THEMIXSTER.COM Coachella Survival Guide – 2011 UPDATE

A number of people approached me, asking me to repost our Coachella survival guide from last year – well we’re one-upping the requests and giving our awesome Do’s and Don’t a sweet little pick-me-up, and we’re giving the whole guide a total revive.

Well, well, well my friends; it’s that time of the year again. Mid-April…Coachella season: When all is good in the world. The hipster New Year, if you will. While I’m sure some of you have run the Coachella gauntlet before, this year’s amazing line-up is sure to bring some newbies out of the woodwork; and we want to provide a little survival guide for all the Coachella virgins, and the veterans alike.

INCLUDED:

-DOs & DON’Ts

-CAMPING TIPS

-CAB NUMBERS FOR ALL OF THE DESERT

-VENUE MAP

-OUR TOP MUSIC PICKS!!

-SURROUNDING AREA MAP (find your friends!)

And general quacky commentary… Done.

FULL COACHELLA GUIDE GOODNESS AFTER THE JUMP!!!!!

It’s hot, loud, sexy, and pretty intense. We don’t want any of our little mixsters to arrive in Indio unprepared and/or under-dressed. Sooooo…read away and, come Friday, you’ll be as savvy as any seasoned Coachella veteran out there.

WEEKEND FORECAST: VERY VERY HOT

via Weather.com

1. DO: DRINK WATER! I don’t care if you’re a gnar gnar brosef or “hardcore partier”, it’s a FUCKING DESERT. DON’T play games with the desert. Buy, smuggle, steal, beg for water.

2.DO: Girls, wear a bathing suit, or at least a bathing suit top, under your outfit. Which, should be a light dress because even shorts can be stifling in that heat. 

3. DO: Flask it: Alcohol gets hellishly expensive.

4. DO: BE CAREFUL OF COPS. If you see buff guys in Hawaiian shirts and Oakley’s; they’re narcs. Not like we are assuming you will be doing anything deviant… or that you would even talk to dropkicks dressed like this… But just be mindful of your surroundings in general…(Oh, and nice try Coachella. Hawaiian shirts…Really?)

5. DON’T: ONESIES: No rompers, jumpers, unitards, WHATEVER – Porta-potty floors are disgusting, and when you wear that cute little romper and have to use the bathroom… Where do you think that is going to land when you have to strip out of it? YUP. Gross.

6. DO: Plan of Attack: Before you get there make a list of all the shows you want to catch so it’s easier to map out your…wait for it…BANDGENDA when you get to the venue! And make sure you are rollin’ with a crew homies that are on the same wavelength.

7. DON’T: The Hipster shoelace/Pocahontas head-band-thing was SO last year…Get creative and try out a new trend. Personally we’re big fans of wacky sunglasses…

8. DON’T Wear Anything with Weird Patterns or cuts: Fishnets, cowboy boots, all seem like good ideas at the time. Until you get home and check out your new tan lines

9. DO: Bring a head covering device: Scarf, turban, cap, sombrero, whatever, you will be over the sun  pretty quickly, get it out of your face so you can survive the whole day. No one likes whining.

10. DO: Bring a bag that doesn’t annoy you. This is HUGE! Even if it’s the most fugly, rat-hole bag you have; if it doesn’t bug you to carry around…BRING IT!

11. DO: iPhone users: Download the Coachella App, IMMEDIATELY. It not only gives you the line-up each day, but it also has an awesome check list feature that let’s you mark the bands you want to see, then sends an alert to your phone right as they go on! RAD.
And it includes an Interactive Camp Site Map. Convince your homies to download it too! It’s inevitable someone will wander off from your crew – but if you save each others’ emails in the app, it allows you to see where each other are as an aerial view map! No more getting lost!! Physically lost that is…

***12. Camping? Two most essential tools for survival/comfort. Paper towels & Duct Tape. Trust. Duct Tape & paper towels fix everything. You will regret your decision if you chose to not bring either.
>>> DON’T FORGET>>>> Earplugs (so you can get SOME sleep), a cooler, and of course sandals for the shower.

13. DO: Bring a cell phone charger every where you go: You will find some place between Coachella seshes with an outlet. And your phone will inevitably die — so think a little and get a portable charger device thing if that’s in the money cards for you… Or turn your phone to energy-saving mode.

14. DO: BRING LEGGINGS. EVEN IN THE DESERT- IT GETS COLD AT NIGHT!!
Bring a jacket. Or better yet - LEGGINGS. They roll up, don’t take up too much room in your purse/bag/fanny pack, and they slip on seamlessly, and most importantly, stylishly, underneath your flouncy little dress. Scarves are nice and compact too, and they’re fun to wave around as well.

15. DO: Read this article on LAweekly.com about really predictable fashion trends you should avoid.

OTHER ESSENTIALS:

VENUE MAP

TAXI NUMBERS IN INDIO.

American Cab—(760) 775-1477
Indio, CA

Classic Yellow Cab—(760) 347-7777
Indio, CA

La Quinta Cab—(760) 347-4141
Indio, CA

La Quinta Cab Transportation— 1-800-TAXICAB (800) 829-4222
La Quinta, CA

Yellow Cab CO of the Desert—(760) 345-8398
Palm Desert, CA

A Valley Cabousine—(760) 340-5845
Palm Desert, CA

Airport Taxi & Transportation—(760) 862-9000
Palm Desert, CA

City Cab—(760) 568-1940
Palm Desert, CA

THEMIXSTER.COM TOP 10 MUST SEE ACTS:
1. BOYS NOIZE (Friday) (LIVE SET-UP #1 MUST SEE)
2. Cut Copy (Friday)
3. Magnetic Man (Friday)
4. Death From Above 1979 (Sunday)
5. Chemical Brothers (Friday)
6. Robyn (Friday)
7. Lauryn Hill (Friday) >>(I’m curious to see what she’s even doing…?)
8. Caspa (Sunday)
9. Chase & Status (Sunday)
10. Yelle (Saturday)

UNDER THE RADAR MUST SEES
1. Phantogram (Sunday)
2. Kele (Friday)
3. Ellie Goulding (Sunday)
4. Tippie Tempah (Sunday)
5. YACHT (Friday)
6. Skrillex (Friday)
7. 12th Planet (Friday)
8. Excision (Friday)
9. Breakage (Friday)
10. Plan B (Sunday)
11. Sander Kleinberg (Friday)
12. Riva Starr (Sunday)
13. Beardyman (Friday)
14. Two Door Cinema Club (Saturday)

***SAHARA TENT REVAMP***

World famous Brazilian visual mastermind Muti Randolfh will also be giving the Sahara tent at Coachella the most amazing and stimulating visual uplift – creating an installation that will literally blow your senses away. Check out this man’s incredible face-melting handywork here.

GET EXCITED!!!! BE SAFE AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE. AND HAVE A FUCKING WILD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: TD