Chicago is... Lollapalooza (Day 3, which pretty much blew the previous two out of the water)

It was Day 3 of Lollapalooza.  I had some sunburn to show for the last two days, a few blisters, and I hadn’t seen a vegetable in days.  But was I tired?  Was I ready to give up? NO! Lollapalooza had saved the best day for last.  I was about to see Palma Violets, Two Door Cinema Club, Vampire Weekend, and my favorite French pop stars, Phoenix, in rapid succession.  And after that, the Alt-J aftershow at Lincoln Hall. The forecast was sunny and 75 degrees, weather completely unheard of for the weekend that was usually, as my roommate Megan put it, I’m-gonna-kill-you hot.  I slipped on a bold sundress and my shiny leopard-print converse and covered myself in sunscreen, ready to finish off the weekend in style.

Lizzy and I made straight for the north main “Bud Light” stage for Palma Violets.  I’d never seen them before or even really listened to them much, but everyone I know with good music taste raves about them so I was down.  We scored a primo spot on the right side of the barrier that runs through the crowd to the sound booth.  

PRO TIP:  This is the best place you can be, even if you’re farther back.  It’s a clear line right to the stage with no one standing directly in front of you (I’m relatively short so this is always a problem for me).  Plus, you have something to lean on during the wait between shows and some personal space.  Also the artists often run down the pathway next to the barrier so you might get to see them up close.  To sum up: the middle barrier is your best friend.  If you secure a spot there you’re set for the day.

Anyway, back to the music.  Palma Violets put on an outstanding old-fashioned punk rock show.  They opened with a cover of “California Sun” which got the 1:00 p.m. crowd dancing immediately and the dancing pretty much continued to the end of the set.  At one point the band abandoned all instruments besides drums and a guitar, leaving the rest of the members free to jump and dance about the stage with wild abandon.  Though lately I’ve been more into folky or electronic music, I’ve marked them down as the next band to listen to obsessively.

Palma Violets at Glastonbury earlier this year (they're better at streaming than Lolla)

But here's what I saw!

Aaaand into the crowd!

Aware that I’d be on my feet until at least 2 am, I left the main stage right after Palma Violets to find somewhere to save my strength.  I quickly checked my Lollapalooza mobile app to see who was playing on the smaller stages and found Nightmare & the Cat playing at BMI (BMI wins again!).  I sat on the stairs near the stage and watched the young LA band perform.  I liked them.  Here’s a song:

Nightmare & the Cat at the BMI stage

Once they finished I went to grab some sustenance for myself and Lizzy.  She asked me to get her a lobster corndog from Grahamwich (I tasted it – amazing!) and I bought myself some truffle parmesan fries from Edzo’s.  I tried to save them to eat throughout the day but I ate most of them while I watched the end of Alex Clare’s set.  He’s the guy who sings “Too Close,” that song you’ve probably heard everywhere.  Knowing nothing about him besides that song, I was surprised to see that he was a stocky ginger bearded man in a denim shirt.  I’d expect to see him in a quiet folk band, not belting out mighty soulful electronica.  Appearances can be deceiving I guess!  I’m not sure I’ll become his biggest fan but he has a fantastic voice and the crowd was enthusiastically singing along to all his songs, not just the single. 

I managed to get back to Lizzy at our barrier spot, and we sat and ate while we waited for Two Door Cinema Club.  I’ve been listening to Two Door pretty steadily for the last two years.  Their music is irresistibly fun, with bouncy and bright guitar riffs and quick beats you can’t help but dance crazily to.  Oh, and they’re all just 23 years old, same as me.  The last time Lizzy was here for Lolla we got into their after-show despite not previously having purchased tickets, spent the show alternately watching the band and chatting with Hannah Hooper of Grouplove, who had opened.  After that show we met the band outside and spent about 15 minutes just talking to Sam Halliday, Two Door’s guitarist.   

