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Published: September 17th 2007
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Old school
HJT outside the oldest ballpark in the National League From the moment the idea of going to Lollapalooza (one of the biggest music festivals in the US) was floated between myself and fellow music fans Matt Dunshea and Raggedy Andy Tam months earlier, I knew that I couldn't resist being there rain, hail or shine, and with or without company. As it turned out, circumstances conspired against us and it was without company that I flew into Chicago on the Wednesday before the 3 day weekend festival. By happy coincidence a mate from home, Ryan Bowland, had driven into town the same day, so we headed out to see what was happening on the north side of Chicago. As we swapped stories of our travels, I couldn't help but be amazed by his schedule over the previous few months. He had driven coast to coast across the US two and a half times, and spent some time in 44 of the lower 48 states. With only four states to go to complete the set, I felt privileged to have fit into his schedule.
The following morning I was informed by the guy at reception at the hostel that I was being moved to another room. This had happened a
Take me out to the ballpark
Cubs v Phillies action at Wrigley Field number of times throughout my travels thus far so I had no complaints. No complaints until I saw the room that is. Turns out it was directly off the lobby of the hostel and had no fewer than 40 beds, all of which were going to be full for the whole weekend. Furthermore, the space between each bunk was barely more than a foot (you could only get between them sideways), there were no lockers, and nowhere to put your gear. It reminded me of an army barracks, only this weekend it was going to be filled with music lovers who were sure to lack military discipline. The prospect of four nights without sleep, and with three days of constantly standing on my feet in the middle was rather terrifying, but at that moment I had scarce few credible alternatives.
That afternoon, Ryan and I headed up to Wrigley Field (home of baseball's Chicago Cubs) to have a look around and see if we could find ourselves a ticket to the day's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, traditionally the whipping boys of the National League. As the oldest ballpark in the National League and one of the attractions visited
Wrigley Field from behind the plate
Surely the most beautiful ballpark in the Majors by Ferris Bueller on his infamous day off, Wrigley and its ivy-covered outfield wall is one of the most storied and loved venues in American sport. We were therefore very pleased to get some good tickets down the first base line, and take part in one of the most quintessentially American experiences. Better still, the game turned out to be something of a shootout, with the unfancied visitors eventually triumphing 10-6. The only disappointing moment of the day occurred at the snack bar. After ordering a "jumbo dog" I stood there seeing mental images of something at least a foot long and a couple of inches wide, and was shocked and dismayed to be served something the size of a spring roll. If that's standard fare these days at a Major League ballpark then it's little wonder America's status as the sole superpower is under threat. It must be difficult to maintain morale and resolve among American military personnel if some of the greatest traditions of their homeland are dying out.
Later that night, while simultaneously excited about the next few days of music and dreading a string of sleepless nights, I met up with Suzanne (who I stayed
Hot dog and beer
HJT and Ryan enjoying standard ballpark fare with while on exchange in Akron, Ohio back in 1997) and her boyfriend Antonio for a fish and chips dinner. It was fantastic to see her again and catch up on all her news since I last saw her in 2000. When it came up that I was facing four sleepless nights in a row in the army barracks, her and Antonio offered to put me up in their apartment for the rest of my stay in Chicago. It's difficult to describe the sense of sheer relief that swept across me at that point. I think their kind offer instantly doubled the value of my Lollapalooza ticket to me, as I dare say I wouldn't have had the energy to make it down to Grant Park each day without a decent night's sleep.
The festival itself was brilliant, but then again I have long been a sucker for a music festival. I could go on for paragraphs describing each and every set in detail, but I fear that most of my descriptions would be followed by a "you just had to be there". It was that good and more. Highlights for me were as follows:
* The Polyphonic
Oh but Moe: The dank! The dank!
The closest thing I've ever seen to Moe's Tavern Spree - These guys are strange cats to be sure, but they put on a great live show. They came out in their kaftans to finish the set with a cover of Nirvana's "Lithium" - they are so happy indeed, almost too happy one might suggest.
* G Love and Special Sauce - There wasn't a lot to distinguish this set from the other times I've seen them live, but who says that's a bad thing? "Cold Beverage" was a highlight as always, and I noticed that the queue at the drinks tent substantially grew moments after it was played.
* The Black Keys - I have previously declared them as the best live act in the world at the moment, and the lads from Firestone High School once again put on a brilliant show which left me wondering where the extra band members were. Surely you need more than two blokes to produce a live sound like that.
* Ben Harper - This was a typically varied performance, ranging from heart-wrenching acoustic ballads to all-out rockers. The girls around me were screaming almost the whole time, and a few looked like they were going to faint
Awesome venue
Lollapalooza with Chicago skyline behind when Eddie Vedder joined Harper on stage for a rendition of Dylan's "Masters of War".
* Silverchair - I had been listening to a lot of "Young Modern" since leaving Vancouver, and was most pleased to hear many of my favourite tracks from it and "Diorama" in the flesh. It was good to see a few Aussie flags being flown in the crowd, and they sounded great live, but I'm still not sure if I like Daniel Johns's presence on stage. He almost ruined Peter Garrett's political career after all...
* The Roots - I previously knew very little about these blokes other than their name. It was hard not to fall victim to their beat though, and the sight of a bloke dancing round vigourously on stage while playing a sousaphone was as entertaining as it was impressive.
* Muse - My good mate Patto had long been singing this band's praises to me, and they had long fallen largely on deaf ears. I decided to give them another chance after liking their latest album "Black Holes and Revelations" on first listen, and what a good thing I did. They were simply incredible live - one
of the top 3 live shows of my life without a doubt. Matt Bellamy may well be the most talented rock musician in the world.
* My Morning Jacket - These guys can't have been comfortable on stage, wearing tuxedos in 35 degree heat. It didn't affect their performance at all though, and their interesting mix of indie rock and country set the scene for a big finale with Pearl Jam waiting in the wings to bring down the curtain.
* Pearl Jam - Considering these blokes would provide perhaps a third of all the songs if I was to compile the soundtrack to my teenage years, I can't quite figure out why I'd never seen them live till now. Crammed in with what seemed like about 100,000 others, listening to classics like "Even Flow", "Better Man", "Alive" and "Daughter" while watching people crowd surf nearby, I was a teenager once again. The Harper/Vedder combination was fired up again for a song recently penned by Vedder called "No More War". I get the distinct impression that neither would be too quick to accept an invitation to sing at the next Republican Party Convention.
With highlights all round
at Lollapalooza, the only real lowlight of my time in Chicago was logging onto to travelblog.org to update my blog only to discover that about 80% of my entries had been deleted. Considering these were my only written record of six months of travel, it was a shattering blow. Thankfully, my parents had been printing most of my entries out for my grandparents to read so there were hard copies as a backup, and all bar two entries (those for Nicaragua and Honduras) were restored from google cache. God bless both my Nan and Pa for their rejection of modern technology, and the google guys for being at the forefront of it.
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