festival-crazy chicagoans. My experience with festivals before attending Lollapalooza in Chicago’s beautiful Grant Park was limited to smaller regional stuff. This was my first big fest. The number of stages was a bit overwhelming but it offered an extraordinary range of experiences: from a little set in a cozy grove of trees to a massive, straw-covered meadow with no shade in sight; from a tiny stage set for a few scruffy rockers to a 100 foot-high DJ booth and light show. The lineup was plenty diverse, too, even if the constituency wasn’t (too many over-privileged college kids with painfully hip wardrobes). Aida and I caught huge sets from The Killers, Vampire Weekend and Mumford &Sons, and smaller ones from Ellie Goulding, Jake Bugg and Family Of The Year. We even caught an incredibly intimate set from the latter in a corner of the festival shop; we were 5 feet from the band and had a great chat afterward. And I managed to get a taste of some EDM from Knife Party, reminding me that I’m too old for this shit but still down for anything when it comes to live music. I’m not sure I need to do another big fest any time soon — too much strategizing and angling for space to be able to see your favorite artists — but the enthusiastic and welcoming local contingent (and their impressive skyline) made it worth the effort. Setlist