But back to Sunday’s show.  Alex Trimble, lead singer, walked onto the stage as easily the most dapper performer I’d seen all weekend, in a pressed black suit and crisp tie.  They opened with “Sleep Alone,” the bouncy first single from Beacon. The band’s fast, beat-driven songs kept the crowd dancing and singing for the full hour they played.  Alex Trimble’s voice sounded as pure as ever (it’s just sooo nice on the ears) and Sam and Kevin were in top form.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they were moved up a slot by their next Lolla.

See what I mean about the middle barrier? GREAT VIEW.

How debonair!

When Two Door ended Lizzy made a bee line to the autograph tent to meet them.  I stayed at our primo spot for Vampire Weekend, who I hadn’t seen since my first Lollapalooza in 2009.  I chatted to the guy next to me who had driven up from Florida for the festival.  We talked about bands (the main subject of Lollapalooza conversations with strangers), and though our taste definitely differed, we were both crazy excited for Vampire Weekend.  We watched as the crew set up the stage with an immense floral-print background, giant mirror, and floating Corinthian columns which somehow managed to reflect the band's cheeky style of music.

When Ezra, Rostam, Chris, and Chris took the stage and launched into "Cousins", the frenzy began and only escalated to madness when they played "Diane Young" as their fourth song of the day.  Ezra Koenig, simultaneously silly and deadpan, is a fantastic frontman and the rest of the band was just as into it.  They surprised the crowd with their early, not-on-an-album "Ladies Of Cambridge" and it seemed like over half the crowd knew every word.  It was just really a great show and I'm having trouble describing it as I was bouncing and singing and deliriously happy the whole time.

GRR WE ARE VAMPIRES

My choice for Best Moment of Lollapalooza came during their set.  It wasn't even the band's doing.  During "Giving Up The Gun" (elated they played it as it's one of my favorites) a shirtless guy ran onstage behind the band.  For a moment I thought maybe it was another Lolla artist come to collaborate on the song.  This thought was immediately dismissed once I saw a security guard RUN AND TACKLE HIM TO THE GROUND, SUPER BOWL-STYLE.  I really have never seen anything like it.  It was like a movie or an SNL sketch.  The band didn't realize what had happened til he was down and continued to play the song with wide-eyed, bewildered faces.  Thank god someone got it on video:

EPIC.

The sun was beginning to set on the last day of Lollapalooza, but the best was yet to come.  Phoenix.  My favorite French pop maestros finally put out their fifth album this year, Bankrupt!, and I hadn't seen them live for three long years.  Phoenix is one of those bands that are just incredibly good at what they do.  They're creative and fresh and ever-evolving, leaving the best artists of the moment in their wake.  Phoenix has something for everyone: shimmering guitars, catchy hooks, earth-shaking bass, clever and mysterious lyrics, you name it.  Their latest album especially hints at their friendship with Daft Punk.  Having seen them before (so close I could see up Thomas Mars' nose, actually) I knew I was in for a great show, but I had no idea.

The show began with the big screens live broadcasting the band arriving at the stage piled onto a golf cart, ascending the stairs and walking onto the stage.  Everyone went wild.  They knew exactly what the crowd wanted, starting the set with "Entertainment" from the new album and then wasting no time playing "Listomania" from the huge 2009 Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  You would have never guessed that the audience had spent the past three days jumping about in the sun nonstop, such was the energy.  Each song flowed perfectly into the next, as if they were all written together.  Phoenix even did two live mashups on stage.  It was impossible to tell when "Trying To Be Cool" seamlessly transitioned to "Drakkar Noir" which in turn became "Chloroform"; I was dazzled by the bass and the lights and Thomas Mars's lilting vocals.  The band kept this up as they began "Love Like A Sunset", the instrumental number from WAF.  I was thinking that it was odd they'd choose that one instead of the instrumental from their latest album, when all of the sudden they were playing "Bankrupt!"  It was such a perfect segue... and then they did it AGAIN, back into "Love Like A Sunset", ending with brothers Christian and Branco performing their signature guitar duet.  Pros.  Absolute pros.

