the long-awaited (maybe not) lollapalooza post
In April-ish, my friend from school asked me if I wanted to go to Lollapalooza with her. I tend to enjoy music festivals a lot, and it had been a while since I went to one, so I said yes.
We left at 730 am on Thursday. ugh. 730 is not a time I enjoy being awake at. However, it allowed to us avoid lots of traffic, and when we got to Chicago, we still had time to eat some dinner, go to Millenium Park, and go the art museum.
Millenium Park had piles of interesting futuristic and forward-looking things. There were these two giant towers about 100 feet apart with water falling down the sides and into a pool between them. They were covered in glass and had red, blue, and green led lights built into them that from far away showed short clips of random people smiling or making faces. I played in the water. it was fun. My favorite thing was this giant chrome orb-like thing. From the inside of it, I couldn't tell where it ended because all the reflection confused my eyes. It was neato.
My favorite part of the art museum, honestly, was this hallway filled with weapons, armor, and church relics from medieval and renaissance europe. A lot of the stuff had really intricate decorations. I'm a fan of intricate. Some of the church relics were a little wierd though - like one was supposed to have the little finger of some saint, and another some blood or the like. Hookay...
On Friday it was so incredibly hot. I saw Blue October, and I really liked them cause I was close to the front. I swear the lead singer kept looking at me, but he was all angsted out with black eyeliner, so probably not. They played this one song that was about a guy jumping off a cruise ship and then realizing just as he was about to die, ironicalyy, that he had a lot to live for. too late. <.< they make good music though. After that I walked over to see Cursive, but there were so many people that i went back and waited for the eels to start. Their set wasn't that great - or it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. Stars were after though, and they were totally what I was in the mood for. They played this sort of bubbly, cutesy electronopop that reminded me of the postal service, who I totally love. And they're Canadian! :D Iron and Wine played the same stage an hour or so later, and the only bad part was that they were too quiet. of course, I like them because their music is quiet and subtle, but there was another band playing at a stage nearby and I couldn't hear the words and that's my favorite part so it was annoying. My favorite show of the day was the night dj-ing by VHS or Beta. they were totally awesome and kept throwing random things on and i danced my heart out and it was fun. I was tired. *nods*
Saturday was less horribly uncomfortable, partly because it actually was less hot, and partly because I finally gathered enough wits to pick up one of the cheap mini-fans/water spritzers they were giving away at the at&t tent. there were these girls in blue spandex suits with their faces painted blue wandering around being advertising. I did not envy them. I went to see Sa-Ra because I thought I had heard one of their songs on the radio and it was all dreamy techno-y like i like, but i got there and they were hip hop, which is not inherently bad, but i've never liked lyrically unsubstantial hip hop (erm.. bitches and hos. ugh.). there were a couple of "hot dancing girls", but i was not intrigued enough to stay. the group had sort of a wierd dynamic, too. I ended up wandering around for a while until I decided to go meet up with the rest of my group at Feist. Now there was a show worth going to - any of you kids who are into Cat Power should check out Feist. When they wandered onstage I wasn't really expecting much, but then the girl opened her mouth and out came this lovely voice that sounded like I was in a tiny smoke-filled club in the forties, and she was sitting on (not at) the piano in a sparkly red dress. :) after that I went to calexico, who were not what i was expecting either, but were fun nonetheless. the whole weekend felt like sort of a crash course in "cool bands of right now", and calexico was one of the ones i've heard a lot about but not from. When they finished up, I went and did something I'd waited all day for - I ate Taco Bell. :D it was good. but then I made my biggest mistake of the whole weekend - I skipped half of Dresden Dolls. they're another one of those bands I've heard a lot about, and I was sort of excited to see them, and when I got to the show I realized I should have been there much earlier. the main girl was very intensely passionate and pounded her piano like she wanted to smash a guitar on the stage, and sang like she was sucking life from every word. it was great. *plug* they're gonna be at first ave on october 18. */plug* After that were the flaming lips, the most interesting part of which involved the lead singer running around on top of the crowd in a giant hamster ball. amusing. I was in the first row for Thievery Corporation, which was a pretty great show. they had several different people singing, and switched them in and out for different songs. the girls all had totally crazy outfits on - one was like an Indian dancing girl in gold, and another was like a caveman-era ballet tutu complete with arm bans, and the last had an arm thing with peacock feathers on it. they really got the crowd going - at the end they had the founder of the festival sing a song, and even more rare - they did an encore! i enjoyed it. i checked out the dj for the night after that, but he wasn't as good and i was tired so sleep!
