Lollapalooza day 2...

This is the day we were waiting for. Rage Against The Machine tonight!! Long time favourite band of mine and my daughter's. The band only plays one or two festivals a year now so getting an opportunity to see them is pretty rare. And they were the main reason we traveled to Chicago. The fact that Nine Inch Nails was playing there as well was just the icing on the cake....

Before heading to the park though we stopped by another Chicago park - Millennium Park, to the see The Bean - also know by it's official name Cloud Gate.


Cloud Gate - "The Bean"

We spent most of the afternoon checking out different bands. My daughter went to see an emo band she likes - Brand New while I went to see an incredible Canadian talent Serena Ryder. I managed to be front row against the stage and got lots of photos and videos of her playing. She played a 45 minute set and she rocked!!


Serena Ryder.

Another band I saw but didn't take any pix of was a New Jersey based group called Steel Train. They were really, really good. Sounded like an updated Bruce Sprinsteen on steroids. Great set.


Waiting for Rage Against The Machine.

Rage Against The Machine was without a doubt the most intense, crowed, wild show I have ever attended. Lollapalooza boasted a complete sell out this year - first time in its' history. 75,000 per day. Well, on Saturday night more than 50,000 of those people went to see Rage. It was pretty scary at one point as all movement was at the mercy of the crowd. The band even stopped the show midway through the 3rd song, People Of The Sun, imploring people to move back 10 steps as people were passing out and getting injured up front. There were 2 or 3 more stoppages during the set as the crowd was fucking nuts for these guys. Even the head of security for the whole event came on stage to talk to the band and audience. He said if we didn't move back and stop pushing they would have no choice but to end the show.

Below is a crowd shot of Rage courtesy of the Lollapalooza web site. I added a small red x to the left of the sound tent to show where my daughter and I were in the crowd.


Official Lollapalooza Photo by Dave Mead.


Rage Against The Machine.


Rage Against The Machine.

In the end it was all good and my daughter and I were both just over the moon that we finally got to see Rage in concert. After the show the crowd spilled out on the streets of Chicago taking over completely. It was amazing. And in the most crowed subway car I've ever been in the entire car spontaneously broke out singing a bunch of old R&B songs. It was a total blast....


RATM fans taking over the streets of Chicago.

Photos taken by me in Chicago unless otherwise noted.