2014 Lollapalooza: Best and Worst Moments

Another great Lollapalooza has come and gone. 2014 marks my 5th year attending the festival. A lot has changed over five years, but I think what's changed the most is my outlook. This was the first year that I finished the night at a smaller stage, instead of listening to one of the major headliners. Sunday's lineup was also the first in five years that I didn't really care about the majority of any of the acts. As with any multi-day festival, it's a long, but fun-filled experience. Below I've included the best and worst moments of 2014's Lollapalooza.

Best Stage: The Grove
The Grove has had an amazing lineup these past few years. It's easy to forget about it because it's hidden away under trees. It's the perfect stage to catch some early morning acts and, as we found out this year, to end the night. Ironically, the worst band we saw at The Grove is the band pictured below, Roadkill Ghost Choir. Their sound definitely sounded like it had been rotting away in the middle of a dirt road. We ended both nights at The Grove seeing Phantogram and Darkside. We also got our first taste of rain watching Gemini Club on Sunday and avoided getting drenched thanks to ponchos and the trees.

Best Day: Saturday

Maybe it's because Saturday had the best weather. Maybe it's because we ended it singing and dancing our way through Outkast's set, but Saturday was my favorite day of the weekend. Vance Joy, Fitz & The Tantrums, and Foster the People were just some of the highlights.

This is what Lollaplooza is all about. Sitting on a hill listening to great music with your friends.

Best Food: Lobster corndog

A little disappointed that the mustard-fried catfish was nowhere to be found, but I found solace in baskets of cheese fries, mushroom nachos, truffle parmesan popcorn, and lobster corndogs.

I have no pictures of the food, but this is what I looked like after eating non-stop for three days.

Best Throwback: Outkast

Am I old enough now to have a throwback band be music that I listened to in middle/high school? I guess so. Judging by the blank faces in the audience it also seems that Annika and I were the only ones who listened to more than just "Hey Ya!" I'm sorry Ms. Jackson, but there are better songs on Stankonia. Of course the blank faces could also have to do with the cloud of smoke that hovered over the crowd too. I think the best part of their set was that it just felt like watching two friends having fun.

Best Closer: Phantogram
Can I just start by saying how crazy it was that Phantogram was a closer? Just four years ago I was standing at the front of the stage at Lincoln Hall listening as Sarah Barthel whisper, "Hi we're Phantogram. We're from New York." in her little girl voice. And they were opening for The Antlers! But you don't know who The Antlers are? Exactly. They were opening for a band that most people haven't even heard of today. Now their songs are on commercials and they're closing out Friday night at Lollapalooza. I'm not saying it wasn't a deserved spot, they put on an amazing show, their new album Voices is fantastic, and I really have fallen in love with Fall In Love. I just haven't gotten over the shock at seeing their name at the end of the day. Thank goodness she still has that high pitch baby voice, which she is now using to tell her bandmate, Josh Carter, how much she "f'-ing loves his beats" instead of telling the audience their hometown.

Worst Day: Sunday

There are many reasons why Sunday was not my favorite. The constant rain. Having to wear a plastic poncho all day. Missing the opportunity to get closer to see the Avett Brothers because of the mud pits that were forming by the Samsung Galaxy stage. We came prepared for rain, so while it didn't soak our stuff it did dampen the day.

The only thing separating us from the Avett Brothers was mud. Lots and lots of mud.

Worst Act: Iggy Azalea

There are no pictures of this act because we stood at the edge of Perry's for about five minutes before deciding to get the heck out of there. It was so loud that you couldn't really hear any distinguishing sound or even a voice in all the obnoxious bass. After reading reviews of her set it sounds like we didn't miss too much. Sweaty teenagers puking all around? Sounds pretty "Fancy" to me.

Worst Stage: Perry's or Lakeshore
Perry's is hands-down the worst stage at Lollapalooza for all of the reasons above. It's so loud that it's kind of destroying the music at Lakeshore. It's impossible for acts like Warpaint, Lykke Li, or The Head and The Heart to compete with the constant bass at Perry's.

Lakeshore Stage in the background.

Favorite Quotes:

"ID's out if you want to drink. If you don't want to drink, why are you here?" said by the guy checking ID's at the front of the gate. We took advantage of the Uncorked Wine Lounge on Sunday when it rained non-stop for hours.

After a few minutes of serious sound issues from their pre-recorded track, the lead singer of Of Verona said, "None of this is pre-recorded...except for the parts that are pre-recorded."

Favorite Moment: Fitz & the Tantrums
Fitz & the Tantrums put on a great show on Saturday, but for me, these two below stole the entire set. As we were sitting on our favorite hill by the Samsung stage, we see this little boy (yellow shirt) start coming down the hill as The Walker starts. He sees a woman (white dress) dancing and you can tell by the look on his face that he's thinking, "I"m gonna ask that lady to dance!" Then they performed the best synchronized dance! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Final Thoughts:

Why are people bringing kids to Lollapalooza? I get that there's a Kidzapalooza, but you still have to walk through regular Lollapalooza to get there. As much as I love this festival, I would never in a million years think about bringing a kid to witness all the disgusting and foul things that become part of Grant Park. We sat next to a family (mom, dad, and two kids) on Saturday and they were the worst kids ever! The little boy kept hitting his mom and throwing pennies in her beer and the little girl would not stop whining. Everyone was miserable. Including me. There are rare moments (like the Fitz & the Tantrum dancing) where it's cute that there's a kid there, but for the most part, leave your little ones at home.

This was the first year that I've been to an aftershow. It was actually a pre-show since it was the Wednesday before Lollapalooza, but I would definitely do it again! Bryan and I got to see Courtney Barnett play at Schubas Tavern from about five feet away. They put on an amazing show!