Coachella lacks respect for patrons!

[darksonCEO]

This message was initially intended for the Coachella Event Coordinators (Administrators), but they don't make themselves available, so I'm writing to all who are willing to spend hard-earned money and TIME to see their favorite artists; What I saw today (Fri.) was absolutely brutal: Will Call folks had to wait in line for NO LESS THAN 2.5 HOURS!!! I saw people who paid full price being forced to miss out on half a day's worth of entertainment because they were standing in line getting burned up by both the desert sun and the unprofessional, unaccomodating, disrespectful staff (and this comment extends all the way to the Indio P.D.) All efforts to expedite the entry and exit processes of the Festival appeared to be non-existent. My carpool and I spent OVER 2 HOURS simply exiting the parking lot. Not to mention the time it took to get from the parking lot to Monroe St. There were 2 traffic patrol people directing fans out of the lot at midnight, neither of whom seemed to be concerned with their job performance.
And also, it's 7$ per beer once you get in.
I feel that fans who go to these measures to see their favorite artists perform are being disrespected from the beginning of the Festival until the end.
My experience was so uninviting that I will NEVER attend the Coachella Music & Arts Festival again, no matter how much I am devoted to my favorite artists.
For any of you who bothered to read all of this I invite you to respond, even if you are offended by what I have just said.

[ED GEIN]

Traffic is horrible every year. There are 50,000 people what the hell did you expect?

[thestripe]

Coachella is not for the weak.

[HEADSTRUCK]

Traffic is horrible every year. There are 50,000 people what the hell did you expect?
i do agree that the leaving part needs some work. they park us against a fare the wrong way they was for exiting, we had 2 austin powers everybodys cars...pain in the ass the couldve been avoided with a little thinking b4 hand...

[HEADSTRUCK]

u cant really bitch about a 7$ beer.....every event is that way, music, baseball..etc...

[shawnzypants]

Come to ACL! We know how to treat people, and you can't beat our shuttle service.

And there is no will-call BS. Takes minutes to get into the doorway, even if you get there once doors open.

[HEADSTRUCK]

acl?

[gaypalmsprings]

I agree about the lines. I had my tickets, so it took less than 5 minutes to get in (after 2 hours fighting traffic). I was shocked to see a VERY VERY VERY LONG will call line. Shocked. They know the exact number of people who will be at will call picking up tickets, so they should have the appropritae number of windows & trained staff to expedite the lines. Truly, shocked., and thankful I didn't get the AX GOLD VIP tix - I would have to wait a LONG time in that single line.

[jamesc2929]

I will agree that the parking and traffic situations are a joke, but it really can't be changed all that much. the major problem with the parking are the asshole people who will not show ANY respect to anyone else in the lots. There is a solution, they should let us turn right out of the lot and go the other way. There is another way in and out, its the one I take each year. The problem is, they will only ley you come IN from the other way. When the show is over i was told i couldn't turn right out of the lot. As far as the the lines to get in, I haven't had a problem, and the booze problem, that's an easy one---take pills.

[HEADSTRUCK]

and the booze problem, that's an easy one---take pills.

hahaahhaa

[bratp]

I don't know who is in charge of logistics this year, but they are not doing their job. The parking situation last night was completely unacceptable. Over an hour and a half on only seven cars allowed out of the exit. I was here last year and had none of these problems. If they can’t figure out how to make things go more smoothly, they have no right doing this.

[boardgrrl305]

In response to the upset patron:
We are sympathetic to your message and are aware of the "kinks" in the system. Every year efforts are made to improve the entry and exit of the festival and next year will be no exception, with the Will-Call procedure being at the top of the list. As far as the mass exodus leaving goes, when you have 60,000 people attempting to leave at the same time in an area that only has 2 ways out, it definitely makes for a hairy situation. We offer fantastic camping sites as an option and encourage as many people as possible to go that route, thus eliminating traffic and making it easier to vacate the actual event site as a whole. Any large event USA has traffic issues in vacating a venue site with patrons this large in number and please know that we do read these threads and we will work on improving problem areas. I may not be a "chief" on site, but please know that everyone working here is here because they love the event and the music. The Coachella production crew puts 150% of their heart and soul into the show and we care deeply about making sure that you, the attendees, have a great time. We put great effort into seeing each year improve. Your cries do not fall on deaf ears!

