Coachella 1999, did anyone here go?

[Electrotek]

Curious to hear about your experiences at the first Coachella ever

[vinylmartyr]

I was there.

[Courtney]

I was there at the first Can show in Cologne.

[doggie3343]

I was in High school when my friend bought a Ford 250 with a camper and decide to drive to Coachella. My over protective mom denied me.

[algunz]

I was there. It was wonderful. It was so open, yet intimate. I miss the early days.

[thedude15]

headliners

Tool and Rage Against the Machine

Crap I would pay $200+ just to see those two bands play.

[blackchango]

Right here ! My friends and I showed up to the fields in an RV on Thursday around midnight not knowing what to expect. The fields were empty and completely pitch dark with not a soul in site. We got drunk and partied and ran around like idiots for a few hours until we were greeted by these two big black security dudes in a golf cart. They were very cool but told us we had to bounce. We drove down the road and found Lake Cahuilla and ended up camping for the evening. Morrissey, Pavement, The Chemical Brothers, Beck and Cibbomato were some of the highlights that year. I have gone every year after that ever since !

[invisiblerobots]

I had a great time. I had no idea what to expect but took a chance and flew down from Seattle. It was extremely laid back and well organized and kept me coming back for several subsequent visits.

[Sexecutioner]

i was there the first day, and had my ass kicked by rage and tool back to back. the fields were practicably empty compared to these days.

[billtino]

Yes. It felt like 120 degrees that weekend, and there were still fools dress like Fonzy from Happy Days with the leather jacket. We were so f'n burnt from Day 1 that we opted to stay indoors in Palm Springs (no onsite camping yet) and wait for the sun to go down on Day 2. I think we saw a movie at the local theater. I remember Tool was amazing. Maynard in his gimp suit + the naked bald couple suspended in the air...Day two got beat up pretty bad jumping from mosh pit to mosh pit during Rage.

[CrimesceneCookie]

I was there working a vendor booth. Sold a shit ton of glowsticks.
Came back as a spectator in 2003 and have been back every year since.

[Mr.Nipples]

[thedevious]

Saturday was arguably the single greatest festival day of all time. The 2nd stage faced directly into the blazing sun, massive sound bleed from the Sahara. Free terrycloth hats and water to soak them with from the artist direct tent. Both days were filled with delicious conflicts from beginning to end.

To this day 99 was easily the best Coachella ever, lineup says it all.

[iBurn]

I drove from Lake Havasu with my bros. Just cam for day two Oct 10th. Yep, in the fall. paid 60bucks for a ticket from a scalper. Not too maney people. GV lost money that year.The venue seemed so big and not nearly as crowded as is has been since 2004 when radiohead played. I found out that some new band called A perfect Circle played the day before, and Maynard was the signer. WTF, that blew my mind. Def would have come both days. Tool was amazing. Took some E and saw these two naked dancers swinging above the stage by chains. They seemed to move into each other and turn into one person. I still dont understand how I saw that. Rage opened up for them, But Zac had a fucked case of laryngitis. He still came out and kicked our ass.
2001 was even better. Just a one day party. I drove out that morning after having a rager at my house in SAN DIEGO. Had an awesome time just being there and parting with my brother and BF. I dont even remember who played that year. Who cares? You go there to have fun. To party. I look at the line up as secondary. I have gone to festivals where I didnt know a single name on the lineup and had just as much fun as coachella."joshua tree music fest" " Lightning in a bottle" "burning Man"
The music is just the soundtrack to your weekend. The people is is where the real party is at. Could you really have fun if you were the only one on the whole grass, but all those bands were still playing. Cool, but not that cool.
I have been to 10 Coachellas now. Golden Voice has really made the party better every year. They got a DR of crowd dynamics to plan arrivals and departures and toilet placement, food needs, ect. Then they got camping in 2004. Huge upgrade to not have to drive home drunk. Thats what happened back in the day. Everyone had to leave every night. Then in 2010 they finally let us bring in our beer to the party. That was pretty lame to make us buy $7 beers for a three day party. Never again. They use to plan the event to land on a full moon. Not so much any more. Having cell phones work out there was a big help. I dont remember when but its very cool. Charging stations, Free water if you have a cup. 10 for 1 bottle recycling really cleaned up the grass. It used to be complely covered in plastic at midnight. Oh the late shows past curfew is awesome too. They pay like $10,000 a minute past 12AM. So they are just being cool to let us keep dancing for 30 min because they know we want to even though they lose 300k from their bottem line. Based on the improvements I see, I believe they have must have a think tank that deals with each individual problem at a time. They listen to the people. They really want us to have a good time.But, They also want money. Its not Burning Man.
Some things I really hope they work on for this year:
More showers: Open 24 hours;
Less General Addmission; it was way too much last year
more interactive art
Have fun guys. Love and light.

[ivankay]

Free terrycloth hats and water to soak them with from the artist direct tent.

Still wear mine to Coachella. Whenever i think i lose it, a major piece of my soul gets crushed. When i find it, absolute elation.

[Electrotek]

Great stuff guys! Keep it going!

And if possible scan and post pics from that time!

[EndersRapture]

That's awesome. I'm jealous of those who got to go to the first one, so I like hearing your experiences too =)

[shotglass75]

I am envious

[nationocean]

I heart this thread, I want to hug it. Only been going for 7 years and still envious of those who got to go the first year. You are all pioneers of awesome

[billtino]

you are right Iburn. I got my days mixed up. All the Morrissey look alikes were there Day1. I actually met the bald couple that was dangling up in the air during Tool's set when they were walking to the Sahara Tent on Day1. Seemed like the distance between the stage and sahara was waaaaay longer sans all of the vendor booths & exhibits we have now. I was honestly not too impressed with the 1st Coachella after being blown away my first festival earlier that Summer at Rome, NY. That's probably why it took so long for me to come back.

[brokenDREAMS]

Nice! This thread inspired me to dl a live set from that year feat. DJ Qbert, Mix Master Mike, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and Rahzel! Dj Shadow was outstanding that year.

Still my favorite of all the years i've gone. Don't miss the sea of plastic bottles after the show though (water was free as well).

[Justin170]

Beck was so amazing!

[ivankay]

Nice! This thread inspired me to dl a live set from that year feat. DJ Qbert, Mix Master Mike, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and Rahzel! Dj Shadow was outstanding that year.

This. This is also the first overflowing tent i encountered at a Coachella.

The Midnight Vultures Beck show was so fun. Seeing Art of Noise at the time thrilled me. That was my first "Never thought i'd see these guys...Wow! i'm seeing these guys" set at a Coachella.

i've said this before, my favorite 99 moment was during Moby's live set. He was going on about this incredible place we were at and had the lights turned off so we could soak in the stars.

[weareyourfriends]

Huell Howser = megasexx

[The Dude]

I remember wandering into Underworlds set and having my taste in music seriously altered.

[neverclever]

It was my first time seeing a load of bands! Modest Mouse were still a three piece band and Isaac Brock had a broken jaw. Some foreign girl asked me if Underworld played "Born Slippy" over and over because I couldn't understand her accent. SFA was really energetic still. Chemical Brothers won me over that night. I skipped the 2nd night despite Pavement.

[nathanfairchild]

I'm jealous of all of you, I was 10 when the first Coachella happened but I love just about every band that played that year. Makes me wish I had a time machine.

[pewpew87]

how much were the tickets back then?

[dancefreak]

how much were the tickets back then?

my ticket is long gone, but they looked like this....

[Suffacated]

Nice. And the dust. Getting to and from the parking areas was an experience in itself.