Lolla 2009

I'm finally doing it! I'm finally updating after about 2 weeks of silence. I don't know why I retreated, I just hadn't been in the mood to blog. But, I'm now reconciling. Here's some stuff from my trip to Chicago at the beginning of August for Lollapalooza. Could not have been more fun!

My friend Beth Ann and I stayed at the W Hotel. It was really fancy and way out of my price range. We had a kaleidoscope in our room. What!?

Our first night in town. The hotel had a rooftop bar and after being denied into Pete Wentz's party at Angels and Kings (In his defense it was invite only and we most certainly were not invited) we headed back to our hotel to check out the rooftop shindig. Beautiful view + pricey drinks = I'm wasted. The bathroom was maybe the coolest part of all. Red rock sinks and hanging chain doorways instead of actual doors.

The next morning we walked to Grant Park and while standing in line it started to rain. It didn't stop raining ALL day. I was completely unprepared (unlike Beth Ann) and spent the whole day soaking wet and covered in mud.

Manchester Orchestra - first act, first day. I had leave half way through the set to go puke. Not a good idea to get hammered the night before a three day festival.

The Decemberists! Hazards of Love is one of my current faves and I couldn't not miss them. I stood in the same spot for 3 hours to make sure I got a great view. There was a mass of thousands behind me so I figure it was worth it. Their set was so good. It was so theatrical and dramatic. The crowd would freak every time Margaret or the Mother would start singing and they portrayed their characters so well. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go get Hazards of Love right now!

Day two - Langhorne Slim! I'm madly in love with Langhorne and I didn't even know he would be playing at Lolla. It was fate. Even more so that he was doing a signing afterwards!

SWOON. I was such a wreck. All I could say was "You're just great." and "I'm totally smitten." Who says that!!??

Couldn't stand any longer due to feet on the verge of explosion, so this was my view for Gomez. Could have been worse.

SantiGold.

Lykke Li. She was playing near Perry's where they played techno all day every day. Needless to say, there were a lot of people rolling during her set as they wandered over from Perry's.

My signed CD for Langhorne. I was in a total adrenaline rush for the rest of the day.

That night Beth Ann just so happened to win tickets to an invite only show at some bar for The Gaslight Anthem. It was so cool! I felt so VIP. There were only like 100 people there and the show was awesome. I didn't know much of their music but I was totally blown away.

Day Three - Kaiser Chiefs. For some reason there weren't that many people at their set. I think they're great and so much fun.

Band Of Horses! Beth Ann is a big fan of theirs and I'm just getting acquainted, but we stood by the stage for 2 hours waiting for them and it was totally worth it! The show was amazing! Everyone was so into the music and it was invigorating.

We saw many more bands over those three days but if I were to document them all, it would take forever. Lolla was great and I'm so glad I got to go! Although it wasn't the cheapest weekend, it was so worth every cent because I got to see amazing bands, meet my soul mate, and pop into invite only shows all in my favorite city ever! LML.