[chrisandkim]

i hit no traffic going to the fest and getting out took 5 mins Just dont take Monroe to get there take washington to avenue 52 and park in lot 4 you hit ABSOLUTELY NO TRAFFIC THERE OR BACK it took 25 mins from getting in the car to gettin to our hotel in PALM SPRINGS which is a pretty far drive get a map and avoid MONROE AVE 50 and 48 at all costs and park in a lot far from the fest but close to the street oh and about tickets why didnt you spend the $2.50 and print them at home was that way to expensive for you to do lines will be better today being security can focus on getting you in not getting you your tickets

[BROKENDOLL]

Each year, it grows...Did anyone even notice the fact that what was 2 lanes before, is now 4? Give these people who are working out there a break! While we're dancing n' jammin' to the music, they're dealing with 50,000 people! I live less than a mile from the venue and had to go all the way around, but ya know...It's to be expected with that size crowd.In response to the upset patron:
We are sympathetic to your message and are aware of the "kinks" in the system. Every year efforts are made to improve the entry and exit of the festival and next year will be no exception, with the Will-Call procedure being at the top of the list. As far as the mass exodus leaving goes, when you have 60,000 people attempting to leave at the same time in an area that only has 2 ways out, it definitely makes for a hairy situation. We offer fantastic camping sites as an option and encourage as many people as possible to go that route, thus eliminating traffic and making it easier to vacate the actual event site as a whole. Any large event USA has traffic issues in vacating a venue site with patrons this large in number and please know that we do read these threads and we will work on improving problem areas. I may not be a "chief" on site, but please know that everyone working here is here because they love the event and the music. The Coachella production crew puts 150% of their heart and soul into the show and we care deeply about making sure that you, the attendees, have a great time. We put great effort into seeing each year improve. Your cries do not fall on deaf ears!

[gaypalmsprings]

sorry, i didn't see 4 lanes, in or out

[TopangaPatrick]

BURNING MAN pulls it off pretty good-- ok, 40,000 vs 50,000 plus,
but the lines move along... kudos for the staff for doing their best
with the heat and massive crowds! Camping=less headache.

[velvets_girl]

I think it is all just in the planning. My friend and I tried to arrive early and had our tickets in hand. Getting tickets via will call at an event where there will be thousands attending does not make sense. Getting in took us about 35 minutes. As for getting out you have to try to leave early before the bulk of attendees try to make their exit. We just heard Bjork's first few songs and left. We still hit about 30 mins. of traffic on the way out.

[dovesprings250r]

I went friday, this was my first coachella and I went mainly for the jesus and mary chain and Bjork. The will call line as nuts....I printed my tickets online and walked right in. Leaving was a mess but I expected it would be. I just layed in the back of the truck a bit til about 2 am then drove right out stress free. I thought overall it was ruin well and the beer prices were cheaper than I expected. Carefull planning will make it more enjoyable.

[emosdnah]

Mine is OK... Get off the field about 1 and on the freeway at 2... I think it's pretty good. Better than forum already. I had to wait for more than an hour to get out from the parking lot!!

1 thing sucks forever... WHERE THE HELL IS BOTTLE WATER?? I have been running for water on the field but couldn't find any... finally just got some beer and lemonade...

[PlayaDelWes]

Kentucky Derby pulls it off too. 100 - 150K people; all leaving at the same time...never had a problem getting out of there either.

Also, with 100K people in the infield, all who purchase tickets THE DAY OF get in and out with no line, at all. How can they handle 100K people with NO lines and Coachella can't handle 60K people (spread out) with mega lines?

[eric2019]

acl?


ACL Fest in Austin held every September - same idea - 3 days, 130 + bands all in a park in the city. Pick-up and drop off is remarkably easy. Caught Massive Attack, Tom Petty, Gnarls Barkley, Flaming Lips, blah, blah, blah... Had such a blast I went ahead and bought tickets this year before the lineup was announced.

www.aclfest.com



As for the parking situation - it is what it is. I managed to get out in 30 minutes time which I considered pretty good - especially since I was parked in a lane where the exiting traffic went the other way so I had to do some quick manuevering to get out of there. I left around 11 pm.

Better signage would be better. I didn't see the balloons with numbers when I got there but noticed them when I left. Balloons in different colors that are lit would be helpful.

[ie_guy]

I've been to every single Coachella since the first one and Friday's experience was FUCKED. Sorry, no other word to describe taking 2 hours from the freeway off-ramp into the venue, then waiting another 2 1/2 hours in the will-call line, then having a security guard just open up the side gate and letting the bulk of the remainder of the line simply walk in WITHOUT tickets or being checked, then spending 3 hours in a parking lot with 0 (zero) staff guiding or directing the whole mess until reaching the exit gate. WTF!!!! For spending over $100 per ticket I would expect and have received much better planning not only at PAST Coachella events but at most other large venues that understand that having bands show up to play is NOT the only part of planning a professional and succesful event.

[HorseTears]

The parking/exit situation was a lot better than the last time I attended ('04). My only complaint: why weren't enough schedule books printed? Surely they knew how many tickets they sold. I was not handed a booklet upon entering venue and when I asked for a schedule the ticket/security people simply told me the schedules were posted outside each tent. I didn't bother printing up a schedule as I thought that this would be a no brainer for Goldenvoice. I arrived around 4pm, and there were still thousands of people streaming in. Do I sound like I'm whining? God, old people must love the internet. You can just log on and complain instantly. No dusty old typewriters and US Postal Service needed!

[dub702]

definetly sucked getting in to the show. had tickets. still waited a half hour to get through the dumb pat down. and h20 ? less beer more h20 next year. Ill pay $5 a bottle. just produce more places to get it. watching drew barrymore and cameron diaz hippy dance to amy winehouse was worth it all. other than a few kinks. it was a special day. see you next year for sure. p.s if dork with red bjork balloon fucking with me at Amy W's set is reading .... get help...fast!

