Lollapalooza 2012

This last weekend Justin and I had the opportunity to go to Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago, IL.  It was absolutely amazing.  Lolla was everything I expected and more.  We did have to evacuate the park Saturday afternoon because of severe weather, which caused a muddy rest of the weekend, but it was still an all around amazing weekend.  I think every time I listen to the bands I saw, I will always think of Lolla and the amazing time I had with Justin.

Friday: We went almost as soon as Lolla opened the first day.  We did this to get a feel for what the set up was  like and see where everything was.  We also stopped by the Toyota Prius tent that was giving out free Lolla bandannas that they had soaking in cold water.  We also got some fanny packs from the Play Room by Google Play.  Our Friday line-up included: Blind Pilot, Die Antwoord, The Shins, Dev, Black Sabbath, Bassnectar.

Saturday: Saturday we only got one band in before we were evacuated.  Going to Lolla we knew it was gonna be super hot because just walking to the train it was almost unbearable. We got to the park and went straight to the stage Doomtree was playing at. It was a lot of fun, but with the heat from the sun and body heat from all the people it was crazy hot.  On our way to the next band we saw some dark clouds building and everyone was saying how it looked like it could rain.  We actually said how we wouldn't mind it because it would really help cool things off. We then heard the announcement from the nearest stage that we needed to evacuate and shortly after got a message from the Lolla app.  We decided to make the best of it and head to the nearest bar.



As soon as we got word it was back on, we headed back.  Because of the rain the schedule changed to fit as many of the bands in as possible.  The grounds were soaked, but we got to see almost all the bands we wanted to see.  During a little break we had we decided to stop at the Sony Electrolounge, where they were having a limbo contest to give away a pair of their DJ on the Go headphones.  Guess who won?!  Our Saturday line-up included: Doomtree, Fun., Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Avici, Santigold.

Sunday:  Sunday before we headed into Lolla, Justin and I decided to get some food outside the park.  We stopped at Epic Burger, just over a block from the park.  It was a little slower than we had expected, but their burgers were so fresh and delicious. Plus they had Wisconsin cheese! We tried to meet up with our friends that only had Sunday tickets, but with the amount of people and the size of the venue it was almost impossible.  Our Sunday line-up included: Nadastrom, Sigur Ros, At the Drive-in, Miike Snow, Justice, Childish Gambino.

My top three performances of the weekend:

1. Miike Snow

We were so excited to be front row! They way they organized the music they played was absolutely perfect.  They started with the song "The Wave" from their newest album, Happy to You and it crescendoed from there.  They played the perfect mix of music from their newest album and their first album.  Miike Snow ended the show with one of their "slower" songs, "Black Tin Box."
 set list

2. Sigur Ros

Sigur Ros was everything I expected.  We got to them early so we could get close. We ended up being a few people from the front, on stage right. It was amazing to be so close and hear a band I love to just listen to and relax.  Everyone in the crowd seemed to just take in the amazing music they make.  

set list

3. Die Antwoord

I do have to thank my co-worker for introducing me to this South African rap-rave group.  If it wasn't for him, I may have never gone to such a fun, crazy show.  The entire crowd was jumping around and jamming to the music.  Die Antwoord was one of the only groups we saw that did an encore at the end of their set. 

set list

For a complete list of artists that were at Lolla visit this page.