Best Air Mattress For Festivals

Hey Festival Fans,

We’re back after a long hiatus. Where have we been? Well we’ve been everywhere!

Electric Picnic, Bonaroo, Burning Man, Coachella, you name it — we’ve pitched a tent there, both literally and sometimes figuratively, thus our deep love of music festivals.

A lot has changed since we last checked in with you. The recession is a thing of the past, concert ticket prices are through the roof and tent technology just keeps getting better and better. You might remember that we often brag about our Vango Dart 2 Man that pops up in 3 seconds, a piece of kit that makes us king of the campsite, but one thing we can’t seem to crack is the air mattresses.

We’re not talking about the type of tat that you buy at the campsite shop, we’re after a reusable high quality mattress that’s worthy of €100-200 investment.

The contenders

Here’s a few options that we think you should consider for the 2016 festival season.

Trespass Double Flocked Air Bed

At €27 it’s hard to be picky with this solid effort. It doesn’t come with a pump, internal or external but it does have a double locking mechanism and a repair kit. You might get multiple uses out of this one if you are doing traditional camping but we don’t see it lasting long in a festival environment.

Bestway Double Height Air Bed with Travel Bag - Kingsize.

We’re approaching the cusp of our budget but we still can’t seem to find an integrated pump at this range either. The Bestway is perfect if your biggest consideration at a festival is having a comfortable lie in. Keep it out of the sun though as it’s all black all the time and will attract serious heat. It does have a built in pillow though, the one thing everyone seems to forget at a festival.

ReadyBed Blue Air Bed

At last an inflatable bed that also has a built-in duvet. It’s a bit on the small side, but it does have a built in pump. You need big dirty C batteries though, so bring cash or be prepared to barter at the campsite for this one.

Smart Mattress

We thought our prayers had been answered when we saw some lunatic wants to bring the mattress online with this Balluga bad boy, but alas it’s a prototype and it’s not fit for the outdoors. Who knows though, maybe ten years down the line. Read more about it here.

AeroBed Active Raised Double Camping Air Bed with Pump

Now we’ve found our Holy Grail, but it’s not a wooden Chalice guarded by a medieval knight, it’s a two person Aerobed you can get in Argos.

·         Now we are sadly talking about 190 Euro, but this is what you get for it: 
·         Internal coil structure for enhanced support.
·         Inflates in 180 seconds, deflates in 30 seconds.
·         Pump.
·         Waterproof.
·         Airtight system.

We wish you well on your airbed journey and hopefully you’ll let us know how you get on this Festival season. See you in the trenches. In the mean time you can talk to our friend Owen Sweeney about all things music and digital marketing.

Declan O’Rourke at Killary: Sailing off into the sunset

The Killary Sessions with Declan O’Rourke

Throughout his critically acclaimed career, Declan O’Rourke has been no stranger to some of the more peculiar performance venues in Ireland. From the chilly Grafton Street busk each Christmas to the unique setting of RTE’s Big Music Train, it’s clear to his devoted audience that the singer-songwriter is certainly not shy of a musical challenge. With this in mind, few were surprised when on a bright Saturday night this July O’Rourke happily agreed to entertain more than 100 guests on a cruise ship that set sail on the Killary Fjord in the West of Ireland. 

After an up and down week weather-wise, there were no doubt a few smiles when  attendees of the ‘Killary Sessions’ saw the sun in the sky over the picturesque surroundings of Killary Harbour and Leenane. The captain and crew of The Killary Fjord Boat Tours were buzzing with the presence of their special guest and helped set the tone for what would be a wonderful evening, with a pleasant and efficient boarding process from Nancy’s Point at 8pm. 

The audience, who had access to beautiful views on both port and starboard sides, made use of the ship’s full bar while waiting for the main act and respectfully listened to the musical offerings of a crew member, another Declan, before O’Rourke took to the stage. 

