Stagecoach 2008: Friday dispatch + photos

(Click the photo for a full Stagecoach slideshow)
Photos and Notes By Christopher Victorio
What could compel a photographer to head back into hell? Temperatures for Coachella soared at 96 degrees, and the Stagecoach weekender promised more of the same.
For two straight weekends, music lovers camped out at Indio, CA's Empire Polo Field, pumping much appreciated dough into the small town economy. April brought in names like Jack Johnson, Prince, Kraftwerk, Portishead and Roger Waters while May kicked off with the Eagles, the Judds, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw. There was much merrymaking at Stagecoach, but not everyone was in the best of spirits...
"Fuck this, fuck this festival!" muttered Shelby Lynn (who could possibly be dubbed country's Avril Lavigne), giving the fans by the stage the bird several times during her set.
Lynn was irritated by the fact that the rich attendees could afford the reserved stage-side seating while the diehard fans were behind a barricade 150 feet back near the sound board. Those reserved seats were empty at 4 in the afternoon. "It's a festival! You should stand wherever you want to!"









