Lollapalooza in a Nut Shell
By Vieve on Aug 18 Filed In Chicago, Live Music, Lollapalooza 1 Comment
Well, this was my first time at Lollapalooza and I can honestly say when I wasn’t slinging 30 pound bags of ice or cases of tea, I enjoyed myself! I wish I would have been able to see more music but it didn’t work out that way. We were way too busy slingin’ Sweet Leaf! Sweet Leaf Tea, that is. But I was lucky enough to get a VIP wristband on Saturday evening after my shift was over! (Thanks again to those stars that look out for me in the macro cosmic universe …& thank you Craig & Adi too!! )
Friday….It rained all day….boo.
Saturday….Sweet Saturday.
After my day shift of slingin’ tea, my friend SweetLeafCraig and I, we headed to the VIP area to get my savage hands on a few ice cold beers and to get a better view of Animal Collective. I enjoyed kicking back a few with double fists after a LONG day! Sitting there looking out at the Chicago skyline, it was blazing something sweet and undeniable!! Once we caught a decent buzz, we headed to the Bud stage to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!!! Watched them from the VIP area, brews in hand and the consensus was, “YEAH YEAH!!” To the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!!! Indeed. They were really good! I was impressed and tickled I was able to catch this show.
After the night was over, we took a detour back to the hotel and walked through Millennium Park….this is where it gets really exceptional…we came upon 2 huge stone pillars facing each other. They were both projecting a woman’s face and spewing water from the tops as little people danced about under the stream of water flowing towards the ground… YOU saw this too!?! After we joined them and washed away some of the days sweat, we walked further up the hill and came upon a giant, metallic bean. It looked like something that came in from the ether. Craig told me I was in for a treat, but this was otherworldly. I dug it.
So ends one of the most emotionally contrasting days I’ve experienced in a long time. Such is life…. filled with adversity and then there’s Light.
Sunday…the day of, rest?
Sunday I was only able to see Lou Reed whom I really wanted to see thanks to Alexandra who watched my booth for me!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Lou looked handsome. I was proud to see all these kids pour in to see him! He opened with “Sweet Jane”…
“Some people, they like to go out dancing
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now!”
Amen Lou, Amen. He struggled with the sound, but don’t we all. I purchased a Lou Reed shirt and will wear it proudly.
Fast forward to late Sunday night, I’m in my hotel room ready & willing to be anti-social, but I couldn’t not see Craig and the rest of my Sweet Leaf family and say, “Au revoir my friends”…… until next time.
Lollapalooza 2009 (or “How To Lose Ten Pounds in One Week”)
By Happy on Aug 17 Filed In Chicago, Events, Live Music, Lollapalooza 1 Comment
Wow.
I’m finally back in Austin and feeling grounded again, but it’s hard to believe that it’s all over — thousands upon thousands of tea bottles, a hundred or so giant balloons, hundreds of bags of ice, and a few battle scars later. I feel like it’s taken me almost a whole week to fully recover from the madness. Lolla is always an exhausting experience for me, but it’s worth every drop of sweat.
The Sweet Re-Leaf Tea'm
Danny (fellow Pro. Tea Slinger and counterpart in Austin/San Antonio) and I were in Chicago for a short, action-packed 7 days. We spent all day Wednesday and Thursday getting all our product and mountains of stuff unloaded from our two 18-wheeler trucks and set up around the park. This wasn’t my first rodeo, but for some reason it always astounds me how sore you can get from pallet-jacking skids in and out of a truck. We’re talking a couple 53′ trucks filled to the brim with product, barrel coolers, umbrellas, and other ’stuff’. Two full truck loads! Thank goodness for the magic of fork lifts.
Unloading our trucks. That's a lotta hooch!
More interesting is to see a temporary city get built in a week. Grant Park is completely transformed for Lollapalooza, and it all gets constructed a few short days before ’show time’. Really kinda crazy, if you ask me.
Throughout the fest, we were swamped (or “in the weeds” for those of you service industry folks). Friday was interesting as a long and heavy rain plagued the afternoon, causing several logistical nightmares. Mud and moving things don’t mix. Not well, anyway. Sigh.
Fans at our South Food Court Booth
Otherwise, Saturday and Sunday were great days to sling tea — hot and sunny through and through. A big part of my job on-site at these festivals is to make sure that our presence looks swell and that Granny is represented in the best way possible. Every hour there’s a new metaphorical fire to put out — I like to consider myself a ‘firefighter’ with tea as ammunition.