The palace at Versailles, their home town

"Love Like A Sunset": Super talented siblings

Thomas Mars descended from the stage to get up close and personal with the crowd for "1901", something I'm pretty sure he does at every show.  But I became fully convinced of his insanity and brilliance when he ran past me down the middle barrier, into the thick of the crowd and CROWDSURFED THE WHOLE CROWD during "Rome".  I'm not sure if it was lunacy or bravery or both that led him to do this, to trust thousands of hands to lift him up, to safely transport him back to the stage in the midst of their music-induced fervor.  But he did it.  As he neared the edge of the crowd, the riff from "Entertainment" brought the show full circle.  It was over.  My head buzzed from the mind-blowing sound, drunk on the dazzling performance I'd just witnessed.

Getting cozy with the crowd in "1901"

ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME
(a.k.a. THOMAS MARS YOU CRAZY MAN YOU)

Watch Phoenix's full Lollapalooza set here.

Unbelievably, the night was not yet over.  Lizzy, my cousin Lindsey, Anna, and I had tickets for the Alt-J after show.  I was still processing Phoenix when we arrived at Lincoln Hall, my favorite venue for its intimate size and excellent shows.  Guards, the opening band, was in the middle of their set and I really enjoyed the few songs I saw.  Around midnight Alt-J began.  I have yet to find a comparison to Alt-J.... their blend of poetic lyrics with a mix of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, and smattering of folk influences (they quote Johnny Flynn in "Matilda") makes them hard to pin down.  I always feel incredibly cool listening to them.  The mellow music soothed my mind while the beats drowned out the aching of my feet and everyone danced.  They closed their set with my favorite song of theirs, "Taro," written for Gerda Taro, the female photographer on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War.

"Tessellate" -- Triangles are my favorite shape too.

Alt-J was the perfect cool-down from the marathon of the weekend.  I fell into bed that night, ears ringing and music in my head.  Until next year, Lollapalooza... maybe I'll add Bonnaroo in 2014??

**My Lolla 2013 playlist:

Lollapalooza 2013 from kc_dilla on 8tracks Radio.

Chicago is... Lollapalooza (Day 2)

Wine sold by the water bottle.  Stay classy, Lolla.

Day 2 began with the brilliant Little Green Cars.  I went to this young Dublin band’s show on Easter Sunday this year on a whim (it was only $5 and I liked their song “The John Wayne”) and I got hooked.  It’s easy to fall in love with them.  Their harmonies are tight, their lyrics clever, and their songs range from dance-party to heartwrenching.  The band informed the crowd that Faye O’Rourke had lost her voice but they were determined to play for us.  And listening to her sing, you wouldn’t have guessed she was under the weather; she belted “My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me” with as much power as ever and the crowd cheered her on.  What a trooper!  After their set Lizzy and I met them at the FYE Autograph Tent, where the band signed our vinyl copies of their debut album, Absolute Zero.  It will go nicely with my signed CD and poster of theirs. ;)

Faye being awesome. What lost voice?

We crossed back to the south side of the park to settle at the main stage there for the next three bands (and the rest of the day).  Mumford & Sons was headlining that night and I wanted to be close.  Local Natives and The National preceded them, which worked out quite nicely.  Admittedly I don't listen to Local Natives on a regular basis, but I do think they're fantastic -- what can I say, I'm a sucker for great harmonies and Taylor Rice's Freddy Mercury mustache.  The National put on a great performance too; their music was gorgeous (love the horns) and Matt Berninger, their lead singer, moved all over the stage and even into the crowd.  Also, and I'm not sure if this is just how he usually acts when performing, but he seemed somewhat wasted -- though musically on-point.  Rock on, Matt.

Local Natives

The National

What's wrong, Matt Berninger? It'll be ok, I promise.

See? The crowd loves you.

