While I am not a huge country fan, if at all actually, my wife has made some of it rub off. I used to think it was punishment for making her deal with In Flames, Slayer, Lamb of God or a host of other metal bands that constantly rotate in my CD player.
But after going to Stagecoach 2007, I actually kind of liked it. Some of it, anyways. And let’s face it – blonde cowgirls with Daisy Duke cutoff denim shorts in Southern California doesn’t hurt.
I view Stagecoach as California’s answer to Country Thunder. It has three stages – the huge Mane stage, and the two smaller stages Palomino and Mustang. With 60+ bands throughout three days, there is something for everyone. So naturally when Stagecoach 2008 was announced, I knew I would be tagging along again this year. The lineup was stellar, securing the Eagles on day one and the Judds reunion on day two alone made this another ground breaking year for the festival, which is only in its sophomore year. And in just one year, they were successful enough to be able to add a third night.
So what are they doing right?
Obviously it has to be the talent line up. They easily blew Country Thunder 2008 out of the water in that respect. Hell, even Country Thunder had to cancel its Texas show because of lack of ticket sales. No offense to the talent on Country Thunder this year, but the Eagles and the Judds reunion at Stagecoach 2008 totally overshadows anyone else on Country Thunder’s four day bill. More importantly, Stagecoach gives nice perks to the people in attendance – kids under 14 are admitted free with a paid 
adult (nice gesture for the family outing, which we and many, many others did) and free parking (Country Thunder, in Arizona, charges $15 per day). And let’s not forget the dozens of activities just for kids – something Country Thunder doesn’t have at all. Stagecoach is clearly the family winner.
The three-day Stagecoach festival at the Empire Polo field in Indio attracted up to 120,000 people this year. That's roughly 60,000 less than the Coachella festival, but more than double its two-day attendance from last year.
The one black eye left at Stagecoach this year was setting up a VIP area directly in front of the Mane stage. Most of the day and in to the early evening of each day, this area was empty. Didn’t the organizers realize what a slap in the face this is to the artists? Anyone who can afford the absurd prices doesn’t care about sitting in the actual seats – they are off to find where else they can pamper their egos, and that’s if they can handle the heat throughout the day. Otherwise, they only show up for one or maybe two of the headliners. The everyday country loving regulars who saved up for months to get to this event, buy merch and will be more than happy to do it every year were rewarded for their loyalty – by being segregated to the back, about 200 – 300 feet from the stage, and treated like cattle. Nice.
When artists play, they play to everyone in attendance. But they feed off the energy of the people right in front of them. How bad is the performance affected when there is no one there? Hopefully Stagecoach has learned from this disastrous mistake and will not repeat it.
In what otherwise was an extremely enjoyable festival, Stagecoach 2008 proved that rich people matter, you and I don’t.
DAY 1 – MAY 2nd, 2008
Shelby Lynne clearly voiced her opinions regarding the empty VIP area in front of the Mane stage, and rightly so. While she could have done so a little more tactfully, the point was the same.
“You’ll never see my ass here again!” Lynne was still frustrated after finishing a cover of “Breakfast in Bed” off of her Dusty Springfield tribute. “It’s a festival – you should stand wherever you want to!”
Hey Goldenvoice – are you listening?
Her little outburst did little to damper her performance, and she put in one of the best performances of the weekend, but hopefully she got her point across for future Stagecoach festivals, provided the damage hasn’t already been done. The talent weren’t the only ones complaining about it.
Trisha Yearwood came out and did continually thank the audience for being there (although you could tell she was just as amazed as Lynne was about the empty VIP area). Yearwood did her best at damage control after Lynne as she joked about her husband (“Thanks for asking about Garth – no one ever does”), and stated she was at Stagecoach herself because she is a fan at heart. Her set encompassed the full range of her voice and talent by including “Cowboys Are My Weakness”, “This Is Me You’re Talking About”, “Wrong Side of Memphis” and “She’s In Love With the Boy”.