30 minutes or so into the voyage the bearded stowaway O’Rourke descended from the upper deck and greeted both familiar faces and new guests, before promising an entertaining evening for all parties. Technically speaking, the sound system performed adequately but it was O’Rourke’s masterclass in crowd control that ensured that everyone could hear his generously long set of songs throughout the evening. In an act that can only be described as ‘flirting out‘ to those at the back of the inner deck who were making a bit too much noise during some of the quieter numbers, O’Rourke convinced some of the rowdier folk with his cheeky smile that it would be worth it if they lent him their ears. 

Hits such as ‘Whatever Else Happens‘, ‘Sarah (Last Night in a Dream)‘, ‘A Little Something’, ‘We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea’,  and the timeless ‘Galileo’ were intertwined with a new collection of songs about the Irish famine and a special commemoration piece about children who died during the Easter Rising of 1916.

Despite the heavier subjects of the newer songs O’Rourke kept things light with non-stop banter with the audience throughout the show. During the energetic ‘Lightning Bird Wind River Man’ he joked that his guitar was following the rhythm of a woman swaying at the back of deck.The pressure got a bit too much for the lady in question and when she then subsequently dropped her pint following his attention, she joined O’Rourke and the rest of the deck in fits of laughter.

More brevity came with the introduction of a new tune that discussed the tribulations of Irish immigrants and their voyage to Canada in the decades long ago. O’Rourke joked that he hoped “We won’t be abandoned by our captain Colm tonight”, a few bewildered looks followed when from the audience Colm, in his captain’s uniform, replied‘ “It’s grand lads I’m right here”.  

The Killary Fjord Boat Tour, which has been one of the most popular attractions in the West, for the last fifteen years, diverted from its usual 90 minute long return journey up the Fjord and  dropped anchor just off the harbour after a quick up and back to the nearby Killary Adventure Company. There were none of the usual dolphin sightings this evening, perhaps they were scared off from ripples caused by the rapturous applause and buoyant sing alongs that O’Rourke’s audience contributed throughout the night.  

The sun set shortly after 10.10 pm and before the boat returned to shore, new friendships had been forged, new fans had been earned by O’Rourke and a love for the breathtaking Leenane and Killary landscapes had been renewed.

All in all, an unforgettable and intimate experience that was enhanced by the beauty of the local surroundings.

David Gray, Bryan Adams, Bell X1, Mundy, Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Westport Festival of Music and Food 2014

The sun was the guest of honour for two consecutive days as 15,000 revelers made their way to Westport House for the third annual Westport Festival of Music and Food. The blue sky was a fitting backdrop for the 70-plus acts and events that performed across six stages, all of which prospered thanks to the high quality lineup and the record attendance.

Day One   

David Bridgeman got things off to a nice chill start on Saturday, with the Wicklow native delivering an acoustic blend of hits from the likes of Newton Faulkner, Lorde and Foster the people, among others, as the venue started to slowly fill. Bridgeman was soon succeeded by Paddy Casey who quickly broke into a collection of hits, most of which carried with them years of radio airplay. He delighted those parked in front of the Main Stage with their fold-up chairs with renditions of ‘Living in this town’ and ‘The lucky one’, which unintentionally doubled as an adequate description for the sun-blessed fans and the picturesque setting that is Westport House.

Over on the Marquee Stage, the first act to really get things going, while simultaneously proving that the festival’s second stage had a lot to offer, was the Hot Sprockets. The five piece blasted out an energetic blues-rock set that captured the interest of many first-time listeners who will no-doubt welcome the band as a new addition to Spotify playlists. 

Some time later in the same tent, the impeccably-dressed Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain surprised fans with a setlist that presented a version like no other of Daft Punk’s ‘Get lucky’ and a “spooky” presentation of ‘Misirlou’, known to many as the theme tune to the movie Pulp Fiction.

This year Norah Casey made a welcomed return as the MC of the Chefs’ Kitchen and kept a collection of the country’s most well-respected chefs on their toes for the weekend. Festival alumnus Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain was one of the first chefs to highlight the central theme of the food tent – locally sourced ingredients. Although some of his ‘material’ was somewhat familiar from last year, Clarke’s onstage charisma with Casey set the tone for the fusion of light entertainment and culinary presentations that has come to be expected at the festival.

