My journey to Chicago kicked off with an early flight to the Windy City, where I touched down about an hour before the festivities began. After dropping my bags off at the hotel, I hopped in a cab and first headed not over to the festival, but to the Eastsport Cafe at the Hard Rock Hotel. Why, you ask? Well, I had an interview scheduled with The Cool Kids, but after sitting around for a bit and chomping down on the free cheese and crackers, I got word that it fell through. Sigh.