Northwestern University's annual music festival, Dillo Day, will be short one band but expecting thousands of winged party crashers, the Daily Northwestern reports. Motion City Soundtrack has canceled its concert because of the lead singer's "medical problems," and organizers are now scrambling to replace the Minneapolis-based pop-rock band.
Meanwhile, students' ears very likely will still be ringing as "huge, deafening flying insects emerge from the darkness . . . flood the air, scream out their mating calls, reproduce, and die" on Dillo Day weekend. After their regular 17-year hiatus, thousands or even millions of cicadas will descend upon Evanston and will basically behave like many college students: They will indulge in food and sex. "But it's not like it's locusts or anything," says one optimistic festival planner.
As a bonus, if partyers get a little hungry, there are plenty of the high-protein fliers to snack on. Do they taste like chicken? Not so much. Cicadas are apparently reminiscent of canned asparagus when eaten raw, and their texture is more like shrimp when cooked. "My favorite recipe is to barbecue them with garlic and butter," says one enthusiast. Kind of like lobster. But disgusting. --Alison Go
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