What We're Drinking This Week

The Amateur Mixologist had to change up the schedule this week.  I'm battling a post-Lollapalooza hangover!

Not a literal hangover, mind you, but a figurative one.  Three days of concerts, and a return home at 3am with the Official Mascot in tow (she stayed at JB's parents place), and it made for a long long day.

Lolla was a ton of fun.  I've been to the Chicago-based music festival 3-4 times now, and I simply cannot imagine a better-run festival than Lollapalooza.

It's easy to get from stage to stage; you have the backdrop of the Chicago skyline; the food is remarkable (more on that in a second); getting to and from the festival is easy; and there's no shortage of drink stations (free water and Coke/beer/wine stands) as well as bathroom facilities.

Band highlights (I may be missing one or two):  Arcade Fire, The National, Cut Copy, Phoenix, Walkmen, The Strokes, MGMT, Blitzen Trapper, Black Keys, Frightened Rabbits, and the Morning Benders were among my favorite shows. 

The main drawback was a sound issue on the north lawn stages which consistently affected bands playing on either of the two stages in the grouping.  The sound would come and go to a rather large degree.  I've read that some people attributed the changes to the wind, but I don't buy that explanation.  I don't know if the speakers were faulty, or if the soundboard techs weren't on top of their game - no matter what it was, something was off.

Lolla's best kept secret is its food.  I don't know who is responsible for it, but there is clearly a directive that says that Lolla's food needs to be stellar.  And it is.  Lolla's food options make Taste of Chicago look silly (not that I thought Taste of Chicago was good, or representative of Chicago's stellar culinary scene, but I digress).

Food highlights:  Graham Elliot's lobster corndog, Kuma's Corner's Iron Maiden and Judas Priest burgers, and everything available at Sunda (my favorite was the Asian chicken salad).

[Photos of The National, and Blitzen Trapper, respectively, gratuitously ripped from the Lolla Flickr page...all rights are theirs]

Soundtrack of the Week: Crowded House "Intriguer"  For those who remember "Four Seasons in One Day" and "Weather With You", this album will no doubt be familiar.  But, this is by far and away their most rocking album to date.  Imagine Crowded House getting a bit dirty with their sound, and playing small clubs - this is album would be the result of their time spent in such smaller venues.  My favorite track is "Amsterdam" - which reminded me of my trip back in March, and describes cool parts of the city and its overall vibe. 

What We're Drinking This Week

This week we're going to focus on Campari, the Italian liqueur that is celebrating it's 150th anniversary this year. Also, take note, we have a different schedule than normal due to the Lolla hangover, previously mentioned above.

- Thursday - Americano - Campari and vermouth are the main ingredients here.

- Friday - Campari Fizz - this is a fun cocktail with admittedly little alcohol in it - but, it's summer, and this will be extremely refreshing.

Should be a great, albeit hot, week!  See you on Thursday!