THE LOOP — Lollapalooza 2013 is shaping up to be a privilege reserved for only the swiftest of online shoppers.
Tickets to the most coveted "aftershows" — late-night concerts at venues across the city starring festival acts and sanctioned by festival promoter C3 — sold out in minutes after going on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
The first shows to go were big names like Lana Del Rey at the House of Blues, Hot Chip with Bear Mountain and The Lumineers at the Vic and Atlas Genius at Schubas.
Mark Coticchio, 24, had the DO312 ticket sale site open on his computer at work before the clock struck 10 to snag tickets to "NELARUSKY" at the Metro, which features performances by Imagine Dragons, Icona Pop, Brick + Mortar, Kellen & Me.
Coticchio doesn't have tickets to Lollapalooza, and was hoping this would be his chance to catch Imagine Dragons while they're in town. But he says the show "literally sold out in five seconds."
"I don't think I could've gotten there any faster," Coticchio said. "I watched the timer go to zero, and it took me to the page to buy the tickets. I even nailed the captcha on the first try, but no dice. I feel like I'll have to practice my typing and clicking for next year.
"I was 100 percent convinced I'd have Imagine Dragon tickets right now."
The ticket-buying frenzy for aftershows matched the fevered pace at which festival passes were snapped up this spring.
Three-day passes to the fest were all gone six minutes after going on sale at the Early Bird price point in March. In April, one-day passes were sold out in about an hour, closing the door on the fest that brings thousands to Grant Park each year in August.
Lollapalooza's controversial radius clause restricts its performers from booking any shows "180 days before Lollapalooza to 90 days following Lollapalooza within a 300-mile radius of Lollapalooza," as stated in their contracts, so this was likely Coticchio's only chance to catch them in Chicago this summer.
An hour after sales went live, aftershows starring Thievery Corporation, Wild Nothing and local stars Smith Westerns still had tickets available, but fans should act fast — they likely won't be around for long.
