Last weekend, Local Natives did what they’ve already done twice: conquer Coachella. The band’s set was riveting, and even featured a guest appearance from Sarah Barthel. Tearing through a mix of new material from their recently released album, Sunlit Youth, and classics from their earlier material, the Los Angeles-based quintet’s main stage was one of the highlights of the weekend.
Though the band has already toured extensively in a relatively short period of time before that record, Local Natives are making up for the nearly three year lag between albums. Having a portable studio served the band well — they were able to record in various locales like Thailand, Ojai, Joshua Tree, Nicaragua and Hawaii.
Following their sweaty set, we caught up with singer Taylor Rice, who wasn’t just upbeat after a potentially grueling set, but in terrific spirits as well. Rice hadn’t yet roamed the festival grounds — the band arrived from Boise the night before – but he did offer some tidbits for you, dear reader, on how to beat the odds and survive a festival unscathed.
Stay Hydrated
You have to be super hydrated. You get out and waiting for your band to play and it’s boiling hot. You have to stay hydrated or else you’re going to ruin your day. That goes for being an attendee as well. That’s my practical dad tip.
A Meeting Point is Imperative
You have to have a meeting point with your crew because you will lose each other at some point. You have to have a contingency plan when you lose people, and it set it throughout the day. Like, “We’re going to meet at Gobi right before Little Dragon plays…” or whatever. You need multiple meeting spots like that set throughout and it will make your life a lot easier.
Find a Way to Sneak Backstage or VIP Area (If You Can)
Normally, the best case scenario, is to get a wristband from a band that’s leaving. Like tonight, I’ll just give mine away to someone as I’m leaving. That’s hard to figure out how to do, but if you can figure it out, it’s worth it. They got the nice bathrooms, toilets. They got the unlimited free coconut water lined up for you. There’s unlimited shade too. So I definitely recommend trying to sneak in to the VIP section.
Don’t be Beholden to Your Schedule. Explore and Discover Music You Never Heard Before
One thing that’s great is that normally I’ll make my schedule and decide who are the artists that I want to see. You go in with your list of what to do, but don’t. I recommend roaming the festival at some point unplanned. If you stumble across an artist, check it out.
To go to a festival and just see the artists you already know and are into, part of the whole point is to discover new music that you never really listened to before. I think some of my favorite times at festivals have been randomly looking around. Last time we were at Coachella, I remember seeing Grinderman — Nick Cave’s other band. They were playing in some tent — and he was also headlining — but they were playing the small tent show. It was half-full and it was one of my favorite performances of that whole festival. It was wild and out of control. I never sat down and listened to Grinderman records before, and it was one of the most inspiring live sets I ever saw. Going exploring was great.
Stay by Front of House
People may not realize this, but you always want to be at front of house. It’s the booth in the middle where the sound guy is mixing. That is always the perspective that’s going to have the best mix for the festival. So go somewhere near there if you want the best listening perspective.
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