Lollapalooza 2015

Another Lollapalooza has come and went and, as with every year, I'm spending the week following basking in the afterglow of an incredibly fun three days. I've been going to Lollapalooza every year since 2011, when my cousin hit me up the Tuesday before asking if I wanted his extra ticket. I had never been to a large music festival like Lolla before but had been itching to go for a while. It was impossible to pass up the $200 ticket and a free place to stay, so I enthusiastically accepted his offer and immediately began the process of requesting time off work and looking up directions to Chicago.

What I didn't know back then was that every minute I traveled closer to Chicago, I was closer to falling in love and participating in something special. I'll never forget my first Lollapalooza and the way I felt when I finally came back home to reality. I loved it so much that I vowed to return every year for as long as I could. Four years later and I'm still keeping my vow. And while every Lollapalooza has been a blast and special in its own way, 2015 was my favorite experience yet.

So let's break down the weekend...

FRIDAY

The drive up was electric. Five people stuffed into a big comfy Cadillac growing more and more excited as we neared the Windy City. Our first glimpse of the Chicago skyline had us bouncing like a bunch of school children on a bus during a field trip. We took Lakeshore to our Airbnb spot and could already see Grant Park buzzing with thousands of beautiful people. Once we parked the car and got the keys for our condo we made our way to the park.

The trek in was amazing. The Airbnb condo we rented was on the 52nd floor of a luxury apartment complex in the Streeterville area of Chicago, which is squeezed in between Magnificent Mile, the famous Navy Pier, and the Chicago River. So we had to traverse the beautiful streets of downtown Chicago to make our way to Grant Park. Beautiful works of architecture sprouted from the pavement like titanic sized city guides who seemed to be pointing us towards our destination. It's impossible to cross the river on foot and not take a brief moment of pause halfway across the bridge to take in the city's busy sights and sounds. Onward we travel, passing impressive skyscrapers, beautiful condos, and a gorgeous park with an odd looking silver bean dropped in the middle.

Finally we made it into the park, and you can't help but to stop again just to appreciate the scale of what you're about to partake in. Tens of thousands of people from all different kinds of backgrounds all over the world gathered to feel the love that Lolla dishes out. Once you fully appreciate that fact, then it's time to get down to business. First thing: water.

Gary Richards, aka Destructo

After we filled our Camelbaks (I can't recommend these enough for music festivals), we made our way to the infamous Perry's stage to catch Destructo, a self-described "gnarly disco" experience that blasted out some great electronic beats for an hour. Check out his song "Dare You 2 Move" to get a feel for his style of music. Needless to say, the dance party got started early on Friday.

Once Destructo's set wrapped up, I got myself the classic Lollapalooza sustenance Lobster Corndog. If you've never had one then I don't even know what you're doing with your life. Unless you have a shell fish allergy, in which case I'm so sorry you'll never experience the taste of one. Once I devoured one of those, I walked the park a bit and stopped in to see a bit of Cold War Kids. I enjoy the few songs I've heard on WFPK, but I wasn't a big fan of their live set. I watched from near the back of the crowd, so I'm sure that had something to do with it, but even still, I feel like they lacked energy and stage presence.

Feeling the beat coming from Perry's, I decided to head over there to see what kind of shenanigans were going on post-Destructo. Caught the end of DJ Mustard and decided to stick around for DJ Snake, who is famous for the incredibly fun "Turn Down For What." I had thought about branching off at some points to catch Gary Clark, Jr or Alabama Shakes. In hindsight, I should've seen Alabama Shakes, but I always regret missing some acts after every Lollapalooza so I try not to dwell on it.

Dillon Francis

After dancing our booties off to DJ Snake, we decided to keep the party going and moved in even closer for Dillon Francis. I'm a big fan of his music, especially the song  "Get Low" that he did with DJ Snake. His set was good, but like DJ Mustard & DJ Snake, nothing stood out as exceptionally mind blowing. I feel like all three DJs used the same recipe and just slightly switched up the

ingredients. Plus there didn't seem to be any flow to their set list. It was good for dancing, but that's about it. Even still, the good vibes were strong and I had a good time.

Then came the biggest dilemma of my life: who do I see? The unequivocally legendary Sir Paul McCartney, or the incredibly talented and unique Flying Lotus? Damn you Lollapalooza! This was a decision I played in my head every day since the schedule was released, and up until this moment I hadn't even made a decision. Still vibing off the electronic beats, I decided on Flying Lotus and made my way to the Pepsi (formerly Grove) stage to stake out a spot for Flying Lotus. Our group got back together for Flying Lotus and as soon as he started playing his music I knew I made the right decision.