Sweet Leaf in the Artist Lounge
As for the “How to Lose Ten Pounds in One Week” part of this post? It’s simple, really. Work 15+ hour days slinging tea at a festival in a park that’s almost a mile from one end to the other. Eat when you can, but don’t overeat because the food coma is just gonna slow you down. Having a mountain bike rental was nice too (helps reduce the possibility of chaffing).
Side note on chaffing: Gold Bond is a divine substance.
However, through all the stress (and trekking from one end of the park to another), I did manage to catch a few songs from some of my favorite bands: Andrew Bird, Portugal. The Man., Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Band of Horses.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Portugal. The Man.
Andrew Bird
Band of Horses
It was during the Band of Horses set, just after we launched 20 or so giant balloons filled with confetti into the crowd at the Playstation stage, that it all finally set in for me. Too bad that was essentially the last show (of few) for me to actually go enjoy, but I definitely had a moment in which all the hard work seemed to really pay off. See below for a video of the balloon launch we found on YouTube:
For more photos, check out my album on Facebook.
Great Grub in the Windy City
By April on Aug 7 Filed In Chicago, Food & Beverage, Lollapalooza 2 Comments
Post by, Jacquelyn Jeanes
Since I was born and raised in the Chicago-land area, I feel it’s necessary to guide my brisket and queso loving Austin friends to some real food in Chicago while they’re rocking out at Lollapalooza. When I go home these days, I usually stock up on my mom’s home cooking, so I contacted a few Chicago friends to gather their latest and greatest restaurant choices to add to my all time faves.
Let’s get the most important ones out of the way. There are two things that come to mind when you think of Chicago food: pizza and hot dogs. When it comes to pizza, I am an Aurelio’s girl. My uncle owned and operated an Aurelio’s in Tinley Park for years. Our family ALWAYS orders a Super Six pizza (sausage, cheese, green pepper, ham, pepperoni, mushrooms) and a Spinach Calabrese (a calazone stuffed with mozzarella cheese, fresh spinach, and their awesome homemade sauce). When it comes to deep dish pizza joints, there are plenty to choose from. Lou Malnati’s is always the place our friends turn to for great food with great company.
The best place to get a hot dog is in the bleachers of Wrigley Field, but unfortunately that won’t be an option this weekend, so I’m going to have to pick a little place called Portillo’s. A hot dog (which includes mustard, relish, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickles and sport peppers on a poppy seed bun) with some cheese fries is heaven on a plate. Everything on their menu is great at this fast food joint, including the chocolate cake which my best friend Lindsay can’t get enough of!
A new recommendation (thanks Cory) that looks fantastic is Bull & Bear Bar. Although I haven’t ventured to this fine establishment, their classy take on “game day food” makes me excited for the Bears season to start! Oh and did I mention they have beer taps in the tables? Enough said, right?!
Now that I covered the classics, let’s get to the restaurants that you cannot get enough of. I honestly do not think there is a bad steakhouse in Chicago, and Gibson’s Steakhouse is definitely one of the best. Socca is a must for great Italian and just because you’re out of Texas does not mean you still won’t crave food from South of the border! Rick Bayless is known for being the master of Mexican cuisine, so check out Frontera Grill. Other hot recommendations: Japonais, Joe’s Seafood Prime Steak & Stone Crab, The Roof (at the Wit hotel), Sixteen (at the new Trump hotel), Avenues (in the Peninsula), Market House, Spiaggia, Rose Angelis, and 33 Club.
Now you have everything you need for one spectacular weekend! Great food, great music at Lollapalooza, Sweet Leaf Tea, and a few Cubbies wins (fingers crossed).
Portillo's in Chicago
Aurelio's-Doesn't it look Amazing?
Craig’s Sweet Lollapalooza Pick
By Count Blogula on Jul 28 Filed In Events, Live Music, Lollapalooza Add a Comment
I’m really excited about Animal Collective. They’ve got a truly original style and still manage to build some really catchy hooks and melodies (I think a lot of other avant-garde bands end up being a bit hard to tap your toe to). They also like to bring in guest talent for a lot of their shows and recordings, so I’m hopeful that their Lolla performance will be one of those one-of-a-kind “you had to be there” shows. Their newest album is one of my all-time favorites – it’s called “Merriweather Post Pavilion” if you want to check it out.