[the909]

I'm glad i wasn't the only one upset with the parking situation, I understand taking there desired direction leads you to a one lane road either way to and from the field but once you get past that why the f are we still dealing with traffic lights? it's midnight gv or the city of indio can;t see the benefit in just allowing people to ignore traffic lights and what not to either be fast tracked to the 111 or 10.I guess i could see during the day when people are arriving the idea of traffic but it's midnight or later.Thats my only real complaint i guess is the traffic, mainly because my truck is a manual and it's hard to spend two hours with the clutch having to be operated after standing the whole day.

[zikade]

Parking is always nuts. It's really expected that you either just sleep in your car for two hours or crank the radio and have a little party while you wait for it to clear up. This year was better than '04, though, which was the worst I've seen for the festival in five years (3.5 hours to get out after Radiohead).

Beer's gonna be pricey, but water's cheap, so suck it up.

The will call line, though, was ridiculous. I felt so bad for all those people when I walked in with tickets in hand. There's GOT to be a better way to get people through the door faster.

[Pixiessp]

The parking/exit situation was a lot better than the last time I attended ('04). My only complaint: why weren't enough schedule books printed? Surely they knew how many tickets they sold. I was not handed a booklet upon entering venue and when I asked for a schedule the ticket/security people simply told me the schedules were posted outside each tent. I didn't bother printing up a schedule as I thought that this would be a no brainer for Goldenvoice. I arrived around 4pm, and there were still thousands of people streaming in. Do I sound like I'm whining? God, old people must love the internet. You can just log on and complain instantly. No dusty old typewriters and US Postal Service needed!

We walked in around 2 and were not handed a schedule either. I don't think they hand them out that late. At this hour it appears you go to the KROQ tent and pick them up there. That's what we did.They were right outside the tent in a big box. We wouldn't have known though if we hadn't gone in there to cool down.

[woogie846]

Traffic is horrible every year. There are 50,000 people what the hell did you expect?

It was a lot more than that. The newspaper said about 90,000.

[Boourns]

Letting people inside the camp one person at a time after Rage was disgusting. No wonder people burned shit.

[woogie846]

If beer is too expensive for you, than don't drink. And if you seriously think you're going to get out quickly, you should have walked home. You act you're the only one, get over it and get over yourself.

[krisskross]

seriously. how do you expect NO traffic when that amount of ppl are in one place? I didnt have a bad experience getting in or out. except when i lost my car on friday because I was drunk. but thats my fault. :)

[cici_in_socal]

Thanks for all your insight on what happened this weekend. I will be attending Stagecoach this weekend and at least I'll know what to expect. I only hope that the people at the Polo Field iron out all the kinks. $7 for beer sounds okay for a festival but no WATER! They better have water....they are advertising in the Stagecoach message board to pick-up 10 empty bottles and redeem them for one free ice cold water.....yeah, right! Now they want us to clean up for them? They better be fully staffed in every level!....oh another thing. The Stagecoach message boards have been temporarlly not available for 5 days now. I think that's bullshit! We're not able to voice our concerns. Many people are trying to split days/tickets and now we've been cutt out of communication. I thinkg it's their strategy to get people to buy entire festival tickets!

[krisskross]

God bless the recylce program. I hated tripping over all the trash in years past. I think it was great.

[TomAz]

In response to the upset patron:
We are sympathetic to your message and are aware of the "kinks" in the system. Every year efforts are made to improve the entry and exit of the festival and next year will be no exception, with the Will-Call procedure being at the top of the list. As far as the mass exodus leaving goes, when you have 60,000 people attempting to leave at the same time in an area that only has 2 ways out, it definitely makes for a hairy situation. We offer fantastic camping sites as an option and encourage as many people as possible to go that route, thus eliminating traffic and making it easier to vacate the actual event site as a whole. Any large event USA has traffic issues in vacating a venue site with patrons this large in number and please know that we do read these threads and we will work on improving problem areas. I may not be a "chief" on site, but please know that everyone working here is here because they love the event and the music. The Coachella production crew puts 150% of their heart and soul into the show and we care deeply about making sure that you, the attendees, have a great time. We put great effort into seeing each year improve. Your cries do not fall on deaf ears!

Hopefully this won't fall on deaf ears either. Consider this helpful advice rather than complaining.

I do think the parking and traffic need some work. Perhaps GV could look at how sporting events do it; NFL games (for example) routinely route 50,000-70,000 people in and out of lots each Sunday. There's something about the way the traffic flows within the lots at Coachella that doesn't seem optimal.

Has GV considered shuttle buses at all? say (I'm just thinking out loud here) park everyone in the desert on the north side of I-10 where there's lots of space, little or no 'local traffic' to worry about, and you don't have to route 50,000 people down little two lane country roads. Just have shuttle buses running continuously. As the other person said it this is how ACL does it and the year I went it seemed to work very very well. This is also how they do it at the Phoenix Open golf tournament and they get 60,000-80,000 middle aged Republicans in their Escalades in and out pretty smoothly too.