Saturday’s Comedy Tent line-up featured the exciting back to back billings of David Mc Savage and Ardal O’Hanlon. Most of Mc Savage’s ‘laugh until you cry through sheer mortification‘ set cannot be repeated in print, but rest assured the people got both what they expected and wanted. O’Hanlon then delivered a masterclass in standup comedy that was rich with both thought-provoking and observational humour. Meanwhile on the fantastic new RTÉ Radio 1 Off-Air Tent,  Oliver Callan gave an uncanny impression of the Taoiseach that left a few fans hoping that access to sensitive government information isn’t verified by voice recognition software.

By now, Croatian Cellists Luka Sulic And Stjepan Hauser, also known as 2Cellos were thrilling the slightly-sunburnt Main Stage Crowd to string renditions of Guns N’ Roses

and ACDC hits, the absence of vocals deterring few fans from a fully fledged sing along.

Soon after, Shane Filan, formerly of Westlife showcased his solo offerings with a sprinkling of more well-known hits with his new band. ‘Flying without wings’ and ‘Coast to coast’ were delivered in a quasi-karaoke style with many young men in the audience happy to attempt the vocal duties of the absent Mark Feehily.

Little Green Cars headlined The Róisín Dubh Stage on both nights of the festival, giving festival goers who were determined to avoid line-up clashes a second chance to hear the harmony-soaked hits such as ‘Harper lee’, ‘Please’, ‘Big red dragon’ and the beautiful ‘My love took me down to the river to silence me’.

Reports suggest that the Marquee Tent headliners, The Divine Comedy and front man Neil Hannon, suffered slightly from the crossover sounds from the Main Stage, but Hannon’s experience and showmanship shrugged this off soon enough.

Saturday came to a close with a captivating performance from David Gray, that saw thousands singing along to the familiar sounds of ‘Sail away with me’, ‘Every time I look at you’, and ‘This year’s love’. Louder and larger than life, perhaps at the expense of another stage or two, Gray’s performance and Saturday night climaxed with a well-received rendition of ‘Babylon’.

DAY TWO 

From behind some much-needed cloud cover the scorching sun greeted fans on the second day, shortly after the Clew Bay Pipe Band took to the Main Stage. One of last year’s favourites on the Marquee Stage, the popular band invited Mundy, Matt Molloy and Pete Williams from Dexys Midnight Runners to join them in their ascension to the centre spot.

One standout performance from Sunday came from Sophie Ellis-Bextor who debuted the first live airings in Ireland of her new album Wanderlust  at the festival. Half way through the set, the London-born singer, who was delighted to be at the Westport Festival of Music and food, emerged from behind a changing curtain to reveal a costume change that expressed with no uncertainty it was time for disco. Ellis-Bextor wowed fans with chart hit ‘Take me home’, a Nu-disco melody which included her own ‘Groovejet’, all topped off  by ‘Murder on the dancefloor’. She could be seen enjoying a well-deserved relaxing stroll through the festival grounds following the performance.

Mundy experienced some technical difficulties at his own set on Sunday afternoon, but nothing stopped the chorus of loyal fans that happily assisted with the likes of  ‘To you I bestow’ and ‘By her side’. Mundy joked that he had been out until 6 am with David McSavage on Saturday and then “woke up with a ‘savage eye’”. Anyone who encountered McSavage wandering around on Sunday might have questioned if it was indeed a joke.

A visible increase in festival goers on the second day of the festival put some pressure on the food stands around the arena, with large queues forming in the late afternoon. Once again the Saba stall proved to be very popular with revelers and the Cadden family were well equipped to meet the demand.

People were unsure what to expect from Sinéad O'Connor’s set before 6pm on Sunday, but a tweeted photo of O'Connor with bandmates shortly before set, which included Relish members Kenneth and Carl Papenfus, offered fans a notion of stability. What followed was a solid performance of songs such as ‘No man’s woman’, ‘Lay your head down’, and the warmly welcomed ‘Nothing compares 2U’. Not quite the singer she was in her prime, but a respectable performance nonetheless.

