Duke Dumont performing his hit “The Giver” at Perry’s stage on day two of Lollapalooza, Saturday, Aug. 2. (The Gate/Erick Aguilera
Even after attending the festival several times before, I really didn’t know what to expect of Lollapalooza this year. I was the most apathetic I’ve ever been toward Lolla. In previous years, I would kill (not really) to get a pass, but this year I just wasn’t as excited– the lineups played a big role in that.
Regardless of how unexcited I was, I still wanted to go back to Lolla. It had become a tradition for me. When I was 16, I bought a three-day pass for about $180 and it was totally worth it.
Last year, I was able to sneak in with a friend through a south entrance meant for employees. One of my friends was working one of the food tents there and we got company shirts.
This year, I decided to purchase my own ticket again. I was able to snag a Sunday pass back in March when the tickets went on sale, and it wasn’t until last week that I was able to sell my pass and buy one for Saturday.
Getting into the festival was a slightly obnoxious ordeal. I had to get through security where one of the guards pulled my friend to the side and had his flasks taken away. Our hopes of being buzzed died quickly. Security was strict.
The unpredictability of the whole music fest is what I love the most, regardless of how familiar I am with the lineup.
We then headed to Perry’s, Lolla’s main EDM stage. Walking through the sweaty crowd filled with the smell of burnt marijuana and booze, I stopped to figure out who was spinning those records. The house-like tempo was coming from British DJ, Duke Dumont. The crowd was calm as the DJ played mild bass drops and smooth intervals. As I stood there focusing my camera on the stage, I realized how similar his music was to Chicago House. Of course Duke has his European influences, but Chicago House definitely has to be in his repertoire since their sounds are so alike. Maybe this was why I enjoyed his performance so much and why I considered him one of the best acts I saw the entire day.
I remember checking out Foster the People at Lolla back in 2011, but I didn’t know much about them back then. Seeing them this year brought back memories and as a more experienced music lover, I could now really feel the performance. Walking back towards the southern end of the fest, I finally reached the Samsung Stage where they would be performing. With only an hour to perform, Foster still found a way to top their performance from 2011. They kept it simple with a couple of extended tracks and pleased the crowd, thanking Lolla for being the platform for their career breakthrough. Lead singer Mark Foster then took some time to interact with the fans. I was blown away at how awesome their performance was. As the sun set, Foster ended their performance with the infamous “Pumped Up Kicks” having everyone singing along, followed by “Don’t Stop.” Without a doubt, they were the best act I saw that day, and they were one of the best acts I’ve seen at Lolla.