It's hard to even describe FlyLo's set. Above all else, I would describe it as absolutely mind blowing. The best show I've ever seen. Period. Flying Lotus had a great way of commanding the audience's attention. His show was equal parts musical journey and visual trip. The combination picked deep into my brain, grabbed hold, and took over my body for the entire hour long set. It was a humbling experience. Every time I thought I knew what was about to happen next, FlyLo would throw a wrench in my plan and completely switch things up. And yet somehow it all seemed to flow together. It was very much a production with an end goal in mind. It was also a very emotional experience. The combination of visuals and music really heightened my emotional response. I felt extreme joy for the entire hour, and I can't thank Flying Lotus enough for the spiritual experience. Unfortunately they cut his set off right as he was about to address the audience and play one more song, but he had already done enough and it was great to see him express genuine gratitude for the amount of love the small crowd showed him.

Flying Lotus

It took a few minutes once he finished to process what had just happened. Eventually we shuffled out of Grant Park and made our way back to the Airbnb condo to finally unpack our stuff and relax. The whole walk back was filled with praise for Flying Lotus and reflection on the artists we saw that day. We all agreed that Flying Lotus was the best part about Friday.

It was extra special to come back to a really nice condo with exceptional views of the city. Since our condo was occupied with international travelers when we first arrived, this was the first time we had stepped foot inside. 52 floors up, a corner unit, and awe inspiring views of downtown, including spectacular views of famous Chicago buildings like Willis Tower, Trump Tower, and the Hancock Building. We grabbed our stuff from the car, settled in, and spent the night relaxing and enjoying the view of Chicago at night. Look below at the photo Sam took from one of the windows of the condo. 

Photo courtesy of Sam Hunter. Sam Hunter on Flickr.

And with a full day under our belts, we went to sleep in preparation for day 2 of Lollapalooza...

SATURDAY

Took my time getting ready in the morning and spent a lot of it on the sundeck of the building we stayed in. Fantastic views up there, and the cool breeze off the lake had me excited to eventually

View from the sundeck.

make my way down to Lollapalooza for day 2. After getting some food in our bellies and doing a little pregame drinking, we made our way to the park.  Made it in time to catch the start of Charlie XCX's set. Honestly, I was only familiar with her part on Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" so I didn't really hold too high of an opinion of Charlie. But damn, she put on an impressive show. I really dig that she travels with a full band that consists of all women musicians. And, damn, those ladies can rock out! Unfortunately the sound quality of the stage she was on wasn't so great back where we watched her from, so about halfway through the set we decided to walk around the park and scope out some other bands. At least we stuck around long enough to hear some of her hits, including a new favorite of mine "Break The Rules." 

While heading back to the north end of the park, we passed Lolla's BMI stage which will always hold

Pell

a special place in my heart since that's where Moon Taxi played their first Lollapalooza set. It's Lolla's smallest stage, excluding their Kidaplozza area. The setting is intimate and nested in a small grove, so there's plenty of shade to go around and you get a sweet cool breeze off the lake there. Anyways, we couldn't help but stop when the awesome beats of Pell graced our ears. Pell is a New Olreans rapper with a very cool rapping style and ended up being my favorite hip hop act of the weekend. He seemed like a very genuine dude and was using the energy the crowd gave him to deliver a spectacular set. Intending to only listen to a couple of songs, we ended up staying through the end of his set. It's artists like Pell that keep me coming back to Lollapalooza. I love discovering new music, and Lolla never fails to deliver these extremely talented up-and-coming artists.

After Pell's set we decided to take a break and chill in some shade near the north end of the park. We were able to listen to music from Toro Y Moi, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Hermitude. All three sounded like they would've been a great show to watch up close, but they were still enjoyable from a distance. Once we felt good and rested we staked out an incredible spot up close for Tyler, the Creator. I've been a big fan of Tyler for a while now, so I was excited to catch his set. He certainly didn't disappoint. His stage props were great, and he brought out OF alums Jasper and Taco to help him out. The highlight of the set was Tyler performing my personal favorite song "Goblin" right in front of us! Tyler has great stage presence and I really dig his overall demeanor. I was glad to catch him live again, and if it wasn't for Pell's surprise performance, his set would've been my favorite hip hop act of the weekend.

