Tuesdays with Tom: My Day at Lollapalooza
A recap of Chicago's signature music festival; plus thoughts on The Righteous Gemstones, bad airline passengers, Twitter and college football
There was no grand announcement, but someone made their triumphant return to Lollapalooza last Sunday. And it wasn’t one of the artists performing. It was your boy right here! It’s been six years since I attended Lollapalooza and I hadn’t started this publication yet. So today, you’ll be getting the first play-by-play review of what it’s like to be at the festival now. That last detail matters. Lollapalooza began in 1991 as the creation of Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction. But other than providing a summer showcase for musicians in downtown Chicago, Lollapalooza bears little resemblance to the early days of its existence. Music festival culture is a billion-dollar business and its oversaturation in the market has been discussed at length (including by myself five years ago). We’re not covering any of that in this recap. This is about a day in the life of Lollapalooza in 2023.
I first went to Lollapalooza in 2009. I was 17 years old, going into my senior year of high school. It was a mind blowing experience at the time. Perhaps it is my own recollection of that day, but I remember feeling like I was very young to be at Lollapalooza. In 2023, I’m a much older man and it didn’t take long for me to feel the exact opposite about attending Lollapalooza. It started on my train ride in from my apartment, where I was instantly taken back to my teenage years going to Lolla. The train was packed with high school and college aged kids, wearily staggering from three straight days of festival behavior and gearing up for a fourth day. Many of them shared colored water bottles of an “unknown” concoction and shamelessly hit their vapes. Somewhere along the line, festival fashion settled on two options for each gender. Young guys wear a throwback basketball jersey or an ironic t-shirt. Young ladies jostle between oversized black band tees or fluorescent-colored leggings with sequins layered on top and black boots. A third option for all: anything tie-dye. 90% of Lolla guests were rocking this attire. I decided to meet the bro crowd halfway to blend in. I wore my infamous tiger-themed jersey and Lululemon pants that work well for athletic functions.
Unlike many past Lollas, it was chilly, overcast and drizzling rain throughout my day at the festival. Last year, over 400,000 people attended Lollapalooza and while the official figures aren’t out yet, I’d estimate it will be a similar number this year. As usual, I arrived way earlier than I planned because I was worried about the trains being late. A brisk walk from the Blue Line downtown got me to Grant Park around 3:30 pm. I’m used to the chaos of Grant Park when entering the premises. However, a notable change for me this year is my GA+ ticket. One perk of not being a broke 17 year old at Lolla is that I can afford a nicer ticket. General Admission tickets will get you into the park, but they have a litany of options to upsell your experience if you desire. GA+ is one step above the masses and it comes with a few extra bells and whistles. For example, you can enter through a separate, less busy line. That was a nice start.
From there, you also get access to two GA+ lounges near Buckingham Fountain. I got a kick out of the nifty electronic wristband check-in at the lounge. Each one is secluded under the shade, with many tables to sit at, a live-stream of performances at the park, private access to food, drinks and, most crucially, a very nice private restroom. This is an appealing option if you’re my age and need a break from the rowdy crowds. You get one whole dollar off beers and food, too. I ordered my first beer of the day and I was asked when I graduated high school, my birth year and my zodiac sign to confirm my age. I literally laughed out loud at the first question and said, “wow I haven’t been asked that in awhile!” This comment was met with a cold, unemotional stare. I think I look alright for my age, but no one is confusing me for an underager anymore. I’m assuming this woman is fed up with underage drinkers after four days of serving beers.
Whilst sipping on my $16 Kona Big Wave, I overheard the beginning of Big Boss Vette’s set at the miniscule, hidden BMI stage. She’s a St. Louis-based rapper who I’d never heard of and my accidental intake of her music lasted roughly eight minutes. It was seven minutes more than I needed to hear, but the crowd watching her seemed excited. This is another key distinction of my Lolla experience. The primary reason I haven’t gone in several years is my lack of interest in most of the artists they book. On this day, I have a list of people I’m intrigued to see, but only two firm requirements. I left the GA+ lounge and headed toward the Bud Light stage. There are seven stages at Lolla, ranging from pint-sized to stadium-sized. The set-up is enormous and it takes you a long time to walk from one end to the other. You have to be choiceful about who you see and factor in the walking time. I spent my first half of the day on the north end of Grant Park.
