Lolla Recap!

My Lollapalooza recap is here!  As usual, it was pretty epic.  I have to say, it's definitely my favorite festival of them all.  You have all walks of life roaming Grant Park in our beautiful city!  What's not to love??
I've been attending Lollapalooza for over 7 years.  There were times I didn't purchase tickets and would sit outside the venue and picnic with my friends.  Although the majority of the crowd are young, you will see a range of all age groups as well.  I DO have to note that Lolla is NOT for everyone.  I'm always amazed whenever people purchase tickets to a massive festival, only to stay behind the side lines because they hate crowds.  lol.
Regardless, I found my way inside Saturday's concerts.  Luckily the weather had cleared up by the weekend, because for Day 1 & 2 it did rain as usual.  Mudapalooza strikes again.  I was hesitant on wearing sneakers because I did not want to ruin another pair of shoes.  I wore my studded motorcycle boots and a high low tunic with my black denim to "blend in" with the crowd.  It looks like I will be doing a spring cleaning of my closet once again since some of my items are outdated.  Regardless if they fit or not, I can honestly say some of my mini skirts have to go!  I'm also a fan of graphic tees and I hate to admit it but some of them look comical now. 

Wearing black and white for Lolla...

We got in around 5:45pm in time to catch Oliver Heldens set at Perry's.  Afterwards we made our way to see the ones who started it all at Lolla- Jane's Addiction!  We were conflicted when it came down to the closing sets, but settled on watching Disclosure open, and seeing Red Hot Chili Peppers finish the night.  I was exhausted and too tired to do anything else.  I went home to start it all again the next day.

Love Buckingham Fountain

As close as we can get!

The infamous Perry's Stage

For Sunday the temperature got warmer to the low 80s.  This time I wanted to wear something sleeveless and definitely NOT jeans.  I settled for my boyfriend shorts and another pair of flat boots which weren't so heavy to lug around.  My motorcycle boots weigh a ton and tired out my legs the night before.  I will advise although people choose to wear flip flops or sandals, I am not a fan of having my feet exposed at a music festival.  People be tripping (no pun intended) and I rather wear sneakers or boots.
I found an old fringe top and decided to pair that up with my outfit.  It's an interesting top and where else would I wear such a thing anyway?  On to the festival!
This time we arrived with a larger group around 2:30pm.  It took us a while to get in through security and we were sweating up a storm waiting in line.  We all agreed to check out some bands later on, and decided to walk around to see what Lolla had to offer.  I was impressed with the Lolla store.  My friend bought a tank top she switched into, and I purchased a Disclosure recyclable tote bag. 
The rest of the day was interesting.  We got a chance to hear Silversun Pickups, Yellow Claw, and Flatbush Zombies before ending it with LCD Soundsystem and Ellie Goulding. 
Now that it's over I'm a little bummed out, but I know I cannot do more than 2 days of this.  I was thrilled to see people older than me jamming out to the music.  I have a sneaky suspicion this will not be my last Lolla.  hee-hee



YES!!!

Lollapalooza Weekend is here!!

Chicago is infected with Lollapalooza fever!!  For the next 4 days, people from all over the world will be coming to the Midwest to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of this massive festival.  They are anticipating 400,000 people to attend this momentous occasion.  Lolla holds a special place in my heart.  I've been coming for the past 8 years and figured for this Throwback Thursday, I would reminisce my special moments I've encountered.  Let's begin!
Back in 2008 me and my ex-boyfriend attended a soccer match at Soldier Field.  After the game we took a stroll down Michigan Avenue and that's when we stumbled upon Lollapalooza.  It was nearing 8pm and we decided to see if we could score some last minute tickets.  There are always people around selling tickets at outrageous prices but we decided to stalk patrons leaving the venue.  We figured maybe they were willing to sell their wristbands.  We lucked out on a couple driving back to the burbs.  We offered to pay for their parking and that's when they handed over their wristbands.  They were done for the night so we figured we would give it a shot.  Once we walked in we raced over to the stage where Kanye West was set to perform and the rest was history!  We were hooked!
The following year we lucked out purchasing Friday single day pass tickets for Depeche Mode.  I was super excited to see one of my favorite bands perform.  Lollapalooza was something I looked forward to during the summer.  It became a way of life here in Chicago.  Although we didn't have tickets for Saturday or Sunday shows, we would still make our way downtown and listen to the acts from the outside.  We would have a picnic and stay til the whole show was over.  We loved to people watch and there was always something going on from the outside as well.
2010 we scored the 3 day passes.  You have to understand how difficult it is  purchasing tickets online when they are released.  People from all over the world are trying to obtain tickets at the same time.  The website would crash over and over again.  It's a treat when you get to purchase them.  My ex brought his daughters along too and they had a blast.  My friends also got in on the action and had tickets.  It was fun experiencing Lolla with a bigger group.  We watched Lady Gaga's performance and it was surreal!



Los Amigos Invisibles had beach balls at their stage!