Tyler, the Creator performing "Goblin" off Odd Future's debut album

After Tyler we made our way back to Perry's to set up for Alesso. But first he had Carnage opening for him. Carnage was great and broke away from the typical Perry's DJ mold a bit by infusing more hip hop elements into his music, and avoiding the typical recipe of 4 bars of buildup and then dropping the beat. His set turned into a giant dusty dance party. It was impossible to not at least bounce your head, and he was a great warm up for Alesso.

Alesso's amazing laser show

I honestly didn't know a single thing about Alesso before his set. But since I wasn't interested in Sam Smith at all, and Metallica seemed like they were way passed their prime, I settled on Alesso. It ended up being a great choice. Hailing from Sweden, you could hear the European influence in his music. It was all very happy and upbeat and was accompanied by a spectacular laser show that entranced the entire crowd. At one point he brought up fellow Swede Tove Lo for a song. She was wearing this really cool gold angel costume and sang a very beautiful song. It was just an all around great set and a fantastic way to wrap up day 2 at Lolla.

A cool moment to share was when we were on our way out of the park. Because Alesso ended his set 15 minutes earlier than the other headliners, we got to catch a bit of Sam Smith, who was performing at the north end of the park. He saved his hit song "Stay With Me" until the end, and even though I'm sure none of us exiting the park cared about Sam Smith, damn if we all weren't belting out his lyrics along with him. Complete strangers walking out and smiling at each other and singing an incredibly catchy tune. I also have to give mad props to Sam Smith, as his voice as magical and I take back anything negative I said about him. He is incredibly talented and deserved a headlining spot at Lollapalooza.

The night was capped off with more beautiful views of downtown Chicago and a short journey to grab some fucking delicious deep dish pizza. I like you're style Chicago. After stuffing myself full of beer and pizza it was time to lay my head down to rest and prepare to go all out for the third and final day of Lollapalooza...

SUNDAY

Yes! Finally, the day has arrived. If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with Moon Taxi. And Sunday was my chance to see them live, again, only this time on the main stage of Lollapalooza. How far they've come! From playing the small BMI stage to the main stage in only three years, what an incredible journey for an amazing band. But first I needed energy for the day, so Jay and Cecelia made us all a bomb ass breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, french toast (a Jay specialty), sausage, and some mimosas to wash it all down. It's the perfect recipe for a long day out in the sun.

Wanting to get a full day in, we wasted no time getting ready and making our way down to the park, arriving through the gates very shortly after they opened. Not really knowing who to see before Moon Taxi, we made our way to Perry's to see what was going on there. May as well get a bit of dancing in, right? Opening up Perry's that day was jackLNDN, a young and aspiring DJ from London that has only been making music for a year. But he threw down some great electro-beats and took the time after his set to come down and greet his new fans. A very humble dude and I wish him all kinds of success in his career.

Black Tiger Sex Machine

After jackLNDN left the stage, Black Tiger Sex Machine took over the audio controls and proceeded to blow my mind. It's a travesty they were playing so early, and it's my opinion that they could've easily been a headlining act on Perry's stage. Their stage presence was great. They liked to engage the crowd and wore these very cool black tiger masks. And their music was this fantastic mix of dirty, grungy electronic beats and hard hitting bass. They reminded me a lot of Nero or Daft Punk. I had to be careful, since I was dancing my ass off and didn't want to wear myself out so early in the day. But fuck it, the music was too good NOT to shake my booty too. You're welcome to everyone behind me that go to behold the magnificence of my ass swaying left, right, up, and down.

Moon Taxi was set to go on in about an hour, so I quickly made my way to the complete opposite end of the park to where they were playing in order to stake out a nice close spot. And a nice spot is what I got. Very close to the stage, just barely right of center. Yes! The sun was beating down but the strong breeze was keeping me nice and cool. The blessing of the breeze quickly turned into a curse though, as about 15 minutes before they were supposed to go on I see them breaking stuff down; lowering the screens and speakers and what not. Then the most devastating news came over the louder speaker. "Due to nearby storms, we are evacuating the park." No. No, please no. Not now. Not like this. They didn't even get to play one song! But alas, we must all accept the things we cannot change, so I reluctantly began to shuffle towards the exit.

