Today, tickets for Coachella 2013 already went on sale. This was just announced a week ago and I’m still sucking in my three day experience that happened only a month ago. Unfortunately, I won’t be attending Coachella next year as I have plans for Ultra Music Festival in Miami. BUT, for those who are planning to buy their tickets for Coachella, I have several tips and some experiences from what I witnessed when I went. I hope you take some of them into consideration as they will make your trip to Indio better and even more memorable.

Check out my recorded videos of Coachella at YouTube.com/user/RoomNoise09/videos

1. Go With a Group of Friends

Luckily, I went with a group of 10-15 people. We all stayed at the same hotel, but went to Coachella at different times throughout the day. We always scheduled a time and place where we could all meet to see a band that we enjoyed. I spent most of Coachella with my best friend but even then, A LOT of people from what I witnessed went with a huge group of friends. It’s harder to maneuver across the huge crowd if it’s just two people. The more friends, the better to get around the crowd. The average was from 4-7 people, I find that going with a medium size is ideal because you have friends to enjoy that live experience with.

Extra tips:

- Have a meeting spot if someone gets lost (Ex. A1 Speakers on Mainstage).

- You will barely get any signal when you text someone, so add the time you texted them.

- People would carry a tall stand or wear a large hat so that you won’t lose track of where your friends are going in the crowd – many people did themes for their group.

- At the end of the night, if you lose your friends – just meet them back at the hotel or camping spot. It’s pretty much a stampede trying to find someone then!

2. Drink Lots of Water & Bring a Hoodie

Thank god they only sell water at Coachella for $2.00, what I did was kept the water bottle (or bring your own) and refilled it at the water stations. Keep a map/schedule with you, because those show you where the water stations are when you’re dying of thirst. You’re in the dessert for god sakes and in the sun from 8-12 hours – you do NOT want to spend $300 on a ticket and get a heat stroke.

During the day it gets really warm (25-30 degrees) but at night, you’ll pretty much freeze to death. So bring a sweater or a scarf to keep yourself warm after sunset.

Extra tips:

- Have someone in your group bring a small backpack or bag to keep essentials (water bottles, sweaters, etc).

3. Save Your Favourite DJ Sets for a 19/21+ Event

One major mistake I made was seeing all the DJ’s that I haven’t seen before at Coachella. You gotta remember that if you’re legal drinking age, then save these DJ’s for your hometown show. Coachella is an all-ages event, so do you really want to be in a crowd with teens who’s never been to a rave for the first time? I found it difficult to enjoy a show when there were teenage girls around me arguing if they should go to another tent.. or taking a shit ton of pictures of themselves (get out). Most of these DJ’s will cater to the crowd, therefore they will only play what people know. I’ve heard the same five tracks at four different DJ sets.

Unless you know that DJ rarely tours or goes to your hometown – then check them out!

4. Pick Your Bands Wisely

Schedule conflicts; it’s bound to happen. Tough decisions must be made and most of the time you gotta plan it out logistically.

To choose between the two bands with the same time slot, ask yourself/friends:

- Which band is most likely going to be doing a show near you? See the one that won’t come to your hometown or ever have the chance to see again.

- Do a vote between your friends – majority wins.

- Which band did you listen to first? See the one you’ve devoted the most listening time to.

5. There’s A LOT to Do, But Barely Any Time to Do All

You’re obviously at Coachella for the music, but there’s also an art gallery, installations, beer gardens and a damn ferris wheel! You’re not going to have enough time to do everything, so when you do have time in between bands, rest and go around to check things out. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to do much, but I know that Coachella schedules artists on certain days for a reason. Best day to take it easy and check things out is on the Saturday. You know you’ll go crazy on the FIRST and LAST day of the festival, so use Saturday to buy merch or get a CD signed by your favourite artist.

6. See New Bands – Even if You Haven’t Heard of Them

Say that you really don’t want to look around Coachella, then check out an artist you haven’t heard of before. There can only be two outcomes, you either hate it or like it! Every tent has a different crowd, what better way to meet new people and listen to something you haven’t before. I had the best time seeing Flying Lotus, I must say he was my favourite set. You’d be surprised by taking a chance at a band/artist!

7. Security Lines: They Do Body Checks – Twice

Worst. Part. Of. Coachella. The first day we lined up for nearly two hours just to get in! They did body checks on everyone… twice. Make sure you get there at LEAST an hour before the scheduled band you want to see. The last thing you want is waiting in line while you miss your favourite band on stage.

Extra Tips:

- Drugs, they look through everything: between the legs, under your bra, whatever zippers and sealed items in your purse. Guys, tape it you-know-where.

- They will not allow open commercial water bottles or juices.

8. ENJOY YOURSELF

Try not to get in a fight, I saw plenty of girls cry because they got in a fight with either their girlfriend or boyfriend. Come on, it’s a music festival. Bring a camera, keep hydrated, enjoy the scenery and music.

Modeselektor / Berlin

Flying Lotus – Zodiac Shit

Language by Porter Robinson

Zedd – Stars Come Out (Dillon Francis Remix)

This poster is 100% accurate:

Constance Chan