What I Missed At Lollapalooza Yesterday While I Sat At Work

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Image Via Pistenwolf [© pitpony.photography / CC-BY-SA-3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

It’s that time of year again, folks. Lollapalooza is alive and well in Chicago, and the whole city is feeling the vibe. From drunk teens riding the Metra in from the suburbs to music lovers born in raised in the heart of the city, the whole city has been tapping its toes and trying to avoid the traffic on their commutes to work.

I’ve never been to Lollapalooza. It’s a huge music festival that costs hundreds to go to, something that’s just not in my budget. Look, the way I see it, all the bands I want to see will usually play sporadically throughout the festival, so there’s no point in buying a one-day ticket, and I don’t want to dish out the money for a four-day pass. But for a lot of people, this is a huge deal! Seriously, people freakin’ love Lolla. They make it look so enticing on Twitter and Instagram to the point where every year I feel an intense sense of FOMO for not attending.

Per usual, I’m not going to Lolla this year. Between projects at work and needing time to decompress at home, it just wasn’t a priority. But that doesn’t mean I don’t stalk all my friends who went on Instagram. Here’s what I missed on Day 1.

Excitement

I can’t reiterate this enough, but people get fucking hyped about Lolla. All throughout Instagram you’ll find people posing under the “Lollapalooza” sign in front of Grant Park. People tweeting about how stoked they are to have the next two days (or at least afternoons) off of work so they can go listen to live music in a park along the lake. Meanwhile, I’m sitting at my desk thinking about how little I want to mark things as “Complete” on my project plan. The only thing I’m excited for is the new comforter I ordered, and that won’t get in until tomorrow anyway.

Prosecco

I’m seeing less of it this year, but in years past Lolla definitely had Prosecco on deck. For some reason I think I remember my old roommate posting a video of her pouring it into a glass while watching a random band play in the distance. Y’all…I’m not exaggerating when I say that is the life I want to be living. Get me out of my cooped up apartment and give me a glass of something bubbly while I stand in a park and shout “HELL YEAH” at the top of my lungs to a song that I don’t even know. I’m all in.

The Vibe

Oh, God. Okay, this is so cliché. But I feel like one of the big things I missed out on during the first day of Lolla is just the general vibe. Everyone is there to have a good time, you know? Whether you’re heading to the EDM stage or the Alt Rock stage, everyone seems to have the same goal: to get a little high, rock out to the musician, and take a dope Instagram picture. I back this 1,000%. Fuck it, have a great time! I mean, that’s Basically the whole point of this thing, right?

Awesome Weather

It seems like every year, there’s great weather on Day 1 of Lolla. Yeah, it might be hot out, but that just comes with summer music festivals. I mean, realistically, is there bad weather for an outdoor music festival? Okay, sure, 100+ degrees with humidity and no clouds. But other than that, if you’re going to an outdoor festival, I feel like you have to be prepared for rain or shine. Whatever the case, this year was great. It got up to a little over 85 with partly cloudy skies. What more could you ask for on August 2nd in Chicago?

Honestly, The Music

There’s something about the thought of live music that makes the hairs on my forearms stand up. My spine gets chills and I sit up a little more straight just thinking about it. Headliners, those are a different story. They’ve earned their spot. But those people playing a 2:00 spot? That’s where the passion shows. I’m talking about the guys like Basement sweating their asses off trying to put on a set—not just for their own fans, but for the fans of Arctic Monkeys playing 4 hours later who are just trying to get a good spot in the crowd—those are the ones who exude it. You’ll get guys like Tyler Childers or The Wombats putting out vibes that remind you how much music can affect you. Or, you’ll just hit up the Jaden Smith set to see if that kid’s even good. I disagree with the kids from School of Rock when they say, “One great rock show can change the world,” or whatever. It can, however, change your outlook on shit..

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Charlie

Using sarcasm as a defense mechanism since 1993. At any given moment I'm either tired, drunk, or stressed out. Get at me at charliepgp@gmail.com or whatever.

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