Friday, day one:
Woke up hazy in the “fancy” hotel, Renaissance Esmerelda. We’d played our first show in North America in Pomona the night before (it went great) and then drove for two hours after load-out (ouch) to Indian Wells so we could wake up near the festival. The hotel is pretty basic, but with an insane pool that has a beach! They had little bottles of Maker’s Mark in the mini-bar too. I found out when I checked out that they were $10.50 apiece (ouch).
Jumped in the van to go see Baroness, but I had no idea that it would take almost two hours to get there from the hotel. The Cribs couldn’t make it because of the volcano. Walked past the Specials while they were starting, and my jaw dropped. They sounded amazing, and I was really far away! I knew they were good, but I didn’t know it was going to be like that! They ended up being the best-sounding band all day. It’s the second year that Rat Sound has had the L-Acoustics K1 system at Coachella, and it’s the best PA I’ve ever heard.