Last weekend was Lollapalooza which is turning out to be a annual deal and I am happy about that. We had a great time. Good music, good food, good friends. It was awesome.

And in last year’s fashion I’ll just do some highlights/lowlights.

Startin’ off with the highlights:

Our accommodations. We stayed in a furnished apartment, which included a great view, full kitchen and living room. It was Nehru’s sister who helped us get this place and we are so grateful. It was perfect.

Ghostland Observatory. Never heard of them until this weekend and they were incredible. The music was great, the energy was great and the dancing was incredible. It started the festival off right.

Being prepared. Last year we did not know what to expect, this year we were ready. Sunscreen, frozen water and most importantly a blanket.

Strawberry Banana Smoothies. Usually these perfectly made drinks were my lunch and oh, I love them.

The set-up. Compared to last year, the set-up made more sense, bands were not competing against each other and no sound problems. Way-to-go, Lolla, learning from past mistakes.

Giordano’s. I found heaven again, it is a delicious stuffed pizza, oh the cheese, oh the crust…oh, I want some right now.

Snow Patrol. Saturday I set off on my own, my main goal to see Snow Patrol and I’m so glad I did. Amazing show. Slightly ruined by the drunk dude who made me dance with him the last three songs, but whatever, it wasn’t Snow Patrol’s fault.

Pearl Jam. Glad I finally got to see them after 15 years, played some good older songs, a good cover of Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (We Don’t Need No Education) Also, fireworks started going off during Even Flow, so that was cool.

Cheap tickets. We got in on the special discounted tickets, so we only paid $60 a piece compared to the $190 they ended up selling for.

Rezas/Sushi Wabi. Sushi Wabi for Derek’s birthday, I knew exactly what I wanted, Pinneapple Hii, Edamame, Chichen Teriyaki, Vegetable Tempura Roll and finished off with Strawberry Chocolate Chip Mochi…delicious. And Reza’s we did the lunch buffet this time and it was sooo good, the fresh fruit, the dill rice, the bread, all was fantastic.

Other good shows. So many shows, here are some of my favorites, Modest Mouse, Amy Winehouse (even though it was crazy hot and she might have been a little off her game), Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Roots, LCD Soundsystem, Rhymefest (his free styling rap was awesome) and finally Flosstradamus (this show just kicked ass, so much fun)

Daft Punk. And lastly, the best show I saw and an amazing end to Day 1. First I love Daft Punk, but I love them even more seeing them live. The set list was great and the light show was fucking incredible, I can’t even tell you how much energy the crowd had. I danced my little heart out and then they came back for an encore and did One More Time with their suits lit up in red, when finished they turned around and on the back was Daft Punk in red lights. So awesome.

Lowlights:

Drinking. So this year it seemed more people over-indulged themselves with the $7 beer. I was kind of annoyed by the obnoxious frat boy types that went from just having a good time to having a good vomit.

Sunday. For about 4 hours the heat was incredible. I was melting and feeling miserable. So much so that I chugged two big waters, it was awful. But, this was the only really hot time the whole weekend, so I can’t complain too much.

Pearl Jam. Yes, they were on my highlights, but it is a mixed bag for me. They didn’t play Black or Yellow Ledbetter, which cliché, yes, but I would have really liked to hear them. Although they sounded good, their show just didn’t compare or keep as interested as most of the other shows I saw.

Camera. I still couldn’t bring in my Rebel, so my very first digital camera from 2002 got dusted off and took some lousy pictures. Nick had our point-and-shoot Sony, so his pictures turned out way better

Disappointing shows. Only two and I didn’t know them before this weekend.., Yo La Tengo and M.I.A. Yo La Tengo just sounded like a complete mess and M.I.A kept stopping her show and apparently lost her voice, just didn’t sound all that great.

The lowlights are nothing compared to the amazing time we had. Already excited for next year.

Lollapalooza pictures.