Marzena Abrahamik
Three days I’ll never forget
I lived and breathed Lollapalooza 2007 from morning to night and lived to tell the festival’s glory
By Kelly Mellott
Published: August 7th, 2007 | 2:42pm
DAY ONE
I don’t think Lollapalooza could’ve come at a better time in my life. On the verge of an impending bad breakup and frustration with the monotony of summer jobs, the festival was just the thing to spice up my life — even if only for a weekend.
The day began with a pounding headache, a reminder of the prior night filled with one too many Long Island Iced Teas at Chicago’s Debonair Social Club. I scrambled to gather my things and get out the door, filled with anticipation of the day’s musical surprises and the night’s promise to help me forget about why I’d been so upset lately.
Before heading to the festival grounds, I stopped off at the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan Avenue to check in for the BMI Blender Sessions, the sponsors of the all-day, all-night party filled with more free goodies and catering than you can imagine. A buffet line was filled with delicious treats provided by the China Grill and beer from local brewery Goose Island. While the buzz of a tattoo needle hummed away (and when I say tattoos, I mean free tattoos), I was provided with the most rockin’ gift bag imaginable — PF Flyer shoes, Calvin Klein’s newest fragrance and underwear, Skull Candy headphones, and more. There were free massages, free haircuts, and lots o’ fun to be had. I dabbled in the guacamole for a while before deciding it was time to run off to the festival in nearby Grant Park.
Right about now is when the frustration sunk in. I have come to the conclusion that very few music festival staffers know where the press check-in is located. Seriously. I have never been to a festival, including last weekend’s Warped Tour, where I asked a bright shirt–wearing staff member where to go and they didn’t either a.) stare blankly at me like I was speaking in tongues or b.) point me in the complete and utter opposite direction. The man hoisting a “ASK ME INFO ABOUT LOLLA” sign chose to go with option b.
But it got worse. After walking the, oh, 500 miles to what I believe was actually the other side of Lake Michigan, I was given even more false information that the line I was standing in was where I was meant to be. It wasn’t. The sun glared down as I waited for 45 minutes. My turn. Wrong line. Angry, angry Kelly. And the worst part of it all was being able to still somewhat hear the infectious melodies of Jack’s Mannequin, a band I was thrilled about experiencing, over the fences but still not being able to see them. Fortunately, the line at the correct media pick-up tent was down to nothing, and I made it inside just in time to hear my favorite song. I stood on the media platform, dancing alone, all the while hoping Damien, MTV VJ, would scoot down so I could really break loose.
Back in the press tent, I bumped into Clayton Hauck, a Venus Zine Trend Watch photographer and the man behind everyoneisfamous.com. In addition to meeting people from Spin, Rolling Stone, and MTV, I ran into Venus Zine’s Web Music Features Editor, Sheba White, who tipped me off to a valuable festival secret — toilet paper and hand wipes makes the Port-a-Potty experience just a little more tolerable.
With a SoCo and Lime and sanitized hands, I headed out to catch M.I.A. at 4:30 p.m. followed by Blonde Redhead and LCD Soundsystem. All bands had amazing sets. I checked out the VIP Lolla Lounge for some wine and vodka drinks before making what would turn out to be one of my biggest Lolla mistakes. I left to go home and shower during Daft Punk. I would later hear that the performance was one of the best of the entire festival. Such a bummer!
NIGHT ONE
I began the trek home to Wicker Park and on the way ran into Chicago native and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz and pop-star girlfriend Ashlee Simpson at Walgreen’s. After showering the dirt and grime away from a long day, I put on my party dress and caught a cab back downtown to the Hard Rock Hotel for the after party. Polyphonic Spree put on a slightly creepy (hey, it’s Polyphonic Spree, what can you expect?) but totally amazing performance complete with white robes and confetti raining from the ceiling. The rest of the evening became a blur of friends and dancing.
DAY TWO
Waking up Saturday was not an easy task and my throbbing hangover didn’t help. I dragged my weary bones back downtown to Grant Park just in time to catch Silverchair. I had been anticipating this performance with the feeling that it was going to be a Lolla highlight, and I wasn’t disappointed. To top it off, talented front man Daniel Johns is pretty easy on the eyes (which was more than confirmed when I met him a few hours later in the media tent).
I had a tough decision to make for the 3:30 p.m. time slot — Motion City Soundtrack, Rhymefest, or the Cold War Kids? While I found this scheduling completely unfair, I decided to make it easy and go by location. I was closest to the Motion City set, so I set off to catch the band that happens to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I got my dance on with some friends, remembering what it was like to be in high school and go to shows singing along at the top of your lungs.
My good mood was almost shattered when I got bad news about CSS, which was slated to perform during the next time slot. The band’s flight had been over-booked and they wouldn’t be making it in time for the festival. This was a huge letdown as I had been greatly looking forward to continuing my dance party with my favorite Brazilians. I decided to meet up with Corey Warning, front man for Illinois band the Graduate. We grabbed another SoCo and headed across the park to catch Regina Spektor, my personal favorite. I don’t even know how to describe the satisfaction I get from watching Spektor perform. She entraps the audience and her eyes sparkle as she plays with her music. Sigh. Leave it to Regina to make my mood elevated to the heavens again.
Back on the other side of the park, I ran into Venus Zine publisher Anne Brindle before checking out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Karen O.’s envy-generating outfit. I decided to once again beat the rush of the final performance, though I would’ve loved to catch Muse. Fortunately, I had just seen them perform at Bamboozle in New Jersey a few months earlier, so I didn’t have to feel as guilty.
NIGHT TWO
Back at the Hard Rock after-party, I was reminded of why I had so much fun the night before with new and old friends and my second Motion City Soundtrack performance of the day. I danced my pants — er, dress — off! I eventually found my way into the VIP lounge with more drinks, dancing, and Ashlee Simpson.
DAY THREE
Sunday morning was by far the hardest day to get myself out of bed. It would be an understatement to say it was a rough morning. A weekend of late nights, drinking, days in the hot sun, and forgetting to eat a real meal were starting to catch up with me. I missed a few of the bands I wanted to see in the morning, notably the Graduate for whom this was their very first Lolla performance. I made it in time to catch the Kings of Leon before Peter Bjorn and John. Unfortunately, there was a sound issue with PB&J’s set, and they had to cut it early. But we still got to hear “Young Folks,” which was definitely a highlight. I headed to !!! for a song or two, and the entire audience was one huge dance party. The rain clouds started to drizzle, and I headed back to the Lolla Lounge for some drinks and sat on the hillside to watch My Morning Jacket perform with the Chicago Youth Symphony. It was a flawless set, beautifully lit by the sun breaking through the gray clouds over the building surrounding the park.
Lollapalooza was almost over, and I didn’t even want to begin to think about going back to my real life. I met up with friends to get a spot for the festival headliners, Pearl Jam. Sometimes I forget what it’s like to be at a huge concert, the lights, the sound, the swarming crowd — it was all so much to take in. I am not a Pearl Jam fan, but I understand why so many people are. Their performance was so full of passion and energy, true rock stars right down to the behind the back guitar solos. The light was beginning to drain from the indigo sky and the moon appeared high above the stage. Fireworks went off and the city’s skyline was illuminated with the light and energy from the 100,000-plus crowd. I haven’t felt so happy to be who I am, where I am, in years.
Issue #35
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