Sunday morning, I woke up and I didn't really know what I was going to see until about 3-ish, so I decided to crack open the magazine with all the blurbs on the bands (eg - this rollin, rockin band from outta texas sounds like interpol with lyrics reminiscent of death cab for cutie!) and see if anything sounded interesting. that was how i ended up at Mucca Pazza at the crack of 1145 am. they trooped onstage - all 25 of 'em, in wonderfully mismatched old band-type uniforms, with a couple of cheerleaders for good measure - and proceeded to run around, chase each other, and do skits, all while playing their very own brand of "punk marching band" music. it was totally awesome. ended up being my favorite show of the weekend, because it was unusual and entertaining. :D i think they're based in chicago, so if you're down that way and looking for something to do... ;)
After Mucca Pazza, I walked all the way across the park to Sparta. I think I would have liked them well enough - they had a tight sort of pop-angst sound - if it hadn't been for the thousand plus people in front of me at the stage. I have this thing about going to see bands live - I want to see them, not watch them on the jumbo-tron. it always feels a bit ridiculous to me - like, man, i should have just stayed home and downloaded a video or whatever. yah, so that's my beef with that. Matisyahu (the Jewish reggae guy) was at 430, and I watched from my spot across the field where I was waiting for She Wants Revenge. I was really amazed by 1. his ability to keep the crowd going and 2. the crowd's tolerance of his references to God. Perhaps it really doesn't matter anymore. However, as soon as he finished, I was immediately turned into a screaming groupie by She Wants Revenge. Not that they're all that good (they're not - they're like a cover band for Depeche Mode that has no idea what to put in a song aside from some basic drums and chords) but the way the lead singer gloomily tromps around onstage is calculated precisely to hit with my age and gender, so it was a really fun, crazy show. Also, I approve of the lyrics to Out of Control. you know, they would just be so awesome if they did a little bit more to their music. *sigh* I only stayed for a song and half of Red Hot Chili Peppers, because, again, the jumbo-tron thing. then it was the end. Anna and I went to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and then we slept and drove home. Overall, it was a pretty fun and relaxing trip, even if Lollapalooza has lost almost all of its original cool factor. Stupid marketing people. Anyway, good times. Now I can say I've been. :)
We left at 730 am on Thursday. ugh. 730 is not a time I enjoy being awake at. However, it allowed to us avoid lots of traffic, and when we got to Chicago, we still had time to eat some dinner, go to Millenium Park, and go the art museum.
Millenium Park had piles of interesting futuristic and forward-looking things. There were these two giant towers about 100 feet apart with water falling down the sides and into a pool between them. They were covered in glass and had red, blue, and green led lights built into them that from far away showed short clips of random people smiling or making faces. I played in the water. it was fun. My favorite thing was this giant chrome orb-like thing. From the inside of it, I couldn't tell where it ended because all the reflection confused my eyes. It was neato.
My favorite part of the art museum, honestly, was this hallway filled with weapons, armor, and church relics from medieval and renaissance europe. A lot of the stuff had really intricate decorations. I'm a fan of intricate. Some of the church relics were a little wierd though - like one was supposed to have the little finger of some saint, and another some blood or the like. Hookay...
