My first night there, I was stoked because Lallapalooza was happening that weekend in Grant Park. There were so many great bands playing this year, including Radiohead and Bloc Party. I was hoping to get a ticket when I got there, but that wasn't the case. It was sold out and the scalpers were sketchy (big surprise), so I ended up sitting outside the venue on a hill in the park - listening from there. I caught a few songs and decided that was enough. Lots of interesting characters at that concert! It was getting late and I walked from the hotel, so it was time to head back. Would have been cool to see some of the bands play, but what I was able to hear was definitely better than nothing at all.
Our event was on Roscoe street, which is on the other side of Lincoln Park area. As many times as I have been to Chicago, that whole area was new to me. I liked the look and feel, a lot. Everything was full of character and charisma, yet still down to earth. One of the greatest characteristics of Chicago is the sense of family life - there are families walking around everywhere you look. I guess can be attributed to the Midwest culture, families tend to stick together around my parts :) Anyway, this event was a good place for Kashi to be, given the crowd. Everyone seemed to love what we had to offer. We were packed all day. It was nice to have such a popular event, it makes time fly by!
After the event, I had the whole week to play around the city. It was so nice to be on my own terms. I was especially excited for Monday night, because I had tickets to see Tristan Prettyman play at the House of Blues. Over the past two years, I have grown to absolutely love her music. To see her live, was a huge deal. I first learned of her music when she did a song with G Love, called Beautiful. G Love kind of helped bring her up in the music world. The concert was awesome, just as expected. She played her guitar and danced around on stage, like she was having the time of her life. It's always good to see people doing what they love. She told lots of stories about each song and where it came from, which was cool to hear. It was a great place to see her play - because since the venue is small, you feel like you are right there on stage with the band. We were about 10 feet away, max. During her encore, G Love unexpectedly showed up to play "Beautiful" with Tristan, live. He was in town because he played at Lallapalooza the day prior, but no one had any idea he was going to make a surprise appearance. I kind of turned into a teenage girl - I was so excited. Seeing those two play live, together, was definitely my favorite part of the night. After finishing the encore, Tristan and G Love both came out to hang out with the crowd. Its always cool to see that even rock stars are just normal, everyday people... they just happen to be really really talented and fun to watch :)
The rest of the week revolved around the yoga classes at Yogaview. I know a few of the teachers there and some of the regulars from there go on the Sayulita retreat every year. I was excited to practice in that community. One of my teachers, Geri Bleier, happened to be out of town that week, but I was still planning to attend her scheduled classes - since she had great subs. In fact, the teacher who taught her Wed. afternoon class is a lot of fun. I know her from the Anusara Immersion we both attended in Atlanta a few years back - her name is Dorie. If you are ever in Chicago, look her up. She is a great teacher. The class was a level 3 advanced class - which basically means hard as hell, to my experience. No joke, it was the hardest and one of the most fun classes I had ever been to. People were doing things you see in magazines or something. The community was so dedicated and strong. I could only imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by people with such determination and diligence, on a regular basis.I am sure they feed off each others energy. These people were devoted to their practice, that's for sure! It wasn't even about the poses they could pull off, it was about the look on their faces while they were doing it. I couldn't believe it. It was like everything they did appeared effortless. Definitely inspiring, that's for sure. I met some really unique people during my time at Yogaview. Unique in a good way...
I am excited to go back to Chicago more often, after I make it back home next fall. Its a quick and easy commute to some really great yoga :) I will definitely be making some one-day trips there to work with Geri, in the near future. If any of you St. Louis yogis want to join me, just let me know!
Overall, I left Chicago feeling inspired and well-connected. I wasn't really ready to leave, the day we hit the road to Rochester. There was a sense of familiarity and comfort that came along with a practicing yoga and living my daily life in a Midwest community. I liked the fact that I kinda knew my way around, but experienced so much new, at the same time. This tour just keeps getting better and better!
the front gates at Lollapalooza - this is as far as i got :)
a random fountain in the middle of the city where kids were playing
No comments:
Post a Comment