The masses pour into Grant Park on Friday for the first sold-out Lollapalooza in Chicago. (Scott Stewart/Sun-Times)
For the first time in its four years as a reinvented destination festival in Grant Park, Lollapalooza has sold out.
Festival spokeswoman Shelby Meade said on Thursday that tickets for day one of the three-day festival have sold out, with 75,000 people expected to enter Grant Park on Friday to see headliner Radiohead seven years to the day after the group last performed in Hutchinson Field to a crowd of 25,000 in 2001.
One-day passes remain for the festival at $80 per day for Saturday and Sunday. The box office is located across from Grant Park on Columbus between Balbo and Congress, and it will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
If that doesn't work for you, you can catch some of the acts -- though not Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails or Kanye West -- on the AT&T Blue Room Webcast. For the schedule, click here.
Of course, if you really have your heart set on seeing a lot of loud live music in the sun -- with plenty of colorful people watching along the way -- you could also travel to Tinley Park to catch the annual Chicago stop of the Vans Warped Tour at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre starting at noon on Saturday.
With tickets priced at $27.25 to $29.75, and a long roster of more under-the-mainstream-radar mall-punk bands (including Against Me!, All That Remains, Everytime I Die, Gym Class Heroes, Horrorpops, Ludo, Motion City Soundtrack, Reel Big Fish, Relient K, Say Anything, and The Academy Is...), Warped -- which, to be sure, is every bit as aggressive in its corporate sponsorships as the new Lollapalooza -- actually has more in common with the old Lollapalooza in terms of bands-for-the-buck bargain and communal vibe than the new Lollapalooza.
Promoters Live Nation say they've already sold 20,000 tickets, and the rest are expected to sell out Saturday -- which must mean that while aging Gen X moms and dads are going to Lollapalooza to relive those good ol' days of the early '90s with their youngest kiddies, their oldest offspring are heading to Tinley Park.
I'm concerned about your weight Jim. I hope you don't stand out in the heat to long at Lollapalooza. And stay away from the food booths.
Thank you so much for your concern, Jerry, as I never realized I might need to drop a few pounds. Fear not, I didn't have anything to eat at Lollapalooza, which means I probably sweated away 10 pounds, but I did stay well-hydrated, even after the water ran out at the press tent midway through the day.
I can, therefore, report that bottled water is relatively inexpensive, and a Sun-Times intern reported that food at the food booths is both inexpensive and fairly edible as fair food goes.
It was hot, but everyone was in good spirits and the powers that be were even letting people sell $1 water right across the street from the entrance.
Jim's still alright in my book; even if he doesn't return emails once he realizes you're in a band. Wilco, Rage, or Danny Masterson tonight Jim? I'm thinking Rage 8 to 9 and Rage 9 to 10; Chicago Wilco shows are always special.
Given that I don't think Obama will jam with Tweedy, and that it's unlikely Wilco will do anything a lot different than what they gave us at Millennium Park, I'd say tonight belongs to Rage.
Now, hey -- I try to write back to everyone! If you just want to know if I've listened to your CD, and I haven't written back, that means: Not yet. But I will. I will.
grizzly bear, yeasayer and radiohead were friday's best.
all 3 blew my mind
NIN show was awesome! but i can't wait to see what trent will pull at voodoo while he is in his home town! check out these videos:
Voodoo Experience