Back at the Chef’s Tent, Westport’s own Seamus Commons of Knockranny House Hotel proved, to me at least, that he would as been as comfortable in the Comedy Tent as he was in the culinary demonstration arena. Commons, who wasn’t short a sense of humour, demoed, among other things, the correct procedure for cooking rabbit in an almost full tent of audience members who hadn’t been lured away by the high-billed acts who had taken to the other stages.

Jack Lukeman, or Jack L as he is often known, closed out the nearby RTÉ Radio 1 Off-Air Tent with passionate performances of ‘Paint it black’ and ‘Georgie boy‘ to the delight of a few hundred fans who were determined to make the radio showcase tent a proper rock and roll stage before sunset.

As many of the crowd strolled towards the Main Stage to take their places for Kool and the Gang and Bryan Adams, the hotly tipped Daithí Ó Drónaí entertained an impressive sized crowd at The Róisín Dubh Stage on his own before being joined with guest vocalists  Liza Flume and Elaine Mai.

A delay from Kool and the Gang carried over into Bryan Adams setup time which ultimately saw the Canadian headliner’s set pushed back 20 mins. This gave many attendees the opportunity to pay a visit to Bell X1 at the Marquee Stage and bask in the crowd fueled chorus chants of ‘Rocky took a lover’, ‘My first born for a song’, ‘Four minute mile’, ‘Next to you’ and ‘The great defector’. The band got through most of this list before Adams had even got on stage. 

After a weekend of waiting, Bryan Adams rocked through the crowd favourites of ‘I do it for you’, ‘Best of me’, ‘Cloud number 9’, ‘Summer of 69’, ‘When you’re gone’ and ‘Run to you’. An over correction of sound in the aftermath of the David Gray performance meant that tonight the Marquee Stage was infringing on the Main Stage, causing Adams to joke if the band headlining there might be more comfortable playing on his stage. Adams impressed his many hardcore fans that had bought a sunday ticket just to seethe Ontario rocker and provided a suitable close to the weekend for others. The Westport Festival of Music and Food 2014 was topped off with the now signatory, lavish fireworks show that could be seen all the way from the Ballinrobe Road. As the last spark ignited the night sky, a question undoubtedly pondered by many spectators was ‘How on earth could this be topped next Year?’

Into the West

MUSIC Memorable Westport Festival strikes right chord

A feast for the senses at memorable Westport Festival


Owen Sweeney had an action-packed two days in Westport House

Day One
This year’s Westport Festival of Music and Food was a fantastic success as 12,000 people gradually made their way through the gates of Westport House over the course of the weekend. The crowd consisted of regular festival-goers making their annual pilgrimage, weekend ramblers looking for something a bit different, and of course a strong constitution of families taking advantage of the very attractive ‘under 12s go free’ offer. We were told the sun would be out by lunch time, and indeed, it made a special appearance at 2.30pm.
The Westport Festival of Music and Food had always promised to offer something for everyone, and in the end, no-one could argue that the variety of acts and food offerings didn’t cater for a wide variety of tastes. Saturday’s Chefs kitchen was a delight, with the inaugural slot featuring L’ecrivan’s Derry Clarke, hosted by former Dragon’s Den star Norah Casey, enticing punters into the purpose-built kitchen with little effort.
Republic of Telly’s Bernard O’ Shea was one of the first big name draws to the Comedy Tent on Saturday afternoon. As he performed alongside a large ‘Parental Advisory’ sign it was clear that this tent would be the only non-family element of the festival. O’Shea had no problem getting laughs even with the stage’s handicap: the all-too-close proximity to the Roísín Dubh Stage. 

"It actually sounds like the QE2 s coming into port,” he joked as the sounds of Funeral Suits set attempted to drown out the comedian’s sound. The Comedy Tent naturally had to get louder, but in doing so the nearby children’s entertainment area “overheard a few choice words”, as a young parent phrased to me afterwards. Naturally this referred to Reginald D Hunter’s provocative, yet hilarious, set.

