Day Three: Happiness is a Soft Patch of Green Grass

The events of the past day were still fresh in my mind as I made my way back to Grant Park for the final day of Lollapalooza 2008. I had no illusions about Sunday, I just wanted to relax and enjoy myself. I was in the Media tent around 2:30. The only beer they had left at this point was Bud Light with lime. It was disgusting, but free beer is free beer. I ran into my good friend Tim Deaux, bass player for the Whigs. He had just finished playing their set (which I missed because I’m a dick), but it was great to catch up and pound some horrible beers. He introduced me to their drummer Julian Dorio who was also super-cool and we discussed their insane tour plans over the next few months. These guys have been all over the place for the past year and hopefully will be stopping by Tampa sometime soon.

I left the tent to begin my day with the second half of the Brazilian Girls' set. Man, what a fucking disappointment. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I thought some high-energy synth-y dance music was in order based on of what I’d heard from them before. That is not at all what I got. The performance was reminiscent of last year’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs set (same stage too). A bunch of nondescript band members doing little to nothing as an interesting-looking woman meanders about the stage singing. Her outfit was better than Karen’s, I’ll give her that.

After that debacle, I walked through the quivering mass of dancing Chromeo fans to get over to the smaller Citi stage where Florida’s own Black Kids were playing. Their performance was inconsistent. It bordered on brilliant at times, but other parts seemed as if they just weren’t ready for prime time. Nevertheless, their indie-pop tunes had garnered a large crowd of enthused concert goers. As the only Florida band that I was aware of finished their set, I was pleased with their effort.

A long trek across the park led me back to the soft patch of grass where we had congregated a day earlier. Iron and Wine were about 15 minutes into their set on the main stage, which would prove to be the highlight of my afternoon. Samuel Beam (the birth name of the normally solo artist) was joined on stage by a full band. His beautiful renditions of indie-folk songs were stunning. I’ve never really been a huge fan of his, either, until that moment. Watching him play the steel guitar and croon about tales of loss and reverence changed my opinion. It also helped that cloud cover had provided protection from yet another sweltering August Chicago afternoon, similar to Friday’s swamp fest. I placed my camera bag under my head and let Beam lead me into la la land. It was pretty surreal. After his set was done, I turned around to witness Flogging Molly begin their Irish Folk/Punk explosion on the Playstation 3 stage. Normally, I find them to be quite captivating. This was not to be the case today. They definitely, hands down, without a doubt, had the most passionate fans. The entire crowd swayed their arms in unison. It was quite a sight to behold; I just wasn’t feeling it AT ALL.

I decided to go the food vendors and attempt to grab some dinner. They had every type of food imaginable, and at reasonable prices. I said it last year, and I’ll say it again, whoever organizes Lollapalooza does a fantastic job. The setup, lineup, concessions, and other fan accommodations are nothing short of amazing. Throw in the incredible location, beautiful park, and breathtaking city backdrop, and I wonder why anyone would ever want to go to another festival. But I digress; I ended up getting French fries from the burger stand, a vegetarian egg roll from the Chinese booth and a giant chocolate chip ice cream cone afterwards. All that cost me less than 10 bucks. The ice cream cone must have been hilarious because all my friends laughed as the ice cream quickly became matted in my beard; I think there’s actually some still in there. Whatever, fuck them, it was delicious.

The last bands I heard were Love and Rockets and The National. I contemplated staying for Nine Inch Nails (my favorite band from the time I was 13 until 15) but just couldn’t muster up the strength. I like The National a great deal as well, but just didn’t care any longer. Plus, my beard was really sticky from the ice cream. I walked away from Grant Park in downtown Chicago with the same feeling of satisfaction that I had after last year’s festival. Although, the lineup this year was a little weaker in my opinion, the experience was amazing, and worth every penny, or it would have been had I needed to pay. Did I mention they had free beer in the media tent?