Filed under: anecdotals | Tags: andrew bird, anecdotals, ben folds, bon iver, depeche mode, Fleet Foxes, indie, indie music, kings of leon, Lollapalooza, lollapalooza 2009, music, zap mama
Lollapalooza.
Oh. My.
So this was pretty much on of the best, most liberating, refreshing days I have had in a long, long while. A perfect end to a wonderful summer, and a perfect beginning to what will hopefully be best year of my life [thus far, of course]. Here’s how it all went down:
I was planning on going to Lolla with my friend Mando, but somewhere along the line we discovered that I wanted to go on Friday, and he wanted to go Saturday, and neither of us wanted to budge. Therefore, I thought I wasn’t going to Lolla at all. I even planned to go to an end-of-work pool party (I work with kids, give me a break) that night. I had written Lolla 2009 off. Almost.
Still there was that niggling thought that would crop up every so often: There were so many good bands on Friday. And $80 is so reasonably priced. But I would let my practical side push those thoughts back, citing my work responsibilities and the closeness to my departure for Tulsa.
Then Thursday night my brother came back from working Gala Palooza and seeing Vampire Weekend [not fair] and made me understandably jealous. Then I saw that a Facebook friend had posted 3-day tickets for sale because she couldn’t go. I almost couldn’t stand it. The opportunity was metaphorically standing there, leering at me.
The last straw was Friday morning when my boss didn’t call me with more work and when my brother, who knew of my vacillation, told me to “Just do it. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.” And that was the straw that I needed to break the responsible camel’s back. I called my boss and told her I would not be swimming that afternoon (which didn’t end up happening because of the rain). And I bought my ticket. At 11 AM.
What can I say, though, I am spontaneous person at the core.
After hastily printing out my ticket and grabbing an umbrella and my purse, I hopped in my brother’s Focus, and he drove me to the train station. The next 10 hours were pure ecstasy, despite the frequent downpours. I heard some phenomenal music, I met some great people, and I got that incomparable feeling of being part of an expansive universe, but a small part at that.
Anyway, here are some pictures so you too can salivate over the greatness that was my Lollapalooza 2009 experience. [click to enlarge]
All that being said, Bon Iver is by far my best discovery of the summer, and my current favorite band [yes, I said it]. Andrew Bird live is exactly what you would expect him to be (which is quite good, but I feel like I need to know a lot more of his songs by heart to really enjoy him). Zap Mamma (who came on before Bon Iver) is a group I need to get into — definitely some danceable stuff! Fleet Foxes made me love men with beards who wear plaid and voices like angels. Ben Folds is a really talented guy, but I think I’d like him more if he just played piano and didn’t sing. Kings of Leon were SO much better the second time around; I sang and danced and generally acted like a superfan [all I needed was a beer]. Depeche Mode had the best crowd by far–all over 30 and really into every song that was played. All in all, it was pretty much amazing.
A still reeling,
LisaM.
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