Lolla

Day One: I made it to the park in time to see Rogue Wave. They were good, but their ‘Lake Michigan’ song is there best. I took a break and then headed over to the Kid’s Stage. Jeff Tweedy performed a 45min set. He decided to play on the ground and not the stage. He wanted to be at the kid’s level. He was greatness! On my way to the stage where the Kills were playing, I took a moment to catch some of Louis XIV. The Kills were not so good. The female lead seemed drunk, hot, & dehydrated. So instead of watching her suffer through the rest of their set, I headed across the park to hear Duffy. By the time I made the trek, she was singing ‘Mercy.’ She sounded amazing! I then decided to get out of the park for a while to cool down. I went to the Art Institute of Chicago for two hours. It’s an amazingly large place, and I didn’t make it through it all. I headed back to the park to eat dinner. As I was walking back I could hear the Raconteur’s. They were playing their new stuff, but they sounded solid. Once I made it back into the park, I ate while listening to CSS. They were good. I’ve only heard a few of their songs on XM Radio. But I enjoyed what I heard. After they were finished with their set, I went and took my place to listen to Radiohead. I found a lounge chair with a perfect view of the stage and the jumbo screens on a hill and I kicked back with the cooling winds blowing off of Lake Michigan, and waited for the guys to take the stage. They played new song after new song. And I didn’t want it to end! But alas, I had to start heading back to Oak Park. I missed the last three songs they did, but what I heard made me happy that I went to the park alone that day.

Day Two: My friend Falyn joined me. We made it to the park in time to see the Ting Tings. Even though they repeat words to their songs 50+ times, they know how to put on a show. We walked over to the opposite side of the park to see DeVotchKa. While we waited for them to take the stage we ate & had to suffer through a Dierks Bentley set. I use to be a big country fan, but he should’ve played day one and not day two. If you haven’t heard of DeVotchKa, you need to look them up. Tuba’s and upright basses make it all better. They were awesome. I add them to a band that I prefer to hear live. While walking around, we heard a little of the Spank Rock set. It wasn’t good enough to make me run out and buy their CD. Next stop was one of the main stages to see Broken Social Scene. BSS was worth the entire trip alone. They were excellent! I want to own everything they’ve done! Did you know that Feist was an original member? The female lead for them now is from a band called Stars. Stars are playing at ACL and I will be camped out at their stage! If you’ve never heard of both of those bands, it will be in your best interest to look them up! After BSS, was Wilco! A perfect cap on the day. They played for 2.5 hours. They covered the new, the old and the stuff that they would only play for true fans and I was so glad to be a part of that moment! Their stage had the entire skyline lit behind them. I am happy to say that I’ve seen Wilco in Chicago.

Day Three: Your guess is as good as mine. I skipped this day. I’m totally regretting it! I think as punishment for this decision my return flight was cancelled due to the weather. Later that night, there were tornadoes in our area. The sirens went off and we had to go to the basement of the apartment building where I was staying. I felt like I was home in Texas! The following day, I was supposed to fly out at 11:45 am. I took the El from Oak Park to the O’Hare. Then my flight was delayed for an hour. Once we boarded the plan, we sat the gate for another hour. My connecting flight in Kansas left at 2:30, and I wasn’t on it cause we didn’t land there until 3:00! I was re booked on the 5:55, but it was cancelled that morning right after I was put on that flight. Then every other flight out of Wichita was cancelled except for a 4:40 flight to Chicago. Yes Chicago! Once arriving back in Chicago, I had to wait two hours for my next flight which was at 8:55. It was delayed for an hour! I arrived in Dallas at 11:55. I didn’t get home until 1:30am. And yes, I went to work 6 hours later!