Great to be back at the Metro! Last time I was there was November 2005 to see Jimmy Eat World, then the next day went bowling with the band and their wives and girlfriend! So many happy memories!! The show was sold-out but we were able to buy tickets at face value (yay no facility and service fees) from people hanging outside. I wanted to buy a Red Bull (to keep awake) from the liquor store across the street but I didn't wanna miss the start of Elvis Perkins in Dearland who were about to go on.

Back when I saw JEW, there was an old man poet who would read a self-penned poem to introduce each band. I was surprised to see him again! Reading a poem before each band. Guess he's a local radio legend?

Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Last time I saw them was back in January opening up for My Morning Jacket. I didn't care about him back then. But soon after I came across his backstory and took a closer listen to Ash Wednesday which I really like now. Everyone on the bill, it turns out, are good friends and have toured with each other at one time or another. This set the tone for a very happy, niiiice show. We found a nice elevated (!) spot near the bar so we could see above people's heads. Unfortunately the lighting was quite dark so my photos look really bad. I quite enjoyed Elvis and company and so did the audience. Not bad for the opening band! On their last song, everyone (I think) from Cold War Kids and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were on stage playing whatever instrument was around.

Cold War Kids. Super fun. Lead singer asked the crowd if we were either anti-festivals or couldn't get enough. I guess we were somewhere in between...the anti-Daft Punk. On their last song, Elvis Perkins in Dearland came out and played. I realize I suck for not seeing Cold War Kids again after their Avalon show with Editors. Undecided if I wanna see them at The Wiltern.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! This is where the story gets sad. I was really looking forward to seeing CYHSY! But I was way pooped and CYHSY!'s soundcheck was taking way too long. I noticed that the crowd was starting to thin out as well and people's patience was getting low. We left after five songs or so :(  And Alec Ounsworth looks so cute with his newsboy hat :( Thankfully, I will be making up for this tragedy by seeing CYHSY! and Elvis Perkins in Dearland at the Troubadour on Sept 18 & 19. Woulda tried for the 20th but I have Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem that day.

Not much to report on Day #4 which was a rest day since I would be taking the 6 hour Amtrak from St. Louis to Chicago. I took 4 NyQuil LiquidGels so I could pass out but ugh, I couldn't! The train was full but thankfully they put us in business class seats. Due to waiting for a freight train going 0.000000000001 mph to pass, I didn't get into Chicago until 1.5 hours later than scheduled. BLAH. Met up with billy_ and Alex. We ate at some nearby 24 hour diner that serves a banana with every meal. For some reason I was the only one who got the banana. Also got stuff from Walgreens.

( Why Lollapalooza Kicks Coachella's Ass )

( Why It Doesn't )


2007 Lollapalooza Day 1

The Fratellis. We took the bus to downtown Chicago which turned out to be a baaad idea. Due to the frequent stops to load up too many passengers and heavy traffic, we got to Grant Park way later than scheduled. Wish we took the Red Line train instead!! It took us forever to pick up our passes because they were at the Media Check-In Tent which was ALL THE WAY on the southend of Grant Park. On our way, we did hear The Fratellis do what I suspect was their last song Chelsea's Dagger. Not too heartbroken I missed them. Already seen them three times this year and I'm pretty maxed out. Next album?

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. The Polyphonic Spree. We walked around picking up free crap along the way. Decided what the heck, we'll check out Ted Leo. Poor dude fell on his ass on the first or second song! After he finished, he said "Thanks guys!" We were getting hungry so we decided to utilize the in-and-out privileges to eat at a nearby Thai place knowing we'd miss The Polyphonic Spree. Stopped by the nearby hostel to buy a visitors CTA pass, which they were out of. Walked to the Chicago Cultural Center, enjoyed the A/C and exhibits (sadly no photos allowed) and bought a visitor's pass. Stopped by Walgreens to pick up more stuff.

Against Me! Don't even dare talk shit about this band. Or else! I was listening to New Wave on my iPod and gosh darnit I really liked it. The crowd wasn't as spirited as Coachella. Surprisingly hardly any moshing or crowd surfing. Alex conjectured being on concrete maybe had something to do with it--which is strange since this is Grant Park. Looking forward to seeing them again at LA Invasion at Home Depot Center where I saw them two years ago!

The Rapture. While waiting for the The Rapture underneath some trees on some elevated spot (woot!), we could hear M.I.A. on the Bud Stage. It didn't sound too good where we were. Unfortunately don't recall too much about The Rapture's set. It didn't seem as fun as their Coachella set to me but maybe daylight had something to do with it. There was a green crane behind us. Some stupid kids thought it'd be cool to get on it and jump up and down shaking the whole thing.

Blonde Redhead. The Black Keys. We decided to utilize our in-and-out privileges for dinner. Unfortunately so did a lot of the people at the place we ended up. The chicken ceasar salad wasn't very good and service was slow. Line at the bathroom was way long. There were two girls there who changed into their robot-inspired get-ups for Daft Punk.

LCD Soundsystem. Came back and caught, I guess, two songs. At the end, James Murphy says "go over there" pointing to the Daft Punk stage. So we did.

Daft Punk. Decided to break from routine and tried to get closer to the stage. Bad mistake, bad mistake! It got super crowded not too far from the soundboard so we backtracked and ended way in the back somewhere. Seems like everyone has raved about Daft Punk at Coachella and the LA Sports Arena; but me...meh, wasn't feeling it. Neither was Alex. I really wanted to see a real band that singed and played instruments. So we decided to catch the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!/Cold War Kids/Elvis Perkins in Dearland after-fest show at the Metro. Off to the Red Line station...