John Forgerty was just as animated as ever, and fully enjoying himself. While he too seemed perplexed at the lackadaisical attitude of the VIP area, he simply shrugged it off and played for the people in the back. While his set was shorter than that at Country Thunder two weeks before, it was a lot livelier. Most of the set unsurprisingly consisted of Creedence material: “Born on the Bayou”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “Green River”, “Down on the Corner”, “Looking Out My Back Door”, just to name a few. The near flawless set also contained the staples “Fortunate Son” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”. Having just seen him perform at Country Thunder in Arizona, I am still amazed how his music crosses vast age barriers. Kids from 9 or 10 all the way to adults in their 60s and 70s were rocking along the whole time.
Heading over to the Palomino stage showed a road traveled Glen Campbell. He’s been around for awhile, and you can sense the history in his presence. However, Campbell previewed his upcoming covers album by including U2’s “All I Want Is You” and the Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These” showing that age isn’t everything. Classic Campbell included “Wichita Lineman”, “Gentle on My Mind”, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Galveston” and the set closer “Rhinestone Cowboy”. No one minded at all that he needed to read some of the lyrics, or that his upper range seems to be diminishing. The crowd was happy with what they got, and they showed it.
The Mustang stage held possibly the biggest crowd (aside from the Mane stage of course) I have ever seen between the two years of Stagecoach’s existence. Craig Morgan is playing to more people that can fit in the area.
Back to the Mane stage for the main event – the Eagles. Considering so many of the Eagles lyrics, it’s fitting that they headline a night at Stagecoach. The Eagles transformed Indio back to the 70s heyday in both mood and vibe, and it was rather a refreshing sight to see lighters in the air, rather than cell phones that seem so common place today at shows.
The band launched in to “How Long”, “Busy Being Fabulous”, “I Don’t Want to Hear”, “Guilty of Crime” and while the crowd ate up every moment of the performance, it wasn’t until the familiar chords of “Hotel California” started that the crowd exploded. Harmonies and a familiar Southern California feel crept over the crowd for the remainder of the set, which also included “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “One of These Nights”, “Life’s Been Good”, “Life in the Fast Lane”, “All She Wants to Do is Dance” and “Take it Easy” among others.
Glenn Frey and Don Henley proved they are still tight together, and Joe Walsh’s goofy facial expressions provided smiles from the crowd. The band seemed to be having a genuinely good time together. A splendid performance to cap off the first day.
DAY 2 – MAY 3rd, 2008
The day started off with easily recognizable features – the people who were here last night, still a little groggy, and then the fresh faces who weren’t. Surprisingly, it seemed there were a ton more people here today than yesterday. I know jobs and whatnot dictate people’s free time, but c’mon – the Eagles played last night!!
The most annoying factor of the weekend, that just seemed to get worse with time, is that there seemed to be no set procedure of how media was allowed in to the media pit. One minute it was one direction, the next minute it was the other. Security was clueless about the changes. Not to mention, when it’s time to leave the media pit, they are standing behind you yelling “Let’s go!” but you are looking at 10,000 people right in front of you that aren’t moving – security couldn’t (or just plain didn’t) keep any paths cleared whatsoever. While I cannot begin to tell you how annoying this was, the more serious factor is security was lucky no one got hurt. Hopefully the competence level of the security staff can be improved upon for next year.
At around 5:30 in the afternoon, the childlike grace of Taylor Swift took the stage to the crowd’s delight. This simply had to be the largest crowd ever in front of the Mane stage (makes me wonder if the crowd was also made up of Judds’ squatters). The sweet innocence that Swift still emits had everyone in attendance singing along instantly. The girl was very humble when she continually thanked the crowd for her success.
Her performance was an instance success, included such numbers as “Tim McGraw”, “Picture to Burn”, “Teardrops on My Guitar”, and “Our Song”. Every little girl went ballistic (including mine) the entire time she was on stage.
While working my way through an incredible amount of bimbo’s who suddenly gained media access with their cell phone cameras during Dierks Bently’s set, I noticed the majority of the crowd seemed a little less than enthusiastic. Maybe the sun was taking its toll, but the highly energetic performance was flawless nonetheless. The entire crowd did go nuts during “Lot of Leaving Left to Do”.