Decisions to be made
Over on the Main Stage, the Blind Boys of Alabama attempted to get things going. The soulful hits and fantastic musicianship received a warm reaction from the growing crowd but the band’s delivery of ‘Way down in his hole’ from the TV show The Wire got the biggest response. The Stunning brewed up a storm and got the Marquee Stage rocking and singing while some people had made a noticeable compromise of only seeing the first half of the Stunning and then the remainder of ABC.
The Waterboys got the first real sing-along going on the Saturday with ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ making an early appearance in the band’s setlist. Mike Scott’s jokes about last year’s downpour of rain and a story about how he had earned permission from Christy Moore to play ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’ as part of their hit list loosened up the crowd who were clearly holding it in for one man.

Although the Roísín Dubh Stage lineup was packed with some of the biggest names in the modern and up and coming Irish music scene, the arena failed to draw a meaningful crowd during the day time. This changed in the evening when ‘Le Galaxie’, kitted out in disco ball hoodies, injected the stage with an insane amount of adrenaline. Their hit song ‘Midnight Midnight’ led whispers of “I usually don’t like this thing, but this is great,” from spectators. Front man Michael Pope’s synthesised shouts of “Can you hear me Christy” and “Don’t forget your shovel” got a big laugh, and simultaneously reminded some folks that it was time to jog across to the main stage.
We clearly caught Christy Moore on a good night. The Kildare man dished out the banter and crowd pleasers that were all beautifully accompanied by Declan Sinnott’s seamless guitar work as the crowd clapped along to fight the evening chill. Highlights included ‘Don’t Forget Your Shovel’, ‘Ride On’, ‘Joxer’, ‘Chicago’, and a rendition of ‘Lisdoonvarna’ that had the festival crowd at their peak of excitement for day one. 

I interrupted Reginald in the press area for a chat and overheard some of his very strong terms of endearment being said to Norah Casey, who awkwardly tried to laugh it off, while everyone else in the vicinity just laughed.

Day Two
The festival’s closeness to Westport’s town centre provided a short walk to the grounds each day, and in doing so helped nurse some sore heads on Sunday after revellers easily kept the Saturday night going through to 2am thanks to the special exemption across Westport.
Over the weekend, the main attractions of Westport House were open to the public for free. The family-filled crowd were delighted to get a glimpse and make use of the House’s Pirate Adventure Park, Swan Pedaloes and Westport House Express Train.
On the walk up to the Comedy Tent it was encouraging to see a circle of children and their parents enthralled by a children’s entertainer as they participated in a game, their hands full of accomplishments from the Crafts Tent.
In the Comedy Tent Barry Murphy, AKA ‘Gunther’, showed us the true power of laughing at ourselves and made the plight of the country’s economy a reason to laugh hysterically while cementing ‘Pixie Head’ as an acceptable phrase.
Meanwhile, at the Marquee Stage, Damien Dempsey’s wide smile during his Sunday performance let the crowd know they were doing a great job harmonising to hits like ‘Apple of My Eye’ and ‘Almighty Love’.
I only caught the end of Squeeze, but if the crowd’s reaction to ‘Up the Junction’  is anything to go by, the band were Westport’s cup of tea.
There were a number of converted vans and busses offering fantastic food, but in terms of refueling, the weekend’s winner was definitely Saba, with the Cadden family’s pink van having the two longest queues in the festival. The hungry revellers were kept entertained by the 10 foot high walking Mannequins of Kurt Cobain, David Bowie and John Lennon while they waited for their noodles and curries.
Then there was Imelda. Looking fab and assuring us we would be suitably rocked, the Liberties legend raced through a set that consisted of sweet love tunes like ‘Kentish Town Waltz’ before, in full swing band glory, belting out tracks like ‘Roadrunner’ and ‘Johnny Got a Boom Boom’. The whole field was dancing, children on top of parent’s shoulders happily clapped along as Imelda proved she could easily have pulled off top billing if required.

