Indio

A shallow magnitude 3.4 earthquake was reported Sunday afternoon eight miles from Indio, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 12:14 p.m. PDT at a depth of 1.9 miles. According to the USGS, the epicenter was nine miles from Coachella, 15 miles from La Quinta, and 16 miles from Palm Desert. In the past 10 days, there have been no earthquakes magnitude 3 and greater centered nearby. Read more about Southern California earthquakes . ALSO: Hikers reported missing in Eaton Canyon are found unharmed   Mexican police search Tijuana home for Northridge kidnap suspect Pilot error caused tanker collision with Bay Bridge, state board says

Shortly after the gates opened for the second weekend of the 2013 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, those waiting to get in bore witness to a rare site at the now annual music party in the desert: patience. Security lines at 12:15 p.m. weren't all moving incredibly brisk - a 20-to 25-minute wait to get into the grounds seemed about right - but everyone was on their best behavior as security made its way through the backpacks of attendees. Perhaps the second week, in which most every band will perform in the same time slot it had last week, doesn't bring as much anticipation at the gate.

If you're visiting the desert for music or tennis, try El Campanario Restaurant & Bar for fine Mexican cuisine. Seafood is the specialty. Also, ask about the molcajetes specials. We are part-time Indio residents and find this the best in the area. El Campanario Restaurant & Bar, 44185 Monroe St., Indio; (760) 342-3681, http://www.elcampanariorestaurantandbar.com Leo and Margaret Galcher Indio

INDIO -- Self-described “model-sociallite” Silka (no last name given) drifted across the densely populated Coachella VIP section during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' evening set attired in a crocheted shawl, a $400 Malia Mills bikini and a pair of Marc Jacobs sneaker wedges. She was sipping discreetly at a vodka cranberry in a plastic tumbler and turning heads with every step. The New York-based native of Hungary explained she had spent the better part of two days earlier this week sifting through her wardrobe to find precisely the right ensembles for three days' worth of festival revelry beneath Indio's baking sun. “Of course I love the music but of course I want to look good,” Silka said as a male companion smiled in nodding agreement.

On the official website for the low desert city of Indio, the letter "I" is a cherry-red electric guitar propped up with a stack of amplifiers - a nod to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which has edged out the date shake as the town's most famous homegrown product. With Coachella's 13th installment set to kick off Friday, Indio's civic leaders are attempting to rebrand the once-sleepy exurb as "The City of Festivals," an internationally known tourist destination. Last week, after more than a year of debate, the City Council voted 4-0 to allow Goldenvoice, the concert promoter behind Coachella and its country-music offshoot, Stagecoach, to expand its offerings from three to five weekends a year through 2030.

The Postal Service will play its reunion set Saturday at 8:50 p.m. on the Coachella stage, Earl Sweatshirt will hit the Gobi tent Friday just after midnight, Wu Tang Clan is set to take over the Outdoor Theatre at 9:15 p.m. Sunday and Dead Can Dance will deliver the closing set for the first weekend of the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio at 11 p.m. Sunday on the Mojave Stage. Those are among the highlights of the set times for this year's festival that just went up on Coachella's official website . FULL COVERAGE: Coachella 2013 Nearly 200 acts will play across six stages over each of the two three-day weekends of this year's event commencing Friday.

West Coast Phish fans may have been left out of the band's initial run of spring reunion dates, but the act is making a grand overture to its Pacific Time Zone fan base this fall. After much rumor and speculation, the band confirmed late Thursday that it would stage a three-day event in Indio beginning Oct. 30. The jam band will take over the same Empire Polo Grounds that host the Coachella and Stagecoach fests for what Phish is calling "Festival 8." The band will perform a total of eight sets throughout the Halloween weekend.

A Riverside County sheriff's deputy was shot twice Friday morning while investigating a suspicious vehicle near Indio, and a manhunt is underway, officials said. Deputy Juan Garcia, 27, a former Marine who has been with the Sheriff's Department for three years, was shot in the left hand and in the right side of his face. He was in critical but stable condition Friday afternoon at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs but is expected to survive, Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Lohman said.

As L.A.'s center of musical gravity shifts east to Coachella for the next two weekends, night life in the city will finally get some breathing room. No lines at the bar, cabs when you need them, an entire population of trustafarian party people otherwise occupied - why, it's a veritable Eden of going out close to home. Take advantage of the reprieve by hitting up some of these local events. Some are deliberate ripostes to Coachella, others just happen to fall on the calendar this week.

Besides the Rolling Stones, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, it's hard to think of many rock acts that could crowd the Empire Polo Club in Indio for a three-day festival featuring no supporting acts or other live entertainment. But the legendary Vermont jam titan Phish has long operated outside the realm of normalcy, with a rabid fan base closer to addicted acolytes than casual admirers. When long-gestating message board rumors were finally confirmed months ago, Phish fanatics instantly began making preparations to trek to the site of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where the band held its eighth festival -- the first in five years.

