By Kristin Decker
WGN Radio

Lolla. Day 3.  It started with a little bit of MS MR, a New York band, and the most memorable part of their set was their cover of the LCD Soundsystem song, Dance Yourself Clean.  They drew a pretty big crowd for being on a smaller stage and they are a band to keep an eye on.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see them on a larger stage in a few years.   I wanted to get some heavy rock in because when I think of Lollapalooza, my mind goes to rock.  Baroness provided that outlet with a heavier rock set then anything I had seen the previous day.  I almost felt like I had stepped back into the early nineties but it was refreshing to see some grit in a weekend that seemed to be pretty heavy on pop music.

I love to get up and dance and Two Door Cinema Club was my solution.  Every single song was high energy and upbeat.  They have an 80’s vibe and their lead singer had a suit, black Ray Ban looking sunglasses and sipped from a glass of white wine during the set.    This was one of the few acts that caught my attention for the entire set.  Vampire Weekend was my next music stop and they were definitely a crowd favorite.  The crowd that had gathered for Two Door Cinema Club grew and grew for Vampire Weekend.  Their set had this mirror that provided an optical illusion.   From the crowd we didn’t really see anything, but when you see pictures or when you caught a glimpse of the mirror on the screen – you could see the audience, thousands of arms waving through the air and enjoying the unique mix of beats with catchy, peppy tones and lyrics.  Spontaneous dance moves were kicking out all over the north side of Grant Park.

The time had come for the headliners of the night, The Cure and Phoenix.  I was so torn because I am a huge Phoenix fan and their music got me through my first Chicago Marathon, but I had to say that I saw The Cure once in my life.  The temperature had dropped, the sky had clouded over, and Robert Smith’s vocals rang through the air.  Maybe it was my mood, I was sad it was Sunday night and the end of weekend, I was already getting post Lollapalooza depression, and I was completely taken aback by how awful Robert Smith looked.  The mix of those things made me stay for 35 minutes of The Cure and then I was ready  to end my night on a high note, I left and went to Phoenix.  I sang my heart out, I danced, I watched the lead singer of Phoenix crowd surf, and finally I realized that this was the perfect ending to my Lollapalooza.  I was with a group of people who just loved the music.  The thoughts of Monday were far away in my mind when we were all singing “1901” or “Armistice.”

Lollapalooza is my favorite weekend of the year.  Seeing so many different kinds of music, musicians, stages, and styles, and being in a special moment over and over again – where you sing, dance, fist pump, play air guitar, play air drums, and let the music take you away….there is nothing like it.  Only one venue is fan friendly enough for the massive stage of Lollapalooza and that’s Chicago and I’m already counting down the days until Lolla 2014.

See Kristin’s Lolla pics at instagram.com/wgnradio.