Lollapalooza – why?
This is the first (of many?) post about my recent trip to Lollapalooza.
Recently, I said to friend while standing in line at the insanely overcrowded Oregon Brewers Fest, “beer is so easy to find in this city, why are we making it harder to get it by coming here?” The same thought kept running through my head as I waited in line over an hour in the hot Chicago sun (without sun block because thats punk rock) to gain entrance into Grant Park, where I expected to be rocked, and generally rolled, by the promise of seeing, and most of all, hearing great bands I grew up with or have recently discovered. So why was I making it harder on myself?
Reason 1: How often does Radiohead even tour the US, much less come to Portland?
This may or may not be a valid reason, since I honestly have no idea if Radiohead tours a lot. I’ve never felt the need to see Radiohead before, and I still don’t even consider myself a huge fan of this band. But more on that later.
Reason 2: Rage Against the Machine! ZOMG!
Yeah, as a child of the 90’s I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with this band. Far from my favorites, but regularly in rotation on my Itunes nonetheless. I’ve never seen this band before, and given the volatile makeup of the people involved, who knows if I’d ever have a chance to see them again.
Reason 3: Kanye. in Chi-town.
As an unabashed pop music fan, I have to say that Kanye almost lives up to even his own hype about himself. And to see such an arrogant genius perform in front of his hometown, well that was too much to pass up.
Reason 4: all of the other bands
Going into this I kept thinking “this is like my Woodstock.” I’ll probably never go to such an incredibly huge music festival again, so the opportunity to experience something like this is definitely a once in a lifetime thing. Besides the major headliners, I was most excited to see Mates of State, Uffie, the Raconteurs, and Girl Talk.
Next time: What bands I saw, what I liked, what I didn’t, and getting caught in the storm.
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