The second The National played their last note, the push towards the stage began.  We up front had to yell behind us to stop pushing because there was No. Room. Left.  Lizzy and I were squished next to three VERY ANNOYING GIRLS.  I'm tempted to whine about how much I wanted to duct tape their mouths but I don't want to subject you to that.  Rather than deal with them, and the crazy crowd, and the heat, Lizzy opted out of the crowd.  I remained, as I wanted to have a great view, especially in case they pulled off a Glastonbury-style encore (they didn't, sadly and somewhat surprisingly).  Near show time I befriended a girl named Caitlin who was really excited to see them for the first time (if you're reading this, hello!).  The band opened with Babel, as I predicted (it's loud, it's exciting, it's new) and the dancing began.  They were at their best, I think, with Dustbowl Dance and Thistle & Weeds (I love their angry songs) and I was elated when they played Lover of the Light the RIGHT way, with loads of drums - not the toned-down album version.  It's been one of my favorite songs since I saw them for the first time at Lollapalooza 2010.  The band actually did get the crowd to be quiet for their stripped down, very acoustic version of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire".  They closed out with The Cave, naturally.  All in all, it was a good show... however, they didn't live up to their own standards this one.  Maybe it was rough connecting to such a huge crowd (over half the festival came to watch) or maybe they were having an off day.  Mostly it made me excited to see them at their September stopover in St. Augustine, because I know it will be much better.  But on the bright side: Ted seemed to be fully recovered from his brain surgery just last June and I think he saw the "WE ❤  TED" sign I made him.

Now, I must conclude this post with Mumford & Sons most recent music video, for "Hopeless Wanderer."  Because if you haven't seen it already, you're about to watch it for the first of many, many times.  It's pretty much perfect:

**My Lolla 2013 playlist:

Lollapalooza 2013 from kc_dilla on 8tracks Radio.

Chicago is... Lollapalooza (Day 1)

I would have posted this earlier but Lollapalooza hangovers are a very real thing and they can happen without a drop of alcohol.  I've recovered enough now to tell of my adventures in Grant Park.

It had been months since I sat, stressed, waiting to click the "Buy" button before the tickets for Lollapalooza 2013 sold out in minutes.  MINUTES.  By some miracle I scored 3-day passes for my fifth consecutive year at the massive and ever-growing festival (300,000 people this year, absolutely insane).  Finally the day had come.  My friend Lizzy, who came into the city for the weekend, and I covered ourselves in sunscreen and ventured out of my apartment to Grant Park.

Lizzy and I started at The Neighbourhood, but it wasn't really my thing so I headed in the direction of the BMI stage. One of my favorite things about Lollapalooza is walking around listening for something that sounds good, and the shady and intimate BMI stage is usually good for this.  There I found American Authors; their banjo-tinted pop was much more my speed.  You may have heard "Best Day Of My Life" in a Lowes commercial.

My cousin put Father John Misty in her top three Bonnaroo shows, so I thought I'd check him out after San Cisco.  It ended up being my favorite show of the day.  J. Tillman had the crowd in the palm of his hand like an Evangelical preacher as he schmoozed and seductively swayed his hips.  I stayed for the whole set.  Here's a video I didn't take:

And here's a picture I did:

My headliner of choice on Friday was The Killers.  Sorry Nine Inch Nails, but I didn't spend the majority of 2008-2010 with you serenading my eardrums or risking frostbite (twice) for an autograph.  This time, however, my friend Lizzy and I opted to watch from the hill near the main south stage instead of fighting through the crowd.  The boys from Sin City ("We'll try not to corrupt you" promised Flowers) got the crowd dancing from the get-go, opening with Mr. Brightside and keeping the dancing going with Spaceman.  As usual, they played their cover of Joy Division's "Shadowplay," but this time Bernard Sumner, who was on the stage just a couple hours earlier with New Order, joined Brandon Flowers on vocals.  The Killers sweet-talked Chicago, with Dave Keuning donning a Bulls jersey for the occasion and the band covering (and making up additional lyrics to) "My Kind Of Town."  It was unabashedly cheesy; they showed pictures of the Bean and Al Capone and even Barack Obama.  But then, Las Vegas is known for corny showmanship so it was completely fitting.  You can watch the whole live stream of the show here.