I know you guys are trying to improve things, and that's good to know.

[Pixel Perfect Images.net]

I was pleasantly surprised that everywhere water was only $2 a bottle. Pretty reasonable for a major event. I was SO glad I camped, and brought tons of food. I would have gone broke otherwise. I ate a large meal before going in, then a late night sandwich after, and I was good! The hell with those money hungry vendors and their $6 slices of pizza, $6 hot dogs, and whatever.

P.S. here's a cool photo of some dude spinning the rusty metal tree.

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w290/PixelPerfectImages/Coachella7_2_1_.jpg

[smitten_bee]

wa! wa! waaa! quit crying.

[brownbuffalo]

i justed wanted a corona, please work that out for next year.

[Heimster]

This was my third Coachella, and I think it's run as good or better than any other festival that I've ever been to. I camp on the Salton Sea, which is about 20 miles from the shows, but has free showers and SHADE to put your tent so you don't start frying at 6:45AM when the sun comes up. I get to the parking lots about an hour before the first band and NEVER have to wait to get into the lot. Me and friends then hang out and eat lunch, have a few beers, and then meander into the show about the time that the first band starts. Every year except 2005 we have walked right up to the gate and walked right in. I usually leave about 15-20 minutes before the headliner finishes, so I don't have any issues leaving the lot either. You can hear the bands during the entire trek back through the parking lot, so you don't actually miss anything. We're back at our campsite by 1:00AM or so and have a fire, drink some more beers, and party until 3:00 or 4:00.

Anyone who thought that they could just show up 20 minutes before the show started and just pull into a parking spot is an idiot. Anyone who thought they could just leave at the end of the night and not hit any traffic when 40K other people are doing the same thing is an idiot as well. I saw the Will Call lines and am sure it was an absolute mess, but didn't it occur to anyone that they were not the only people at the show who would need to pick up Will Call tickets and show up early?

[the909]

The parking situation does need work but it's a large open field with one or two single vehicle entry/exit points and completely irrational and inpatient people unwilling to wait.I got to my truck fairly early but was stuck in what seemed like a eight car line trying to squeeze through a one car gate.I like the shuttles ideas and would maybe suggest preferred parking in a smaller lot so the getting out at the end of the night isn't insane.But really Friday seemed worse parking wise than Sunday.I really enjoyed the fest and will most likely camp next year to avoid the one part i had a problem with.

[jorluivil]

One three day pass and a campsite pass= $350.00
three bottles of water per day= $6.00 dollars per day
sleeping in your parked car from 1230 am till 230 am and not fighting outgoing traffic= $PRICELESS.

most of your complaints sound like they come from someone that just attended their first sold out Coachella festival.:blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah :blah

and

:blah

[cazzopazzo]

In response to darksonCEO, i would like to offer a very interesting point of view to the subject.
I am currently enrolled in an "even planning" course and San Diego State University. The professor wanted to call it "rock n roll management" but the univ didnt buy that.
so, the profs and the speaker are and San Diego entertainment bigs. Now there only exists a few rival companies in san diego, the professor being the program manager for that group. so...you may find my information more relevant.
an event to the scale of coacella was inconcievable to me before i went. i was very pissed on friday, got used to it through the week though. there are ways around the long lines in folks!!! read my top 10.
you go to any concert and a lot of them arent done well. the venue has a lot to do with it. is it a conventional concert venue? no. everything is brought in. nothing is there. it would be different if there were offices for all the really nice staff, who is in the same fucking heat as you...at work. would you be happy? relax, stop bitching and enjoy the festival without the thought of money. that was definitly part of it for me this weekend. just relax, let it happen. im checking my bank account pretty soon. i get back to you guys on how much i will back up that statement later. but really, if you worry about the price, youre wasting your time. dont have expectations.
you put yourself in indio. you knew it was going to be that hot or youre a moron. if you care so much, you should prepare to get around these things. i planned a very large amount. even a portable peeing device. sanitary indeed. i should have put that on my top 10 as well. you can imagine that is high on the list. how many times do you have to pee in the middle of a set and the bathrooms are on the other side of the great western divide? adjust. prepare. no one can take care of all these fucking people in this heat, on this property, with the basic urban community streets, all these cars!!! pay all the people who work there, and pay all these bands without some sizeable errors. they could be a lot worse. i can imagine they have ran out of water before. if i was on ecstacy that would not be good. just dont be dumb. thats another good rule for coachella.
so, i would agree with you that there are many obstacles to having a good time. the festival is not for you. the festival is not for you!!!!!!


STOP FUCKING COMPLAINING!!!!!

