Coachella 2013: Seriously, it’s hot out here

Early Friday afternoon, Stars frontman Torquil Campbell offered a reminder to the crowd that verged on the edge of defeat.

“You mind if we play a few more? This stage is full of killer, after killer, after killer bands. Just stay right there,” he told the audience, most of whom had retreated to lie on the field, turning their attention away from the Montreal-based indie rock band.

Stars, like plenty of acts slated for early afternoon slots on the opening day of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, faced stiffed competition from sweltering heat, which soared past 90 degrees Friday.

Though fully intending to catch more of Campbell and company, the steady stream of perspiration pouring down my face, forcing my glasses to literally take a nosedive, would not be ignored, sending me along with many heat-stricken festival-goers in search of respite.

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While plenty flocked to the cool of the indoor Yuma stage, or found patches of secluded shade underneath one of the massive art installations (one in particular, a sprawling ramp with fake grass that offered fantastic vistas, was a favorite), the Do Lab proved most popular.

The multicolored towers that surround the stage were cramped with festival-goers checking smartphones, passing around joints or napping. One guy topped off his frozen lemonade with an energy drink as the bizarro, vaudevillian-style circus Lucent Dossier Experience launched into its afternoon showing.

With the heat, it was tough to focus on the blippy tribal beats from their DJ or the slinky acrobatics that unfolded onstage, much less all the bare flesh around me as men and women ditched as much fabric as possible, something of a challenge for some, who hadn’t been wearing much to begin with.

Instead, all I could think of was how nice it must be for the dancers in Technicolor leotards, who were gyrating under a steady stream of water.

Now would be a good time to mentally prep for the remainder of a heat-filled weekend and remember the advice from Indio PD: Hydrate often and eat very lightly. Guess that means no Pink’s Chili Dogs?

Follow @GerrickKennedy

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