Lollapalooza, Take One: A 70,000+ Mosh Pit and Radiohead

Pizza, dogs, skyscrapers...and Lollapalooza. It's all happening here in beautiful downtown Chicago. I just wrapped up day one of the world-famous festival, and it already feels like day three. I'm not surprised the exhaustion has sunk in so quickly; between the humidity, heat, and 70,000+ fans coming in each day, you'd be lucky not to drop dead in the middle of Grant Park.

I checked out the area the night before the party started and it all looked great. Add the insane crowd and you'd never think it was the same park. Not only were the lines to everything massive, but it took the average person over 30 minutes in the heat just to get in. After talking to a few fans, we all came to the conclusion that they should have stopped selling tickets at around 20,000. People were complaining about the lack of ammenities, whether it was too few hammocks, trash cans, or shade, and air so thick you could cut through it with a knife. Water and food is reasonably priced (for a festival) and I didn't dare come near the restrooms. Fans came in all shapes and sizes and from all aroud. Most people I talked to came from the midwest, but others treked from states including California, Montana, and New York. Everyone was pretty much festival savvy in sundresses and shorts.

The music washed everything else out into the background as bands including the Raconteurs, Bloc Party, Cat Power, and Radiohead performed. As soon as I got in, I rushed over to see Jeff Tweedy of Wilco play a set for the kids. I mouthed the words to every Wilco song he played. After a quick picutre and a "My mom would kill me if she knew I was with you" to Jeff, I headed over to catch the Kills. Soaked in sweat, they added a great energetic presence to the festival. Gogol Bordello was fun as always though I still can't pronounce the name. The Black Keys tore the house down with their raw, jam-rock that left me wondering if I could do the same and start a two person band.

Partially out of curiosity but mostly because most chicks my age dig her, I caught Cat Power sans the on-stage breakdown. How sultry. Grizzly Bear was probably one of the highlights. There's nothing like going to one of these things and discovering a new band that's just awesome. That was Grizzly Bear for me with their ambient, maze-like songs that wrapped around each other. By this time I was dead tired, but managed to catch CSS. Taking a page right out of Bjork's book, lead singer LoveFoxxx came out on stage decked in a crazy red jump-suit with a boquet wrapped around it.

Then there was Radiohead. I've never seen so many people packed in like sardines for one band before. Imagine a 70,000 person mosh pit; there were people as far as the eye could see. It was ridiculous. Amazing lights that came down like rain-drops covered the stage as they opened with In Rainbows. Paranoid Android, Idioteque, No Surprises, Fake Plastic Trees, and There, They all made the cut. The crowd went insane when the kicking bass for National Anthem kicked in and a hush fell when they played No Surprises. All you could hear during Fake Plastic Trees were fans singing along the words and trying to hit that D-sharp. What a sense of comradery amongst fans! Airbag was beautifully powerful not to mention the cool spin they put on newer tracks like Reckoner and 2+2=5. It was worth every sweat soaked minute of it.

More tomorrow...