[Adam2uBer]

This message was initially intended for the Coachella Event Coordinators (Administrators), but they don't make themselves available, so I'm writing to all who are willing to spend hard-earned money and TIME to see their favorite artists; What I saw today (Fri.) was absolutely brutal: Will Call folks had to wait in line for NO LESS THAN 2.5 HOURS!!! I saw people who paid full price being forced to miss out on half a day's worth of entertainment because they were standing in line getting burned up by both the desert sun and the unprofessional, unaccomodating, disrespectful staff (and this comment extends all the way to the Indio P.D.) All efforts to expedite the entry and exit processes of the Festival appeared to be non-existent. My carpool and I spent OVER 2 HOURS simply exiting the parking lot. Not to mention the time it took to get from the parking lot to Monroe St. There were 2 traffic patrol people directing fans out of the lot at midnight, neither of whom seemed to be concerned with their job performance.
And also, it's 7$ per beer once you get in.
I feel that fans who go to these measures to see their favorite artists perform are being disrespected from the beginning of the Festival until the end.
My experience was so uninviting that I will NEVER attend the Coachella Music & Arts Festival again, no matter how much I am devoted to my favorite artists.
For any of you who bothered to read all of this I invite you to respond, even if you are offended by what I have just said.
How about this...if you don't want to deal with will-call. Don't use that service. Get your tickets in hand before the event.

As for the staff and any kind of services inside or outside of the festival, deal with it. Try working and living in this dreadful climate almost all year round (I do) then having to deal with a flood of people. I don't blame them for being pricks, especially coming from the people who worked there that don't live here.

In regards to the beer being $7? Cry more, don't expect cheap stuff when you're at a festival. I was rather satisfied with $2 water and $3 tea/Gatorade to keep me hydrated during the festival.

To anyone complaining about traffic coming into the festival. Take an alternate route. All I saw was bumper to bumper traffic from 50th all the way down to the freeway on Jefferson. Look at a map and figure it out. Even better, since you're on these forums, ASK FOR AN ALTERNATE ROUTE! I took Washington then turned onto 50th instead of Jefferson to 50th. Took me about 5 minutes to get to 50th from my house. When it would have taken me 2 hours if I went down Jefferson.

I must add, the roads to get into the festival aren't meant to hold that kind of traffic in a small amount of time. Those roads are barely used throughout the year (50th in between Jefferson all the way to Monroe).

Do us all a favor and don't come back since you're so weak and can't deal with assholes. For me, there were more assholes on the inside of the festival.

[scoop49er]

well here is my opinion

the beer price: fair price for a quality it is in line with other event pricing;

will call: i had my tixs on me but man i felt for all of u in there, they did drop the ball there. they need more staff and work out a better plan for everyone next year. definetely a problem they need to fix.

traffic: honestly we got out easy but it because we planned it out. i wrote down exactly where we were. but we lucked out cuz we were able to find little paths out before the traffic got bad. they were not very organized. listen i understand traffic issues but they have to get people going in the right direction and work with police better within the polo field. honestly there were times they were fucking lost and they had me going in some opposite direction luckily i was able to turn around but it could of been bad,

another thing: LIGHTING!!!!!!! come on now u can get better lighting for the lots its not that hard people.

so overall many kudos but the parking lot issues and lighting is not that good and u cant continue to have a "what do u expect" mentality

bad traffic is bad and we all understand this, but poor conditions is something different and that hurts us but eventually will hurt u in the long run. think about that..

[Agent Orange]

I could understand if this is your first year at Coachella so you obviously didn't know what to expect. If you had such a problem with will call then you should have arrived earlier. The beer is decently priced, given the fact that i've bought beer a concerts for over $10 before, and the parking/traffic situation it's not rocket science. You have 50,000 people trying to exit the venue at the same time. Honestly, what did you expect???

The only problem I had was friday waiting in line 2 hours to get into coachella from the camp ground. It caused huge problems with all the girls! But by saturday it was less then a 10 min wait! Problem solved!

[Caitlin]

Hahahaha....oh man, my entire expenses went towards alcohol, whatever. Worth it. Traffic, duh...its gonna happen. Shit, we couldn't even FIND our car Sunday. Some people man. You go see multiple amazing artists and they still wanna complain.

PS: Will call is pointless. Don't do it.

[ie_guy]

Wow, it's amazing to read post after post of "empathy" - not, towards thousands, yes thousands of people who spent maybe half of their entire Coachella experience in long, fucked up lines, either getting there, in will-call, or stuck leaving. Just becuase YOUR personal experience was OK or even great, doesn't mean that absolves the event organizers from even ATTEMPTING to provide a good experience for EVERYONE.

"Hey I didn't wait in line/get beat up/mugged/lost/fill in any fucked up thing - so it's your own fault if it did happen to you" Yeah great community spirit there.

As I stated before, this is NOT my first Coachella, I've been to every single one prior and this is NOT the first festival/concert/sporting event I've been to, but Friday's experience just happened to be extremely FUCKED. And yes I can even seperate it from the actual concert experience once I made it inside and before leaving. All the acts I saw were awesome, no complaints about beer/food prices (becuase it's expected they would be high), but none of this changes the FACT that the inbound and exiting traffic needs to be better organized and that for certain people will-call was not used by choice but due to the fact that if your credit card billing address was not in the US you MUST use will-call because ticketmaster won't ship you the tickets or let you use the self-print kind.

