I think getting there in the AM is a killer idea. Last year totally sucked having to set up in the dark. Plus, once your campsite is established you have an entite free day to roam the grounds and get acquainted with everything.
Quick note on Rodriguez, since this thread will very soon turn into tell me who I should see, he's a 70 year old folk singer who put out two albums 40 years ago. He didn't become famous until 20 years later, at which point I'm pretty sure he wasn't even still a musician. There's a pretty crazy story about how he became famous, and a documentary about it, but I don't recall the whole story. He still only has those two proper studio albums, and there are some really interesting songs on there. He's sort of the Mexican Cat Stevens, and had a really smooth voice 40 years ago. Who knows what he sounds like now, but he's also worth 15 minutes of your time at Coachella. He'll probably be the oldest dude there.
Missed this before. Watching the documentary on him with my wee sis. "Searching for Sugar Man". What a fucking cool story. Definitely checking him out at Coachella.