Lollapalooza?

[shaggyduck]

Lollapalooza
http://www.lollapalooza.com

Anyone going to Lollapalooza this year? I'm almost certain I'll be there.

Location: Grant Park, Chicago

Dates: August 1-3

Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine

Wilco, The Raconteurs, Kanye West

Love and Rockets, Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Flogging Molly, Mark Ronson, Cat Power, Lupe Fiasco, The National, G. Love & Special Sauce, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Explosions in the Sky, Brand New, Gogol Bordello, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Perry Farrell, Dierks Bentley, Okkervil River, Amadou & Mariam, Blues Traveler, The John Butler Trio, Girl Talk, CSS, Battles, Jamie Lidell, Butch Walker, Mates of State, Spank Rock, Brazilian Girls, Chromeo, Duffy, The Kills, Rogue Wave, The Go! Team, Mason Jennings, The Gutter Twins, Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, MGMT, The Weakerthans, Booka Shade, Santogold, Black Kids, Black Lips, Louis XIV, Dr. Dog, Nicole Atkins & the Sea, The Ting Tings, Kid Sister, Office, The Cool Kids, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, The Whigs, Manchester Orchestra, Foals, Uffie, The Octopus Project, Cadence Weapon, Ferras, De Novo Dahl, Noah and the Whale, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, K'naan, Serena Ryder, Newton Faulkner, Your Vegas, "Eli ""Paperboy"" Reed & The True Loves", Steel Train, Bang Camaro, The Blakes, Tally Hall, White Lies, Magic Wands, Electric Touch, Innerpartysystem, The Postelles, The Parlor Mob, DJ Bald Eagle, Krista, Ha Ha Tonka, Witchcraft, We Go To 11, Sofia Talvik, Saul Williams

[Goodtoknow]

i bought tickets before i bought coachella tickets.

as soon as i saw radiohead i was in...

[orbit]

I would like to go to Pitchfork.

but ATP NY is the priority right now.

oh, and you might want to check this: http://www.coachella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13736

[shaggyduck]

I've never been to Chicago, but I have a friend who goes to Northwestern and lives in the area.

Anything I should know about this festival before I get there?

[Goodtoknow]

if you've never been it is a little different than coachella.

when bands throw after parties it is one of the coolest things about the festival.

i am praying girl talk throws one this year....

[Sigur Ros Stache]

made my arrangements yesterday and bought my ticket today...hotel i booked is a mile from Grant park...WOO HOO!!!

[Goodtoknow]

oh man...

if you've never been you should take at least an entire week to get up there and feel out the city.

and there's no camping but everyone knows someone who lives in the city and there is an el station right by grant park. its a blast.

[shaggyduck]

if you've never been it is a little different than coachella.

when bands throw after parties it is one of the coolest things about the festival.

i am praying girl talk throws one this year....

This is the kind of stuff I want to know about. After parties? Where? and how do I get in?

[Goodtoknow]

well they are at venues. like bands just play after lolla shows.

most of the time unless you have cooler friends than i do you just buy tickets. but djs can throw some sick ass after parties which is why i am hoping girl tlak throws one.

[Goodtoknow]

and most of the bars are open til 3-4.

lollapalooza is a drinkers festival...

[shaggyduck]

and most of the bars are open til 3-4.

lollapalooza is a drinkers festival...

I'm Sold!

[BlackSwan]

booked my trip a couple weeks back, staying at the W a mile away... gonna be sick.

[locachica73]

The whole reason my sister hooked me into Coachella is because she was trying to get me psyched up to go to Lallapalooza for her birthday. She knew once I found out Prince was there I would be IN. She goes every year to both Coachella and Lallapalooza, and now has given me the festival bug so I will be attending as well.

For the record I am VERY happy she got me to go to Coachella, it was the funnest thing I have done in my life. Can't wait for next year!!!

[slurpee]

I live down the street from Lollapalooza and have been every year. It is nothing like Coachella.

A hotel 1 mile from the venue isn't very good. 1 mile in a downtown city with traffic is a lot further than you expect.

