Well, I guess the first ever 75,000 sellout crowd was reason for the beefed up security and I felt the increase in Lollagoers the moment I approached Grant Park and felt the mist of Buckingham Fountain on my face. For starters, the Chicago police department has a larger profile this year with a high-tech watchtower overlooking the north and south fields as well as a helicopter that roved about in the air complete with fugitive finding spotlight during Radiohead.
And at least from my vantage point, there weren’t many suspects on the ground or on the stage.
Okay, when it comes to “getting” Radiohead, I may be a little late to the game but now finally I understand what a good friend has been raving about ever since Pablo Honey, when he couldn’t stop talking about Radiohead live. I’m not going to spill all the goods here since a full feature will run on Popmatters. But let’s just say, Radiohead’s show has jumped into the top slot as favorite shows of the year so far and one of the best live experiences I’ve had in awhile. Seeing them in an outdoor setting was fantastic and almost euphoric and now I want to see them in an auditorium venue and really absorb all the colors of the Radiohead rainbow. Bloc Party and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks rocked as well among others just prior to Radiohead. The heat and humidity weren’t that bad and didn’t take the fun out of the show, well sort of…
The “No Eyes” Experiment took a very interesting unexpected turn and I was forced to make an on the spot adjustment that I’ll share with you in the Final Results.
But for now, it’s Day Two of Lollapalooza 2008 with Rage Against the Machine, Lupe Fiasco, Battles and more scheduled to thrill the masses. I’m also hoping to find that one band that truly surprises me as I walk the grounds of Grant Park. The music’s starting…talk to you soon…I’ll be right back with more goodies.