Lollapalooza

When I told my friends I had bought a 3 day pass to Lollapalooza they were horrified. Not because they objected to the festival or the line up, rather, that my going to the festival violated every expectation which they had of me and what is typical “Alexandria” behaviour. I am the girl that will drive 8 hours to see an opera, dances with her fingers in her ears in the basement of the Blue Lep because the music is too loud, and won’t be in the same room as smoke – cigarette or otherwise. This is not the type of girl who goes to Lollapalooza.

Like many things in my life, purchasing my Lollapalooza ticket happened on a whim. I was going to be living in Chicago for an internship, so when my phone buzzed in Theory class reminding me that tickets went on sale in 5 minutes I slipped to the computer lab and bought a pass. I figured that worse case I could easily sell it.

My experience at Lolla was a mix of amazing highs and mediocre (verging on mildly miserable) moments. Eminem’s performance Friday night was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had. Though he started with new songs that I was not a huge fan of, his concert was pure spectacle and from the moment he revealed that Rihanna would be joining him onstage the concert featured hit after hit culminating in with an encore of Lose Yourself.

On the other end of the spectrum was Sunday evening. After surviving a day of on and off rain it poured continuously for at least an hour. Worn out from the previous days, soaking wet and disappointed by the performance of The Avett Brothers, which barely resembled their recordings vocally, my friends and I left Lollapalooza early to shower and sleep before leaving for work at 5.50 am the following morning.

Would I do it again? The answer is yes and no. I will never do a three day pass again. A total of 30 hours on your feet over 3 days (not including commute to and from the festival) is miserable – I don’t know if I have ever been as tired as I was Sunday night – but I loved the music and the experience of the festival. With ear plugs in hand I was able to survive the blaring bass with limited damage to my ears, though there was a distinct ringing until Monday afternoon, and I look forward to becoming a Lolla one day pass regular.