LOLLAPALOOZA 2007
I'd never been to Chicago before so I didnt know what to expect. As soon as we arrived and checked into our (posh, wtf?) hotel on the beach (wtf, beach?) I made Brandon do a dry run-through, ie: the best way to get to the park, where is the park? I NEED to SEE the park. I wanted to do a good job for JM and I was determined to know what I was doing and where I was going. And dayum is that park big. The city of Chicago is pretty cool. Their subways (the L, sorry GOD) are just as dirty and disgusting as ours so that was good to see :colin: The PEOPLE in Chicago have some SEVERE eye problems though. I'd never been stared at so hard in my LIFE!! It's like, keep your eyes on your own paper, Chicago! All weekend we were getting STARED DOWN like I'd never been stared down in my life. Even when we were seperate (we spent alot of the fest apart) he'd text me things like, "Do I have the mark of the devil??? What's going on??" LOL!!
Anyway, some of my favorite moments...hanging out with the photographers in the pit, the guy from the Chicago Sun-Times, the piece of Alabama ass from Relic mag, the cool chick from Pitchfork, the dude from the LA Times, the guy from Soundcheck mag who bought me a water while we waited for Muse. Let's face it...they gave out 168 photo passes and the max amount of photogs allowed in any pit capped at 50. And holy shit did they enforce that rule! Which resulted in us having to get to the stage at least a half hour before showtime in order to ensure a spot in line. For the bigger acts (Muse, Interpol, Daft Punk) make it 45 minutes plus. I can still remember the crew chief's voice over and over again every time I saw him in a pit, Photographers! 50 people MAX! If you're number 51, you're S.O.L! Three songs! No flash! bla bla bla. and the rules could vary according to the act. Pearl Jam had a 20 photog cap and only print was let in, so I didnt shoot them. Ah well.
The media tent was cool. That was where we hung out, where the WiFi was, the Spin mag tent, Q101 and WCKG-FM were broadcasting, there was snacks and clean Porto's and it was where they ushered in all the acts to do press before their set. Like ahem...
Thank GOD I had Brandon wait there while I stood in line for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and thank god the other photogs saved my spot in line or I would have missed them.
After the YYY's set was Muse and that was the HIGHLIGHT of Saturday. I planned my whole day around making it into the photo pit for their set, which was HELLA stressful. Every photog I talked to was planning on going to Muse cuz it's a more exciting photograph. There were some that had assignments to shoot Interpol, but the 50 person limit was a knot in everyone's stomach. I made it though!!
I was actually shaking in the pit, covered in a poncho with a plastic bag around my camera to keep it dry, my hand slipping off the zoom, watering dripping down my face. But it was definietly one of my favorite moments.
More faves to come...
Anyway, some of my favorite moments...hanging out with the photographers in the pit, the guy from the Chicago Sun-Times, the piece of Alabama ass from Relic mag, the cool chick from Pitchfork, the dude from the LA Times, the guy from Soundcheck mag who bought me a water while we waited for Muse. Let's face it...they gave out 168 photo passes and the max amount of photogs allowed in any pit capped at 50. And holy shit did they enforce that rule! Which resulted in us having to get to the stage at least a half hour before showtime in order to ensure a spot in line. For the bigger acts (Muse, Interpol, Daft Punk) make it 45 minutes plus. I can still remember the crew chief's voice over and over again every time I saw him in a pit, Photographers! 50 people MAX! If you're number 51, you're S.O.L! Three songs! No flash! bla bla bla. and the rules could vary according to the act. Pearl Jam had a 20 photog cap and only print was let in, so I didnt shoot them. Ah well.
The media tent was cool. That was where we hung out, where the WiFi was, the Spin mag tent, Q101 and WCKG-FM were broadcasting, there was snacks and clean Porto's and it was where they ushered in all the acts to do press before their set. Like ahem...
Thank GOD I had Brandon wait there while I stood in line for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and thank god the other photogs saved my spot in line or I would have missed them.
After the YYY's set was Muse and that was the HIGHLIGHT of Saturday. I planned my whole day around making it into the photo pit for their set, which was HELLA stressful. Every photog I talked to was planning on going to Muse cuz it's a more exciting photograph. There were some that had assignments to shoot Interpol, but the 50 person limit was a knot in everyone's stomach. I made it though!!
I was actually shaking in the pit, covered in a poncho with a plastic bag around my camera to keep it dry, my hand slipping off the zoom, watering dripping down my face. But it was definietly one of my favorite moments.
More faves to come...