my oh my

I am BEAT today! When you're running around like a maniac for three days straight, and then you finally slow back down to normal speed, your flurry of activity finally catches up to you and you realize just how exhausted you really are! Maybe I'm just getting old, but man, this weekend kicked me in the ass!

If you weren't already aware, I went to Lollapalooza this weekend - all three days of it. TONS of fun and TONS of great music, but I am glad it's over and I can finally relax!!

So here's the rundown:

Friday:
I arrived at about 2:15 with Jillybean and the roomie (a work friend of Jilly's met us as we got there), and we went straight to see The M's play (which would be the last time all weekend I'd see Jillybean's work friend), who were quite fun and entertaining, especially the drummer, who was a riot to watch. We didn't stay for that whole set because the roomie wanted to see Panic! at the Disco. So the two of us went over to the AT&T stage to see them. They were pretty good as well - I may be purchasing something of theirs in the near future. I enjoyed their wierd cabaret/vaudeville/clown dancers, especially when they interacted with the singer fellow (don't know any names), and even had a little choreographed dance number with him. After that, we met back up with Jilly and two of her friends, Steve and George, and just hung out for a while, enjoying the weather. Steve wanted to try and find another friend of his, so we ventured to the other side of Buckingham Fountain to try and locate her, only to realize that she was closer to where we had just been. So we got a little bit of exercise in the process and explored the festival grounds a bit. No biggie. We eventually found her and chilled for a while in her cool spot in the shade, then got some yummy food, and eventually went back for another round of music. Jillybean, the roomie and I went to see Secret Machines, who were great as usual (though their recent Metro performance was much better, IMO). We caught up with my friend Adam from work during that show, and randomly ran into Julie, another work friend, and her roommate Jeff. Small world!! Well, not really. I knew they were going to be there. :) Julie and Jeff were already SM fans (they were with me at the Metro show), so they enjoyed their performance, and I believe the SM virgins enjoyed themselves as well ... at least that's what they told me. :) After that, the work friends, the roomie and I went across the field to see The Raconteurs, while Jillybean met back up with Steve etc. for My Morning Jacket. At the moment, I am really really in love with The Raconteurs. I think this was one of the highlights for me. Jack White is a wierdo, but a musical genius. I like The Raconteurs much better than The White Stripes, though, I must say. After the work friend and the roomie all ditched me in favor of The Violent Femmes, I made my way to the other side of the park for Sleater-Kinney. I'm not too familiar with their stuff, but I know they're kind of like indie legends, and chick-rock is always fun, so I decided I'd check them out. They were pretty decent I must say. Plus, I was glad to get to see them since this was their very last Chicago show and one of their last shows entirely before they disband. (Ha ha, "disband.") I was able to find Jillybean and the boys again at this show, though we would soon part ways again while they went to VHS or Beta, and I opted to see Death Cab for Cutie as the closing act of my evening. I know these guys get a lot of flack for being too sell-out-y or whatever, but hey, I like 'em. And I enjoyed their set, though I couldn't see for crap. I was TOTALLY excited when they ended up playing my favorite song as the last song in their "encore." (I use quotes because the supposed encore was still within the time limits of their set, so it wasn't like they were giving us anything additional, or special. They were actually cheating us a bit by taking a little breaky and passing it off as an encore.) I had lost the roomie at this point, but figured he could fend for himself, so I met back up with Jillybean and the boys at Bucky Fountain, and we headed to Streeter's for some libations (though I did not partake). I guess I just wasn't feeling the scene or something because it became tedious to just BE there, so I took off early. Plus I was bushed, and had to get my beauty sleep in preparation for Day 2!!