It was hard to remain positive about the rest of Lollapalooza after the evac. I knew that, no matter what, I would not be seeing Moon Taxi. It was nearing an hour after being evacuated and we still hadn't heard anything about them reopening the gates. I figured they would cut some acts short, but leave most of the headlining acts alone. Which meant sorry to Moon Taxi, but you were on too early to come back and play your set. Finally after just over an hour they let us back in. So after fighting through the massive crowd to get in, we head back to the main stage in the off chance that maybe Moon Taxi would get an abbreviated set.

You ever have one of those moment where it's like the universe has delivered you a present? For example, while watching Cold War Kids a Yosemite themed Bic lighter randomly appeared at Sam's feet. We both swore it wasn't there two minutes ago, but somehow this lighter just appeared at Sam's feet. The universe was dishing out all kinds of gifts during the weekend, and my gift was Moon Taxi. When we got back to the spot we staked out, there was Moon Taxi on stage tuning up their guitars and setting up to play. Ho-ly shit. I'm going to see Moon Taxi perform afterall! Even if it's just one
song I'll be happy. But Lollapalooza's generosity knows no bounds, and Moon Taxi ended up throwing down an incredible hour-long set which included a fantastic cover of Tears for Fear's "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" featuring the lead singer from Walk The Moon (of "Shut Up And Dance" fame) accompanying Trevor on vocals. My favorite song, though, was "Beaches." An already lengthy song, they played an even more extended version that just continued to build with each repetition of the breakdown. The drums got more and more insane and the song concluded on an incredible keyboard solo. It was one of the best concerts of theirs I've ever seen, and I was so happy to see that the large crowd was really into it. I like to think Moon Taxi earned a few more fans that day.

Needless to say, I was cheesin' hard and living on cloud 9 after their set. After dancing so early on in the day and the emotional exhaustion of the events that just transpired, we decided to chill for a while in preparation for A$AP Rocky's set. So we found some food, some shade, and listened to ODESZA and Gogol Bordello from a distance. Once we were good and rested we made our way close to the stage and waited for A$AP Rocky to come out.

In the minutes leading up to A$AP Rocky, you could feel the electricity in the crowd building. We were very close to the rail, so everyone was already shoved in there. Anticipation kept building, and finally A$AP came out with some of his friends. From beginning to end it was one giant cluster of moshing and dancing. There were a few times I contemplated bowing out and heading towards the back, but instead I stayed in the shit and joined the massive blob of sweaty people jumping and

A$AP Rocky

shoving all over each other. It certainly wasn't for the faint of heart. My advice for if you ever find yourself in the middle of a rowdy A$AP crowd is to just go with the flow and resolve yourself to no longer being in control of where your body is going. If I'm honest though, while the party aspect of his show was fun, A$AP isn't the best live performer. He mostly just shouted the lyrics over his songs and seemed more interested in getting people to mosh than getting people to hear his music. I did enjoy when he slowed it down a bit for the song "L$D" off his new album. Even still, I had a blast moshing and would definitely see him live again.

Since we were already in close, we stuck around for Bassnectar's set. I had been debating on seeing him or Nero, but since Nero was on the other side of the park I stuck with the Nectar. It was an excellent decision. He played an abbreviated set due to the evacuation, but was still able to throw down a spectacular combination of insane electronic beats and hypnotizing visuals. The highlight of the set was the city being backlit by the lightning of an approaching storm. Bassnectar appropriately closed out his set with a quick remix of "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors.

And with that, it was all over. It's such a surreal feeling when the last headliner finishes their set. You know in your mind that it's all over, but your heart can't accept it. I just had to stand there for a few minutes to take it all in. We hung around the park for a bit to say "thanks" to Lolla one last time, and finally we made the trek back to the condo. We barely made it before a huge storm hit, which brought with it hail, huge gusts of wind, and lightning striking all over the city. It was awesome to shut off all the lights in the condo and just relax, unwind, and watch the storm do it's thing.

THANK YOU

Thank you Lollapalooza for such a memorable weekend that will stick with me forever. Thank you Flying Lotus for blowing my mind multiple times in one standing. Thank you Pell for giving me something new to listen to and look forward to. Thank you Moon Taxi for always making me feel good with your music. Thank you to all the wonderful people who went to Lollapalooza. I don't know what the attendance numbers were, but the weekend vibe for everyone was all about love and happiness. Having the capacity to love is one of the best things about existing, and I loved seeing love spread all around. 

Until next year Lollapalooza!

The entire 2015 Lollapalooza crew.