I was at work, it was 8:30 in the morning, and the coveted song began to play. I dutifully picked up my telephone and dialed the magic number. Busy, hang up, repeat. After four tries, someone answered! I was in shock... I didn't know what to say. My coworkers, upon hearing my exclamation of "I can't believe it!", started jumping around me as I was trying to joke with three people on the other end of the line and stop my racing heart from bursting out of my chest. Friends started calling on the other line and the other phones. It was a short period of utter chaos. I managed to spit out my name and email address and we were on our way to California!
We stopped at the Super Walmart in Palm Springs to stock up on groceries and booze and I could not believe how cheap everything was! All our supplies for four days, including propane and $3.50 pillows, can to just over a hundred dollars. So that's how it feels to not be taxed out the wahoo.
The festival took place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio and we camped in the "International" campground. It included the rest of the people who flew in and didn't have vehicles. They had reserved a little corner for the group of us, I think there were 70 in total, which was quickly dubbed Little Canada. We were one of the early groups to arrive but by the end of the night it had really started to fill up.
We were with an amazing group of people, people we realized we will definitely remain friends with long after this event. The shows were amazing; the Dead Weather, Them Crooked Vultures, Faith No More, Band of Skulls, Perry Farrel, Pheonix, Muse, Gorillaz... and the list goes on. To be that close and see these bands live was truly a once in a lifetime experience, especially being from Calgary where a lot of these bands wouldn't think to perform. The hard part was picking and choosing which performances to see. If you wanted a good spot you have to get there early which might mean sacrificing another show. And it was difficult to get anywhere very quickly with 90,000 other people trying to go in all directions.
After three days of sun, music, beer, and laughs I was happily exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. The memories and friendships will always remain...
