Sunday
After about six hours of sleep, I got up for my 9am-1pm shift on a new Lollapalooza volunteer crew. I left behind box office and joined "back-up." We helped a bit around Volunteer HQ and hid from the rain and ate baked goods. Great people. I'm excited to (hopefully) volunteer again next year.
Backstage at Lollapalooza Volunteer HQ. We're all about safety.
After my shift I walked up to The Joy Formidable. Lead singer Ritzy Bryan hit a gong with an electric guitar during the final song, and that remains the most memorable thing about the show. Good stuff, just not really my style.
(She hits the gong around 6:15.)
I met up with my friend Mike, who was following a guide printed in Metromix or the Red Eye or something, a suggested Lolla schedule. On the paper's suggestion, we headed down to see Imelda May, who was my surprise find of the weekend. I'd never heard of her before, but her rockabilly attitude hooked me immediately. Her voice is smooth and confident, even cocky; she smirks through every song. And her musicality is skilled: she had the band go tacit for a few minutes while she scat sang a call-and-response over claps and percussion. It was an impressive display of bravado, and next time I feel like indulging my rockabilly side, I'll definitely look her up on the jukebox.
Of the whole performance, I most enjoyed her cover of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love." Listen all the way to the end for some improv and audience participation. The audio and video aren't synced perfectly, but it's a decent look at the stage.
After Imelda there was just one more person to see before I left Lolla 2011, and that was Keller Williams. He played a 25-minute set on the kids stage, but Mike and I were not the only adults that lined up in the back to hear Keller sing songs about goats and coloring and bath time. He threw in a couple for us, including "Freeker by the Speaker," which was one of the first songs I posted on this blog. I'd seen Keller live in concert twice before and he hadn't played this song, so when he broke out the starting chords I totally geeked out, shoving children to the ground and fighting my way closer to the stage.
Okay not really, but it was a happy moment.
Feeling about ready to collapse, I told Mike I needed to do two more things: eat one of Graham Elliot's lobster corndogs, which the volunteer staff had been talking about all weekend, and take a picture in front of Buckingham Fountain in my Lolla volunteer t-shirt. One of those things was unbelievably delicious and indulgent and PURE LOBSTER covered in breading and aioli. The other is right here:
Mike Kato and me at Lollapalooza 2011.
I left Lollapalooza 2011 at approximately 3:30 on Sunday afternoon. I left behind almost seven solid hours of music in favor of a bed, a shower, and grocery shopping. I needed to get ready for my week, which was to be a busy one. I chose responsibly, but I would have loved to see Portugal. The Man, The Arctic Monkeys, and especially Manchester Orchestra, not to mention the legendary Foo Fighters.
Still, I feel good about my Lollapalooza weekend. I saw some new bands, saw some old favorites, and met a lot of one-day friends. (What up, box office and back-up crews!) Who knows, maybe I'll see them again next year, and we'll recognize each other by our made-up gang sign. Maybe this is the start of membership in a new community. If I'm learning anything about being a musician in Chicago, it's definitely about who you know. And knowing more people is always good.
When I got home I called a seasoned member of that community, my mom. We talked for two hours about the bands I'd seen, the ones I hadn't, and the ones that were streaming live on Lolla's YouTube page -- a new innovation for 2011. Thanks to the free service, I saw a few songs of Portugal. The Man, whose variety of sound I enjoyed:
As well as the Arctic Monkeys, who took the stage a half an hour late but were welcomed by an adoring and growing fan base (the video is their full 45-minute show preceded by two minutes of waiting):
It looked epically awesome to be there. The true hippies were covered in mud and rain and sweat and that film of filth that legitimizes your festival attendance. But I knew if I'd been standing in the crowd, I couldn't have enjoyed what was happening. I really needed that nap.
My mom and I rehashed the festival, and she got nostalgic for the early '90s, when the first Lollapalooza was the brainchild of the Jane's Addiction singer, Perry Farrell. It was a traveling festival, and the purpose was to be a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction as well as highlight some new and upcoming acts. Today, Lollapalooza and festivals like it continue to play a positive role in music development and creation. Young talent can be identified and presented to thousands of potential new fans. Millions of potential new fans, thanks to the Internet. For a lot of these musicians, playing Lolla is a big break.
The organizers sell tickets based on headiners -- Eminem, the Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Muse this year -- and often these performers influence the value of the year's ticket and the personality of the crowd that attends. But it's always a worthy experience. A weekend-long music festival is something that should be on everyone's bucket list, and I highly recommend it while you're at an age that you can just let loose, be exhausted, and spend your time exactly how you want to, without worrying about kids or even friends' music tastes. Whether that means 10 hours of solid music a day, or being a bit more choosy, it doesn't matter.
And hey, if you can get someone to let you in for free, all the better.
FINAL TALLY:
Festival pass: Free
Festival poster: $30 (unframed)
Festival beers: $20
Festival lobster corndog: $9
Festival itself: what do you think?
Outside Perry's DJ tent, Saturday festivalgoers make their way to the last few sets of the night.
Still, I feel good about my Lollapalooza weekend. I saw some new bands, saw some old favorites, and met a lot of one-day friends. (What up, box office and back-up crews!) Who knows, maybe I'll see them again next year, and we'll recognize each other by our made-up gang sign. Maybe this is the start of membership in a new community. If I'm learning anything about being a musician in Chicago, it's definitely about who you know. And knowing more people is always good.
When I got home I called a seasoned member of that community, my mom. We talked for two hours about the bands I'd seen, the ones I hadn't, and the ones that were streaming live on Lolla's YouTube page -- a new innovation for 2011. Thanks to the free service, I saw a few songs of Portugal. The Man, whose variety of sound I enjoyed:
As well as the Arctic Monkeys, who took the stage a half an hour late but were welcomed by an adoring and growing fan base (the video is their full 45-minute show preceded by two minutes of waiting):
It looked epically awesome to be there. The true hippies were covered in mud and rain and sweat and that film of filth that legitimizes your festival attendance. But I knew if I'd been standing in the crowd, I couldn't have enjoyed what was happening. I really needed that nap.
My mom and I rehashed the festival, and she got nostalgic for the early '90s, when the first Lollapalooza was the brainchild of the Jane's Addiction singer, Perry Farrell. It was a traveling festival, and the purpose was to be a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction as well as highlight some new and upcoming acts. Today, Lollapalooza and festivals like it continue to play a positive role in music development and creation. Young talent can be identified and presented to thousands of potential new fans. Millions of potential new fans, thanks to the Internet. For a lot of these musicians, playing Lolla is a big break.
The organizers sell tickets based on headiners -- Eminem, the Foo Fighters, Coldplay, and Muse this year -- and often these performers influence the value of the year's ticket and the personality of the crowd that attends. But it's always a worthy experience. A weekend-long music festival is something that should be on everyone's bucket list, and I highly recommend it while you're at an age that you can just let loose, be exhausted, and spend your time exactly how you want to, without worrying about kids or even friends' music tastes. Whether that means 10 hours of solid music a day, or being a bit more choosy, it doesn't matter.
And hey, if you can get someone to let you in for free, all the better.
FINAL TALLY:
Festival pass: Free
Festival poster: $30 (unframed)
Festival beers: $20
Festival lobster corndog: $9
Festival itself: what do you think?
Outside Perry's DJ tent, Saturday festivalgoers make their way to the last few sets of the night.
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