two words.

COLD. PLAY.

what ALMOST had the power to prompt me into resurfacing in the blogging world last month was the advent of friday, august 5. for four months, i'd been counting down to lollapalooza 2011. here's a glimpse of how i spent that night:



that was the close of the equally spectacular prior two hours. chris, guy, jonny and will engaged and entertained - and seemed to be enjoying the moments as much as their portion of the 90,000 fans in attendance were. there were fireworks, lasers, giant balloons, guitar smashing antics, tributes (Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and the Back to the Future theme were preludes; Chris sampled a somber version of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" to open "Fix You") and the beloved ragdoll dance. the crowd jumped, danced, clapped and sang along (with and without prompting) and in return, the band was frequently caught applauding the crowd's participation. the Chicago skyline was the backdrop. outside of the contact high and 100% humidity, the day was near perfection.

leading up to the headlining show were notable performances by grace potter & the nocturnals, the kills and bright eyes. girl talk and muse performed a million miles away opposite coldplay, and even though i read somewhere that matt bellamy claimed those watching his show had "made the right choice" - i honestly beg to differ. (though i'm sure he was entertaining and his fans weren't disappointed.)

another favorite moment from the night:



so worth my money. even with as little of it as i have.

well, that's all i have to say, for real. at least in writing.

go in peace.