As L.A.'s center of musical gravity shifts east to Coachella for the next two weekends, night life in the city will finally get some breathing room. No lines at the bar, cabs when you need them, an entire population of trustafarian party people otherwise occupied - why, it's a veritable Eden of going out close to home. Take advantage of the reprieve by hitting up some of these local events. Some are deliberate ripostes to Coachella, others just happen to fall on the calendar this week.

After a three-hour survey of Coachella 2013, the changes on the grounds are many, chief among them a new feeling of permanence. The festival, now in its 14th year, is visibly changed and is showing signs of its new extended commitment to the Indio location: There's a new (sixth) stage, a more festive grand entryway and a better organized food and merchandising area. The dance tents have phenomenal surround sound and a massive light system that in the dark will surely trip out many of the ultra-excited dance kids already sweaty at 3 p.m. COACHELLA 2013: What to see and do  |  Timeline  |  Full coverage Security has certainly changed, at least in my experience.

Re "Indio doesn't sing in unison," April 10 The Times has taken a huge positive and portrayed it negatively. "Coachella" is in fact an internationally known name because of the festivals in Indio. The people who live there and in the rest of the Coachella Valley have many more jobs and stronger businesses as a result of festival promoter Goldenvoice. Yes, there are some residents with NIMBY attitudes about the hundreds of thousands of concertgoers who pour in every year, but all nine cities of the Coachella Valley benefit greatly.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival starts Friday, and that means hundreds of thousands of smartphone users will descend on Indio. And when you get that many people in one location, there's bound to be some connectivity issues. That's why the four major wireless carriers say they're going out of their way to make sure there is enough network capacity for their customers to make calls, send texts and upload photos and videos to their social networks. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint understand that at events such as Coachella -- where as many as 90,000 people may show up on one day -- users see just how good their networks are, and perhaps more important, how well their friends' carriers hold up. PHOTOS: The top smartphones of 2013 AT&T, for example, said it will be using all 18 beams of its super multi-beam antenna.

Launching Friday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, the Goldenvoice-promoted Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival has been a spring staple for more than a decade. Could it soon have some company in the fall?  Indio recently signed off on a 17-year agreement with Goldenvoice that will allow the promoter to keep Coachella and the country-focused Stagecoach in the town through at least 2030. The approved proposal also lays the groundwork for Goldenvoice to expand from three high-capacity yearly events to five.

On the official website for the low desert city of Indio, the letter "I" is a cherry-red electric guitar propped up with a stack of amplifiers - a nod to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which has edged out the date shake as the town's most famous homegrown product. With Coachella's 13th installment set to kick off Friday, Indio's civic leaders are attempting to rebrand the once-sleepy exurb as "The City of Festivals," an internationally known tourist destination. Last week, after more than a year of debate, the City Council voted 4-0 to allow Goldenvoice, the concert promoter behind Coachella and its country-music offshoot, Stagecoach, to expand its offerings from three to five weekends a year through 2030.

INDIO -- Self-described “model-sociallite” Silka (no last name given) drifted across the densely populated Coachella VIP section during the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' evening set attired in a crocheted shawl, a $400 Malia Mills bikini and a pair of Marc Jacobs sneaker wedges. She was sipping discreetly at a vodka cranberry in a plastic tumbler and turning heads with every step. The New York-based native of Hungary explained she had spent the better part of two days earlier this week sifting through her wardrobe to find precisely the right ensembles for three days' worth of festival revelry beneath Indio's baking sun. “Of course I love the music but of course I want to look good,” Silka said as a male companion smiled in nodding agreement.

Inside his mini-mart in the desert town of Indio, store manager John Stafford is busy stockpiling caffeinated drinks. Monster and Red Bulls mostly. He knows from experience that he'll need plenty this weekend. Tens of thousands of visitors will descend upon the desert region beginning Friday for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. "Cigarettes and energy drinks," Stafford said. "They need to stay awake out there. " Fans and bands may need an extra stamina boost this year.

The Postal Service will play its reunion set Saturday at 8:50 p.m. on the Coachella stage, Earl Sweatshirt will hit the Gobi tent Friday just after midnight, Wu Tang Clan is set to take over the Outdoor Theatre at 9:15 p.m. Sunday and Dead Can Dance will deliver the closing set for the first weekend of the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio at 11 p.m. Sunday on the Mojave Stage. Those are among the highlights of the set times for this year's festival that just went up on Coachella's official website . FULL COVERAGE: Coachella 2013 Nearly 200 acts will play across six stages over each of the two three-day weekends of this year's event commencing Friday.

So if you were Daft Punk, arguably the world's most cultishly adored, purposefully mysterious EDM duo, where would you want to unveil your new album, "Random Access Memories," to your global worshipers? From the top of the Petronas Towers? Or maybe the dark side of the moon? Naw, too predictable. Instead, the French twosome of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have announced that they'll be taking their act to Wee Waa, Australia (population 2,000, give or take a few marsupials)