Lizzy and I, a couple of Victims staking out our spot on the hill.

Shadowplay with Bernard Sumner

Mr. Flowers with the bass (unf) during For Reasons Unknown

The Bean. I cannot.

And with that, Day 1 of Lollapalooza 2013 was over.  To save your attention span, I'm breaking my account of the weekend into three posts.  You can read the next one here.


**I made a playlist of everyone I saw at Lolla 2013.  You can listen here:

Lollapalooza 2013 from kc_dilla on 8tracks Radio.

Hogwarts School of Continuing Education?

Today I received a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter sent to me from Canada. Canada Hogwarts. ???

There was no context except a note from Dumbledore (beyond the grave, at that):

Dear Miss K. Dietrich,

I have been informed by the MINISTRY that your Acceptance letter has been in their possession from some time and that you have, unfortunately, never received it.  I offer you my apologies and hope that you are still seeking a magical education.  Please report to Professor Flitwick who will be overseeing the courses for older students. Forward your reply no later than July 31st.

Albus Dumbledore


I'm confused.

**EDIT**


Chelsea sent it!! How lovely is she?  It's from Etsy. I mean Hogwarts.

May Album Release Round-Up

May is always an eventful month, given all the people I know that have birthdays this month, plus Mother's Day and Memorial Day.  This year, May saw a lot of new albums too.  Of course, anyone with ears or eyes knows that Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" came out last month.  Daft Punk is undeniably awesome, but I must admit that listening to their new release is still on my to-do list (I have heard "Get Lucky" though and I don't see what all the fuss is about... pleasedon'thurtme).  But there were three album release days marked on my calendar last month, and as May is officially over now, I thought I'd do a recap.

Noah and the Whale: Heart of Nowhere

May 6, 2013

Noah and the Whale have never been a band to make the same album over and over again.  Their first, Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, was folky and morbidly bright, full of happy-sounding sad songs, which are my favorite kinds of songs.  Laura Marling was harmonizing and lending a delicate air to the band. Then she left the band and broke Charlie Fink's heart and holed up in a church to write the heartbreakingly beautiful The First Days Of Spring, which balances the pain with suites of orchestral arrangements which yes, evoke bright sunny days after a long winter.  Their third, Last Night On Earth, while it definitely showcased Tom Hobden's signature violin prowess, was a significant departure from the folk beginnings and had a more electronic-y rock-pop sound.  Most of the album is stories of multiple characters, seemingly reflecting on their lives and mistakes and moving on from the past.  It's very easy to sing along to and plays very well live.

Their latest, Heart of Nowhere, is similar to the band's last album in that it is more rock-influenced and tells stories of characters; this time it seems to follow the same characters from adolescence through their respective comings of age.  Like First Days of Spring, the band has made a short film to accompany the album, about a futuristic dystopian society where all teenagers are quarantined from society until they reach adulthood.  The album seems to follow the path of teenage dreams of escape into the world, plans of love and happiness that seem just on the horizon, only for those dreams to fizzle out and fade away with age, leaving the protagonists with regret.  The story is nice and has its poignant moments, some songs have sing-along potential, but musically I can't say that I'm terribly impressed.  The members of Noah and the Whale are undoubtedly good at what they do, and Charlie Fink's quavering voice always gets me right *here*, but this album doesn't have a uniquely NATW sound; in fact, much of the album sounds like 80s pop-rock, like an understated Springsteen perhaps.  It doesn't seem like anything new or different or exciting, at least to me.  The first track, "Heart of Nowhere," which features Anna Calvi on vocals, is the most likely crowd-pleaser, and the lyrics of "Silver and Gold" personally resonate with me, but there aren't many obvious stand-out tracks.  The album isn't exactly flat, but there's not much drama nor surprises.  I'd say it's a decent album, just not their best.  That said, I still can't wait for them to come to Chicago so I can see them live again.

(Hopefully this review won't prejudice you against Noah and the Whale if you were previously unfamiliar with them.  They're a wonderful band.)

Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City

May 14, 2013

Modern Vampires is the band's most experimental and edgy--can you even call Vampire Weekend edgy? I'm not sure--album so far.  It sounds more like something you'd listen to while speeding through the city or dancing at a rock club than frolicking on a sunny beach on the Gulf, such as their previous two records.  It has a good balance of upbeat and mellow songs, and is something you could put on at a party without someone objecting or changing the song.  I listened to it this morning on my commute to work and it set a happy tone for the day.

There's Vampire Weekend's signature sprinkling of odd and cheeky lyrics ("I'm ready for the house/Such a modest mouse") that occasionally promote inter-religious harmony ("An orthodox girl fell in love with a guy at the falafel shop/And why not?") and the motivation for shaving.  "Worship You" is an absolute tongue-twister of a song, and reminds me a lot of King Charles (just look him up--you're welcome).  Perhaps the title "Obvious Bicycle", the first track on the album, sets the tone for bizarre word-play.  The instrumentation is just as quirky, and it's hard to tell exactly what you're listening to, machine or musician.  "Hudson" appropriately sounds like you're at the bottom of the cold Hudson Bay and the distorted vocals on "Diane Young" are silly in a good way.  Rostam Batmanglij talked in an interview about playing with effects for this album that can be repeated in their live shows, and I bet their tour of this album will be fantastic.

To sum up, Modern Vampires of the City shows that Vampire Weekend is constantly improving and its members are talented without taking themselves too seriously.  The album is well-crafted and fun and will be brilliant live.

Laura Marling: Once I Was An Eagle

May 28, 2013

You know I can't shut up about Laura Marling.  But if you've listened to her you understand why.  From her first album it was evident that she was an artist to pay attention to.  Her striking lyrics matched with her intricate and powerful acoustic fingerpicking cut right to the core, somehow making you feel very melancholy yet somehow happy at the same time.  Her new album Once I Was An Eagle is her best yet.  It's the turning point album that 20 years from now, every music lover will have in their collection, the album music snobs will stare at you, mouths agape, for not having heard.  It's good.  Really good.  It's difficult to believe that this is the same person who played with Noah and the Whale just five years ago.  Her precociousness has become wisdom, her bright, youthful voice now husky and deep.  She's not so much singing as emoting; every line is delivered carefully and deliberately, every word integral to her message.  The instrumentation is kept simple but hardly seems that way, such is the power with which it is used.  You would be doing yourself a disservice not to listen to this album in order, start to finish.  The songs flow into one another, all connected through themes of heartbreak, love, temptation, and regret.  Once I Was An Eagle proves that Marling defies genre: here you can find folk, jazz, bluegrass, rock, blues, even Spanish guitar.  There’s something for everyone.

The album begins with a suite of four songs which were brought to life in the short film, When Brave Bird Saved.  They deal with the beginnings of heartbreak, of resentment and regret.  Rosie, the main character, bids her lover leave her mind as she swears off romance.  She is full of regret and chides herself for being so naïve.  Following the suite is "Master Hunter," in which she makes the claim that she's "cured her skin so nothing gets in/Nothing, not as hard as it tries."  She is defiant and sneering, asserting her new tough shell.  She finds herself caving again though, trying to maintain her tough skin, wary of new love but desiring it all the same: “I can’t seem to say/I’d like you to stay.”  She becomes a temptress, a sultry sinner in “Devil’s Resting Place,” a dark and driving track that sounds like a train fast approaching.  She inevitably looks to change course, wishes again for naivety, and searches for love.  You can hear echoes of Bob Dylan in “Where Can I Go” and a hint of Joni Mitchell (who Marling has been compared to from the beginning).  Rosie hesitantly stumbles into love again, asking “How does he make love seem sweet/Isn’t that some heavy feat?” in “Love Be Brave.”  The end of the album consists of Rosie reflecting on all that’s happened through the album’s journey.  The final track, “Saved These Words,” is like the prize at the end of a long treasure hunt.  I think it’s the best track on the album.  It is grand and confident and concludes the album perfectly.  She shout-sings “You weren’t my curse/Thank you naivety, for failing me again!”  And so begins again the eternal cycle.

