking at the art and such. The art is a big deal and there were some great pieces this year. All in all though most folks let them be and I think that’s why the few celebs that frequent the show keep coming back.

11:30pm
Zennie Abraham
Well,…
LOL
Did you get high?!
LOL
I would have floated on the smoke.

11:30pm
Eva Crawford
Nope I never do but that’s not my thing

11:30pm
Zennie Abraham
And weed, for some reason, never effects me.
I tried when I was, oh, 20 – NO IMPACT
Seriously.

11:31pm
Eva Crawford
And I don’t drink out there either? Just too easy to dehydrate

11:31pm
Zennie Abraham
Yeah, that would, as you may remember, be the kiss of death for me.

11:31pm
Eva Crawford
But safe to say the numbers that do both are very high

11:32pm
Zennie Abraham
But I’m really interested in why Coachella just became, well, huge.
It seems like it was big over just the last 5 years.
Or maybe I’m late to the party?
OH. Can you share some of your photos?

11:33pm
Eva Crawford
It’s continued to grow I. Infamy and I’ll give you my cell pics..

11:33pm
Zennie Abraham
Okie.

11:33pm
Eva Crawford
I think it sells out in minutes now
80,000 in minutes

11:34pm
Zennie Abraham
Yeah, its like the Comic Con of music!
And it just occurred to me that I could get a press credential.

11:34pm
Eva Crawford
It’s an AEG event now as well