After the short set, it was a mass migration to the Dwight Yoakam show at the Palomino stage. While I couldn’t personally verify, I think there were more people in front of this stage than the other stages combined at this point. He definitely got billed on the wrong stage. He easily should have gone to the Mane stage, but with the VIP fiasco, he was probably more appreciative of the more intimate settings. The sheer number of people who were in attendance and dancing or moving along to the tunes in some way showed who had one of the best sets during the entire three day festival.
Soon after, it was time for a historic event – the Judds hitting the stage for the first time in what? – 7 or 8 years? The fans were ready. Wynonna emerged on the stage, her trademark fiery red hair perfectly styled, and from stage right came Naomi. At first glance, it’s hard to tell that she is roughly 20 years older. That’s not a good thing. I realize she has had some health issues that have been very tough on her, but I don’t think plastic surgeons are the way to go. Now, I may be wrong with my assumptions, but this is what was at the other end of my lens. After seeing the shocked look on my face, fellow photographer Jay Rubin asked me, “You zoomed in, didn’t you?”. His wicked little grin seemed to say “Dumb ass!”.
Luckily what matters here is the music (as what has been seen cannot be unseen). The blissful harmonies on “Young Love” and “River of Time” showed the pair was still in top form. The duo continued on through “Give a Little Love”, “No One Else on Earth”, “Mama He’s Crazy”, “Grandpa” and a surprising cover choice of Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Love Is”. Their chemistry on stage meshed as if they hadn’t missed a day. My guess is that while this was billed as a one off reunion, once they see the numbers, they are going to start thinking about a tour.
With just enough time to grab a couple of beers and something to eat, it was time for Rascal Flatts to hit the Mane stage. After the Eagles closer the night before, and the Judds reunion just a couple hours earlier, this set seemed to be a letdown as they were mostly show and little substance. Singer Gary Le Vox’s voice seemed rushed and was noticeably off pitch many times. They had a shortened set time that they found the need to jam in random guitar solos for some reason. To make matters more questionable, within their short set, they even included (extremely well done I might add) Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. Not being a performer myself, I can’t help but wonder why they wouldn’t see the logic in ditching the solos and the covers in favor of more of their own material?
The sun has gone down on Day 2 and as the droves of fans make their way to their cars or the camp grounds, no one is leaving disappointed.
DAY 3 – MAY 4th, 2008
Starting off the Mane stage today is Halfway to Hazard. Bluesy and definitely swampy along the lines of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band is pulling off a modern fusion of country and southern rock. They fit well in to the bill this year. Making my way to the VIP bar (I’m on a first name basis with the bartenders, it would be rude not to stop in and say hi) I overheard a few people mentioning how they couldn’t wait for the band to get off the stage, they didn’t fit in the country mold. I couldn’t help but think “Maybe you should get off your VIP pampered ass and go listen to them up close and personal”. Sure, some of the guitar riffs could be on the rougher side of Kid Rock, but there is enough twang and typical country melodies woven throughout that the crowd that IS in front of the stage are enjoying every minute of the performance.
I must admit that as the third and final day approaches the afternoon hours, my hustle and bustle of walking across the massive Empire Polo Field has slowed down quite a lot, and I don’t make it back to the Mane stage until Trace Adkins appears. Dripping with attitude and appeal, the squeals begin from the crowd almost immediately. As he effortlessly glides through “Swing”, “I Got My Game On” and “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”, the crowd is swaying with every beat. One thing to notice however, was that Adkins just seemed to be going through the motions most of the time, and almost not getting in to his own performance. This made his appearance seem stiff at times.
Next up on the Mane stage was the redneck poster girl herself, Gretchen Wilson. Wilson immediately grabbed her crowd by the throat with “Here For the Party”, “Homewrecker” and “One Bud Wiser”. But then she let go. She followed up with a new track, scheduled to hit radio airways in June called “Growing Up Down South”. The tune is decent in its own right, but it demonstrates how she’s not just a Redneck Woman any more, and some of the fans had a hard time connecting.
