Coachella vs. Couchella: Debate the Experience: Daily Variety

In the ‘Daily Variety’ podcast aired today, manifold Music experts Jem Aswad, Chris Willman, and Steven J. Horowitz Unwind from the first weekend of the Coachella music festival. The three discuss their experiences attending the Desert Gathering in person and participating as “Couchella” through the extensive YouTube live stream options. They also catalog an impressive set of: Karol GAddison Rae, Sombr, Slayyter, Clipse, Wet Leg and Jamie xx.

Aswad, manifold‘s music editor-in-chief said he had never attended. Coachella Despite his long musical career. Live streams are a treat for passionate New Yorkers who typically avoid the dusty desert.

“The whole attitude is that there is no need to create a scene because all I care about is the music. There is no need to live with the management because I can see them all year round. All I care about is the music,” asserts Aswad. “And live streaming is the best place to hear what’s going on. It’s the best view. Even if the top artists go through VIP, you get a 10x better view. And you don’t have to go anywhere and it doesn’t cost you anything. So what could be better than that?”

Willman spent many hot days and cold nights in a place about halfway between the Los Angeles and Arizona borders. My last IRL trip to Coachella took place in 2019.

“I remember literally running around the festival grounds trying to catch Blackpink, which was very unsightly for someone my age, and at that point I was kind of snobbish about it. I was like, ‘You should be there.’ It’s not the same,” Willman said. “But I had the experience of filming from home in the first year after the pandemic, and what struck me was that all the photos were so beautifully shot, especially the main stage performance, where a lot of the rehearsals took place, and the Steadicam was hovering around the stage. It’s like watching a concert film, except it’s much better than most concert films, because it’s not over-edited. So I turned to the couch experience.

Horowitz was one of many. manifold These employees braved Interstate 10 to trek past Palm Springs. After playing dozens of shows over 72 hours, Horowitz was most impressed by a performance by Colombian artist Karol G, who closed the venue on April 12 with the closing set of the first weekend. Coachella’s second weekend runs from April 17-19.

Karol G said: “It was a sight to behold. She started 30 minutes late. People were very restless. I was in the front pit and was crushed and thought, ‘I don’t even know if I can make it,'” says Horowitz. “But once she started, I was locked in. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

(Photo caption: Karol G on the set of Closing Night on April 12)

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