[ashtraygrl]

parking was my biggest complaint. i expected that it would take awhile to park. i expected heavy traffic. i did not expect to spend 3 hours (AFTER the traffic getting there) dealing with hundreds of cars parking randomly in different directions while 2 young idiots lazily waved light sticks in different directions towards no apparent "lanes". i missed a lot of saturday because of that shit.

oh and on friday night i got stuck in a parking lot with randomly directioned parking for 2 hours because there was no exit. someone finally unlocked the gate.

the point is... you don't sell thousands and thousands of tickets without having at least a somewhat understandable way to park all of those people. i felt like once you were outside of the festival itself you were on your own and GV had no responsibility for any of it.

oh.. one more thing...
extend the tarp where people line up to be checked by security. on sunday i spend over an hour in direct blazing 100something degree sun smashed in with other people. no way to get any shade or relief without losing my place in line and having to start over again. that's how people get sun poisoning/heat stroke

to the people who say "well DUH it sold out"...

do you don't think GV has a responsibility to the safety of the people who spent the money on those tickets?

[PrettyRagdoll]

The only thing that I thought was fucked at Coachella was that people camping on-site couldn't go back and forth between the festival and the campsite.

[avagoyle]

The parking situation was shit partially because all the cars lined up like sheep going the longest way to the exit. The first night, we were dumb and followed everyone else and got stuck for over an hour. We would've been there longer if my brother and I hadn't gotten out and directed people away from the long ass line to the exit. If you didn't get in line with the cars and drove directly to the exit, you could be out in <5 minutes. After that, we just paid attention to where the exits where, ignored where the other cars were going and got out in <10 ten minutes total even while driving a huge RV.

If you were in a line where they were only letting out 7 cars in a hour, you were probably in one of the lines you shouldn't have been in. Like the idiots that lined up to go out the completely opposite direction of the exit and tried to drive through the flow of people walking. I saw traffic people trying to deal with these idiots which they shouldn't have had to do.

Next time people, LOOK AT THE EXIT. It takes 5 seconds to make a mental note of where it is. I saw people driving all the way from the exit to the other side of the lot to get in a line of cars. My brother and I mostly just walked down the lines of cars and said "the exit is there" and we got the lot cleared out a lot faster.

[Hannahrain]

My only really big issue was the way that the camping entrance was handled sunday morning. On saturday we all lined up in advance. It wasn't great to stand in the sun, but for the most part it worked. Then on sunday, the wouldn't let us line up and they kept us behind a barricade and made us wait as a big mob, and then told us all at once to get in line instead of just lining up as we got there. I have no idea where the logic was in that. If there was a reason I'd love to hear it, but it seems completely counterproductive to me. Maybe something happened with the entrance on saturday that I don't know about tht was a problem, but why tell a crowd of people that they can't politely wait in line?

[JustSteve]

thank you, please DON'T come back...

[PlayaDelWes]

In response to darksonCEO, i would like to offer a very interesting point of view to the subject.
I am currently enrolled in an "even planning" course and San Diego State University. The professor wanted to call it "rock n roll management" but the univ didnt buy that.
so, the profs and the speaker are and San Diego entertainment bigs. Now there only exists a few rival companies in san diego, the professor being the program manager for that group. so...you may find my information more relevant.
an event to the scale of coacella was inconcievable to me before i went. i was very pissed on friday, got used to it through the week though. there are ways around the long lines in folks!!! read my top 10.
you go to any concert and a lot of them arent done well. the venue has a lot to do with it. is it a conventional concert venue? no. everything is brought in. nothing is there. it would be different if there were offices for all the really nice staff, who is in the same fucking heat as you...at work. would you be happy? relax, stop bitching and enjoy the festival without the thought of money. that was definitly part of it for me this weekend. just relax, let it happen. im checking my bank account pretty soon. i get back to you guys on how much i will back up that statement later. but really, if you worry about the price, youre wasting your time. dont have expectations.
you put yourself in indio. you knew it was going to be that hot or youre a moron. if you care so much, you should prepare to get around these things. i planned a very large amount. even a portable peeing device. sanitary indeed. i should have put that on my top 10 as well. you can imagine that is high on the list. how many times do you have to pee in the middle of a set and the bathrooms are on the other side of the great western divide? adjust. prepare. no one can take care of all these fucking people in this heat, on this property, with the basic urban community streets, all these cars!!! pay all the people who work there, and pay all these bands without some sizeable errors. they could be a lot worse. i can imagine they have ran out of water before. if i was on ecstacy that would not be good. just dont be dumb. thats another good rule for coachella.
so, i would agree with you that there are many obstacles to having a good time. the festival is not for you. the festival is not for you!!!!!!


STOP FUCKING COMPLAINING!!!!!

...State School

[Glamour Damaged]

I thought it was funny that everyone was waiting in LONG lines for the port o pottys when there were no line needed. I walked right past the long ass line, went into the port o potty area, waited for one person in front of me and got right in. Idiots just see what other idiots are doing and dont even question. People turn into sheep when in large crowds. Not I.

