People trek to California for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival because there's nothing else like it: 80,000 people swarming among stages and tents, a semi-remote polo field-turned-venue surrounded by mountains and blue sky, and two days of indie rock, hard rock, classic rock, rap, hip-hop, electronic and dance music.

These people have stories about the bands they love or the tent that almost blew away. We see some of those stories in Coachella, a documentary about the festival's first six years, but there is no universal festival story. Instead, we sense the confused beginning, electric middle and exhausted end, but there's no expectation of it being March of the Indie Rockers (although festival-goers learn to deal with weather extremes just as penguins do).

Depending on your perspective, Coachella is a better-than-average concert film, a worse-than-average documentary or a stunning promotional film.
Festival devotees will love this in the theater, especially those who can brag that they were in that sobbing Bright Eyes crowd. More>>>

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