I can’t say I paid much attention to Alvvays, the indie pop band playing at the Tito’s stage while I waited for another performer. But they were pleasant background noise as I perched myself for my first firm act of the day, Lil Yatchy. The 25-year-old Atlanta rapper was one of the most popular artists of the day and teenagers flooded the Bud Light stage to see him as close as possible. Rappers are notoriously late for their shows and I often find their performances a bit boring. But to everyone’s surprise, Lil Yatchy started right on time and he eventually was joined by a full, live band. The first 15 minutes of his set were for the youngins. He played an assault of his Spotify-era trap bangers, like “Poland” and “Broccoli”. I’d mention the other songs, but I didn’t know what they were. Not the case for the 15 high schoolers that barged right in front of us during this portion. To put it mildly, these kids were going nuts and belting out every lyric. There were some awkward stares amongst the group while this was going on.
Suddenly, Lil Yatchy brought out the band and started playing the songs I wanted to hear from his new record, Let’s Start Here. The album is a huge departure for Lil Yatchy: it’s a psychedelic rock album with almost no rapping. This was not a hit with the teens and they started leaving in droves. I was happy because I loved this album and I had more space. For about 30 minutes, Lil Yatchy and the band crushed most of the big jams off Let’s Start Here and I was thrilled about it. He closed out with 10 minutes of his more traditional songs to appease the kids again. Overall, it was an eye-opening hour of music and people watching.
This might be a locals only thing, but whenever I go to Lolla, I inevitably run into random people from my past for 45 seconds and catch up. That happened throughout the course of the day. Another observation I’ve made is that Lollapalooza is much more aggressively corporate than it was when I first started going. There are obviously brand sponsorships littered throughout the park, but that’s just a starting point. There were literally 25 “branded experiences”, featuring companies like Coca-Cola, Hulu, Dunkin’ Donuts and even Chase Bank. I couldn’t believe how long the lines were to see these ad-fueled experiences. I guess people love free stuff and curated selfies. Official Lolla merch is available for purchase and many patrons spent top dollar on the latest fashion produced from this organization. Some of it looked cool, but I passed on that. They have also stepped up the food options quite a bit. You can get everything from deep dish pizza to empanadas at Lolla today, if you’re not shocked by the price tags for it all. I did enjoy some Costa Rican empanadas in the GA+ lounge during a break and they even gave me one for free. The minimal perks of GA+ strike again!
It’s easy to be so distracted by the capitalistic messaging of Lollapalooza that you forget why we’re supposedly all here: for live music. I caught a good chunk of the rapper Joey Bada$$ after Lil Yatchy’s performance. I forgot about several of his songs from back in the day and it was a fun time. At the Bacardi stage, I parked myself to watch a band called Poolside. The Los Angeles-based quintet is a relaxing mix of chillwave house and indie funk. These are the kinds of acts I’m used to discovering at Lolla and I liked what I heard for 45 minutes. My favorite tracks: “Leila”, “Can’t Stop Your Lovin’” and “Feel Your Weight”. They seemed to have a fair amount of fans singing along. They’re worth giving a try if you’re into that vibe.
I finally ventured to the second half of Grant Park and made a few stops along the way. I subjected myself to the public restrooms, but in a new twist, they have urinals for guys now. That made a big difference and I wish that was an option years ago. I peeked into the scene at the Perry’s stage, where they put all of the raucous EDM acts during Lolla weekend. While I consider Lolla to be the birthplace of my interest in electronic music, I kept a healthy distance from the fracas of the Alan Walker crowd. I’m not familiar with him, but he is on brand for the modern day EDM DJ. In previous years, I buried myself in the crowds for artists like Skrillex, Nero and Porter Robinson and lost my mind at Perry’s. Those days are behind me, but plenty of others are still very much into that scene. My hunch is that the medical personnel spent a good chunk of their day near Perry’s, an ode to the festival’s leader and Jane’s Addiction’s own Perry Farrell. My final warm-up for the evening was a brief walkthrough of the set from The Backseat Lovers. Apparently, they don’t exclusively write songs about making out in Ubers.
