Lollapalooza Part 1

So I survived Lollapalooza 2008. Act surprised, go ahead - there was a time when I didn't think that first sentence would be true. It's a long story. So I'll tell it.

A blow-by-blow of my three-day weekend in Grant Park, Chicago (in three parts to break it up a little; and these aren't my pictures, just ones I stole off the internet - wasn't willing to bring my camera with me):

Friday
I ditched work early in the afternoon so I could start my Lollapalooza weekend early. Upon meeting some friends back at my place, the four of us took a train into the city and hauled it over to Grant Park, about 10 blocks east of the train station. We passed through the front (and only) Lollapalooza gate around 5:30, joining roughly 75,000 other people at the glorified county fair (call me a cynic but the only thing separating Lollapalooza from the Athens County Fair is the band lineup...haha ok, couldn't say that with a straight face. And I guess it was a lot more than a glorified county fair. But you get the idea.) We shuffled through the masses to the north end of the park to catch a few bands before Radiohead went on at 8.

Cat Power: I'm not a huge fan of Chan Marshall aka Cat Power, but I've been known to listen to her stuff from time to time, and I bought her CD for my Mom for her birthday. It's alternative-indie-soul, and in the right mood is the right stuff. Lollapalooza is no place to set that right mood. We only caught about half of her set, but it was uninteresting, mostly because there were several thousand (drunken beligerent) people crowded around the stage waiting to be impressed. Cat Power gave her all, but there was nothing much more to it than what you could find on her CD.

The Raconteurs: Following Cat Power's set, we pushed through to get a good spot at a nearby stage for The Raconteurs, Jack White's band that isn't the White Stripes. I have their two CDs, and listen to them from time to time (another mood thing; they're good for the energetic need-something-in-the-background mood) so I was excited to see them play. They didn't disappoint; their set was energetic and rocking, mostly because Jack White is an absolute beast. We left early though, because Radiohead was playing at the exact opposite end of the park, about 2 miles away, and we wanted good positioning.

Giving ourselves a full hour before Radiohead took the stage, we abondoned The Raconteurs with 20 minutes left in their set, assuming we were ahead of the game by heading to the other stage early. Well, we weren't alone. As we left, the mass exodus had already begun. Everybody wanted a prime position for Radiohead.
The stage Radiohead was playing on was at the head of Hutchinson Field, which is a huge lawn filled with baseball diamonds, surrounded on each side by a small mound. As soon as we crested that mound, I was astonished; people everywhere. Literally a sea of people.
Lucky for us, the sea of people didn't stop us from getting close to the stage. By rounding the outside of the crowd and sticking with an off-center position, we managed to get within about 50 yards or so of the stage. I was pumped.

Radiohead: If you've ever asked me who my favorite band is, my answer was probably Radiohead. My history with them started begrudgingly; I used to hate them in high school, but upon reading so much great acclaim about them, I decided I should give them a shot, buying OK Computer and Kid A. I figured I'd force myself to like them. In the end I didn't need to force it; they quickly became my favorite. If you've never listened to them, do so. Anyway, the show was incredible, despite my being pressed tightly against the sweaty bodies of strangers, loud talking from uninterested fans, and the constant waft of weed smoke. I wasn't about to let any of that bother my witnessing one of the greatest bands ever.
The band ended up playing, I think, 24 songs, one regular set and two encores. The set featured material from nearly all of their albums, and included some of my favorite songs: 'Idioteque,' 'Fake Plastic Trees,' and 'Paranoid Android.' A six-by-two grid of screens displaying the band flanked the stage, and long pillars of light hung from the stage roof. Thom Yorke wailed in all his glory, Johnny Greenwood bobbed his head toward the floor the entire time, and the rest of the band played accordingly. It was beautiful. Fireworks even erupted during 'Fake Plastic Trees,' a novelty that I thought would ruin the song, but which was surprisingly fitting in the end. A wonderful concert experience (though next time, I'll hope to see them play a smaller venue.)

The rest of Friday didn't go as well. Because we filtered out with 75,000 other people, we missed our train, and had to spend 2 hours exhausted in Union Station waiting for the next. But the day was well worth it, and the ticket price ($200 for a weekend pass!) was pretty much paid off in my eyes. But there was much more to come! More on that (and pictures, not that I took, but some to give you an idea) in another post...