The location. Coachella takes place the time of year when I crave HOT weather. The kind of heat that puts me in shorts, tees or a bikini top when standing in the direct sun to watch Portishead.

This is the ORIGINAL super festival. In fact, there’s at least 15 more events like this taking place all over the US…and they try to duplicate what Coachella has been doing successfully since the 90s. The others are just imitators...

The Headliners. Here’s a short list of past headliners that I’ve seen: Björk, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack...pretty impressive, right? All I can say, it’s amazing to see these talented folks do their thing, but the real gold of the festival happens with the lesser-known artists…(See number 4.)

Diversity. Where else can you watch Peaches, Rage Against the Machine and Justice on the same day? Coachella is the only place to witness something this eclectic.

The Unknowns/Obscures. The underground rules the show. There are thousands of other folks who are just as crazy for Simian Mobile Disco, M.I.A., Spankrock, and countless others. And they couldn’t care less about seeing Jack Johnson, the Verve or Fatboy Slim (thank god…)

The Gossip. Last year, a rumor about a surprise Police performance spread like wildfire. They never showed, but it made for fair excitement.

Refreshments. My outdoor festival culinary experiences typically resulted in a bloated tummy from fried crap on a stick....but Coachella will surprise you. The food choices are really good, with water only $2 per bottle. Yes, they’ve got booze too.

Your own after party is the best party. At midnight, you head back to your hotel exhausted, only to jump in the pool for a midnight swim, talk about what you saw, then wake up to warm desert air only to do it all over again.

The portapotties aren’t that bad. They take pains to keep them clean, even for those of you who swore them off in your twenties.

The eye candy. Boys and girls from everywhere are wearing very little. They’re happy. They’re friendly. And they’re not obnoxious! I’ve been to so many festivals where pushing, shoving and annoying youngins spoil it for the rest of us. But here…there’s something special in the air.

I can’t fully explain what happens out in Indio. Every time I think about magical moments where I run into a friend (and with 50,000 other people, this is a miracle), looking westward at the 6 o’clock to witness magnificent shades of red, orange and deep purple in the sunset, sitting on the grass laughing with my new and old friends…it’s the perfect festival. One-day passes are already gone, and last year it sold out.

Go.

www.coachella.com