Saturday:
Saturday ended up being a day I spent mostly by myself, so it was an entirely different experience from Friday. I left the apartment by myself because the roomie was still sleeping, and I hadn't heard from Jilly yet and assumed she was still in bed or running late or whatever. And I wanted to get there by 2:30 for Coheed and Cambria. I got there in time, and they were just eh. I didn't bother getting up close, and what I heard was just so-so. Unfortunatly though, I had to leave in the middle of their set and make a stop at the Medical tent to bandage up my poor footsies! I made the mistake of wearing a pair of shoes that I hadn't worn in a while and had forgotten the reason WHY I hadn't worn them. They cut me bad. So I got some lovely gauze taped across the tops of my feet and was nice and comfy again, though my feet looked kind of ridiculous. Oh well. Instead of going back to Coheed, I went to the stage across the field where Wolfmother would be playing and tried to get a semi-decent spot for them. I could still hear the rest of Coheed's set from where I was, and I must admit, it got better towards the end. All in all, I guess they weren't too bad, but not a favorite. Wolfmother, however, rocked the house. Me likey. Adam was supposed to be there to see them, but he didn't show until there was about 2 minutes left in their set. Too bad for him. So I got to chat with him for about 30 seconds before we parted ways again. He wanted to see Gnarls Barkley, but I was more interested in checking out Chicagoans, Kill Hannah. And they were pretty cool. I really loved the stage they were on! It was one of the smaller ones on the north side of the park, and was hidden away in a little nook surrounded by trees. That was the only band I saw on that stage, but it was my favorite spot in the park. After them, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to Dresden Dolls on the adidas-Champs Stage (the converted Petrillo (sp?) Music Shell) - which was my fave of the larger stages because you could see well from practically anywhere. Dresden Dolls were definitely entertaining. I have their most recent album, but haven't given it much listening time, so I didn't know their stuff too well. I particularly enjoyed a song about a "coin-operated boy." :) Oh, and there was the time that the woman flashed the entire audience. That was wierd. :) The roomie managed to find me in the crowd during that show, and then accompanied me to The Flaming Lips across at the Bud Light stage. They were great! They just seem to be having a big fun party on stage, which I have a tremendous amount of respect for. The roomie left before their set was over so he could make it to The New Pornographers, and meet up with Shannon and Ronak, but I stayed where I was for Thievery Corporation, and I'm soooo glad I did. They were amazing!! Love them! I hadn't heard too much of their stuff before, though I have a couple discs I got from my brother, but I can guarantee I'll be giving that sh*t a listen or two or twenty in the very near future. Another highlight of the weekend for sure. I ended up leaving on a high note that night and after Thievery, I made my way back home so I could shower and go over to Adam's new place for a party (a story for another time). After the party, I think I went to bed at 4 that night?? Bummer.

Sunday:
I met up with Ms. Jilly Sunday (yesterday!!) afternoon and we got to the park in time to see Andrew Bird at 3:30. He was pretty darn good. And what a talented whistler!! :) I was happy that he played a lot of stuff from his newest album, because that is the one I have and those were the only songs I knew. So pretty. The Shins were next, and though they were a tiny bit anti-climactic, they did not disappoint. We found Adam in the crowd, so he shared in our enjoyment of The Shins as well. And there were dancing noodles!! (Don't ask.) We had a free hour after that, so we made our way over to the AT&T stage where Steve and George had been staking out a spot for Queens of the Stone age since 12:30 (they went on at 6:30)!!! Took a while for us to find them, but we did ... and they were close!! We were on the left side of the stage, maybe 20 feet from the speakers. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I certainly was. When the set started, it didn't seem to be as bad as I thought it was going to be (sound levels, crowd rowdiness), but it got worse. As the band and the crowd got warmed up, the crowd surfing got started, and at one point, there were people passing overhead, like every two minutes. It was nuts! After a while, people started to get a little rough, so I decided to back up a bit, still staying close to the stage. It was a little better there for a while, until a guy fell on my head. So I moved back a little bit more, and found a happy little hippy commune that was more than welcoming, so I stood in that little pocket, safe from people falling on me and crazy moshers. But yeah, the music was awesome, and there was no doubt that we were at a rock show at that point. I love the Queens. Love them! After that craziness was over, I was considering going to see Blues Traveller, but they were all the way on the other side of the park, and my feet were already killing me, so I decided to just hang out for a while, and then call it a day. I didn't stay for the Chili Peppers because I had seen them once before and didn't really need to see them again. I'm sure they were great (and from what I heard as I was leaving, they sounded great), but I put priority on going home and getting a decent amount of sleep in preparation to go back to work today. I did stop at an ice cream truck for a chocolate chip cookie sandwich on my way home, though. :)

So today, all this fun has finally caught up with me and I feel like death. I woke up this morning out of a deep sleep, completely disoriented (but NOT disorientated). I'm sore all over and struggling to keep my eyes open. It was a goooood weekend, but I am so looking forward to going to bed tonight! :)

Latah!