On Friday it was so incredibly hot. I saw Blue October, and I really liked them cause I was close to the front. I swear the lead singer kept looking at me, but he was all angsted out with black eyeliner, so probably not. They played this one song that was about a guy jumping off a cruise ship and then realizing just as he was about to die, ironicalyy, that he had a lot to live for. too late. <.< they make good music though. After that I walked over to see Cursive, but there were so many people that i went back and waited for the eels to start. Their set wasn't that great - or it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. Stars were after though, and they were totally what I was in the mood for. They played this sort of bubbly, cutesy electronopop that reminded me of the postal service, who I totally love. And they're Canadian! :D Iron and Wine played the same stage an hour or so later, and the only bad part was that they were too quiet. of course, I like them because their music is quiet and subtle, but there was another band playing at a stage nearby and I couldn't hear the words and that's my favorite part so it was annoying. My favorite show of the day was the night dj-ing by VHS or Beta. they were totally awesome and kept throwing random things on and i danced my heart out and it was fun. I was tired. *nods*
Saturday was less horribly uncomfortable, partly because it actually was less hot, and partly because I finally gathered enough wits to pick up one of the cheap mini-fans/water spritzers they were giving away at the at&t tent. there were these girls in blue spandex suits with their faces painted blue wandering around being advertising. I did not envy them. I went to see Sa-Ra because I thought I had heard one of their songs on the radio and it was all dreamy techno-y like i like, but i got there and they were hip hop, which is not inherently bad, but i've never liked lyrically unsubstantial hip hop (erm.. bitches and hos. ugh.). there were a couple of "hot dancing girls", but i was not intrigued enough to stay. the group had sort of a wierd dynamic, too. I ended up wandering around for a while until I decided to go meet up with the rest of my group at Feist. Now there was a show worth going to - any of you kids who are into Cat Power should check out Feist. When they wandered onstage I wasn't really expecting much, but then the girl opened her mouth and out came this lovely voice that sounded like I was in a tiny smoke-filled club in the forties, and she was sitting on (not at) the piano in a sparkly red dress. :) after that I went to calexico, who were not what i was expecting either, but were fun nonetheless. the whole weekend felt like sort of a crash course in "cool bands of right now", and calexico was one of the ones i've heard a lot about but not from. When they finished up, I went and did something I'd waited all day for - I ate Taco Bell. :D it was good. but then I made my biggest mistake of the whole weekend - I skipped half of Dresden Dolls. they're another one of those bands I've heard a lot about, and I was sort of excited to see them, and when I got to the show I realized I should have been there much earlier. the main girl was very intensely passionate and pounded her piano like she wanted to smash a guitar on the stage, and sang like she was sucking life from every word. it was great. *plug* they're gonna be at first ave on october 18. */plug* After that were the flaming lips, the most interesting part of which involved the lead singer running around on top of the crowd in a giant hamster ball. amusing. I was in the first row for Thievery Corporation, which was a pretty great show. they had several different people singing, and switched them in and out for different songs. the girls all had totally crazy outfits on - one was like an Indian dancing girl in gold, and another was like a caveman-era ballet tutu complete with arm bans, and the last had an arm thing with peacock feathers on it. they really got the crowd going - at the end they had the founder of the festival sing a song, and even more rare - they did an encore! i enjoyed it. i checked out the dj for the night after that, but he wasn't as good and i was tired so sleep!
Sunday morning, I woke up and I didn't really know what I was going to see until about 3-ish, so I decided to crack open the magazine with all the blurbs on the bands (eg - this rollin, rockin band from outta texas sounds like interpol with lyrics reminiscent of death cab for cutie!) and see if anything sounded interesting. that was how i ended up at Mucca Pazza at the crack of 1145 am. they trooped onstage - all 25 of 'em, in wonderfully mismatched old band-type uniforms, with a couple of cheerleaders for good measure - and proceeded to run around, chase each other, and do skits, all while playing their very own brand of "punk marching band" music. it was totally awesome. ended up being my favorite show of the weekend, because it was unusual and entertaining. :D i think they're based in chicago, so if you're down that way and looking for something to do... ;)
After Mucca Pazza, I walked all the way across the park to Sparta. I think I would have liked them well enough - they had a tight sort of pop-angst sound - if it hadn't been for the thousand plus people in front of me at the stage. I have this thing about going to see bands live - I want to see them, not watch them on the jumbo-tron. it always feels a bit ridiculous to me - like, man, i should have just stayed home and downloaded a video or whatever. yah, so that's my beef with that. Matisyahu (the Jewish reggae guy) was at 430, and I watched from my spot across the field where I was waiting for She Wants Revenge. I was really amazed by 1. his ability to keep the crowd going and 2. the crowd's tolerance of his references to God. Perhaps it really doesn't matter anymore. However, as soon as he finished, I was immediately turned into a screaming groupie by She Wants Revenge. Not that they're all that good (they're not - they're like a cover band for Depeche Mode that has no idea what to put in a song aside from some basic drums and chords) but the way the lead singer gloomily tromps around onstage is calculated precisely to hit with my age and gender, so it was a really fun, crazy show. Also, I approve of the lyrics to Out of Control. you know, they would just be so awesome if they did a little bit more to their music. *sigh* I only stayed for a song and half of Red Hot Chili Peppers, because, again, the jumbo-tron thing. then it was the end. Anna and I went to get ice cream at Baskin Robbins, and then we slept and drove home. Overall, it was a pretty fun and relaxing trip, even if Lollapalooza has lost almost all of its original cool factor. Stupid marketing people. Anyway, good times. Now I can say I've been. :)