her name was lolla

She wasn't a show girl, but I am pretty sure there were yellow feathers and a dress cut down to there. For the first time I went to Lollapalooza in Chicago last weekend. D had been there several years ago when it was still a touring festival. However, for the last 5 years it has been located at Grant Park in Chicago, billed as a 3-day, 8-stage music festival. Having been to a number of summer music festivals, I can say that "Lolla" was the most well oiled machine I have been seen.


Beautiful weather, free water, the line-up, the on-time schedule, tasty food options, rarely feeling too crowded and all the sponsors free swag (much of which came in very handy). I could not have been more impressed. We heard a lot of new music, most of which we actually enjoyed. But I think the highlight was seeing the three headliners for the first time.

Lady Gaga - with a show that was all about her. She talked about being made fun of, her 2007 performance at Lolla, her drunk dad, and giving the middle finger to the world after making it. Entertaining? Definitely. Disturbed? Absolutely.


Green Day -who made it all about the fans. There is no denying Green Day's entertainment value, but they also do a great job of making it about the audience. Bringing fans up on stage and Billy Joe even gave one lucky kid a guitar after his rock star performance of Longview.


Soundgarden - it was all about the music. They came, they played, they left. Literally. When the set fished, they walked off stage and that was it. Without a word the show was over.
I swear Chris Cornell has not changed in 15 years. We think they were waiting to tour until his hair grew back.



(all photos from LollapaloozaFest)