My sister and I are embarking on our first Lollapalooza this August. Below are the shows we’re interested in seeing. Her only “must see” was K’NAAN and she trusted the rest of the itinerary to me. The shows in green are Tier 1 shows, meaning they’re the must-see’s. The light purple shows are Tier 2, meaning they’re not as urgent or are misfortunately superseded either because they’re not liked as much or because they’ve been seen before and another band should get a chance. We’ll still try to see as much of the Tier 2 bands as we can though. And the yellowish shows are Tier 3, these are either the least-liked bands (out of the ones we would potentially see) or the bands that are new to us but look intriguing. Plan of attack is subject to change.

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In honor of Explosions in the Sky playing Magic Hours live for the first time in six years two nights ago in Chicago. I’m revisiting a short film that I took a liking to a while back. Jenna’s cousin, Dennis Aspiras, is the maker of the film and a slightly-altered Magic Hours serves as the soundtrack. The past two nights’ performances by EITS, in Chicago and Grand Rapids, have been incredibly magical hours for me, to say the least. They’re music was recently described as a “universal language” by local avid gig photographer, Kirstie, whom provided the shot of Michael James, above. Universal. That is what makes Explosion in the Sky’s music so everlasting. Below is “Social Experiment 9″ which may have been titled such for a school project but the name is somewhat fitting to the plot of the film. And below the video is a live audio recording of Magic Hours performed a little over six years ago in Dennis’s hometown of Toronto. Enjoy!

Explosions in the Sky – Magic Hours (live at Lee’s Palace in Toronto on March 16, 2002)