I’ve pretty much resigned myself to the fact that at this point in the festival, I am just going to be walking back and forth between the beer gardens and food tents between Mane stage performances.
I feel like one of the Spartans in the movie 300 as I tread through the crowd to get back to the media pit in time for Big & Rich. Security and the ever changing procedures have been atrocious and debilitating since the opening hour, and I swear to God the next screeching bimbo in the media pit who puts a cell phone camera in front of my face is going to learn how to body surf the hard way.
To make matters a little bit worse, Cowboy Troy hits the stage. I turn around to see a sea of puzzled faces as everyone – in unison – checks the day’s schedule to see why this guy jumped in front of B&R. While only a few people seem to enjoy his performance, it looks like the entire field is counting the seconds until he gets off the stage.
When he finally does, the crowd erupts with glorious cheer at the sight Big Kenny and John Rich (wait – could the cheer be the fact that Cowboy Troy is gone?). Amid the welcoming screams the band played a high energy set that soothed over the bump in the day that was Cowboy Troy’s performance. “Comin’ to Your City” had the audience jumping on its feet, dancing, singing, and boogying all around. When they did slow it down a tad, the crowd still went nuts when the guys got a little serious and dedicated “Holy Water” and “8th of November” to veterans and troops in Iraq.
“Lost in this Moment” was another hit that had Budweiser-induced mushy couples slow dancing. As Rich clearly admitted, the song was for “lovers, or for drunk people who wanna make out for three minutes.” Being the party hardy hams that they are, they picked up the pace towards the end of their set with a B&R influenced cover of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” and snippets of Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” and even Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” during which they brought out Two-Foot-Fred to shake his moneymaker. All in all, the band made up for the bad decision to have Cowboy Troy “open” for them, and quickly won back the admiration of the crowd.
Next up was the button cute Carrie Underwood. All dolled up and wearing short black shorts, her ensemble was quickly thrown off by the addition of knee high leather boots. After starting off her set with “Flat on the Floor” and “Wasted”, her set seemed to lose vast amounts of momentum from that point on. While people began wandering for beer and food, a large majority of her set seemed to be just background music, much like the radio is in your car when you’re talking to someone else. “Jesus Take the Wheel” did seem to bring back some of the crowd’s attention, but it was quickly lost again until she launched in to a cover of Guns N Roses “Paradise City” and then closed with her megahit “Before He Cheats”.
Tim McGraw faired a little better, mostly due to people becoming sentimental that the festival was coming to a close for another year. The crowd mustered up its final show of strength for songs like “Where the Green Grass Grows”, so much so that McGraw barely had to sing. He also let the crowd take entire chorus of “I Like It, I Love It”.
While “Indian Outlaw” and “Something Like That” didn’t offer much to the setlist, “Live Like You Were Dying” was the one that seemed to get the best crowd response of the night. Other big numbers of the night was the cover of “When the Stars Go Blue” and the newest addition “Kristofferson”.
McGraw provided a mellow yet popular closer to the three day festival. His set may not have been as high profile as the Eagles or the Judds, and he may not have had the flash of Big & Rich, but he has his own place, and the diminishing crowd was still there.
ADIOS 2008…
It was clearly seen this year that the event is about the music, as almost everybody was covering a song from somebody else and putting their own twist on it. “Barracuda” and Journey songs, even some from Guns N Roses. The worst of it had to be Bucky Covington – Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (with Roger Walters having just played at Coachella the week before?) and Creedence’s “Fortunate Son” (that Fogerty did earlier in the weekend??). Dude, did you even pay attention?
Stagecoach 2008 has now come to a close, more successful than last year by far. The event has proven its more family friendly than its competition, again, by far. With concert tickets and gas prices soaring ever higher, people looking for the one show a year outing will not be disappointed (provided they don’t have to deal with inept security) by making Stagecoach their destination. I’ll be here for 2009.
And this coming from a non-country lover!
