LOLLAPALOOOOOOZA!

As we were driving back from the wedding super early on Saturday morning, my stomach dropped.  I realized I had forgotten the wristbands for Lollapalooza.  This is a bad situation because Dave typically will ask me maybe 20 times or so if I have the tickets, the waivers, or whatever paperwork I am responsible for.  I get a little frustrated and tell him, “If you ask me one more time you are going to have to carry this!”  Dave never asked me once about the Lollapalooza wristbands so I felt horrible.  But to be honest, despite the 3 times I told Dave that I had receive the wristbands for Lollapalooza, he himself forgot that we had them.  So, as we were in the car still, I Googled on my phone what to do if you forget them.  I got really nervous because it mentioned you have to call the box office 72 hours before the event if you didn’t get your wristbands.  I started to freak out.  We got to Kurt and Kim’s place, sat down and then said…”Dave…you are going to kill me…but…I forgot the wristbands.”  Dave’s face looked sad, but he remained calm and said it was ok because we aren’t the only ones who would do this and they will have a procedure to fix it.  We finished getting ready and headed to the Lollapalooza box office for right when it opened.  Dave was right.  It was easy as pie-they deactivated our old wristbands and gave us new ones no problem!  Whew.  I felt ecstatic!

Lollapalooza seriously took over Grant Park.  It seemed like Lolla-town! They had a wine tasting area, farmer’s market, a Playstation play area, and more.  But one of my absolute favorite things about the festival was the CamelBak water fills stations.  If you brought a water bottle or Camelbak, you could refill with water for FREE at these stations!  I LOVE WATER and this was amazing!  Most concerts they charge up the wazoo for a bottle of water!

Dave and I first stopped by to see the Kopecky Family Band which was fun because we were able to get pretty close to the stage. We met up with our high school friend Rico who Dave and I haven’t seen in years.  We occasionally Facebook stalk eachother and actually that’s how we all got to Lollapalooza.  I know Rico often has the same music taste as Dave and I, so I had written on his wall asking if he’d want to go to Lollapalooza.  He said yes!  So here we are!

We headed to Fidlar, Delta Spirit, and Neon Indian.  It was SO hot as we watched all the bands that I was glad I wore my bathing suit top underneath my shirt.  I sunscreened up and worked on my tan, until we got a warning 10 minutes before Neon Indian was supposed to be done.  Neon Indian announced that there was a storm warning and Lollapalooza had to be evacuated.  The crowd was confused but eventually evacuated.   We didn’t know what to do so we headed with our friend Rico to his friend’s apartment to hang out there for a bit.  On our way over to the apartment it down poured and there was thunder and lightning…probably a smart idea on Lollapalooza’s part to evacuate the people.

Tow hours later we could re-enter the festival, to find that it was mud time!  A lot of the concert go-ers decided to play in the mud.  I just had done Tough Mudder so got my muddy time in and decided to stay clean!   We were able to see Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and finally Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Red Hot Chili Peppers was probably the best of the day.  It was so much fun to hear all the crowd singing along.  Though, I must say my back and feet were DYING by the end of the day.  I had worn flip flops which have absolutely no support and was a bad idea for my recovering sprain ankle and my back was sore from carrying my heavy bag.  Man-does getting old and injured suck!

We headed home and crashed.  I was so excited to sleep.  We got up early the next morning to a big breakfast made my Kurt and Kim.  It was so yummy and just what I needed to fuel me for the next full day of Lollapalooza.  First thing Rico and Dave wanted to do once we got to Lolla was get some Wow Boa Asian pork stuffed buns.  I think I ate so many of these in the past few days that I may end up dreaming about them.  I also enjoyed the edamame and Dave got the pork bun.  One of my faves was the coconut snow cone because it was really refreshing while I was standing in the heat.

We saw Trampled by Turtles who didn’t really make much of an impact on me and then Gary Clark Jr. who is pretty badass-he is like a modern day Jimmy Hendrix.  After that, my back was in so much pain.  We headed towards a stand where I could pick up some ibuprofen…it made worlds of a difference!  We also sat down in the shade and relaxed for a bit until we headed to the next band where the girls and boys split.  The guys headed to At the Drive-In and Kim and I headed to Florence and The Machine.  I figured that I had seen the Mars Volta a couple of times, haven’t seen Florence and it would be nice if Kim had a buddy to watch Florence with since she really wanted to see her.  Best decision ever!  The guys said At the Drive-In was kind of a disappointment.  Florence was so much fun.  Kim and I were jumping around, dancing, hugging, and observing Florence’s quirkiness as she engaged with the audience.  I also loved that she ran around on ground level with the crowd and the security guard who didn’t seem in good running shape had to chase her.  I just started to giggle as he tried to keep up with her and turn quickly when she decided to move to the other side of the stage.

Next up was Miike Snow which was so much fun too.  The ibuprofen really kicked in and I was feeling great with no back pain at all.  Some of my fave Miike Snow songs came on so I started to dance my bootay off.  I did so many goofy moves that the guys said, “Jess this is not a P90x workout, every move looks like a jumping jack.”  This inspired me and I started to do my volleyball dance…it involved a bump, set, spike and block move.  I threw in some Insanity moves, made Dave fish for me and then Rico, Kurt, Kim and I started jumping around Dave to make him feel really uncomfortable.  We pretty much looked like a bunch of goofballs.  And mind you, I had not had one beer all day!  I just love to dance and have fun.

This day seemed to fly because it was then time for the closing show, Jack White.  While we were at Florence, I told Kim I wouldn’t mind leaving early with her since Jack’s show was longer, but as soon as Jack started to play I changed my mind.  There was no way I was leaving that show!  I think I may have to start listening to my White Stripes and Raconteurs albums again just because his show was amazing.

If I had to rate the shows, Sunday was a million times better than Saturday and here are some of my faves:

• Most Badass – Gary Clark Jr.
• Best Show – Jack White
• Best Dance Party – Miike Snow
• Best Crowd Involvement – Florence and the Machine
• Best food – Wow Boa

Next year if we go to Lolla or if we go to another festival, I may only go to one day or to make sure if I go to multiple days that the bands are worth it for me.  I had so much fun though and it was worth the money.  I saw so many great shows!

Have you ever been to an outdoor music festival?

Dave and I have been to the Newport Jazzfest a few times. We actually picked Susie my dressform up on our way to the festival one time!

What is one of your favorite concerts?

I have to say Jack White.  I also really liked Les Claypool when I saw him tour a the House of Blues in Boston!

Do you like to dance?