Despite this event’s flaws, there’s a reason it remains popular and nothing exemplifies this more than the main act of the day. I am here to see one of my favorite bands ever, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and after several hours of Lolla, I anxiously awaited for their set to begin promptly at 8:30 pm at the T-Mobile stage. This is the coolest stage at Lolla, with the stunning backdrop of the nighttime Chicago skyline to assist these massive artists. As Chad Smith, John Frusciante and Flea opened the performance with an improvised, lightning speed jam, I locked in like I was about to sprint on the opening kickoff of a football game. This euphoric introduction into their first song, “Can’t Stop”, ran through my veins with the ferocity of a Flea bass line. I remained mesmerized and energized by the live flow of Red Hot Chili Peppers for the next 90 minutes.
This was my first time seeing them in person and it absolutely lived up to a lifetime of hype. Red Hot Chili Peppers enraptured this crowd and I rocked out as hard as I could. Flea and Frusciante played with the energy and skills of guys half their age and their extemporaneous jamming ran chills down my spine several times. Anthony Kiedis has seen better days. He was in a walking boot and a knee brace and it seemed like he needed a lot of breaks. But when he did sing, he sounded like he did 30 years ago and he doesn’t look like a 60-year-old man. This band’s defiance of time and relevance in contemporary music are stunning achievements. I won’t recap all of my favorite moments, but let’s just say I was in heaven for almost two hours.
This last concert reminded me why Lollapalooza was such a seminal experience of my youth. There’s simply no substitute to an electric musician playing a great show on a spectacle as grand as Chicago’s Lollapalooza. It’s why you put up with the idiotic kids, the silly outfits, the mud-stained shoes, the corporate agendas and the expensive costs. The adrenaline rush of 100,000 fans screaming for songs they love and watching their favorite artists do it before their eyes is unlike anything else in music. It can still be a place of musical discovery, but the most memorable headliner shows are amongst my greatest memories. I can add Red Hot Chili Peppers to that list, even if they’re a bit past their prime, and I’ll never forget it. Lollapalooza might be a young person’s game, but I’ll cherish moments like this for the rest of my days.
Tom’s Thoughts of the Week
In the last two episodes of Friday Night Beers, Vince and I drank beers called Stiegl-Radler Grapefruit and Pickle. It’s our first trip to Austria on the podcast with Stiegl-Radler, a famously light and fruity beer. We go very deep on famous Austrians like Mozart and Arnold Schwarzenegger in that one. Believe it or not, Pickle is a pickle-flavored sour beer from Cincinnati, Ohio. We talk about the state of comedy films and celebrities who are “cucumbers” or “pickles” as people. You’ll get it once you hear it. Please subscribe, rate and review our podcast here and follow our Instagram page for relevant updates!
I’ve been transparent that I didn’t love Succession. But that doesn’t mean that I’m against the concept of three bumbling adult children vying to take over their father’s company in hilariously inept ways. I’m not the first person to point out the loose similarities between Succession and The Righteous Gemstones, but I’ll happily be the first one to say Gemstones is the superior show. The third season just wrapped and I continue to adore this Danny McBride-led comedy on HBO about a family-run megachurch in the southern United States. If you’ve seen shows like Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, you know what you’re signing up for with McBride-led television shows. But The Righteous Gemstones incorporates more than just raunchy punchlines and expertly choreographed dick jokes. There are splendidly filmed action set pieces and crime elements that legitimately work well within this comedic structure. But I remain invested in the show because I love these hilarious performers. Adam Devine and Edi Patterson are doing amazing work as two of the idiotic Gemstone siblings, John Goodman is the stabilizing force and Walton Goggins is delightfully evil as the elderly Uncle Baby Billy (just think about how funny that name is). There are other great characters and actors, too. Basically, I prefer my prestige shows with dysfunctional family businesses in the style of The Righteous Gemstones over Succession and I’ll stand by that belief.
I’m not privy to Hollywood pitches for TV shows, but I’d imagine that the pitch for Hijack on Apple TV+ took about five seconds to recite before getting the green light. “Idris Elba is on a plane that gets hijacked by terrorists.” Sold! That’s the entire premise of Hijack and it’s been an entertaining seven-episode limited series to watch this summer. Hijack borrows its real-time pacing and minute-to-minute intensity from shows like 24 and Prison Break, but swaps out those settings for the confined space of a six-hour flight from Dubai to London. The show is called Hijack, so you know what’s going to happen from the start. The drama is waiting to see how Idris Elba’s character and the other 200 passengers on the flight are going to survive this attack. One thing I appreciated about the show is that it demystifies many alpha male fantasies about what many think they’d do during a hijacking, while also offering semi-plausible solutions on screen. This is still a television show that needs to take some creative liberties to tell a compelling story. But it doesn’t take long to get invested. Hijack is a solid, entertaining product, with a big star, and sometimes that’s all you need.