Stage by stage
While surveying Imelda’s loyal subjects bopping and shaking, I had a quick chat with Kieran from Delorentos who admitted that it would be nice to transplant some of this crowd to the Roísín Dubh Stage for the band’s headline slot later that night. He needn’t have worried. By 9.30pm Delorentos had the biggest crowd at the Roísín Dubh Stage for the whole weekend. You could see the lads were delighted. I quickly lost my female festival companion who joined the group of young women who were planted firmly in front of dashing bass player Niall Conlan. The crowd’s recognition of hits like ‘Care For’ and ‘Bullet in a Gun’ showed the band’s rise to success in recent years.
The sprint to Elvis Costello and the Imposters was one of the best decisions I made over the weekend. The Main Stage crowd was in their element and listened intently to Costello’s stories and admired his guitar collection that belongs in a museum. Joined by Squeeze’s Chris Difford, the band’s closing set featured ‘Oliver’s Army’ and ‘Pump it up’. At this point no one was sitting down and even the most conservative of people let it all shake to (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding. No sooner had the band left the stage when one of the most impressive fireworks shows I have seen in a long time ignited the night sky, leaving the Westport House glinting in the glow of the multi-coloured explosions. Shouts of “Thank you” could be heard as festival-goers took it all in one last time before heading home. “Same time next year” is no doubt trending on twitter.

Benicassim - A health warning

I woke up with the power out

In 2009 I ventured to Spain for the Benicassim Music Festival in Badalona. That year there was a forest fire, a hurricane an outbreak of Swine Flu and the cancellation of three headliners. I’d love to say that the festival has vastly improved since then, in terms of general organization, crowd safety and lineup management but regardless here’s a few dos and don’ts for any revelers making the pilgrimage.

After your flight/Bus /Train, You may feel you have been travelling a while. When I went I took a 23hr bus journey from Paris. They showed Austin Powers two in French twice. I went insane

Get one of your friends to buy a battery powered IPOD charger-Lifesaver

NOW THE ADVICE

Drink shed loads of water; you don’t understand appreciate water so much as when you’re actually there.

Wear a high factor sun cream- see; I’m sounding like your mother already.

Make friends, Beni was the friendliest place I’ve ever been in my life.

Eat FOOD. I advise Nutrigrain bars. I got through 8 boxes. Lovely.

Spend at least one hour in the shower a day! You’ll see what i mean what you get there.  Cold showers have never been so nice.

Buy nothing prior to your flight except a tent and sleeping bag ( tents are available in the town just in case). The town is full of chinese shops selling, tents, lilos, just everything you can think of for little money. The restaurants are all fine, plan your meals with your need to use toilets with proper plumbing. At the bottom of the town there is an Aldi and a Spanish version of an Aldi. Buy a cooler bag, some ice, a load of cheap beer. It'll come to about a tenner and do you for a day of drink

Do not carry drugs of any type when traveling to the the town. This is beyond important. There are feck-all police around but there are civil defence on horseback on patrol who do random searches of your bags when they feel like it.

NEVER EVER EVER light a fire, it’s the equivalent to committing a mass murder in the town. The year I was there, there was a forest fire which got out of control. The security freak out when they see a campfire, imagine a lot of high pitched “eehhhhhh ehhhh” with hand gestures signaling you to put out the fire. 

There is a Benicassim official Heineken bus. On the first day you arrive buy a weekly ticket for a tenner from the driver this will give you unlimited travel. Now to explain that further,

there are two campsites, one beside the festival arena (20 min walk from town) and one in the town near the beach. The one in the village has more trees and shade and is preferred by many. The bus provides transport from the village to the venue, its air-conditioned and amazing. Don’t forget that the campsite opens a week before the festival, the shaded site is usually gone by then. Most people are there on the Monday before. The site beside the venue is very very very intense. Because you’re in Spain, the music can’t start till 7pm (It’s 35c during the day). The headliners are usually on at ten ( you will laugh at how badly organised the lineup is, see boards for changes/cancellations everyday at the campsite). There are more bands on after the headliners/Till 5am on some stages. If you are camped near the venue don’t expect to sleep. When the music finally stops at 6 the sun comes up and melts you by 7am. You find yourself awake and heading to the beach by 9am. CAMP UNDER SHADE.

