Lollapalooza Love

Sitting here, trying to keep my eyes open at my desk, I can't stop thinking about how amazing Lolla was and how weird it was waking up today and not instantly starting to drink and plan out what bands we were going to see for the day.

I would definitely have to say it's been my top festival of the summer with only Summer Set left to go. My only complaint is my broken phone not holding a charge, not getting service and not being allowed to bring in my big camera so I wasn't able to get a lot of my own photos or videos.

Despite that, it truly was one of my best Chicago summer weekends to date. Now for some awards of my best/worst picks from Lollapalooza 2012...

Best Overall Set:

Florence + The Machine -- Her voice is absolutely haunting; she literally brought me to tears. And damn, what a performer. Hopping up and down, running around the stage, spinning, slipping out of time... was that the wrong pill to take? Still can't get her beautiful music out of my head...

Worst Overall Set (Only based on the sets I saw):

 

M83 -- Maybe I was just salty because I got pulled away from Nero to see them, but M83 did not impress me at all. Everyone in the crowd kept looking at each other and asking why it was so quiet, but even with a shoddy sound system, there wasn't much energy coming from the group themselves. Overall they weren't horrible, but I think they could have delivered much more to make up for the lack of volume. At least you know I saw some pretty awesome acts if these guys were considered my worst!

Best Electronic Set:

Calvin Harris -- The Perry's stage was ablaze with hot EDM artists all weekend, but the most fun for me had to be Calvin Harris. Everyone was super excited to be back after the evacuation so the energy was super high while the bass thwomped low through hot tracks like "Bounce," "You Used to Hold Me" and "We Found Love."

The Rain Couldn't Keep Me Away:

Red Hot Chili Peppers -- After waiting around all day for the weather to decide whether or not I would be allowed to see my #1 reason for buying tickets to Lolla in the first place, I was beyond ecstatic to climb on the tallest shoulders I could find for a glimpse of my favorite rockers. While I was slightly disappointed they didn't sing me any "Scar Tissue," I was just as happy with old favorites like "Otherside," "Give It Away," and "Under the Bridge."

Super Depressed I Missed:

Santigold -- I just couldn't tear myself away from RHCP. I know I'll definitely get a chance to see her again though--hopefully very soon! Sucks though; heard it was a great show.

My New Girl Crush:

Emily Haines // Metric -- Absolutely killed it for me. Not sure if it was that sparkly top + leather shorts combo or her head-banging rocker chick attitude, but this front woman's sexy stage presence had me all sorts of hot.

Performance I Wasn't Expecting to See, But Loved:

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis -- My friend Jordan has been talking about this Seattle rapper for months, but I never actually got around to listening to any of his tracks. After seeing his great interaction with the crowd and his ability to keep me jumping around for an hour straight, I have to say I am sold. 

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 , 8

Lollapalooza Preview

T-minus 1 day!

Despite going to school in Chicago for the past four years (well, three since last year was spent across the world), I've never spent a summer in the city until now. Which also means I have never been to Lollapalooza.

Stupid, stupid me.

When I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers were headlining this year, I jumped all over that and got my Early Bird passes immediately.

Here's a look at the other acts I'm dying to see this weekend...


Nero.

 

The Nero Essential Mix was stuck on repeat pretty much my entire stay in England, where I was first introduced to this dynamic duo from North West London. I had a blast thrashing out at Fabric to their drum'n'bass and dub-step-infused grime symphonies and can't wait to go at it again for a flashback to my time spent across the pond.


Santigold.

My love affair with Miss Santi White has been going on since I first heard Santogold several years ago and with Master of My Make-Believe released earlier this year, I have to say she has done it again. Semi-depressed she's playing the same time as RHCP. I think I might be sprinting back and forth between stages...

 Florence + The Machine.

Sing me some Ceremonials you beautiful, angelic woman.

The Weeknd.

Sex. Drugs. An amazing remix with Florence. What more could you want? I'm hoping they'll do a live collaboration of the Shake It Out Remix for us...

Doctor P.

Another staple introduced to me in London--seriously, people in that city know good music. His mixes with Flux Pavilion and Example first caught my ear and opened up the gateway to a ton of his tracks.

Ready, set, LOLLLAAAAAAAAAAA!

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Crazy Good Summer

If I've learned anything about the real world since graduation, it would be that you need to go out and ask for what you want. Figure out what your goals and ambitions are and make them known. People can't help you if they don't know what you want.

