Crazy for Coachella in LA

Aah, Coachella. Word has it, the original promoters were thinking of nixing the popular music fest this year due to the economy. They thought twice about it, however, after realizing that the masses seem to be drowning their recessionary woes in a good dose of amp-charged, sweat inducing, music celebration! Live performance is where it's at.

(photo courtesy of los angeles times)

According to the L.A. times, 'Live music is thriving, even as other parts of the music industry are faltering. Recorded music continued its downward spiral, with U.S. album sales falling 8% in the first three months of the year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Even digital music, which had enjoyed a drumbeat of increasing sales, fell 1% in the first quarter, its first such drop since 2003, when Nielsen began tracking digital downloads.
But worldwide concert ticket sales busted through $1 billion in the same period, up 6.2% over the same quarter of 2009, another surprising first given that the quarter typically is slow for concerts, according to Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a concert industry trade magazine.'
The last time I went to Coachella, Madonna was headlining and I almost got trampled to death by two thousand angry gays covered in mud and urine. Then my ride left me. Seriously. That is why at over $300 for a three day ticket (to camp in the desert with a bunch of urine stained, mud covered folk) I will be skipping Coachella this year. To all of you young hipsters who are making the trip, have fun, be safe, and send a postcard!
To find out more, read Coachella
Related Links: LATimes