Category Archives: Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza 2011 – Day 3

I feared the big crowds at Lollapalooza, had no interest or desire to be stuck in the middle of tens of thousands of drunk and sweaty people. I got over that fear and decided to make the most of it, all culminating in Foo Fighters closing set on Sunday night. After a torrential downpour caused Lollapalooza to come to a halt in the early evening (at least it did on the south end of the park, delaying the Arctic Monkeys set), there was some question about whether or not the Foo Fighters would even have time to play.

As a veteran of Woodstock ’94, I’ve encountered muddy festivals and after the rain had ended (not permanently), the field in front of the Music Unlimited stage was nothing but a muddy, soupy mess. This actually allowed me to get much closer than I probably could have had it not rained. I met a couple who had come from Colombia and a guy who had come from Singapore (!!!!) just to attend Lollapalooza. All 3 were having the times of their lives and were excited for their first Foo Fighters show ever.


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Lollapalooza 2011 – Day 2

Talk amongst the Lollapalooza vets that I’ve been hanging out with the past few days is that this year’s lineup isn’t one of the strongest and that rather than having to decide between 2 or 3 great bands almost every hour of every day, there are now a few stretches where you show up early and sit through a band you don’t know much about just to secure a spot for a band a little further on down the lineup.

I missed seeing Friendly Fires due to getting a late start and having a long lunch. When I got to the media tent, I quickly spotted Mick Jones (The Clash/Big Audio Dynamite) talking to ABC Radio. After he was done, I asked if I could get a quick picture and he willingly obliged. (I’m proudly sporting the Ohio Mixtape t-shirt from Alison Rose).


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Lollapalooza 2011 – Day 1

Who schedules outdoor festivals during the hottest part of the year? The heat was excruciating today at Grant Park where Lollapalooza 2011 kicked off. I guess if there was any sort of relief, it was that clouds blocked some of the sunlight by late afternoon but it still wasn’t much of a reprieve.

If you check out bands that you’re truly interested in seeing, chances are you won’t walk away disappointed and while I’m not a superfan of any of the bands I checked out today, I didn’t stray far from what I knew so therefore I had a great day.

Started off at high noon with Merge Records duo Wye Oak. Poor Jenn Wasner was plagued with guitar pedal problems almost from the get-go and at one point stopped midsong saying, “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” You had to feel for her as she was playing in front of a large and eager crowd ready to get their Lollapalooza weekend started. Wasner is a completely amazing guitarist and she battled back from the problems early in the set to wow those hanging out at the Sony stage.


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