Lollapalooza Tue Jul 31 2012



In case you haven't heard, Lollapalooza is invading Grant Park this weekend. All week here in Transmission we'll be previewing the best acts to see inside the festival gates, but the great thing about Lollapalooza coming to town is that there's still plenty of chances to catch your favorite acts outside of the festival itself. In my dream world, Lollapalooza will eventually become a festival somewhat like SXSW where there are just as many if not more bands playing unofficial festival parties as there are in the official festival line-up. At the rate we're going we'll be there in no time. While there are plenty of official festival after-parties being held around the city, you'll be able to find a list of them on pretty much every Chicago-related website (here's one). This is your guide to the unofficial, mostly free, events happening around town.

Thursday



What: Start of your weekend at the GUESS store on Michigan Avenue where you can get your fill of free food and drink, a photobooth, and DJ set by The Knocks.

Where: GUESS store, 605 North Michigan Ave. 6 - 8 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP to guessrsvp@guess.com by Wednesday, August 1st.





What: Boyd Tinsley of Dave Matthews Band celebrates the release of his film, Faces in the Mirror, Thursday night at Rockit. This event will include a performance by Tinsley himself along with the Kopecky Family Band and a surprise guest. I'm a bit disappointed to see Rockit isn't hosting its usual Entertainment Weekly pre-party, which has been one of my most can't-miss events in past years, but this party is likely to include Rockit party staples such as a hosted bar, mini burgers and truffle oil fries so I guess it's just as well.

Where: Rockit River North, 22 W Hubbard St. 7 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP to Faces@RockitRanch.com

What: A|X Armani Exchange and ELLE Magazine kick off Lollapalooza weekend with Stylepalooza, an event featuring free food and drink, plus a performance by Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow. They'll also be giving away Lollapalooza VIP tickets and a $500 Armani gift certificate.

Where: Armani Exchange at Water Tower Place. 7 pm - 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP to RSVP@ArmaniExchange.com.

What: Filter Magazine always throws some of the best Lolla parties every year, so this is an event you will not want to miss. They're bringing Twin Shadow, Neon Indian and Passion Pit to the Logan Square Auditorium for their Lolla pre-party this year. When you're guzzling down loads of free booze at this place, at least try to remember you have three full days in the hot sun ahead of you.

Where: Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie. 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here. Arrive early.

What: Beauty Bar kicks off Lollapalooza weekend with a DJ set by local favorites The Smith Westerns. This party will have hosted Old Style from 9 - 10 pm.

Where: Beauty Bar, 1444 W. Chicago Ave. 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here.

What: Taco Bell is throwing a Lollapalooza pre-party at Double Door Thursday night, with performances by Delta Spirit, Fidlar, Royal Teeth and Ambassadors. Delta Spirit is playing a sold-out show at Lincoln Hall the night before, but here's your chance to see them in a smaller venue without paying a dime.

Where: Double Door, 1572 N Milwaukee Ave. 8 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here.

What: Our friends at Do312 are hosting a weekend of parties with free booze, starting with this pre-party featuring sets by thenewno2, Greg Corner, Chris Holmes, and Mr. Do312, Jeremy Scheuch. This party will have free Old Style drinks before 11 pm and is hosted by Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad and Kaylee DeFer of Gossip Girl.

Where: Debonair Social Club, 1575 N. Milwaukee Ave. 10 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here.



What: Uber Chicago is offering a party bus to transport you and 10 friends around the city Thursday night, complete with a live DJ and open bar. I discovered Uber, an app that lets you order and pay for a cab or car service directly from your phone, when they did a free cab promotion last month and I've been obsessed with it since. At this point, the app is my own personal Driving Miss Daisy.

Where: Have the bus pick you up and drop you off wherever you'd like, up to five miles or 25 minutes, whichever comes first.

How To Get In: Download the Uber app and click on the headphones icon and a bus will be on its way! You'll be charged $50, which seems like a big chunk of change, but split between 10 people that is only $5 apiece. Definitely worth it. Click here for more information.



Friday

What: A weekend of live tapings at the JBTV studio begins with indie folk outfit Milo Greene.

Where: JBTV Studios in River North, Noon

How To Get In: Enter here for your chance to attend. Fifty people will be chosen to attend with a guest.

What: Here's your chance to catch Chancellor Warhol before his Lolla set early Saturday. He'll be at the W Hotel's 7th Floor Wet Deck for an intimate performance Friday afternoon.

Where: W Hotel, 644 N Lake Shore Drive. 6 - 8 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP via the Facebook event invite.



What: Here's Filter Magazine's second and last party of the weekend, and they've got an insane line-up Friday night, in addition to a copious amount of booze. They've got thenewno2 and The Big Pink for starters. Grimes, who last spring released my favorite album of 2012 thus far, will close out the night. I cannot stress enough how great Filter's parties are. I will be here, and I'll be bringing everyone I know to this party. You will not want to miss this.