My last flight wasn’t hijacked, but there are some other problematic fliers we need to talk about. I think it’s time to teach people how to travel more efficiently at the airport. We can’t save everyone, but the amount of people who cluelessly travel is infuriating. If I learn that you have TSA Precheck (like myself), I immediately assume you have your life in order. Unfortunately, there are only 15 million TSA Precheck customers in the United States, which means roughly 95% of other U.S. travelers are awkwardly making life hell for their fellow travelers. Nowhere is the flying experience more annoying than the boarding process. There’s too many sporadic groups and plenty of liars trying to cut the line. Many people are getting away with murder with their carry-on luggage, whether it’s with obnoxiously overstuffed bags that are clearly over regulation size or shamelessly shoving a children’s stroller in a spot where four bags could go. It’s been at least two years since I wasn’t on a “completely full flight” where space is at a premium for all involved. It takes roughly 35 to 45 minutes to get everyone on a plane and it’s all because of these people that don’t know what they’re doing throughout the airport journey. There should be a class on airport and flight passenger etiquette that we’re all required to pass, like getting a driver’s license. If we did that, maybe the TSA employees wouldn’t be so grumpy after dealing with this lot every single day at the airport.
Last September, I wrote about the state of social media companies and, at the time, Elon Musk had not yet acquired Twitter. That changed several weeks later and it’s been a master class in ruining a company and brand’s reputation ever since. The most recent change in the Musk-led Twitter era is their decision to re-brand the company under the X logo. Since its inception, Twitter has been defined by its iconic blue bird insignia. The literal concept of tweeting was embedded into this logo and Twitter popularized the longstanding practice of short, quippy comments for public consumption online. Whether or not you liked Twitter, they had a very clear brand identity and purpose for consumers. But it’s been a shocking demise for Twitter in a short amount of time. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. Today, it’s valued at around $15 billion after a slew of horrific decisions by Musk. In less than a calendar year, Musk has fired thousands of employees. He’s rolled out a hilariously inept subscription service that users are ashamed to use. He has banned journalists. He’s made the app less transparent and more glitchy. He has crowd-sourced C-suite decisions and terrified advertisers off the platform. And now, he’s replaced a globally known logo with a generically un-noteworthy letter X. By the way, this X branding was a failed idea he had 20 years ago with PayPal. I’m not sure if Threads will be a viable replacement long term for Twitter, but people are so annoyed with Twitter that Threads got 100 million users to sign up in one day after launching. Throughout all of this, I’m reminded of one of Buddy Ryan’s famous quotes about coaching in the NFL. If you listen to the fans, you’ll be sitting up there with them. Twitter’s biggest fan bought the company and he’s proving that the biggest fans have no business being in charge of their favorite things.
Finally, we have reached the endtimes of conference realignment in college sports. The Pac-12 was effectively detonated when the news leaked that Oregon and Washington were bolting the conference to join the Big Ten. Not long after that, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announced they are heading to the Big 12, joining Colorado who also made that decision a few weeks ago. This completes a roughly 12 month transfer of the Pac-12 charter schools into the Big Ten and Big 12, who each have far more schools than their name suggests now. All of these schools are ditching Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State, the lame ducks left in the Pac-12. If you’ve paid any attention to this sport, this isn’t surprising. But on a macro level, the evisceration of regional specificity and rivalries in college football is a massive shift for the sport. As a college football fan, it’s rather depressing that college football has become as money-crazed and ruthless as professional sports. It may seem quaint, but there was a charm to college football’s quirky regional structure, with rivalries for every team that felt special and unique stylistic differences with each conference. Today, every team is basically running the same schemes. Players and coaches can come and go as easily as free agents, and rivalries have largely been discarded in favor of TV rating friendly matchups. Nevermind that these conference swaps will negatively impact every other sport outside of football. We’re one step closer to the reality of college football becoming the junior NFL. Outside of fatter paychecks, I’m not sure that’s a good thing long term.