Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of fans flocked to Grant Park in Chicago for the 2013 Lollapalooza music festival. The show, in its eight year at the Windy City, continues to be one of the best festivals. This year was no different. Headliner acts brought down the house, the weather managed to hold despite threats of rain, and outside of two acts, everyone showed up to the party. But with so much going on, it was hard to take it all in. There were tough music choices, characters of every kind running around and Shaun White to deal with.
1. Matt & Kim’s epic balloon release
The group’s energetic show was capped off with a balloon release that added an explosion of color to the group’s black and white set. Sadly, the balloons were quickly blown away by the wind but they added to the beauty and fun of Day 2.
[Photo: Matt Ellis/Lollapalooza]
2. Shaun White on guitar
The Olympic snowboarder and his band, Bad Things, were personally added to the schedule by Lollapalooza creator Perry Farrell. His appearance took many by surprise since not much has been written about his musical side. The group went from playing at Kidpalooza to The Grove’s headlining act when Azealia Banks canceled and the Death Grips failed to show up.
[Photo: Will Rice/Lollapalooza]
3. Fans destroying Death Grips’ instruments
The Death Grips decided not to show up to Chicago this year despite landing a headlining performance at Lollapalooza on Day 2 after Azealia Banks canceled. The group was nowhere to be found when the stage was set for their official aftershow at the Bottom Lounge. When fans realized they weren’t going on, they revolted by destroying the group’s instruments.
So Death Grips didn’t show after 3 hours. People got so upset, trashed their drumset. Got a nice souvenir. pic.twitter.com/JiUOOyG3Rz
— Alex Klemstein (@Angusdiet) August 3, 2013
4. Rafting over crowds
Crowd surfing has reached new heights in the modern age of festivals. Certainly, this is not the first time it has been done. However, it was still pretty epic to watch girls floating by in inflatable rafts as if paddling through rapids.
[Photo: Jack Edinger/Lollapalooza]
5. Dudes in hammocks
Even though the festival is housed in Chicago, some people packed for the 3-day show as if they were camping for the duration. More than a few people hoisted up hammocks in the few tree-covered stages.
[Photo: Stacy Lambe/VH1]
6. Dudes in Speedos
There was plenty of questionable fashion choices at Lollapalooza, but among the most surprising were the Speedos. There were several guys letting it all hang out including this one in the rainbow number and another in a Leopard print (sadly he ran away before he could be pictured).
[Photo: Stacy Lambe/VH1]
7. Honey Boo Boo
Well not the real Honey Boo Boo but a cardboard cut out off her face was scene all over the place. It was like a “Where’s Waldo” when scanning the crowd to see if she was at any of the shows. And she was at a lot of them. She wasn’t the only crazy thing people held up in the crowd.
[Photo: Stacy Lambe/VH1]
8. Major Lazer rolling over the crowd
On Day 3, Diplo took advantage of the energetic crowd and rolled out in a hamster ball in similar fashion to The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne.
[Photo: Jack Edinger/Lollapalooza]
9. The Postal Service’s final show
When trying to decide which headliner to see on Day 2, fans had to choose between The Postal Service and Mumford & Sons. The choice was surprisingly difficult when fans learned the performance on Saturday would be The Postal Service’s final one. Of course, they had to be on Twitter to get the news. Ben Gibbard made the announcement just hours before taking the stage.
10. Shredding guitar while crowd surfing
At least two bands subjected themselves to the mercy of the fans. Jordan Cook aka Reignwolf walked off the stage and into the sea of fans and kept on playing. Later that day on the same stage, Foals’ frontman Yannis Philippakis launched himself into the crowd and floated around for a bit.
[Photo: Matt Ellis/Lollapalooza]