Serendipity

ser·en·dip·i·ty  noun\ˌser-ən-ˈdi-pə-tē\ : The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way

It's widely agreed among people that know me that I have a gift for meeting famous people.

Not A-list movie stars or anything like that (though my boss's son does know Leo DiCaprio, so we're practically besties).  No, it's mostly just quasi-famous people -- people that are celebrities to me but you won't likely see them making headlines on E! News.  Most "famous" people I've met are favorite bands of mine.  I've had the opportunity of meeting many of them over the past five years given my location and concert habit.  "You're so lucky! You have a magic power of meeting famous people!"  No, I reply, I'm just patient and I know where the stage door is and I've probably crossed the line between being a fan and being slightly creepy once or twice.  Anyone can do it if they don't mind freezing nearly to death.  It's not luck; it's planning and knowing where to be and when and being there. (And okay, and living in Chicago helps a lot.)

But it's the unplanned happenings that are the best.  Once in a while the stars align and I'm in the right place at the right time in the right situation, led by a series of seemingly random events.  Often it's probably something I don't notice at the time, like capturing an interesting photo or meeting a lifelong friend or catching a bus at just the right time or even being born white in middle-class America.  But meeting famous people is a good example of this and for some reason it's happened to me a lot.

#1

I think the first time this happened was in 2010, in Las Vegas.  I was eating breakfast with family at the cafe at the Hard Rock Hotel.  That place is a sort of mecca for me - there is amazing rock memorabilia everywhere.  Anyway, as I was sitting there I looked up to the front of the restaurant and noticed an older Hispanic man who was about to be seated, with long curly dark hair, wearing a hat and a Bob Marley t-shirt.  He looked familiar, though I'd never met him before.  I suddenly realized that this man was Carlos Santana, one of the greatest guitarists to ever live, Woodstock performer and all-around legend.  I quietly mentioned this to my family and after some pushing, they convinced me to go up to him for his autograph.  He couldn't have been nicer and he took a picture with me and my cousins.  If we hadn't decided to eat breakfast at the restaurant at that time, if we weren't in Vegas in the first place, that would never have happened.

Just chilling with our pal Carlos.

#2

The first time in our lives we'd been in Europe, two of our favorite actors - David Tennant and Catherine Tate, stars of Doctor Who, among other things - were starring in a Shakespeare play in London, the city of my dreams.  For once we didn't have to curse the Atlantic Ocean keeping us away from something so fantastic.  Chelsea's serendipitous moment came in the form of magically securing tickets for us to the first night of this near sold-out show, and close to the stage to boot.  That night I shared an unforgettable experience with two of my best friends, seeing these actors perform their craft brilliantly and even getting their autographs afterwards.  If we hadn't all chosen that semester to study abroad, and those places, and [insert ticket magic here because I still don't understand], this would have been yet another thing we sighed about missing.

It could have ended there and we'd have been more than happy.  But this was London.

The next day would be our last full day in London, and Abby and I wanted to see a show at the Globe Theatre.  We looked up tickets for that day's play and were dismayed to see it had sold out.  But we wanted to make the best of our time and asked Chelsea to lead us to the Globe anyway, so we could at least see it.  To make a long story short, we walked in the wrong entrance to the theater grounds, saw a man who looked quite a bit like Rory from Doctor Who, and ended up meeting our third major Doctor Who actor in two days, Arthur Darvill.  A series of wrong turns and seemingly missed opportunities was responsible for our incredulity-produced inability to form complete sentences for the next few hours as well as a crazy-awesome picture and memory.

Calm outside. FREAKING OUT inside.

