There were five of us all-together. In a group following the crowd, we slid our way up to the front of the line; our wrists bands already built up with sweat from the scorching sun, which shed its light upon us as we walked through the gates of Grant Park down town Chicago for the summer music festival, Lollapalooza.
It was my first year attending and my adrenalin was pumping. I was so excited to see some of my favorite performers over these next three days that were at Lollapalooza. We had gotten through and saw the mass amounts of people filing into the park and those already inside. There were so many faces, outfits; it was as if we entered a new world where only music mattered. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. As we walked to the first set, we approached the crowd waiting for the day to begin and the first performer to start!
During the set, the crowd was crazy, all singing along and everyone, with open arms, to whatever ways he pumped up the crowd. The crowd surfing began and people started having friends lift them up to sore far and hopefully get to the front. They would hope to not be dropped, and every now and then you would see that unlucky person who would suddenly disappear from atop the crowd. Ouch.
As morning moved into afternoon the park was full of all walks of life. All ages, genders, races from little kids to grandparents. The morning moved on to the afternoon and it was time for a break, to rehydrate with some water and lunch. We planted ourselves in a nice shaded area to regroup for a bit, and do a little people watching as we waited for the good performers to start later the night. That’s when the real party started.
Gathering together and claiming our area for the last show of the night, we waited as patiently as we could. The lights finally turned on and there they appeared. The crowd roared so loud that one could feel the build up and intensity inside oneself, even vibrating the ground below us. And at that moment everyone turned into one being with one goal: to have a good time listening to the greatest tunes. As the set continued, the days worth of walking and dancing and standing started to set in, but that was no reason to quit!
When the final performer finished it was a mad rush to the exit as over fifty thousand people had to exit the same way. It was like herding animals, pushing and shoving just to get free from what we all experienced. Everyone feeling the pain of being there all day, with our noodle legs and wanting to just sleep. The five of us had to be back tomorrow, to do it all over yet again, for two more days, with hopes of attending again for many years to come.
Uncle Hysteria 