There is no camping. Book hotels now. If you can get into the congress or the W hotel. Those are your best bets.

Bars are open till 1 am on Fridays, 4 am on Saturdays. There are some random shitty bars that stay open till 5 am, but you don't want go to these establishments. It is all meat heads, old pervert men, has a cover, a line, and way too many people.

If you need any recommendations or help with Chicago. Let me know.

P.S. Chicago has a great public transit system. Look into buying a 1 week pass or weekend pass if you can. It will save you tons of money in cabs and will enable you to see a large part of the city real easily.

P.P.S. it isn't that bad of an idea to stay in the suburbs. There is a train line called the "metra" which stops in major suburbs of Chicago. Lollalapalooza is within walking distance to Union Station & Ogilvy Station. From there you can get just about anywhere.

P.P.P.S. If you plan on driving to Lollapalooza be prepared to pay at LEAST $20 a day for parking.

[unitedwestand]

if you go to chicago, you HAVE to try Uno's or Gino's
its a necessity for everyone that is going that hasn't tried it
And all the Museums are awesome as well-especially Museum of Natural History or the Shed Aquarium
I use to live in chicago and its an awesome city
The after shows are held everywhere from club Metro to house of blues, last year I believe Pearl Jam played a rare show that focused on rare tracks and songs before playing lollapalooza-so a bunch of stuff happens that surrounds the festival
There are alot of cool music venues in the city besides Lollapalooza and grant Park-if you have the time, be sure to check out the Chicago Theatre, the Vic Theater and Schuba's Tavern
Mellenium Park, which is right next to grant Park, is also a must see
Also, Rolling Stone Records is a must to go to for buying cds, records or movies (but its outside of the city in the suburbs)
I believe you can buy a city pass for a day for $45 that lets you get into all the landmarks, museums and a bunch of other places (not including lollapalooza, obviously)
So there's a tour of Chicago for you!

[slurpee]

if you go to chicago, you HAVE to try Uno's or Gino's

Unitedwestand is totally wrong about pizza and is obviously not from Chicago! We take pizza VERY seriously.

The best pizza in the world is from Lou Malnati's. Deep dish cheese with spinach for you vegetarians.....Deep Dish with sausage for all you normal people

www.loumalnatis.com

[Bosco]

Im from chicago too and i still say Uno's is the best. However, it seems like the quality of pizza has gone down over the years. I think all of the big named places like Gino's Uno's and Lou's are now premaking their pizza crusts and freezing them...

Shit sucks.

Still though. Sausage and Pepperoni deep dish from Uno's = Heaven.

[BlackSwan]

Deep Dish pizza is a fucking joke and shouldn't be considered pizza... there, i said it

[Bosco]

go fuck yourself....there, i said it

[BlackSwan]

go fuck yourself....there, i said it

[faxman75]

Im from chicago too and i still say Uno's is the best. However, it seems like the quality of pizza has gone down over the years. I think all of the big named places like Gino's Uno's and Lou's are now premaking their pizza crusts and freezing them...

Shit sucks.

Still though. Sausage and Pepperoni deep dish from Uno's = Heaven.

I too am originally from chicago and I always preferred Gino's East to Uno's. I love me some Gino's. It's funny though there are some people who prefer the dives and claim Gino's and Uno's are just tourist crap. Fuck that, now I want some Gino's. I hate snobs.

[slurpee]

Lou's doesn't premake the pizza crusts. Lou's is always fresh ingredients. My girlfriend and I order a Lou's pizza EVERY Friday. When we got off the plane from Coachella the first thing we did was order a Lou's pizza for delivery


Gino's East is ok.

Uno's SUCKS!!!!

[Bosco]

I too am originally from chicago and I always preferred Gino's East to Uno's. I love me some Gino's. It's funny though there are some people who prefer the dives and claim Gino's and Uno's are just tourist crap. Fuck that, now I want some Gino's. I hate snobs.

I grew up on Gino's and then just started liking Uno's better...