Every night we left after 4 or so songs of the headliner and waited in NO traffic.

I agree with the Water stands. They were hard to locate and not everywhere.

We had a GREAT time all together.

[tubescape]

the lines for parking and tickets could be facilitated a lot better. but the beer price should not be a complaint. if you have been to ANY concert in the last 5 years you should know that beer is gonna run you $7-9 per cup, if not more. props to the person who came up with the recycling program. i think the field stayed the cleanest of any of the 5 years i have been. plus the added reward of water was nice.

[michelle070402]

Not sure why people are crying about water? I found water in plenty of places for sale and there was also a free water area where you could fill empty water bottles.

I was a little upset that I stood in line to enter on Friday for at least the entire set of Tokyo Police Club and a little before. Wanted to see them at Coachella but missed out because of the line to enter through security.

But overall, I feel that Coachella is pretty well organized for the amount of people at this festival.

BUT why were the lower class (non VIP) beer garden patrons kicked out of the beer gardens while RAGE was playing. I can understand shutting down the beer lines(I guess for crowd control??) but I just wanted to hand back in the beer garden to finish the show with many others and we were hustled out by the police. I believe it was pretty calm throughout the garden so that really PISSED me off.

But I had a blast despite a couple moments that I feel could have been dealt with differently. This was my second Coachella and I hope to have many more!!!!

[zzzfilesk1]

The only time I was furious was on Friday, arriving to the show. I got off the freeway at 1:30, I didn't make it in the venue until after 4.

i spent at least 1 hour going down jefferson. the ticket lines had no order.

i agree, this year they did drop the ball. last time it was not chaotic at all. I blame the RAGE fans for the main line problem.

1. if you are getting will call to coachella youre just a moron
2. beer is always expensive at festivals
3. you pay good money because coachell has the best lineup than any festilval in north america.
4. parking is free, unlike most concerts/festivals
5. when 50 thousand people leave at the same time, and the only way out are 2 lane roads, expect delays genius. its not the ritz, its the desert, where the hell are you in a rush to go anyway

chill out, slow down

but yeah, will call should be addressed, that line was pretty fucking long

and beer prices should be discounted, it turns it in to a REALLY expensive weekend. after sleeping arrangements, food, tickets, gas, they should cut us a break with the beer at least

[thaipod]

Water wasn't hard to find at all. Every food vendor had water for $2, there was the water recycling area where you got FREE water, and the two FREE water stations where you could refill your bottle of water. There may have been less water locations because they took out the vendors in the middle and always had waters there, too, but having those easily accessable water refill stations more than made up for that. Not to mention that you were allowed to bring in unopened bottles of water.

[berus]

My only gripes w/ Coachella 07 are ticket related issues, including will call. I had VIP tickets, so I had no option but to opt for will call. This is also true for the most international folks, which had will call as their only option.

Worse, after spending 3 hours on the will call line, I found out that my tickets were not there, I had to head to the box office for another 30 minutes to get them re-printed. Fuck, this meant that I stayed 3 hours at the line for no reason at all... I could have headed to the box office and get them in much less time!

I only got into Coachella about the time Jesus and Mary Chain began playing.

:( :mad:

[chuckwalla]

BURNING MAN pulls it off pretty good-- ok, 40,000 vs 50,000 plus,
but the lines move along... kudos for the staff for doing their best
with the heat and massive crowds! Camping=less headache.

not a fair comparison, Burning Man is in the open desert with unlimited room for exit lanes. the first stop sign is 8 miles away with no cross traffic.

[amyzzz]

Water wasn't hard to find at all. Every food vendor had water for $2, there was the water recycling area where you got FREE water, and the two FREE water stations where you could refill your bottle of water. There may have been less water locations because they took out the vendors in the middle and always had waters there, too, but having those easily accessable water refill stations more than made up for that. Not to mention that you were allowed to bring in unopened bottles of water.
Yeah, wtf was this???? The FAQ says you can't bring in water, but Sunday they were allowing unopened water bottles in. WTF??????? Why wasn't that posted here? I was annoyed by that. I'm bringing in a case next year.

[fatbastard]

Each year, it grows...Did anyone even notice the fact that what was 2 lanes before, is now 4? Give these people who are working out there a break! While we're dancing n' jammin' to the music, they're dealing with 50,000 people! I live less than a mile from the venue and had to go all the way around, but ya know...It's to be expected with that size crowd.

They do this every year for cars that park furthest parking exit away from Monroe. Your really making a u-turn to get back onto Monroe.

