Yesterday was the big day...Lollapalooza 2009! It was a pretty big deal for my sister since she would be seeing and possibly meeting her favorite band in the entire world: The Kaiser Chiefs. The only big deal to me was the heat and how awful it would be. Chicago was expecting highs in the mid 90s, with 84% humidity (yes, I watch the Weather Channel)...so it was going to be pretty bad, because as you all probably know, Lollapalooza is an outdoor music festival.
So we took the 9 AM train down to Chicago. It was kind of awkward riding the train again since I hadn't in soooo long. It was a reminder of what I have to "look forward to" in a few short weeks. But the ride down there was quick and before we knew it, we were in Chicago. And the temps were already smoldering at 10:30 in the morning. But we hopped on the #14 bus (yes, that's my normal bus) and headed over to Jackson, where we walked down to Grant Park. There was already a pretty long line waiting to get in, because it wasn't open yet. But the line moved quickly, and we were actually in the park by 11 AM. We bought t-shirts. Unfortunately for my sis, there were no Kaiser Chiefs tees. But she ended up getting a Killers and a Lollapalooza tee with all the bands on it. I also just bought a Lolla tee, not wanting to spend loads of cash.
Then it was around lunch time and none of the bands we were dying to see were playing at the moment, so I suggested we get something to eat. My sister wasn't hungry, and really I wasn't either. She just wanted to stake out a spot for Friendly Fires who were playing on the same stage as Kaiser Chiefs, only right before them. I said she could sit over there while I got some food. But as I looked at all the food stands, and felt the heat from the sun shining down on me, I realized I really didn't want to eat something hot...so I just bought an iced mint green tea which was delicious and refreshing and I sat in a shaded area for a while.
Then I went back to my sis and sat with her til the Friendly Fires started playing. They were great! I've heard a few of their songs before. You may know their one song "On Board" which was featured in the Wii Fit commercial when it first came out. But yeah, they had really great energy and the songs were fun to dance to. Looking back, I notice now that watching a band is so much more enjoyable when you're not right up front. Standing towards the back, you can actually breathe and move around.
After Friendly Fires set, my sister moved up to the front so she could be close for when the Kaiser Chiefs played. I went with her, in hopes of getting good pics. We thought again about eating something. But I looked back and saw people already starting to fill in, and if I went back by the food, there would be no way back in. So we stood there in the heat for an hour. We met a nice couple who were also fans. They noticed my sis' shirt that she had specially made for Lolla which said "I'm a Chief". They told her that she had to have a wristband if she wanted to meet the band afterwards. So of course she ran over and got a wristband...and she had to buy a cd too, which she already had. But she got her wristband. We waited and the Kaiser Chiefs finally came out to do their set. My sister and the crowd went wild.
About halfway through their set, my sister started leaning against me and looking down. I was like "are you ok, drink some water". Then she sat down on the ground. We finally called a security guy over to get her some cold water and he picked her up out of the crowd and that was the last I saw her until later.
After the Kaiser Chiefs, my sis texts me and tells me she's backstage! So I go, over by the edge of the stage and I don't see her. Then she texts me that she's over in line to meet the band. So I go over there and there she was. And apparently almost passing out was a good thing for her because not only did she get 3 bottles of cold water, the Kaiser Chiefs saw her when their set ended and they all smiled at her and Ricky Wilson (the singer, and her favorite person on earth!!) made a sad puppydog face at her! She was so happy. I was happy she was ok. While she was in line, I got her and me italian ice and things cooled down a bit. She met the band and hasn't stopped talking about it since. They all remembered seeing her getting pulled from the crowd and Ricky commented on her shirt.
We didn't stay for the Killers. There was no way I could have made it. I was so tried I couldn't even believe it. I would have loved to have seen the Killers, but they weren't playing until 8:30. sooo, no. It was around 4:30 when we left. I almost passed out while walking back to the bus, but after I sat down in the bus stop I was fine. The AC in the bus was the best feeling in the world. We ate panda express at the train station, first REAL food since breakfast, then we were on the 6:30 train back home.
did I mention how much I LOOOOOOVE air conditioning?!
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
gloomy
tired
happy