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hi. I'm going to coachella. Never been. I have tinnitus really badly so I only want to pop in, see New Order, and go. So I was thinking of showing up around seven. Question: I have a ticket, will I be able to get my seat then? Is it organized? Or will people have taken it because I havent been there all day?
tia
No seats it's all grass. There are five stages spread across a large field. About two days before the show they will post the set times at www.coachella.com and they do stick to them pretty rigidly so you'll know when to shoot for. Arriving that late you shouldn't have long traffic lines but you will have a long walk as you'll be way way out at the end of the parking. I'd aim to get there well before set time, especially if you want to muscle up to the front.
(Secret tip, go round the left-hand side of the main stage, everyone drifts in from the right and you can get much closer on the left)
However, if you can work some earplugs or something, I'd urge you to go for the whole day (or weekend), it really is an awesome festival.
Either way, enjoy it.
PS the "seat number" on your ticket is for admin purposes only, it fools a lot of people.
Thanks for the grass heads up! I'm barely five feet tall so even if I shove up front I'll see peoples' backs and heads. To anybody reading this going to Coachella: if you have time, go to Palm Springs and take the tram. It's an insanely scary rotating gondola ride up 8,000 feet to a snow-filled park. It's really cool.
another tip - be sure to check the list on www.coachella.com about what you can and cannot bring into the polo fields. a lot of people end up losing stuff in the trash or have to walk back to their cars after going thru the line because they are caught with some item that isn't allowed in the field. the list varies, but in the past, you couldn't even bring in a digital camera. i think digital cameras are allowed now, but be sure to check that list!!
Cameras are OK as long as they don't have a detatchable lens (that's deemed "professional").
Thanks for the info here Colin, I've also checked out the Rules and FAQs at the Coachella site. One last question: are concert goers physically searched to insure that anything on the banned list doesn't get in, or is the search limited to backpacks and such (I did read on their message board about one guy who drank a bunch of vodka in a water bottle, rather than dumping it out on the ground).
The search was pretty thorough for the show and the campgrounds, but lots of people reported getting stuff in. I saw them searching a bunch of folks but then, seeing how long the line was, they let the next dozen or so straight through.
Nobody was getting busted from anything, worst thing was having to trash your food or drink.
