Being an old Chicagoan I wanted to share not just the concert, but also the whole Chicago experience with my daughter. We did the total urban experience by staying downtown and getting a 3-day public transit pass from the airport for $9. We paid more for a downtown hotel but saved on car rental and parking. One of the best aspects of Lolla is the location, Chicago and the fun you can have spending the weekend doing all the stuff the city has to offer.
Friday – we arrived at about 11am and immediately spent a few hours strolling up and down the Magnificent Mile window-shopping and people watching...We then headed on to Lolla to meet up with Jon and Suzanna and caught Cat Power, Mates of States and Radiohead. The daughters squeezed us old geezers up to the front of the crowd until we could not fit in, both physically and mentally. A common occurrence, but ok with Jon and I who could hang back, sip a cold one and catch up with each other. A perfect parenting balance…kids happy – parents happy. Read more »
I’d never heard of Jamie Lidell before Lollapalooza, but we caught the beginning of his set before seeing Lupe Fiasco. It’s difficult to describe his music; it was an eclectic mix of soul and electronic. He has an amazing voice and really got the crowd into his music.
My dad and Emily’s dad Doug weren’t too interested in seeing Lupe Fiasco but they agreed because us girls wanted to. We handed our bags to our dads and they found a spot on the lawn while Emily, Harris and I tried to find a spot close to stage. The area in front of the stage was full of Rage Against the Machine fans who were staking out their spots for Rage's show that night. We were lucky and found a spot relatively close to the stage on the left side. Read more »
The first band that my dad, cousin Harris and I intended on seeing on Friday was Rogue Wave. Their show started at 1:15 so we caught a train and made it to Grant Park by 12:30. To our dismay we had to wait an hour in the heat before we made it through the gates. When we finally got to the stage where Rogue Wave was performing they only had a few more songs left in their set. However, we'd seen on the schedule, that they would perform a fifteen-minute set at the Kidz stage at 2:45.
After catching part of Yeasayer (a great, energetic band but I couldn't help being more preoccupied with wondering how incredibly hot the lead singer must be wearing a jacket on top of two shirts), we headed down to the Kidz stage to see Jeff Tweedy before Rouge Wave came on.
My dad is a HUGE Wilco fan, so although I don't listen to the band often, he has instilled in me a great respect for their music. At the Kidz stage, Harris and I left my dad at the back while we tried to push our way to the front. We were disappointed though, when Jeff Tweedy did come out that Read more »
I’m not exactly sure whose idea it was, my daughter’s or mine. She had recently gone to a Radiohead concert in Charlotte and had proceeded to go out and buy all their music and I had noticed that Wilco, one of my favorites, was scheduled to appear at Lollapalooza this year. We were definitely going to the Midwest to visit family in Michigan and Chicagoland and one of us suggested taking in Lollapalooza while in Chicago.
My wife and other daughter had little interest but did not object to Dad and daughter attending the festival together. We went online and bought two three- day passes and then convinced a couple other friends with daughters to meet up with us. The result was three Dads in their mid-fifties with their teenage daughters spending three great days visiting and listening to music in one of the world’s great cities. I wasn’t a stranger to music festivals but had never been to anything on the scale on this year’s Lollapalooza. Read more »
