This photo taken by my new friend: Anu. He wanted to see Paul ever since the album "Wings Over America" was released but had to wait thirty years for Coachella 2009. We were about 100 feet from the stage.



This year I made the trek to Coachella to see Paul McCartney...  again (I've seen him at Staples Center twice). I love the atmosphere of Coachella: open-air, multiple stages, a dance tent, food vendors, artwork and unique people. I arrived a bit later than I anticipated so parking at 4:00pm turned into finally parking at 6:00pm. I chatted with a couple of the LOT 5 parking attendants for over an hour with the hope their boss would say "let a few more cars in"... but... it never happened so I jumped in my Honda Odyssey and made my way back toward the main gate. They let me though and I ended up parking very close to the entrance. Patience can pay off. I preferred to wait outside my vehicle than sitting in a line of traffic. I had actually picked up my ticket as I spoke with the staff at Lot 5. A group of ladies had an extra ticket because their friend was sick.  They asked $75.00 ... take that Ticketmaster!

I made it in just in time to grab a Tri-Tip sandwich (more on that later) and to catch Leonard Cohen.: a singer with an unmistakable voice and a very talented band. Before Mr. Cohen began his performance, I met a newlywed couple and they chose "Dance Me to the End of Love" for their first dance song at their wedding a few weeks earlier. As fate would have it, Mr Cohen opened with their song!

My friend, David Jay,  and I made our way over to the main stage for Morrissey. It took us awhile to get through the crowd since David's wife, Lisa, was holding us a "spot" about 5 rows from the stage and everybody was like "yeah, my wife's up there, too!". I much prefer to "chill" toward the back with the option to roam to other stages, tents, etc. Once I was entrenched for Morrissey and McCartney it would definitely not be worth fighting my way OUT and then back again. Unfortunately, I missed the 'mash-up' sensation Girl Talk which was recommended to me. I'll catch him another time.

Morrissey is another unmistakable voice and a talented song-writer. I've always enjoyed his dark sense of humor with songs like "Girlfriend in a Coma" and "Panic"  but his performance was a bit lackluster. He made a few looks of disgust and eventually commented on the smell of burning flesh which I felt was a bit odd, especially when he said that he hopes it is human! I understand if you are a strict vegetarian but if you are playing an outdoor music festival, wouldn't you assume there will be Bar-B-Cue!?! As I mentioned, I had just enjoyed a Tri-Tip sandwich and here was Morrissey telling me he'd rather I'd be burning.

I'm sure hard-core SMITHS fans will defend their fearless leader but I am confidant he lost potential fans and alienated quite a bit of the audience. I guess it makes life interesting, but it sure would have been a lot more fun to endure the standing, body-heat and shoving if he spent more time entertaining! There are also better approaches to bringing awareness to the masses. For those of you who are curious, check out Meat is Murder by The Smiths.

The main event for Friday night... Sir Paul McCartney. Paul always puts everything he has into his performances and tonight was no exception.  Paul is one of the few artists that still gives you a two and a half hour show and NEVER leaves the stage. Even when his bandmates are taking a break, he will play guitar and sing or jump behind the piano and play a classic.  McCartney is 66 years old and he has more chops and stamina than most of the young bands!