Doing our best monster impersonation for Lady Gaga...

2011 Perry's stage was the place to be.  This time Lolla announced more international djs to entertain the ravers.  The music world was taking notice on EDM and their huge following.  Me and my friends scored single day tickets and I watched both Foster the People and Skrillex for Friday's lineup.  Of course you can't be in Lollapalooza and miss out on some rain.  Every Lolla I've been too, it's always turned into a mudfest.




It never fails, rain is always the forecast for Lollapalooza.

Don't forget your ponchos!

2012 was a difficult Lolla for me.  Me and my ex broke up earlier in the summer, and I knew attending this year without him would be hard for me.  My friend came along and we made the most of our time together there.  I absolutely adore her for coming with me. 

Cheers!  I'm having a glass of white wine instead of beer.  lol

I prefer wearing sneakers instead of sandals for Lolla.  Your feet taking a beating out there!

Me and my friends are addicted to lobster corndogs from Grahamwich!

2013 and I was still going through post breakup drama.  lol.  I can't believe we were still experiencing this together, but it was hard for us to be apart.  We were together for 7 years and we loved going to music festivals together.  We also had mutual friends which was sometimes hard for us to deal with.  On this occasion, a friend of ours had access to the backstage of Perry's stage and we couldn't pass up this opportunity.  We experienced Lolla from a different perspective and we loved it!  I missed dancing with the crowd, but at least backstage you viewed the crowd interacting with the djs.


2013 Lolla!

Made our way backstage at Perry's



Ran into playboy model Crystal McCahill backstage.  She's a babe!

This one is for the books!

2014 me and my friends got 3 day passes again.  It's funny because this is the Lolla I decided I couldn't do all 3 days again.  It's exhausting being out there for 10 hours!  Let's be honest, me and my friends would show up later for the main headliner acts, but still, it takes a toll on you.  I am fine not being able to rage all weekend.  We had a blast but at least we went out with a bang!

Iggy Azalea at Lolla!



Zedd's performance was amazing!





And now last year's Lollapalooza recap.  I did not manage to purchase any tickets.  I knew I was going on my Paris/ Italy trip and figured I'll just skip it that year.  Yeah right.  On Saturday I made my way down there to picnic outside the Bud Light stage.  I wanted to see Sam Smith and lucked out hearing him live from Lake Shore Drive.  What a treat!  He literally stopped traffic altogether.  People flocked to the streets to hear his voice.  The following day, I met up with a friend who was heading down to Lolla.  He had been there the whole weekend and we decided to see if we could score a ticket for me for Sunday's show.  We lucked out!  Once inside we danced the night away at Perry's stage for Nicky Romero and made our way to the Budlight stage for Bassnectar.  I had a blast as always.


Lolla 2015

Nicky Romero at Perry's



This year was a hassle again to purchase tickets online.  I ended up with a Sunday single day pass.  I'm not crazy about the lineup, but I will be definitely streaming Lolla at home to watch the rest of the acts.  I'm thinking of making my way down there to picnic on Saturday to listen to the music.  Watching people head over there was hard for me today since it's officially Day 1 of Lolla.  I guess you can say I'm in love with this festival.  I've had so many memories here that I will cherish forever.  I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to see some really great acts perform.  Like I said, Lollapalooza is a lifestyle!  And I love every minute of it!

Lollapalooza 2015!

In the real world, October is almost over.  But in my blogging world, I'm finally entering the month of August.  This was a pretty eventful month for me; probably the most of the whole year.  It's hard to put into words what I have learned in 2015 so far.  So many things have changed in my life yet  somehow nothing really happened to me.  I feel different inside.  But let's get this blogging-party started with Lollapalooza! 
Lollapalooza for me is by far the best music festival in Chicago.  I love the fact they have different music for different genres.  I did not get tickets this year because I knew I wanted to save up for my upcoming trip.  I ended up watching the live streaming online for TheWeeknd and Kaskade on Friday.  It gave me the itch to go down there Saturday and find a spot outside the venue.  I heard Sam Smith's sweet voice, and danced to Alesso and Tove Lov.  The energy from the outside is just as magnifying as being inside!  People have picnics and listen to the music.  There's a lot of people watching, and sometimes it gets pretty entertaining.  I always get a kick out of seeing folks try to weasel their way in. 
I had a friend who purchased the 3 day pass, and he wanted me to go with him on Sunday.  But with no tickets, that was going to be difficult.  We checked online for stub hub and they were still pretty high.  Eventually, as the day went on, the prices started to drop.  We gathered up enough cash and headed our way down there.  In the end, we ran into someone selling their wristband.  Yes it was risky, but for me, it's a risk worth taking to be a part of this party!  We ran inside and danced the night away at Perry's stage.  I had a blast, and although I only had a few hours to experience it, I had so much fun!  Until next year Lolla!

In my happy place!!

Lol.  This did not last long!

Perry's Stage was insane!



This picture sums it up!  I had a blast again at Lollapalooza!