Lollapalooza 2009

I knew exactly where I wanted to propose to my girlfriend, Christen.

Last September, Chris and I spent a couple days in Austin, TX at the Austin City Limits music festival. It was everything we love about life: great music, warm weather, jumping nightlife, bars, restaurants, a weird, young arts scene and Longhorns. It was a perfect weekend, exhausting, but perfect. It also occurred to me that would definitely the place for us to get engaged this year when we planned to return.

I figured I’d go a little over the top and contacted the band Mutemath to see if they could help me with the proposal. Being that they were one of the first bands Chris and I really got into together, and they were going to be at Austin City Limits, I thought it would be perfect.

Mutemath is an electro-pop rock band who put on an amazing show, not to mention we have talked about using one of their songs, Noticed, as our wedding song. I dropped their publicist an email to see if they would be willing to propose to her onstage for me at the festival. The band got back to me immediately and said they were super excited to help out. Not only would they do it, but they said they wanted to meet us before hand to hang out and they would make a huge deal out of it on stage. I couldn’t have asked for a better arrangement. Cool.

As the festival approached I was getting excited. I had picked out the ring in June and saved up enough to buy it by July. I had already gotten her family’s permission back in March and it seemed everything was coming together.

Then I got an email from Chris:

“Check out this line-up at Lollapalooza in Chicago.”

She was right. The Killers, Tool, Kings of Leon, The Decemberists, Silversun Pickups, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, The Airborne Toxic Event, Gaslight Anthem, Animal Collective and on and on. Well over a dozen bands we would both love to see. The Austin City Limits line-up was good too, but this festival was perfect for us. After we debated the pros and cons of each show (Mutemate not being mentioned) we decided to try out Chicago.

Lollapalooza Friday August 8th

[nggallery id=19]

After Chicago experienced a week of unseasonably cool weather, Friday was greeted with a warm front bringing with it relentless rain. The day started out pleasant with a cool misting. Chris and I grabbed beers and walked through the mile-long Grant Park. We walked by a performance by The Henry Clay People on our way to see Manchester Orchestra. We stopped and grabbed some lunch from the food village to bring with us. By the time we made it to see MO they were probably halfway into their set. We made a little picnic under a tree and enjoyed our sandwiches. The band really surprised me. The first act we really caught I put on my list of “albums to buy.” It was a slightly rainy, but beautiful start to our weekend.
The Gaslight Anthem was on the stage on the exact opposite side of the park. Fortunately, we had an hour to make the walk again. We caught the show and fell in love – Me with the band’s great sound and stage presence, Chris with the blue-eyed Irish boy on the microphone. Next up was Bon Iver, again on the opposite side of the park but at this point the mist had turned in to a steady rain and we were getting wet. Now typically in a situation like this Chris and I could just go with the flow and accept the dampness, but I was shooting the festival and had a camera to worry about. We had to abandon the show mid-Blood Bank to get some shelter and garbage bag rain coats. We stopped for a bite to eat and dried off in the bar bathroom.

At six o’clock The Decemberists took the stage. We made it back just in time. I had seen them before in Central Park before the new concept album The Hazards of Love was released. They were amazing there because not only did they sound great on stage, but the audience interaction and how the lead singer speaks and the way he writes is reminescient of Victorian times.

This performance was different though. Because they were doing the Hazards of Love tour, which is a beautiful story from the first track through the last, they had to do each song in secession. There was no time in between songs to banter with the audience. It was a straight forward performance of the album and it was amazing, and by far the highlight of the day.

The rain had let up by this time and we took a break in picnic form again, this time on garbage bags while Andrew Bird performed. We drank a couple more tall boys and watched people slip in the mud. We were exhausted but only had Kings of Leon left for the day. Kings of Leon took the stage at 8:15 and played through till 10, the end of the day. Their sound is great on record, but even better live on stage. It was an excellent end to a long and fulfilling day.

Lollapalooza Saturday, August 9th

[nggallery id=21]

We got a late start to the day but once we got in, we didn’t stop.
2:30 – Los Campisino:Young, fun and possible British.
3:30 – Gomez: If David Grey was a hippie.
4:30 – Coheed and Cambria: Hair!
5:30 – Glasvegas: Scottish boys through and through. If only the rest of the band cared as much as the lead singer.
6:30 – Lykke Li: Talented young thing. And she played the Kings of Leon cover of Knocked Up that I love.
7:30 – Animal Collective: What are these boys on? The fast track.
The closing acts were a conflict for us. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Tool. I was excited to see the Yeahs because of how fun and different their music is and what I’ve heard about them live—action packed. Tool on the other hand has had a place in my heart since I was a young teen. We decided to catch the first half hour of Yeahs and the last half hour of Tool. It was a mistake. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were amazing and we had to pull ourselves away to go hike to the other side of the park where Tool was. By the time we got there I knew I messed up. Tool was good but Tool is not who I am today. The past has passed.

Lollapalooza Sunday, August 10th – Today is the day

[nggallery id=22]

As opposed to the first day of the festival being cold and rainy, Saturday and Sunday turned out to be record breaking heat days, especially Sunday. Ra Ra Riot started the day for us. I love their fresh-out-of- college sound and live they are great, especially the singer and the two girls on strings. They are my new Vampire Weekend. Good start to the day. Next we catch Bat for Lashes in the distance but really take it easy as The Airborne Toxic Event is next.
I really hope for the best from The Airborne Toxic Event because of what I have in store. On the flight to Chicago Chris had mentioned how she got to listen to the album and other than a couple really great tracks, she didn’t see what I saw in the band. I really needed them to bring it. And they did. This was rock and roll. If a song didn’t grab you on the recorded version, it sure did live. Every piece was engaging and exciting. We were on the edge of our Crocs the entire show. The hit single from the album, Sometime Around Midnight was good, but not even the highlight.

When one member raged, so did the rest of the team. As emotional as the lead singer was, you could feel the entire band supporting him in those emotions. I loved the extended version of Innocence with lyrics over what is recorded as an instrumental intro. Amazing. They also cover the song from Silence of the Lambs.

Yeah, that one.

After the performance I told Chris that we had to go get an autograph. We went back to the press area and found the band. I told them how much we loved the show and how great it was to see a band that really brought it all together. I gave them our festival program and a sharpie and asked for an autograph from the whole band. They were happy to oblige. While they signed the little book I called Christen over for a picture with TATE. I handed someone my camera and asked them to get a picture. While we were all getting ready to take the pic, the last person signed the program and handed it to me. I handed it to Chris and she read it:

“For Christen, Will you marry Jon (we mean it)”

By the time she had finished reading it I was down on my knee holding out the ring.

“Christen, I will love you for the rest of my life and I want to spend it with you. Will you marry me?”

Shocked, she just stood there shaking in silence until someone reminded her “You have to answer.”

(Thanks again Airborne Toxic Event)
We ended the day with Cold War Kids, Passion Pit, Silversun Pickup (3 of my favorite bands right now) and finally The Killers. But there is not much I can say about any of them. We were there watching, but all I can remember is looking at my wife.

Read the whole story here.