This is how I got to interview Boys Like Girls, Carly Rae Jepsen and Austin Mahone last Thursday at the Kellogg's Pop-Tarts' Crazy Good Summer concert event.

Since I had no idea I would be doing the interviews until after I got to work, I felt a little overwhelmed running around between an intern meeting and summer fashion photo shoot while also trying to get my other work done and prepare for the evening all at the same time.

But wow. As if I thought multi-tasking was difficult in the office... Filming, taking photos and interviewing the performers was a whole different ball game. Surprisingly though, the craziness of it all kept me from being super nervous and I was able to keep the interviews pretty conversational.

Especially after hanging out with Boys Like Girls and talking to the members I met way back in Melbourne. It's a small world after all.

About half-way through, Rissi was able to come out and help me with photos and filming and we had a great time jamming along with all the teeny-boppers in the crowd. We continued the fun after the show and met up with John and Morgan at the House of Blues and partied like rock stars (with rock stars!) until the wee hours of the morning.

Check out my full-length interview with Carly here.

For more behind-the-scenes footage, click here or take a peek at the RedEye photo gallery of the event.

Wavefront Music Festival

So I didn't quite bare it all, but instead added high-waisted shorts for a little smaller sliver of skin that definitely gave me the extra boost of confidence to work it all out on the dance floor. 

Crazily enough, I recognized this girl from my fashion post on Spring Awakening and went up to ask if it was her in the hippie chic outfit on my camera. Small worlds collide (some may even call it serendipity!) & in fact, it was her AND she was sharing my style with a cropped-up tank and high-waisted denim cut-offs. 

Unfortunately, the fashion at Wavefront wasn't all that notable minus a few cuties sporting summer's hottest trends like those neon pink skinnies and the adorable bralet with a high-waisted skirt. Otherwise, it was just bikini tops and tutus as far as the eye could see.

Well and the hybird Lady Gaga-Princess Gwenevere-esque, space creature that could be found twirling around above the crowd here and there. 

And some sexy guys to turn up the heat in true Americana fashion.

 

All in all, I think the best part of the day was watching the sun set over the city with sand in my toes and dancing my life away with my loved ones around me.

Wavefront Music Festival Preview

Electronic dance music (EDM) continues its take over and this time it's hitting the beach!

Hello Wavefront Music Festival, so nice to meet you.

I'm super excited to be a part of the first ever Wavefront and I can't get over how awesome it is that we get to kick it by the lake shore on Montrose Beach while listening to some of the biggest names in the increasingly popular electronic/house genre.

And as always, I'm super interested to see what people will be wearing! No one wants sand in their furry rave boots so maybe we'll finally see an end to that tired look?! A girl can only hope.

As you all know from my latest post, I've been training for the marathon and I think this body may be almost beach-ready enough to hit Montrose in my bikini top. Normally I'd try to go for something a bit more put together, but this has been a summer of bare midriffs & hotter than hot temperatures--and come on, we will be at the beach after all!

Here is some inspiration for rocking a swim suit in style:

After finding these looks, I might just have to cover up with an over-sized button-up, slouchy harem pants or a cute crochet top. We'll see how confident I'm feeling come Saturday...

Until then, I'll be listening to all the MSTRKRFT, Boys Noize and Visionquest my bass head will allow!

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Chicago Pride Parade

The 43rd annual Chicago Pride Parade was held this Sunday with rainbow colors, positivity and glitter galore! 

How have I never been to this before?! As a first-timer to the parade, I had no idea what to expect. I could only hope for flamboyant gay men, free condoms and a day of fun in the sun, but it turned out to be everything I had anticipated and more.

Not only did I receive a ton of compliments on my tight, see-through maxi from Akira...

....but I saw a ton of bold & bright fashion that absolutely screamed PRIDE!

And of course, Candice and I made some new friends.

All the while, the parade was in full swing! Only during Pride can you booty pop on a cop, parade around half naked, dress up in total drag and crowd the streets, waving flags of every color while gogo dancers shower you with condoms and after-party invites from the rooftops! 

But the greatest part was what the whole event represented. Feelings of overwhelming pride (okay, yeah obviously), excitement and gratitude kept coming over me as I looked around and realized what an open and accepting city I live in and how far the Gay Rights Movement has come.

Over 850,000 people came out to show their support for the LGBT community on Sunday and I couldn't help myself but to have corny moments of hugs and congratulations for the steps towards equality that the parade, festival and whole pride month in Chicago has made. 

I can't WAIT for next year!

Photos by John Koeger
(minus Fashion section photos by moi!)