So, Lollapalooza day one was fantastic! First, the festival now has over thirty more acres of space in Grant Park! This made the flow getting in so much easier! The weather was surprisingly great. Low 80s, but not overly humid and a cool breeze coming from the lake. We it the new farmer’s market for some pain au chocolat and coffee. Both get a hearty thumbs up from me. That was some of the best coffee I have ever had. Ever. It was from the Metropolis Cafe, check it out!
Only a few bands on the list for us. We started with Devo. I love seeing bands that have been around for ages, yet are still doing what they love and rocking out. It warms my heart to see people who don’t stop living an extraordinary life just because they reach a certain age. During Devo’s set, I was struck with an idea. I have been trying to name my new (to me) bike, and the perfect name struck me. Ginger! She’s orange, I love all things ginger…genius! (This will be important later. Also important, my irrational love of El Caminos, as in the car that is also a pick-up.)
We picked up our traditional wine in a sports bottle, because it is hilarious. Wine! In a plastic sports bottle! We then checked out the Lolla gear and I think I will have to purchase an owl t-shirt today. Then over to catch the Fuck Buttons. Not really our scene. It was a couple of DJs mixing, essentially. Not that I mind that, but if that is what I want to see, I will go to a club. We had a bit of time to kill, checked out some things and stuff. We stopped by the artist merch tent, and G’s phone alerts him to updates on Twitter. He looks at his phone and laughs, then passes it to me and says to read the top tweet. It is from La Gaga. “#Gagapalooza! A night to commemorate the most bad ass whirlwind of all time, waiting for my friends to pick me up our el camino, GINGER” I look at Geoff and told him that he heard me state the name for my bike before I read that. Do I secretly share a brain with La Gaga???
The Black Keys were fun. We chatted with some boys from Quebec about cigarettes and drive times to the festival. They were rather delightful. Both the band and the boys.
G attempted to charge his phone at the charging station, then it was time for La Gaga. Now, I just wanted to get really close to the stage, and see a few of her numbers. I am seeing her later in the month, so I will get to see the whole thing, but won’t be all that close. We thought arriving an hour early would be plenty, since it’s a festival and all. Wrong. So, we got as close as we could manage. I wouldn’t be as frustrated if at least half of the people there weren’t just a bunch of looky-loos. You know, they were already there and figured they may as well check out the freak show. Boo. Anyhow, La Gaga is adorable, and delightful and I can’t wait to see her again later in the month. Also, I had already been hoping there would be a Lady Gaga challenge on Project Runway, and now I am really hoping!
An hour in, we had to sneak away to catch The Strokes (why do bands we want to see have to be opposite each other?) It was pretty brutal getting out. Maybe I’m old (shut up) but in my day, you didn’t let people to the front, but you always let them out. I mean, letting people out means space to get closer! I guess that has changed, or maybe it was the looky-loo factor. Either way it took us a lot longer to get to the other stage than we planned. But, we got to catch a bit of The Strokes. Loved their old-timey video game backdrop, especially PONG!
It’s a lot of work having that much fun, and stepping into the shower back at the hotel felt AWESOME.