Lollapalooza: Day 3

The last few days at Lollapalooza and hanging out in the city has been amazing. Festival goers have had perfect weather, no known cancellations and great sound. I think Chicago liked me too, but maybe a little to much. If this post seems broken up, it is due to the fact that I have been contentiously being moved to different terminals. So far I have spent 8 hours in the airport so far. The last day of Lollapalooza had a lineup of acts that made you want to stay at the festival. The first act I saw on Sunday would be The Whigs. The young trio seem very excited about playing the festival, which always adds to a show. The indie band occasionally would bust out some moves that made me believe that they were all once in a metal band.

The Whigs

My last encounter with Chromeo was backstage at Bonnaroo, then a great late night set. It is hard to measure up to that performance, but I still enjoyed the Lollapalooza set. One thing that changed about Chromeo was with their increasing popularity, Chromeo likes to say their name a lot now.

After Chromeo, I made my was to the Citi Stage where I would see my last show of the day. Saul Williams music leads you to believe that he is an interesting guy. If you want to know what an "interesting guy" means, check out the photos.






Lollapalooza really is a great festival, Chicago is a lively fascinating city, but the O'Hare airport is a hell hole. I would gladly get into the Rage Against the Machine mosh pit for another 2 hours than have to wait on another plane to turn me down. I am about ready to yell bomb in the airport. Please do not fly American Airlines.

Lollapalooza: Day 2

The second day of Lollapalooza started off with a brisk run from my hotel to catch Dr. Dog. I always forget how long it actually takes to upload a video on youtube. The show was definitely worth the run though. Make sure to check out Dr. Dog when they come to 3rd and Lindsley on September 7th.

Dr. Dog pt. 1

Dr. Dog pt. 2

After a performance from Dr. Dog, I ventured over to DeVotchKa on the other side of the park. Only owning the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack of theirs, it was interesting hearing them with vocals. I enjoyed it, but did miss the yellow bus from the movie.

DoVotchKa

DeVotchKa would be the first sound track band of the day, next I went to the Budweiser stage to see Explosions in the Sky. It is really easy to get into an instrumental, energy driven band like Explosions in the Sky. So I did. It might of been my favorite show of the weekend that I almost skipped out on to go get a slice of pizza. So if you every have a choice between a slice of pizza and Explosions in the Sky, make sure to make the right one.

Before Rage Against the Machine, they raised the police guard post. I decided if I was going to see Rage Against the Machine, I would do it right and get up in the front. Best/worst idea of the festival. 20 minutes before the show even started, people started moshing. For a guy that only weighs 155 pounds, I stood my ground pretty well.

By the time the show started, the crowd switched from moshing to full crowd swaying. Lollapalooza is where I met the guy that makes me really want to stay out of jail. During the second song, the rage kicked up 20 notches and turned into an extremely angry mob. I some how got pushed into the mosh circle and ran into a guy I like to refer as "Terror Train". He looked like the tattoo artist that you would be afraid of backing out of getting tattoo due to the fact that he might kill you. By the 3rd song, I was about 25 feet back from where I was originally standing, in an area with less rage. I got some video of the show, including myself in the mosh pit, but I can't upload it from here. Check back for videos from Rage Against the Machine, Explosion in the Sky and DeVotchKa. Here is a video I found, you kind kind of see me getting crushed on the left side of the stage in the front. Rage Against the Machine opened up with Testify.

Rage Against the Machine - Testify



Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire



Rage Against the Machine - Calm like a Bomb

Lollapalooza: Day 1

It is easy to compare Lollapalooza to other festivals I have partaken in. An average festival would start with me waking up at 8am due to the sun blazing into my tent and creating a cocoon of humidity. Lollapalooza entail me waking up at 10am to three very attractive women walking around in towels and ordering room service. I could get used to this.

The 2008 Lollapalooza music festival started off with a pretty strong line up of non-stop shows. While looking at the map, I originally called Lollapalooza a midget festival compare to the huge size of Bonnaroo. After running back and forth to the North and South side of the festivals, the walk started to wear down on me. The first show I made it to was Holy F*ck who remind me of an Atari that drank to much coffee. For an early show, it probably had the largest amount of people dancing on Friday.


After Holy F*ck blew me away, I walked over to see Rogue Wave after missing them at Bonnaroo. The mellow tones of Rogue Wave were over taken by the amount of people in the crowd talking over the band. I moved my way up closer into the crowd and took this video of Rogue Wave performing Chicago x 12.



After wonder around to explore the festival, I made my way back to the AT&T Stage to see the Yeasayer. If my grand children ever ask me why I am deaf, I will tell them it was because went to Lollapalooza and saw Yeasayer. I probably will not hear them ask the question though.


The Black Keys were the next band on my list to see at Lollapalooza. So I ventured to the other side of the park to the Budweiser Stage. I was initial confused on a woman standing on the left side of the stage on a speaker, but then I noticed that she was signing the crowd. The Budweiser Stage is the only one at Lollapalooza that has an interpretor and she was getting down.

Mates of State - Get Better



Grizzly Bear

After a long day at Lollapalooza, I stationed myself for a spot for Radiohead. The downfall was that so did 20,000 people before me. Radiohead started there set while the sun was setting over the Chicago skyline. It was a perfect setting for for a Radiohead concert, but I do not believe that the other people understood this in the crowd. Some how the crowd was talking over Radiohead! The sound should of been louder, but the people should of been quieter. After heading a girl ask "who is this band again?", I pushed my way closer to the front. The closer I moved up, the talking turned to singing along. It ended up being a great show, it is a shame that most of drunk Chicago missed it.

Radiohead - The National Anthem

Radiohead - There, There

At the end of the show, every drunk festival goer took to the streets. I would think after so many years of putting on the festival, they would have a down. Check out the Lollapalooza chaos in this video.

Well I have to run, I am starting to miss some bands. Check back tomorrow for more coverage.