Watching 4th of July fireworks in Chicago - with dance music!
Ever since I moved to Chicago proper, I've been trying to figure out the best way to watch 4th of July fireworks in the city.
Back in 2012, I went to see city fireworks Navy Pier. Wound up at the midst of a busy crowd. As I was walking back, I noticed that somebody was launching fireworks further north, closer to where I live. Turned out, Saddle and Cycle Club, a private club, does a firework show at Foster Beach, at the southern end of my neighborhood. While the show is technically private, it's hard to miss the freaking fireworks exploding in the sky.
So, in 2013, I decided to watch it from the not-quite-beach near my apartment. Figured it was close enough to let me see the Foster Beach show. While a lot of people in my part of Edgewater seems to have had the same idea, I quickly realized the problem - the building directly south of the rock wall where everybody was sitting was blocking a decent chunk of the show.
And so, this year, I decided to try a different tact. I would watch it from Hollywood Beach - the closest proper beach to my building, one that's directly north of Foster Beach.
As I walked along it, I saw the entire beach was shrouded in fog. Groups of people already started launching (pretty much illegal) fireworks, and several people set up grills on the beach (which I'm not sure is entirely legal, either). It was a very surreal landscape, one that my photos couldn't quite capture.
As I kept walking, fireworks whizzing upward above my head, I heard music coming from the small mound on the south end of Hollywood Beach. Dance music.
"Is that a rave?" a high school girl who was heading in the same direction as me asked her friend.
"Oh yeah," the friend said.
And, indeed, there was a DJ tent, and a fog machine, and lasers - and anybody could come up and dance. It played a bit of trance, a bit of house and other genres along the techno spectrum. No vocals, no pop, just catchy dance music that makes you want to move your whole body.
I kept walking, dance music blasting, along the mound. The shoreline curved, revealing the view of the Foster Beach - and a pretty decent chunk of the lakeshore. I could see Hancock building, it's antennas blinking against the darkening sky. I could even see Navy Pier.
Maybe I could have gone further. But I decided to stay put. I saw fireworks light up the sky all along the lakefront - some near, some far - as great dance music played. And all I could think was - yeah, that definitely works.
Once the Saddle and Cycle Club show ended, I decided to head back - but not before stopping by the "rave" tent and dancing for a bit. Hey - it's not often that I get to enjoy the music I love in the company of people who love it just as much without paying a single cent.
If I didn't have plans for tomorrow, I would have hung around longer.
But I did have plans - so I headed back, dance music thumping loudly behind me, fireworks flying above my head and families launching fireworks from the beach.
Back in 2012, I went to see city fireworks Navy Pier. Wound up at the midst of a busy crowd. As I was walking back, I noticed that somebody was launching fireworks further north, closer to where I live. Turned out, Saddle and Cycle Club, a private club, does a firework show at Foster Beach, at the southern end of my neighborhood. While the show is technically private, it's hard to miss the freaking fireworks exploding in the sky.
So, in 2013, I decided to watch it from the not-quite-beach near my apartment. Figured it was close enough to let me see the Foster Beach show. While a lot of people in my part of Edgewater seems to have had the same idea, I quickly realized the problem - the building directly south of the rock wall where everybody was sitting was blocking a decent chunk of the show.
And so, this year, I decided to try a different tact. I would watch it from Hollywood Beach - the closest proper beach to my building, one that's directly north of Foster Beach.
As I walked along it, I saw the entire beach was shrouded in fog. Groups of people already started launching (pretty much illegal) fireworks, and several people set up grills on the beach (which I'm not sure is entirely legal, either). It was a very surreal landscape, one that my photos couldn't quite capture.
As I kept walking, fireworks whizzing upward above my head, I heard music coming from the small mound on the south end of Hollywood Beach. Dance music.
"Is that a rave?" a high school girl who was heading in the same direction as me asked her friend.
"Oh yeah," the friend said.
And, indeed, there was a DJ tent, and a fog machine, and lasers - and anybody could come up and dance. It played a bit of trance, a bit of house and other genres along the techno spectrum. No vocals, no pop, just catchy dance music that makes you want to move your whole body.
I kept walking, dance music blasting, along the mound. The shoreline curved, revealing the view of the Foster Beach - and a pretty decent chunk of the lakeshore. I could see Hancock building, it's antennas blinking against the darkening sky. I could even see Navy Pier.
Maybe I could have gone further. But I decided to stay put. I saw fireworks light up the sky all along the lakefront - some near, some far - as great dance music played. And all I could think was - yeah, that definitely works.
Once the Saddle and Cycle Club show ended, I decided to head back - but not before stopping by the "rave" tent and dancing for a bit. Hey - it's not often that I get to enjoy the music I love in the company of people who love it just as much without paying a single cent.
If I didn't have plans for tomorrow, I would have hung around longer.
But I did have plans - so I headed back, dance music thumping loudly behind me, fireworks flying above my head and families launching fireworks from the beach.