wow.

Along with everyone else who bore witness to the extravagant gala held over the weekend in Grant Park, amidst the beautiful skyline of Chicago, i've finally recovered from 2 full days of non-stop rawking. All i can say is, "wow", as i have no other words nor energy that could do justice in describing the sheer pimpness of lollapalooza.

Saturday we arrived onto the scene at about 1:30ish and under the cool grey overcast skies caught Dashboard Confessional, The Bravery, Billy fuckin' Idol, the Pixies, and Weezer. Dashboard was good, they covered "Teenage Dirtbag" which was a pleasant surprise, and did a nice rendition of "Screaming Infidelities" (which in turn made everyone cry into their wristbands, but i had forgotten my wristband this day, therefore missing out on soaking up the tears from 24+ years of inner unknown pain... damn...). After Dashboard and after re-opening my unknown emotional wounds, we pranced over to see The Bravery.

The Bravery were great, but their image somehow didn't seem to fit their sound. They looked straight out of a James Dean/Crybaby movie, and the lead singer actually reminded me of someone named "Nuke" (from Nuke and the Living Dead). They are a dance/rock fusion in a similiar vein to that of The Killers and The Faint. Good, danceable stuff and quite enjoyable. They even trashed their set at the end, which mods them +5 in rawk for me. After this, we revved up for the punk rock man himself, Mr. Billy Idol.

He looked pretty damn good for his age (and the lifestyle he lived). It was one of those things where you have to go, just to pay homage to a man who has done so much for music, even though you only know a couple of his songs. It totally was a throwback into the 80s, but the good 80s. The "White Wedding" and "Rebel Yell" 80s. Yes, he 0wn3d. At this point we stuck around, because i wanted to get a good spot to see legendary grunge gods the pixies.

the pixies. i don't need to say anything more, except mr. black came out sporting his pink button-up shirt, and kim deal in her black mom sweater. i loved it. What was even funnier was that the pixies choice of "refreshing" beverage was a cold bottled beer, whereas with the other bands we witnessed that night, it was bottled water. you fuckin' do it, pixies. they were just as amazing this time, as they were the last time i saw them. i was lucky enough to enjoy both versions of "wave of mutilation" this time around too. yes. i may die now.

Sunday was like being in a heavenly hell for the day. Temps rose way past vagina (to about 101 degrees) when we arrived around 2:30. There weren't many bands that i was pumped to see this day, but the few that we saw, we couldn't of asked for more. Dinosaur Jr. It was great to see this guys back together and just rawkin' with their cawk out. Good ol' grunge rock, and shreddin' guitars. Man, the sound they get, is like a bulldozer ramming thru your 1970's beetle. That was good squishee.

After Dino. Jr., i wanted to check out Tegan and Sara (which I hear Sara passed out on stage due to the heat) but John and i opted to meet our "special someones" at the stage where the killers would be coming out. On this stage, the Satellite Party (Perry Ferrell’s band) was to be playing. To be honest, i had zilch desire to engage in any listening communication when i heard about this. And to be honest, i am glad i didn't do what i had originally set out to do. They made me a fan. I'll definitely check them out in the future (Tony from No Doubt was their bassist, and the guitarist from Extreme, holy shit can he fuckin' shred that guitar!).

The Arcade Fire. THE ARCADE FIRE. They were definitely one of the main highlights of the entire festival for me. I was excited to see them, after hearing so much about them, and boy they didn't disappoint (except that they stole Brian and my idea of starting a band where we would intermittently switch instruments in the middle of songs, damn them, well at least we play the grundel-guitar better then they do). A few lucky members in the audience ended up with a tambourine, a mic stand (which landed about 5 people away from me), drumsticks, and the lead singer (who mysteriously jumped into the crowd and vanished, which we later found out he walked back home to his mom's house). These guys were seriously amazing, and i would force everyone i know to go see them and buy their cd. I could only imagine what a wanted ad for being a member in that band must be:

WANTED! THE ARCADE FIRE IS SEEKING A PIANO PLAYER, GUITAR PLAYER, BASS PLAYER, PENNY WHISTLE PLAYER, AND HELMET PLAYER FOR A NEW ADDITION IN THEIR BAND! YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PLAY ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS.

Finally, the killers took the stage and the park turned into a dance party. If the ground could cave it, was going to, during the killers' set. Seeing them and the arcade fire, made waiting in the 101 degree heat worth it all. I have to give props to the Lollapalooza staff for keeping everyone hydrated and cool by giving out free waters (that were otherwise $3, at the stands) and filling up everyone's empty water bottles (despite the fact the hose water was warm, in that weather, i'll take it). We engaged in a water fight with a couple people on the "otherside of the rail" which helped immensely. Overall, it was an insanely great time.

Some other highlights we had were after Billy Idol, i encountered my next 30 seconds of they are you and i. We saw Greg from Kill Hannah and i nervously approached him and said, "Hey Greg! I don't have anything to say to you, but just wanted to say hi.".

Nice. That was really fuckin' stupid sounding. But either he didn't care or hear me, but asked my name, and i asked him how they were doing on the new album and in 30 seconds it was all over. Fuckin' hell i say the stupidest of things when i get that one chance to talk to someone famous. Maybe next time, i'll just say nothing at all. We also saw Dan from Kill Hannah during the Pixies set, but my after what i felt was my last blunder, we decided to not say anything.

So in the end, i will be adding these cds into my collection:

• The Bravery
• The Satellite Party
• The Arcade Fire
• Death Cab for Cutie

Rawk out!