When you arrive some campsite assistant will make you head to the back of whatever campsite you pick and you’ll be on a pile of rocks, when they leave, camp wherever you want. In the site nearest the venue, camp under the white outer sheets which provide shade. If you have to, buy a bed sheet and extra tent poles to create an outer shade layer( this could buy you hours of sleep in the morning).

If you really feel the need to buy a T-shirt, buy one on the beach/street. The official ones are not worth the money. 

Limit the amount of beer you buy from Benicassim Heinieken tents. Its done on a ticket system that makes no sense and is very pricey. Tank up in the camp site prior to entry. 

Bring a torch. The year I was there, there was a hurricane and the town was in blackout for 2 hours.

Before you ask theres no Mc Donalds. There’s a TELEPIZZA and the Spanish are proud of it. It’s crap. 

There is one Internet Cafe in the town in the tourist information office. Put your name down for a spot in the queue, she’ll give you a time.(5 hours away) Stick it out and wait a half hour, most people don’t turn up for their time. 

Don’t go to house parties in the town. Bad things happen. The locals are dangerous.

Don’t expect security deposits back in the hotels

Don’t be afraid If your room gets double booked, the campsite will let you in. Buy a tent for twenty euro.

Break up your budgets to an amount a day. The town is so cheap you’ll spend all your cash on crap. 

BRING A BOOK regardless of charming company, the early start which is forced upon you from the 7am sunrise often makes for long days on the beach, sometimes waiting 10 hours till your band is on.

You can charge your phone near the Heineken tents in the campsites.

This town is empty 9/10 of the year. The beggers flock to the town when the festival is on. Be aware of this when your eating in the outdoor cafes in the town.

People of the Sun

Coachella 2007

A young Irish boy’s first experience with a desert music festival

“This is the captain speaking, I’m afraid we’ve accidentally let a passenger on the plane who doesn’t have a ticket or a boarding card and for security reasons we’re going to have to remove his bag from the cargo hold. I’m sorry but it looks like we may arrive in Heathrow an hour later than expected”. The captain calmly informed us. It was seven in the morning on a late April morning in Dublin airport. I was restless and nervous at the thought of a possible delay, for London was not my final destination and I only had an hour and ten minutes before my connecting flight to Los Angeles. The flight finally got going and I spent the next 55 minutes (or two hours Air Lingus time) staring at my watch praying that I’d make it on time. Where was I going? To Coachella, the world’s most famous music festival.

When the plane landed in London I ran like I had never ran before jumping over trolleys, knocking over old ladies, sprinting to gate twenty two. After twenty minutes of running I realised I was lost. I grabbed an airline representative and attempted to ask her where to go, but all that came out of my mouth was pure gibberish. “Calm down sir or you’re going to give yourself a heart attack.” she dictated firmly. She pointed me in the right direction and I was off again. I felt like I was on an episode of ITV’s ‘Airport’ and that I was the token Irish guy holding up the plane. I reached the gate and boarded the aircraft. That was the end of the excitement for about 11 hours unless you count the fight that broke out between the 90 year old Spanish woman who was sitting beside me and the flight attendant because they didn’t have her “Banana juice” on the drinks trolley, or the rude awakenings I received every time she fell asleep on my headphone's volume control.  

The second I stepped onto the runway with my pins and needle legs, the dry hot air filled my lungs. The realisation of how far I was from home suddenly hit me. I was finally here in the famous LAX airport, my first time in America. In the next ten minutes a series of great things and really bad things unfolded before me. Firstly I noticed that the people queuing behind me in the immigration area were  The Kings of Leon. They kindly posed for a photo with me. Then the airline informed me my bag was still in London. That information did not come easy. It took an hour in a queue talking to a trainee who said my “accent was funny” and that she couldn’t understand me before I learned the fate of my luggage.   

