THE LOOP — So you want to check out Lollapalooza, but don't want to break the piggy bank? Make like Tom Strauss and Kati Dehlan, who soaked in tunes a few hundreds yards away from the festival in a hammock they hung from two trees.
The couple set up a picnic near the statue of General John Logan, separated from the gated festival by railroad tracks - and a ticket.
"One thing lead to another, and we ended up here," said Strauss, who had planned a day at the beach before deciding to poach some tunes.
"You get the whole sound but the trees block the stage. But, you can see a lot of the lights," he said, adding they hoped to hear electronica group Glitch Mob Friday evening.
Authorities were attempting to crack down on freeloaders, shooing people away from the fences encircling the festival. So Downtown resident Geno Howard parked his bike near a pedestrian bridge west of the festival, taking in the sounds as he has since Lollapalooza lay down roots in Chicago a decade ago.
"I don't have to pay for the music. I own most of the music and I stay out of the crowd," he said, as Jacob Plant played.
"I live near here and I'm always down. I just kind of walk around," said Howard. "I just check out certain spots and try to beat the crowd."
While officers questioned him about his location Thursday, he didn't have a problem remaining there, he said.
"They check...they look. They're definitely on their job," Howard said.
While Howard has become a bigger fan of the festival over time, he says there's only one way he'd shell out the cost of a ticket.
"It's gotta be me on that stage to pay," Howard said with a laugh.
For other music fans who didn't want to venture Downtown, some Lollapalooza acts are being livestreamed through the festival's website.
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