Chicago

I got my tix for the Pitchfork Festival and am thinking of staying the week for Lolla as well. But that might get a bit pricey. Any suggestions for affordable hotels, or maybe some nearby places to visit for that week that aren't quite as expensive?

We got an excellent deal on a hotel via oribtz. We tried expedia and hotwire but had no luck.

There is also always the Priceline way.

If you are not picky there is a hostel in town.

whats your definition of affordable?

we hotwired a hotel for a stay next week and got the Knickerbocker for $180 a night…..most everything else decent was over $250 for the dates we were looking at

Originally posted by brennser:
whats your definition of affordable?

I'm hoping to find something in the $150-$200 range.

Milwaukee appears to be the closest city, so it's possible we may stay there for a few days. Hotels are pretty inexpensive. Anyone been?

Originally posted by jb1677:
If you are not picky there is a hostel in town.

This place?
I don't mind hostels and that could end up being alot of fun. Though I don't know if I can handle a 10 bed room for that long…

Originally posted by amnesiac:

Originally posted by brennser:
whats your definition of affordable?

I'm hoping to find something in the $150-$200 range.

Milwaukee appears to be the closest city, so it's possible we may stay there for a few days. Hotels are pretty inexpensive. Anyone been?

there are plenty of cities closer than milwaukee, say, in the suburbs- unless you feel like driving 1 1/2 hours each way everyday. milwaukee is an interesting town. . take the miller tour and you get 3 free beers at the end. . .plus, all the yummy sausages at usingers. mmmmm. . .

Originally posted by brennser:
whats your definition of affordable?

we hotwired a hotel for a stay next week and got the Knickerbocker for $180 a night…..most everything else decent was over $250 for the dates we were looking at

knickerbocker has a fabulous martini lounge, if i remember correctly.

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
there are plenty of cities closer than milwaukee, say, in the suburbs- unless you feel like driving 1 1/2 hours each way everyday. milwaukee is an interesting town. . take the miller tour and you get 3 free beers at the end. . .plus, all the yummy sausages at usingers. mmmmm. . .

Oh no, I didn't mean stay in Milwaukee the whole time. We'd stay in Chicago for the weekend for Pitchfork, maybe go somewhere else during the week, then come back to Chicago for Lolla.

I've only been out to the midwest once a long time ago, so I was trying to find out what other places might be interesting to visit that are driving distance from Chicago.

Originally posted by amnesiac:

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
there are plenty of cities closer than milwaukee, say, in the suburbs- unless you feel like driving 1 1/2 hours each way everyday. milwaukee is an interesting town. . take the miller tour and you get 3 free beers at the end. . .plus, all the yummy sausages at usingers. mmmmm. . .

Oh no, I didn't mean stay in Milwaukee the whole time. We'd stay in Chicago for the weekend for Pitchfork, maybe go somewhere else during the week, then come back to Chicago for Lolla.

I've only been out to the midwest once a long time ago, so I was trying to find out what other places might be interesting to visit that are driving distance from Chicago.

hmm. . if you're driving to chicago, you can do the bourbon driving trail through kentucky. otherwise. . let's see. . .well. . .there are casinos surrounding chicago. . and. . ummm. . well, you can see if the cubs are in town and go to wrigley. or, see if the brewers are in town and go to milwaukee for a game (cheapest concessions in baseball). otherwise. . .there's not alot around chicago (at nothing less than 2 hours away), but there is plenty to do in chicago.

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
there are casinos surrounding chicago. .

I'll definitely have to look into that…

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Well with a budget of 150 - 200 a night you have lots of options. We landed the Swissotel for 150/night via orbitz, there were many others including the Congress Plaza, Hotel Black and others available under 150 via Orbitz and expedia. This was a few weeks ago when we booked.

The hostel I have heard others mentioning is http://www.hichicago.org/ I have no direct knowledge of it, its the same one in your link just a different site…

There is also this guy offering up his own place http://www.lollapalooza.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2668 if you are ok with that sort of thing…. not for me :-)

Originally posted by jb1677:
there were many others including the Congress Plaza,

i will be there!!

Originally posted by Mike Rohsopht:

Originally posted by jb1677:
there were many others including the Congress Plaza,

i will be there!!

That's where I stayed for my only visit to Chicago for a high school trip. It wasn't bad at all. But is this still going on?

Originally posted by amnesiac:

Originally posted by Mike Rohsopht:

Originally posted by jb1677:
there were many others including the Congress Plaza,

i will be there!!

That's where I stayed for my only visit to Chicago for a high school trip. It wasn't bad at all. But is this still going on?

yes, it is. but i figure i will be in that room for about 8 hours a day….all spent sleeping or showering. as long as the sheets are clean…we're good! :) and the GF wants to be on Michigan Ave.

I'm assuming some bands will also be playing club shows in the Chicago area around festival time. What venues in Chicago (and maybe Milwaukee) are similar to 9:30 Club, Black Cat, etc.?

Schuba's is similiar to Iota. I haven't been to any other clubs. I've heard the Metro is akin to the 9:30 Club.

Originally posted by amnesiac:
I'm assuming some bands will also be playing club shows in the Chicago area around festival time. What venues in Chicago (and maybe Milwaukee) are similar to 9:30 Club, Black Cat, etc.?

Originally posted by amnesiac:
I'm assuming some bands will also be playing club shows in the Chicago area around festival time. What venues in Chicago (and maybe Milwaukee) are similar to 9:30 Club, Black Cat, etc.?

perhaps pollstar will answer all of your questions.

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
perhaps pollstar will answer all of your questions.

Thanks. I completely forgot this site exists :o

In Milwaukee, for live music, check out the Cactus Club (http://www.cactusclubmilwaukee.com/), Shank Hall, Mad Planet and Stonefly Brewery. Grab a Shepard Express (Milw's free local pseudo alternative paper akin to the WCPaper) and check out the club ads. Nomad, the Garage and the Hi-Hat, all on Brady Street, are good spots if you don't want live music.

If you are going to do a brewery tour, tour the Lakefront Brewery, a legitimate microbrew. It's a great deal ($5 for a souvenir pint glass and 4 beers) and the beer is excellent. http://www.lakefrontbrewery.com/

Originally posted by amnesiac:
I'm assuming some bands will also be playing club shows in the Chicago area around festival time. What venues in Chicago (and maybe Milwaukee) are similar to 9:30 Club, Black Cat, etc.?

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:

Originally posted by amnesiac:
I'm assuming some bands will also be playing club shows in the Chicago area around festival time. What venues in Chicago (and maybe Milwaukee) are similar to 9:30 Club, Black Cat, etc.?

perhaps pollstar will answer all of your questions.

nope. not at this time anyway.

unless we are to think that because Carlos of Interpol is spinning in chicago that weekend, that Interpol may be announced at Lollapalooza

(because really , i havent seen interpol in almost a WHOLE YEAR!! haha)