I retreated to my Hotel on La Cienega Boulevard with no luggage. I was about to spend five days camping in the 44 degree Celsius desert  heat at the worlds most famous music festival without clothes or a tent. This was a tricky situation for a lone twenty year old Irish boy in LA to find himself in. After a night which consisted of a monstrously oversized McDonalds and American TV I awoke to a call informing me that my bag had arrived. I reclaimed the rucksack, hugged it and checked out. A shiny green cab took me to downtown LA and dropped me off at the bus station which had featured on the TV show “Cops” so many times. There I randomly became friends with two guys from Colorado and a Canadian. We spent two hours in the bus queue commenting on the week ahead of us at Coachella- the holy grail of festivals. When we finally boarded the bus with our luggage and a bag full of burritos, it became clear to me that we were on a bus full of welsh and English people. This fact was not obvious at first, for it was only when we hit the highway and started screaming along with them to the tune of Coronation Street that I understood their true origin.

Upon arrival in Palm Springs, my traveling buddies and I realised that we had no way to get from the bus station to the festival. Seconds later a woman named Sue offered us a lift in her beautiful SUV for five dollars. After a quick threat assessment we decided she wasn't a serial killer and accepted the lift.  Like nine out of ten Americans she loved Irish people so she took us to her house which overlooked the festival grounds and showed us the back stage area. Then she sold us $200 worth of booze for $20 on the condition that we promised to take it easy with any drugs we may come across as her son had been killed in a rave many years before as a result of ecstasy. She dropped us at the festival and bid us farewell not before handing me lip balm in case I “burned my Irish lips”. We checked into the campsite set up our tents, and just stood a staring in awe at the beautiful landscape of palm trees and bare dessert mountains. $10 of the ticket price had been spent on lush grass for the campsite. It was like someone had built us our own private country club in the middle of nowhere and invited some of the world’s greatest rock bands to join us.

To put it mildly an American festival campsite makes Oxegen and Electric Picnic look like a  war-torn shanty town. Fire marshals patrolled the campsite making sure no tent touched another and there was a no alcohol rule in the camping grounds, an absolute shocker for veteran Irish festival goers.  The next three days were some of the greatest in my life. I witnessed as many of the bands from the 100 act line up as possible, and partied every night like it was my last. Particularly on Sunday night after the Rage Against the Machine reunion performance, (the main reason I had travelled 5,000 miles), when an LAPD police helicopter hovered over our tents and shone a penetrating light through the campsite  “put the fire out and return to your tents”. Another big difference between European and American Festivals is the 2 AM noise curfew, but I admit that night we kind of overdid it. 

Everyday was a new adventure. During Kings of Leon’s set (who I had met three days previous), I randomly bumped into a friend from my hometown in the mosh pit. He too was finding it hard to adapt to the 44 degrees celcius heat but like me he appreciated every moment of this amazing festival. He showed me the independent artwork and sculpture area which featured a flamethrower tower with a DJ inside playing to a crowd. Across from this DJ was his opposite, another DJ spraying water cannon at the crowd. During the bright hot mornings I enjoyed as many different music and visual attractions as possible (as well as a large amount of Mexican food). I was always up very early because it was so hot by 6.30am that my Irish body automatically woke itself thinking it was on fire. The festival supplied the overpriced usual food and beverage stores  Once or twice I hitched a lift to the local store in search of supplies. On one occasion I ended up in car with a family from Phoenix who were delighted to meet me as their favourite movie was “The Commitments”. If I ever came back here I was renting a car.

I spent five days in the desert. I made some great friends from Colorado, Nebraska Scotland, Canada, Brazil, the Channel Islands and Cork. I left America with some amazing memories. The flights to LA cost €400 and the ticket was $250 (including camping), making a certain racecourse in Kildare look very overpriced for a weekend's activities. The festival announces its lineup every January with the concert taking place every April. The bus service is infrequent so I would recommend renting a car in Los Angeles and taking the  beautiful scenic drive to the desert. I'd recommend every music fan trying this at some stage to see how the Americans do it and to gain some amazing life experience.