[fatbastard]

This message was initially intended for the Coachella Event Coordinators (Administrators), but they don't make themselves available, so I'm writing to all who are willing to spend hard-earned money and TIME to see their favorite artists; What I saw today (Fri.) was absolutely brutal: Will Call folks had to wait in line for NO LESS THAN 2.5 HOURS!!! I saw people who paid full price being forced to miss out on half a day's worth of entertainment because they were standing in line getting burned up by both the desert sun and the unprofessional, unaccomodating, disrespectful staff (and this comment extends all the way to the Indio P.D.) All efforts to expedite the entry and exit processes of the Festival appeared to be non-existent. My carpool and I spent OVER 2 HOURS simply exiting the parking lot. Not to mention the time it took to get from the parking lot to Monroe St. There were 2 traffic patrol people directing fans out of the lot at midnight, neither of whom seemed to be concerned with their job performance.
And also, it's 7$ per beer once you get in.
I feel that fans who go to these measures to see their favorite artists perform are being disrespected from the beginning of the Festival until the end.
My experience was so uninviting that I will NEVER attend the Coachella Music & Arts Festival again, no matter how much I am devoted to my favorite artists.
For any of you who bothered to read all of this I invite you to respond, even if you are offended by what I have just said.


What time did you get there?

[lowfront]

My 2 complaints

1. Getting raped by securty guard checks when getting in.

2. No showers sunday night, a big WTF

[eimie]

My 2 complaints

1. Getting raped by securty guard checks when getting in.

2. No showers sunday night, a big WTF
Agreed on the showers. I was incredibly gross that night; the grossest of all 3. How the hell did people brush their teeth?

[GTI_GRL]

Agreed on the showers. I was incredibly gross that night; the grossest of all 3. How the hell did people brush their teeth?

Bottled water at the camp site, and spit in empty bottle.

[internethandle]

this was my fourth year at coachella, although i was only able to go friday. it was a good experience, overall.

some things i noticed that were better this year:

1) they opened both gates! yay! and my friend noticed that they had multiple "EXIT" signs on the little map/set-times handout this year, which indicates to me they might have even had more than the normal one fence for all 55,000+ people. even if they didn't, opening both gates was a great improvement, and shows, more than anything this year, that goldenvoice is listening to its customer base.

2) gatorade being sold. cool.

3) a variety of other small things

bad things:

1) personally, lot 4 (our lot) exited very, very quickly. my friend and i got out in a half-hour, a record time relative to the 2+ hours it's taken for the past three years. however, it looks like the other lots had a more typical experience. i observed this year something that i think is pertinent to the parking lot situation: when i drove in this year, assuming it would take me a very long time to get out of our lot, me and more than a few other (probably fellow coachella veterans) started parking toward the fence, near the entrance (which we knew would later serve as the exit). the parking lot lackeys got on my case and when i questioned their reasoning with "you know it will take me forever to get out of the lot" (they park the first cars as far away from the exit as possible), he just responded "i know, but that's the duty of the situation!" or some bullshit. he was obviously tired from standing in that high heat. well, goldenvoice, why don't you make the parking lot people AND us happier and employ less people during the 100+ degree heat to limp-wristedly guide us to our parking spaces, and hire the same people to help us OUT of the parking lot instead? sounds like a good idea to me.

[TheWatcher]

It took 1.5 hours to get out of the parking lot on Sunday night, breathing in dust and fumes (almost killed me after being there since 11am). The funny thing is, if you leave about 1 hour before the end of the show, you can turn RIGHT out of the parking lot. This way you have to go around the block to get back to the 111 or the freeway, but I think it might take less time for everyone to get out if BOTH ways were open still at 12pm! Maybe some traffic could be routed out to Washington before going to the freeway?

By the way, Ozzfest is held at Devore, CA, has a 65,000 capacity (no campers), and the parking is bad, but not as bad as Coachella, and they only have one way to exit the area. I guess having no traffic signals (cross traffic) helps.

Is there any possibility of setting up a shuttle service, with parking in outlying lots, kind of like what Hollywood Bowl does? I would be willing to pay extra for such a service, especially if it avoided the mob scene leaving the lots. I would pay also for a shuttle back to the hotel, similar to the airport shuttles. It seems this might be a popular service, and would cut down on the number of cars.

If I attend next year (likely) I plan on taking a 2-hour nap in my car after leaving the venue, if I am there till the end. It isn't worth it to try to leave at the same time as everyone else.

And, camping is not an option for everyone.

In response to the upset patron:
We are sympathetic to your message and are aware of the "kinks" in the system. Every year efforts are made to improve the entry and exit of the festival and next year will be no exception, with the Will-Call procedure being at the top of the list. As far as the mass exodus leaving goes, when you have 60,000 people attempting to leave at the same time in an area that only has 2 ways out, it definitely makes for a hairy situation. We offer fantastic camping sites as an option and encourage as many people as possible to go that route, thus eliminating traffic and making it easier to vacate the actual event site as a whole. Any large event USA has traffic issues in vacating a venue site with patrons this large in number and please know that we do read these threads and we will work on improving problem areas. I may not be a "chief" on site, but please know that everyone working here is here because they love the event and the music. The Coachella production crew puts 150% of their heart and soul into the show and we care deeply about making sure that you, the attendees, have a great time. We put great effort into seeing each year improve. Your cries do not fall on deaf ears!

[clarky123]

There were 2 empy booths to right of the very busy Will Call lines not serving anyone on the Friday. I saw a solitary man in there playing with his di$k!