Day one at Lollapalooza

About a year ago I made the radical decision to follow along with my son William's alternative rock avocation. This meant simply that instead of saying, "turn that down," I said, "what is that?" I'm not reporting this to prove what a good parent I am, but instead to explain why I'm spending three days at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Here's what's worth noting after one day.

1. The city I lived in for 27 years is unrecognizable. This is probably true of anyplace when you don't come back for 18 years, but it's not just the way it looks. The zeitgeist has changed; it doesn't feel, smell, taste, or sound like Chicago. It's a nice hipster rich city, but it's not Chicago.

2. Pork belly is in. At Lollapalooza at least four stands of four different ethnicities are selling something made of pork belly. This means it will be in Minneapolis in two years.

3. When accosted by Rock the Vote about the November election, a teenager behind me in line said, "What election?" This is not remarkable, but when told the election is for the House of Representatives and the Senate, the look on his face said he had no idea what those are.

4. Emailing clients while standing in a crowd being blasted by sound improves both business and the concert experience.

5. It was Hiroshima Day and no one mentioned it.

6. You can sometimes believe The Wall Street Journal. They recommended seven bands and the first one I saw, Wavves, was terrific.

7. Short shorts with low boots is in. This means it will be in Minneapolis in two years.

And now I'm going to get ready for day two.