Neon Trees at Lollapalooza – photography by Carlton Beener

Alt country rockers These United States kicked off Lollapalooza 2010 in Chicago Friday morning, August 6th. The first day lineup seemed the most diverse with bands like Dirty Projectors, Neon Trees, Devo, Drive-by Truckers, Foxy Shazam, Raphael Saadiq, and The Black Keys. The night ended pitting the extravagance of Lady GaGa against the stripped down bare essentials rock return of The Strokes. The festival itself was well organized albeit spread out a little far. The distance between main stages is roughly a mile and navigating through the crowd can take you 15-20 minutes. Green is the theme with recycling stations spread generously throughout the park. Bottled water was absent but more eco-friendly cartons were available at $2 a pop and refilling stations were free. Food was reasonably priced for a festival and there was plenty of variety. The grassy area by the Parkways stage must have been freshly planted as it smelled that way. The ground was nice and soft which was a relief if you forgot to bring comfortable shoes.

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