Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and Missio
Friday, August 4th was Andrew's aftershow. I went with my best friend Allie and my boyfriend Cody. We have all seen Andrew multiple times together and are big fans of his music, so we were excited to see his aftershow. The show was at Bottom Lounge in Chicago, which Cody and I had never been to before. We got in line about 3 hours early, and while we were waiting Andrew came out and waved to everyone, which already got us really excited. About 10 minutes later, he came back out and met everyone in line! While our encounter with him was brief, it was still amazing! He introduced himself and thanked us for coming out for the show. That was the first time I had met someone famous, so it was awesome! I wish I had been more prepared to meet him so I could have had more to say, but oh well.
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| Me (left) and Allie (right) with Andrew |
Once we got inside, I fell in love with the venue!! Bottom Lounge is so small and intimate, which is different than other venues I usually go to. The band Missio opened, and they were AMAZING! I didn't know any of their music, but I still had such a good time. They had so much energy that they brought onto that small stage, and they were so talented and seemed like really nice guys. They have a unique electronic sound, which isn't something I usually like, but I really got into it. You should give them a listen! I have a feeling they're gonna get big. Andrew's set was one of the best I've ever seen, because it felt so personal. Most of the songs they played were from his old bands, Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin. That was really cool to hear even though I didn't know a lot of those songs. The whole set was very laid back and intimate, it felt like we were all just there having a conversation with him. Those kind of shows are ones you should try to go to if you can, they don't happen very often and it is such a different experience from your average concert. Andrew was pretty drunk, and his voice was shot, but that didn't take away from his performance. I also liked that he wasn't totally on top of his game, because it didn't feel like he needed to be. It felt like everyone in the room was equal, and he was just up there helping us have a great time. I'm so happy I attended this show! It was definitely worth it.
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| Andrew crowd surfing on a duck inflatable |
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| David Butler (left) and Matthew Brue (right) of Missio |
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| Drum kit from Andrew's set |
Milky Chance and Arizona
Milky Chance's aftershow was the following day, August 5th, at The House of Blues in Chicago. This time it was just Cody and I going. He loves Milky Chance, I am not as familiar with their music, but I'm always down to go to a show. Although I will say, being tired from the day before made me a little less excited, just because I was exhausted. We spent the day in the city, and then got to the venue about 3 hours early again. We couldn't figure out where to line up, so we sat on a bench outside. A group of guys walked past us and Cody kept looking at me. He goes, "I'm pretty sure that was Milky Chance." I looked up a picture of them and we were pretty confident it was. We followed where they went to smoke, and after being totally creepy and standing by them for about a minute, Cody asked if one of the guys was Clemens (the lead singer), and he was! He didn't seem very interested in talking to us, so I took Cody's picture with him and that was pretty much the end of it. I didn't feel the need to get a picture because 1. He didn't seem like he wanted to be bothered and 2. I don't know them well anyway. It was still cool to meet someone famous again!
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| Cody (left) with Clemens (right) |
As far as the show goes, I will say this: Don't buy balcony seats at House of Blues if you actually want to SEE the band. There are a lot of things about the balcony that make it nearly impossible to see. There is private seating right at the edge of the balcony, with these high chairs, and as soon as people sit in them you can't see. Behind that there is standing room, where unless you have a perfect window between someone, you can't see. And behind that there is a bar with some stools and tables, where even there you can't see due to all the people below you. Also, the fact that there's a bar changes it from a concert, to a bar with music in the background. Very few people are actually paying attention to the band, most people are trying to yell and have conversations over the music. And private seating gets served drinks and food all night, so if you're standing, every two seconds you have to move so a waitress can give someone drinks, which was very annoying. I get this is how some people enjoy a concert, but if you're like me and you go to a concert to be a part of it and to actually see and enjoy it, don't get balcony tickets.
The band Arizona opened for Milky Chance. I had never heard of them, but I really enjoyed their sound! They had great vocals. I wish I had more to say about them but again, couldn't see or hear very well. Milky Chance had a really incredible sound as well. I was very impressed. I would really like to see both of these bands again when I can actually, you know, see.
Overall, I had a great time at both Lolla aftershows, and I would definitely recommend going to some, especially if you can't go to Lolla! They are a lot of fun and a great way to spend a weekend.
SIDENOTE:
To finish off my extremely fun and lucky weekend, last night I won meet and greet tickets from Missio!! (What are the odds?? I'm not a lucky person??). I was their 10kth follower on Instagram, so that's what I won! I will be seeing them October 26th at The Shelter in Detroit, Michigan (Again, with Cody). So I will definitely have a blog post about that!!
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