@ZackTeibloom This doesn’t happen at every other festival. I don’t know why. It’s just a Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo thing from what I’ve seen. And it’s different at Bonnaroo. When the night ends, the crowd spills out right in the smack of downtown and there is a magical buzz. A whooping buzz. Sure the “Bonnna-rooo!” chants come out, but that’s in the middle of Tennessee in a muddy farm. This is Michigan Avenue. One of the classiest streets in the country. And it’s happened like this every night this fest has been in Chicago. A good, healthy festival energy.

@ZackTeibloom If at the exact moment Blues Traveler is playing “Run Around” and a lane opens up that would just be a 40 yard dash running around the check in and you still can’t crash, it’s a sign you’re in for a long day of crashing. We tried every entrance before our opportunity finally presented itself Saturday. On Friday I had @snoogans913 crashing with me. Saturday I brought Smoosh along as well. A menage a crash. Not the most ideal situation. Especially on a day where the crowd didn’t seem to come in packs.

Brett got their early and told us to meet him at the side entrance. Not a good call. Five blocks out of the way and far too much security. Could we just walk in the entrance despite their being more security than people? Not so much. It felt like we each had our own security guard watching us. Did it stop me from trying three times? Of course not. I got escorted away mumbling about media check in. Having verified that entrance as a bust, we walked three blocks in the wrong direction as Snoogans and smoosh talked about jumping a fence on Lakeshore Drive.

“I don’t do crazy tactics. You don’t jump fences!” Read the rest of this entry »

Green Day did such a spectacular job of getting the crowd involved that this section needed its own post. I captured three of my favorite moments, but there were 5 crowd participation moments that you couldn’t help but love.

5. The Cute little girl in pigtails Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Guys like this are the reason YouTube was invented, why America’s Funniest Video and Tosh.O get ratings and why I’m happy I own a mini video camera. Is there a record for longest fall by someone not on heroin? Are we sure he’s not on heroin? What is he on? Did he ever get up? So many questions. I’m just glad we’re here.

Also, I recommend watching until at least 1:52 for the water spill and Jess’ hilarious face.

Fantastic first day at Lolla. I crashed just as the gates opened, the weather was ideal, there were too many good bands to see and I didn’t end up regretting any of the conflict choices. It’s rare to get all of those things. Lady Gaga was a massive disappointment, but that was the big wildcard. Here’s a quick rundown of the best, worst, most fun and surprising of day one of Lollapalooza 2010:

Best Show: The Strokes- Now I know why they’re called the Strokes. Julian Casablancas is a strong front man, but the way these boys stroke those axes is truly something special. They’re a top flight rock band. It’s time they start touring and releasing albums that remind us of this. They brought it from the opening note of “New York City Cops” and reminded us why we made such a big fuss about them when they were still producing. 9.3/10

Biggest Surprise: DEVO- They are not human. They are Devo! I always found “Whip it!” annoying when I was younger and it was all I knew by them. I’ve come to learn what a genius Mark Mothersbaugh is and what exciting performers they still are. Their costumes seemed purposeful and there was a concept that all made sense. Unlike a certain Lady. ”Whip it” wasn’t even the highlight. “Girl U Want” was a dance explosion and made for the most fun set of the afternoon. By a lot. 9/10 Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom I filmed this crash and brought an accomplice. A lot to bring to the table for a fest I’ve never crashed before. The only good news is that day passes don’t get wrist bands, so if @snoogans913 and I could make it past two rounds of security, we were in. I’d like to say we had a better plan.

I got to the gates around 10:30 a.m., half hour before they opened, and made the rounds. I saw potential for my old tricks. The garbage men looked like they could be bought off, but it was too early in the day, and the head of security was telling them to stand guard as a third line of defense to fend off potential crashers. As if the first two lines weren’t enough. Sometimes it’s just easier to walk right in the front door. Read the rest of this entry »

Lady Gaga was some of what I hoped she’d be and everything I feared she’d be. I was ready for a big spectacle full of bizarre costume changes, massive sets, gaudy production and irresistible pop. I was ready to get caught up in it all. I wanted to. I didn’t. At all. It was shock for the sake of shock and it all came together to form a vapid performance. It was a self-indulgent Kanye-glow-in-the-dark-tour-esque production, full of eye-rolling cheesy one-liners, unimpressive dancing, an embarassing plot and a lot of fluff. Oddly sexual, confusing, uninspiring pop. It all lead to a constant feeling of waiting for a moment to take my breath away that never came and then feeling an immediate urge to leave.

Gaga’s silhouette posed behind the shadows of her massive curtain for opening song “Dance in the Dark” for what seemed like an eternity before emerging. Once she was out there, it was a lot of style and not much substance. I connected with nothing. You put all the elements together and it sounds like a real show stoper. Fireworks shooting out of her breasts and fire shooting from her crotch. A car that turns into a piano that she plays with her stilleto. A monster that may or may not rape you. Topless dancing men and women in fancy bra’s. I could see that being enjoyable if the package felt genuine or if the songs were enhanced by any of this or if Gaga was a particularly good dancer or if it all added up to something bigger. It didn’t. The neon signs reading “drugs” “good food” “death” and “what the fuck have you done” didn’t resonate with me at all. Nothing did. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore It is very depressing to have to write a Lollapalooza 2010 preview, knowing I won’t be enjoying the bands I am talking about. Plus all of my best friends and favorite festival goers will be there. I’m there in spirit guys. Have enough fun for me too. I know you will. Lollapalooza is one of my favorite festivals, set in the greatest city in the world. Going over and over this schedule is like salt in my wounds. It is so good. A top 10 doesn’t even do it justice, but it’s a start. Here is who I would be seeing, if I was watching shows with the Chicago skyline as a backdrop, sitting in the grass and eating sandwiches. Gahhhhh…I want to be there so bad. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Having a camera is fun in a situation like Audiotistc. It is a world not everyone has seen. It some cases, these people would rather it not be seen. Here are two examples of that. I would love to know exactly what was causing these faces. I wish that I could pinpoint the note that Bassnectar hit that caused the dude in blue to make that face. Not sure that I want to know what made that guy so unhappy in a crowd  of smiling, happy people. I’m going to leave these two sans captions. Please add your own in the comments. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore My day could not have gone worse on Saturday. Then Audiotistic 2010 happened. It was not quite the never-ending sea of people that EDC was, but quite the similar scene. Back were the glitter-covered, scantly clad party monsters and untz. Lots of untz. Unlike EDC, hip hop came to play. Ridiculous festival traffic and guest list lines meant missing N.A.S.A. I am not happy about this. I didn’t even make it in time to get to the photo pit for Talib Kweli. Luckily I recently added a 300mm zoom lens to my arsenal. I danced a lot. I took a lot of pictures. I spent enough energy to sleep until 1:30pm. Waiting for @TheAdamJames with some late night munchies, I realized I had glitter on me…and a lot of other peoples’ sweat. Gross. Here is Audiotistic 2010 in pictures. Read the rest of this entry »