Lollapalooza Day 1: Kings of Leon

Kings of Leon
Ren Reiske © 2009. All Rights Reserved

4 p.m. It’s been showering all morning … on the L to Lollapalooza. Wet. Rain. It would take a flood for me to miss Kings of Leon! By the time Matt and I arrived at Grant Park and stood in the lines, we missed Ben Folds, but we could hear his piano and music from various bands vibrating throughout the park. Note: The bag searches are iffy. If you want to sneak small snacks in, don't be like honest Matt and show them to Event Staff (who greedily confiscate them and tell you, “It sucks.”), just hide them in your pockets! Bringing a fancy 35mm SLR camera with zoom or detachable lens is risky with a 50/50 chance of getting in and using it. I brought my pocket-sized Leica and planned to be a close as possible.

The Decemberists

Today, Lolla is a flippin’ mudfest. Good news: less crowded. Bad news: I’m wearing WHITE. After a couple of hours, I gave up on dodging puddles. 5:30 p.m. Lolla has great food from Chicago vendors for a reasonable price. We devoured Pad Thai noodles, a Gyro sandwich and tall cans of Budweiser. Around 6 p.m., The Decemberists were performing and we worked our way towards the front. One hour before KoL, we had a good spot but we were surrounded by subversive, lewd, crazy peeps. This is the downfall of outdoor concerts with large crowds. There were moments when I could not breathe: sweaty, wet bodies piling up like sardines in a can. Guys were smoking weed in front of me and yet, my nuts were confiscated! The tall, half-naked college boy next to Matt dropped on his knees to urinate into a can. He then managed to spill the can on a girl’s foot. Welcome to Lollapalooza!

Caleb Followill

8 p.m. KoL on stage! The guys rocked — their live performance was the best and made up for the torment of standing for hours amidst a wild crowd. Best: Caleb talking about when they first started a few years ago (2003), touring when Lolla was a traveling gig. There were 10 people in the audience. When they came out with their initial hippy-long hair, the 10 people left. But they learned a lot from the other musicians and played on. Now, they’re so thankful … view a sea of thousands of fans. For me, they SOUND better live — the music is richer and the Followills are sexy hot hot hot phenomenal! Special THANKS to Matt for being my bodyguard and tall enough to take photos … and Lady Laura for being the best cuz and laundry expert (she cleaned the mud off my white jeans!).

Kings of Leon

Matt Reiske © 2009. All Rights Reserved

Drummer Nathan (middle) and Caleb. uh-huh, oh yeah!

Matt Reiske © 2009. All Rights Reserved

11 p.m. Mass exodus