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The first-ever Desert Trip music fest took place in Indio California this past weekend, drawing fans from near and far to see veteran acts like The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and The Who.
The average age of the performers was 72 and the audience 51, which has earned the music festival the nickname "Oldchella."
Unreal. Neil Young on stage with Paul McCartney to help sing "A Day In The Life" at
Unreal. Neil Young on stage with Paul McCartney to help sing "A Day In The Life" at #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/RYJDJa95xO
— The Frame (@theframe) October 9, 2016— The Frame (@theframe)
Unreal. Neil Young on stage with Paul McCartney to help sing "A Day In The Life" at #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/RYJDJa95xO
— The Frame (@theframe) October 9, 2016
The Frame's James Kim spent the weekend reporting from the festival, and he files this report on the music, the politics and the high-end food of Desert Trip.
I've never been to a music festival or even a concert with people on so many walkers, that was eye-opening. But at the same time, there were also a lot of families in attendance. I talked with one family who came from Los Angeles, and specifically the mom, Rosemary Johnston. She came with her husband [Joe Johnston] and two daughters:
ROSEMARY JOHNSTON: When I heard this concert was coming up, I said, 'You know, what. We have to go. We have to make this happen for as many of us that are around as possible.' And so, I got everybody excited about it. Even the most cynical.
JOE JOHNSTON: You know, I'm not hearing all your questions. That's because I probably listened to too much Stones. Too loud.
I tweeted a photo — from Roger Waters' set — of a flying pig balloon. On the side of the pig it's a picture of Donald Trump and then it says right next to him "ignorant, lying, racist, sexist pig," and then on the other side it says "f--- Trump and his wall."
Well we know how Roger Waters feels about Donald Trump
Well we know how Roger Waters feels about Donald Trump #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/n6Br9E1FYM
— The Frame (@theframe) October 10, 2016— The Frame (@theframe)
Well we know how Roger Waters feels about Donald Trump #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/n6Br9E1FYM
— The Frame (@theframe) October 10, 2016
But I talked with one music fan, her name was Jen Rose, from Colorado, and I asked her how she felt about the politics at the festival.
ROSE: I have very mixed feelings about it. I'm here to kind of escape from some of that, so to have all of that kind of thrown right back in my face again is... It just takes some of the fun out of it.
It was kind of a shock stepping in, seeing the massive stadium. They even had an elevator you could take to the top of the stadium they had built around the stage. And they had this thing called the "culinary experience" - it cost $179 per person, but you get free food. You get free booze and it's unlimited...It's gated off. There's fountains. There's roses... Like you're on a country club all of a sudden.
This was a master class in terms of performance, in terms of music. Roger Waters — I was never a fan of Pink Floyd — and that performance just blew me away. It was surround sound. It wasn't because of the pig. It wasn't because of the visual spectacle. Just the sound in general was incredible.
And this is how Roger Waters took the stage at
And this is how Roger Waters took the stage at #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/LROu9axY1M
— The Frame (@theframe) October 10, 2016— The Frame (@theframe)
And this is how Roger Waters took the stage at #DesertTrip pic.twitter.com/LROu9axY1M
— The Frame (@theframe) October 10, 2016
The second and final weekend of Desert Trip is Fri. October 14 - Sun. October 16.