Lolla Land

A couple of weeks back, I talked about the Pitchfork Music Festival and mentioned that Lollapalooza wasn't too far away. Well, it's just about upon us. The big show start tomorrow (actually, since it's after midnight, that should be later today), but I'm still not going. It's supposed to be miserably hot this weekend, so I don't feel bad about not spending all of it outside in a major crowd. Check out the schedule here, but beware, there are no more tickets available for Friday (as singles or as part of a multi-day package). That Radiohead sure knows how to pack 'em in. But if your heart's set on Radiohead, you may not need to despair just yet. Last year, quite by accident, we were downtown in Chicago on Lollapalooza weekend. We were in Millennium Park, quite close to Grant Park, and as we were walking along, all of a sudden we realized we were being serenaded by Muse. There are plenty of places to go and hang that aren't too far away (but not the Bennigan's next to the Art Institute). It's still not too late to pick up tickets for Saturday or Sunday, though, so seeing sets by Rage Against the Machine, Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley, and the National is still attainable. When I talked about this last, I mentioned the rumors that Barack Obama might be showing up, perhaps during the Wilco show on Saturday evening. While that's still possible, the scuttlebutt has been going fast and furious that he's instead going to introduce Kanye West. You can't discount it, certainly, and Kanye is one of the higher-profile performers at the show, but when you think about it, isn't that exactly the rumor Kanye would start--that potentially the next president is interrupting his schedule so that he can appear and sing Kanye's praises in an intro. But why not? We can all dream, can't we?

So is anybody in the sound of my voice planning to go to Lollapalooza? If so, let us know about your expectations for the show. Afterward, come back and tell us what happened.