Gino's was a magical place to be as a kid. Probably the most dirtiest pit I've ever been in. For some reason I remember the men's bathroom being on a slant. God what a dump...

[shaggyduck]

Ok... pizza...

Um, can we get back to parties and the like... i'll eat when I'm dead... or sleep... or whatever...

[johnnystar]

I WANNA GO WHO WANT TO GO WITH ME I DONT WANT TO GO ALONE

[krk67]

As a lifelong Chicagoan (that means the city -- not the suburbs) I need to correct a few things here.

a) A mile downtown is not far at all if you are on foot. Hell, the entire length of Lolla is just a hair short of a mile long and, sure, maybe you won't want to walk at the end of the night, but it really isn't all that bad.

b) Bar closing times are:
2 am (regular bars) and 4 am (4 am bars) Sunday through Friday
3 am (regular bars) and 5 am (4 am bars) on Saturday

c) 4 am bars can be great fun if you know what the good ones are: Continental and Green Mill are lovely, but both are definitely a cab ride (around 4 miles and 8 miles, respectively) from Grant Park

d) Yes, the Congress is convenient, but for a cheaper price (at this moment) you can stay at the Burnham, Monaco, 71, or Allegro which are all within a mile of Grant Park. I feel that the W's no longer offer the quality they were known for about 6 years ago.

e) If you are really trying to save money, your next option would be the hotels out by O'Hare. But before you book, call and find out how easy it is to get from the nearest Blue Line (that's the CTA) station to the hotel at 3 am. O'Hare is surrounded by suburbs and they don't have the same public transit system we do. Don't count on using Metra or Pace (those are the suburban train and bus lines) as their schedules aren't as robust as Chicago's is.

f) Lou Malnati's with Uno/Due as a close second. I recall one of the Gino's getting busted for vermin a few years ago so I won't go there anymore.

[Sigur Ros Stache]

thanks krk67 for stating a mile is not that far to walk.

I had no intentions of renting a vehicle as I will walk to the park...staying at Hotel 71.
I do have a question as being that I know the transit system is awesome there how easy is it to catch a train going to boys town?

Thanks to all Chicagoans for your help and input on this thread.

[sbessiso]

i would most definetly be heading to Lolla this year if Beck was playing, or if Beck WASNT playing any other fests, but my alliance is with him, and 2008 is the year I will finally see him live

[Ardentbiscuit]

I hate to say this but when I first saw the Lolla line up I was ecstatic but after going to Coachella this year it seems so generic...

[krk67]

thanks krk67 for stating a mile is not that far to walk.

I had no intentions of renting a vehicle as I will walk to the park...staying at Hotel 71.
I do have a question as being that I know the transit system is awesome there how easy is it to catch a train going to boys town?

Thanks to all Chicagoans for your help and input on this thread.

Not renting a vehicle is the smart way to go.

It is ultraeasy to catch a train to boystown and you have a couple of options -- either the Red or Brown line.

The Red line runs all night and can be caught at the *subway* at State & Lake (about a block from your hotel). Look for stairs going underground just south of Lake on State (right near the Chicago Theatre). You want to head in the direction of "Howard" (i.e. north).

The Brown line only runs until about 12:30am, but it's on the elevated track so it can be nicer from a tourism point of view. It can also be caught at State & Lake but it's on the elevated platform. Just look for the stairs going up to the train -- on the stairs it will say "Brown" (along with a few other colors). Wow. This is starting to sound like hanky code. Anyway, you'd want to take the Brown line toward "Kimball".

Both of these trains will take you to the Belmont stop. Upon exiting the train station, you should make a right. Walk to the second light (Halsted), turn left and you have 4 glorious blocks of Boystown. Also across the street from the Belmont stop is a bar called Berlin -- it's a 4 am and the GLBT crowd seems to like it.

Uptown/Edgewater also have a few bars, but the area is a bit further and a little less lively than the Belmont stretch.

Here's the CTA train link:
http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/rail/rail.html

You can click on any of the train stations for more info -- like timetables (which are pretty unreliable outside of the last train/first train info).