#3

Today the universe smiled upon me again.  It was after work and I was on the 22 bus.  Normally I take another bus home, but I was pet-sitting for my friend Marianne and was going to her apartment first.  I managed to squeeze on to an incredibly packed bus.  I was pressed to the front of the bus, looking directly out the huge front window.  Usually on the bus I have a book out or I'm scrolling through social media phone apps, but I needed to hold on and my bag was trapped at my feet besides.  I settled for enjoying the view.  When the bus stopped at Huron and opened its doors, I stayed where I expected to stay for the next 20 minutes.  It was a red light, which gave me time to notice a girl in a hoodie crossing the street in front of the bus, carrying a paper grocery bag.  I recognized her immediately as Hannah Hart, the host of YouTube's My Drunk Kitchen, which Abby and I watched (and often reenacted) religiously during our last year of college.  I'd been following Hannah's tour of the US on Instagram and I knew she'd been in Chicago the last few days, but I was sure she'd moved on by now and had accepted that I'd missed her.  I immediately hopped off the bus, unwilling to let the opportunity of meeting one of my favorite internet stars go by.  I called her name and introduced myself.  She was incredibly friendly and even took a picture of us with my phone.  We parted ways, she to shoot an episode of Kitchen about hot dogs with the groceries she was carrying, and I to smile ridiculously to myself at the bus stop.

Note Hannah's mad selfie skills on the first try.

I think what I've learned is that really cool things can happen when you break from your routine.  When you haven't planned exactly where and when to be.  When plans fall apart or you walk down a different street or make an arbitrary decision.  This series of unexpected events could be leading up to something potentially incredible.  I'm not a particularly religious person, but I do believe that sometimes things are meant to happen, whether you call it fate, divine intervention, luck, or serendipity.

Sun Sun Sun

This spring has not been a spring so far.  It's been more like a long, cloudy, miserable winter that's lasted for seven months (though some states like Colorado are still getting snow and that is just not okay).

I was beginning to forget what it was like to feel the sun on my face and had actually started wishing for the blazing heat of July.  That's how UV-deprived I was.  So last Tuesday, when Chicago cranked the heat up to 80 degrees it felt like the first day of summer vacation from school and I'm pretty sure the birds were singing this song:

Tuesday morning I prepared, half-awake, for the glorious day ahead.  I pulled a sundress out of hiding, ignored my tights in favor of bare, ghostly pale legs, and made sure to grab my camera and check that it was charged for the lunch-break-long summer photo adventure downtown I had planned.  When noon came, I burst out of the office, camera around my neck.  I came to the L underpass at Lake and State, framed a great shot of the shadows on the metalwork, and clicked.

Nothing.  Why? I asked myself.  It's charged!  The lens cap is off!  What's going on?  Oh.

No memory card.

I thought longingly of the little blue rectangle, lonely in my dark apartment, still stuck in my sleeping laptop.  I mourned the loss of opportunity for a moment, and even considered buying a cheap, low-memory card just to get me through the hour.  Luckily I quickly realized that my bank account would be disappointed in me if I spent an unnecessary $12.  I came to my senses, threw my shoulders back, and tapped the camera icon on my phone.  Was I too good for Instagram? No. No I was not.

Looking north on Dearborn Street Bridge

I suppose the sun took pity on me and my absentmindedness, because Wednesday was just as beautifully warm.  I reunited my memory card with its true Nikon love, and together they went on a romantic tour of the Chicago river between State and Wells.

Days like this seem so rare that sometimes you just have to take advantage of it, especially in Chicago because you know that the next day could drop 40 degrees (which it did).  I'd scheduled a badly-needed haircut for that day, but I called and rescheduled it in favor of going jogging with friends.  And actually, yesterday was the first time I didn't feel at all like death since I started jogging about 2 weeks ago.  Good decisions all around, really.

Earlier in the day I discovered that my friend Amanda has been working two blocks away from me since February, so she joined me for part of the time.  I'm starting to suspect that I know many people that work near me and I just don't know it.  Well, it is the Loop, so the odds of this are pretty good.  I guess none of them go to the Au Bon Pain I've planted myself in every day of this year's ice age.

Hopefully I got enough Vitamin D in these past few days to last me for a while.  Because it seems, looking at the next 7 days, I'm going to have to learn to take good rainy pictures without ruining my camera.