Where: Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie. 10 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here. Arrive early.



What: Elektro Magazine is hosting RE:MIX Lab Sessions at the Hard Rock Hotel Friday night. This event will have Team Bayside High, a surprise DJ, and loads of free booze.

Where: Hard Rock Hotel, 10 pm.

How To Get In: Keep an eye on facebook.com/hyundai for RSVP. More info here.

What: Old Style Light at Q87.7 host a free after-party at Cubby Bear, with performances by Hey Rosetta!, Santah, and Pet Lions.

Where: Cubby Bear, 1059 W Addison St. 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP through Do312 here.

What: Wyclef Jean is performing for free at The Underground. You'll probably spend a pretty penny on drinks here, but a free Wyclef performance is worth it.

Where: The Underground, 56 W Illinois St.

How To Get In: Just show up, no RSVP needed. Click here for more information.

What: Do312's parties continue Friday night with sets by Tommie Sunshine, Har Mar Superstar, Greg Corner, and Chris Holmes. This party will have free Old Style drinks before 11 pm and is hosted by Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad and Kaylee DeFer of Gossip Girl.

Where: Debonair Social Club, 1575 N. Milwaukee Ave. 10 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here.

Saturday

Do312 Celebrity Kickball Game 2011 - Photo by Stephanie Griffin



What: Do312's Celebrity Kickball Game is bringing Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, Kaylee DeFer of Gossip Girl, Guy Fieri, 1st Ward Alderman Joe Moreno, Greg Corner, Har Mar Superstar, and many more together to show off their athletic prowess in a good old-fashioned kickball game. This event is technically on Lollapalooza grounds but is its own event apart from the festival, so we'll count this as a pre-party.

Where: Baseball diamond near the south end of Grant Park, immediately when gates open.

How To Get In: If you can beat your hangover in time, just show up to the festival as early as possible. Check here for more info.

What: A weekend of tapings at the JBTV studio continues Saturday with Bombay Bicycle Club. In a weekend of long lines and huge crowds, here's a chance to catch some live music in an intimate setting.

Where: JBTV Studios in River North, 8 pm

How To Get In: Enter here for your chance to attend. Fifty people will be chosen to attend with a guest.

What: Company of Thieves are playing a Lolla after-party show at the Hard Rock Cafe. While this is not a free event, a ticket price of $10 for this band is well worth it. Plus, Company of Thieves doesn't go on until midnight, so with a bit of planning you can treat this show as the after-after-party. The show is 18+.

Where: Hard Rock Cafe, 9:00 pm - 1:30 am

How To Get In: Tickets are $10 and available to purchase here. More info can be found at the Facebook event page.

What: A weekend of Lollapalooza parties at Beauty Bar continues Saturday night with a DJ set by Neon Indian. This party unfortunately does not include free drinks.

Where: Beauty Bar, 1444 W. Chicago Ave. 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here for free entry before 10 pm. Otherwise, tickets are available here.

What: Ryan Cabrera is doing a free show at The Underground. I'm sure someone, somewhere is interested in this.

Where: The Underground, 56 W Illinois St.

How To Get In: Just show up, no RSVP needed. Click here for more information.

What: Another Do312 party at Debonair Saturday night, this time with sets by RAC, Adam 12, Chris Holmes and Greg Corner. This party will have free Old Style drinks before 11 pm and is hosted by Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad and Kaylee DeFer of Gossip Girl.

Where: Debonair Social Club, 1575 N. Milwaukee Ave. 10 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here.



Sunday

What: The weekend of tapings at the JBTV studio concludes Sunday afternoon with a performance by Canadian rock act The Sheepdogs.

Where: JBTV Studios in River North, 8 pm

How To Get In: Enter here for your chance to attend. Fifty people will be chosen to attend with a guest.





What: Of Monsters and Men are playing a sold out official Lollapalooza after-party Saturday night, but here's your chance to see them for free on Sunday. The number of Lolla events tends to dwindle down on Sunday night so this will probably be your best bet. Plus this way you can skip their set at Lolla in favor of At the Drive-In or Florence + The Machine guilt-free. The Jezabels and French Horn Rebellion open.

Where: Double Door. Show starts at 10:30 pm.

How To Get In: Sign up for free tickets over at Eventbrite.

What: Beauty Bar closes out their weekend of Lollapalooza events with a DJ set by Toro y Moi. Unfortunately, this event does not include free drinks, but they will have their regular $10 martini and a manicure deal.

Where: Beauty Bar, 1444 W. Chicago Ave. 9 pm.

How To Get In: RSVP here for free entry before 10 pm. Otherwise, tickets are available here.



Know of anything I missed? Let us know in the comments and I'll add it to the list. Keep checking back because I'll be updating this with new parties and events as they are announced.