Review of Lollapalooza Day 3

Oh, man. Sunday morning. I forgot what it felt like to feel this sore. My legs were covered in bruises, my shins felt like they were about to implode, and my back was encouraging me to stay in bed for the day. Still, the sun was shining especially brightly on Chicago (and myself) with the particular brilliant line-up for Sunday.  Throwing on my shoes to meet our travel companions (at a beautiful high-rise overlooking Navy Pier, it should be noted) this was the day I had been waiting for. Sunday at Lollapalooza, The Gaslight Anthem and Florence & the Machine, my two favorite artists performing back-to-back. Sure, I had to miss the brilliant Sigur Ros, but they shouldn’t have been playing a mid-day set as is; I’d be happier to catch them play back in New York.

Stepping into Grant Park this Sunday was bittersweet; the day was brighter but more comfortable than the others, and the realization that this was it. I tried to get it out of my mind, but the finality of the day always lingered in my head. Grabbing a beer and a burger, Lara and I headed to Trampled by Turtles, who were the absolute perfect way to open a festival. Progressive Bluegrass transcended being at a music festival- laying in the soft grass with the sun dancing in my hair, I nestled myself comfortably in their bluegrass sound that made me just happy to be alive and enjoying the company of a great albeit short-lived friendship. When their set ended I was a bit lost. Really, I didn’t want it to end. They did a really solid job.

Originally the plan was to see a bit of Sigur Ros but, being a Gaslight fanatic, I headed to Google Play at about 3:30 for their 4:45 set. I was able to catch a bit of Gary Clark Jr. tearing it up on the side stage, his emphatic, blistering guitars compelling the leftover Black Keys fans from Friday. We met a great group of Gaslight fans before the show, all of us wondering how much Handwritten we’d get in the set. When Brian Fallon and the rest of The Gaslight Anthem graced the stage, my heart leaped about three times over. His bashful swagger only makes him more appealing- a modern day Romeo, a wordsmith with a gushing heart you can’t help but develop a schoolgirl crush on. With nothing more than band T-shirts, blue jeans, and guitars strapped to their backs, the band cut into “Great Expectations” followed by “45”, the anthemic album openers appropriately executed. There was no showmanship, as a Gaslight show should be- the music is so riveting, Fallon & Co. amping up the sympathy 10-fold. Each yelp, wail, and growl roughly dug into the audience’s skin, making us feel and hurt with this bright-eyed, blue collar, classic-car driving romantic hurtled into 2012. Sure, the set-list was too short and entirely missing Sink or Swim and The Senor and the Queen EP, but that’s what you get when almost every track you bust out is a fan-favorite. With the success of Handwritten, I hope Gaslight Anthem get admired and loved by the public as much as I love these boys.

Next up was the shoulda-been coulda-been woulda-been headliner, Florence + The Machine. Despite having one of the biggest crowds of the day, and the most assertive front-woman energy, Flo was in the opening slot. She proved you can’t keep a good ginger down; she still played her heart out, echoing the audacious show I saw earlier this year without feeling formulaic. She still threw her entire spirit into the music, breaking free from her bodily confines to become a spiritual, God-like being on the stage. The show was manipulated a bit for a festival appearance, with an electro-tinged breakdown during Shake It Out and plenty of crowd participation. Florence’s rise to Queen of Rock is all but inevitable at this point-her universal appeal, true rock star persona, and emotionally devastating vocals set her apart as an anomaly. Despite being my second Florence show of the summer, I was still moved to tears during the performance. Florence is engrossing and rapturous; she commands undivided attention. I have yet to see another performer with such a power.

The problem with having Florence as an opener was knowing that the best part of the day had been over. She put on such an epic, grandiose performance that everything that followed felt mundane by comparison. Still, I moseyed over to catch a seat for the packed Miike Snow who were playing virtually unopposed. With the large crowd and appreciation for smoke machines, I could barely see the onstage action. The band sounded awesome though, proving to be one of the few genre-hoppers who got an enthusiastic response from ravers and hipsters alike. Unlike the rest of Lollapalooza, even the bystanders couldn’t help but sway as “Animal” and “Paddling Out” stretched the diamond. They prepped Lollapalooza accordingly for Kaskade, Jack White, and Justice; not an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination.

As Miike Snow closed out, I moved over to the forested confines of Google Play to see Childish Gambino. Gambino drew easily the worst crowd I had seen for the weekend. From the hammered 15-year-old couple thrusting into one another before the music even began to the sloppy, snaggle-toothed girl in an NBA Jersey screaming, “I’M A GAMBINOOO GIRL! UCLA!” every 25 seconds, my mood was pretty shot. When Donald Glover took the stage, things got a bit better.  Backed by a full band and bounding enthusiasm, Gambino was a solid way to end the day. Demonstrating his competence in both aggressive rapping and surprisingly cute song breakdowns, Gambino truly is a notch above the rest. He has demonstrated true duality with his career, putting his all into both, including the live show. It’s difficult to put on a good live show as a moderately successful rapper- we’ve seen this with Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, B.o.B. amongst others- but once again, Gambino refuses to be pigeon-holed. The set was relentlessly energetic, reaching its apex as the crowd screamed the lyrics to “Freaks and Geeks”.

I was able to catch the last 30 minutes of Jack White’s set, stepping in right as he was switching bands. Interestingly, White travels with two separate bands- an all-male and an all-female- and has each play a segment of a set. A cool effect, but it certainly stalled the crowd energy. The time it took to set up with the new band turned many audience members off, a hefty number spilling over into Justice. White is by all means a great musician, and it was fun to hear the blistering guitars and passionate yelps of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs close out the Red Bull Soundstage…but did he deserve that slot? If you were to ask me, definitely not. He lacked stage presence or recent relevance to close out such a phenomenal festival, often wandering the dimmed stage until a new song cut in. It was a moody, boisterous rock set, but not an iconic or theatrical one.

As I stood below the blow-up Lollapalooza sign as thousands gathered to discuss an eventful weekend in Grant Park, I felt an immediate nostalgia that turned me a bit dour. Sure, there were a few pitfalls- the closing of the festival, the so-so top billed acts, an overabundance of EDM- but this weekend was all I had hoped it could be. In short, it was perfect…and you can bet I’ll be the first person to buy tickets for 2013 come Winter. 

Review of Lollapalooza: Day 2

Waking up for day 2 of Lollapalooza was the first challenge of a difficult day. Originally I had planned to get in at 12:45 for Doomtree, but my body didn’t cooperate with my early alarm. Still, this time I had a Tim with me, so at least I wasn't making the trek to Chi-town solo. We hit the road and made it into the festival grounds by about 2 PM after moving into the hotel and settling in. After opting to explore the grounds a bit with our new Australian travel buddy, Lara, we finally settled at Google Play at 3:30 for Charlift. After the band was auspiciously absent for about 15 minutes, I assumed an early adapted diva attitude for the group, but an announcement went out that Grant Park was being evacuated. My initial reaction was a “Fuck that! No one else is leaving, I’m staying put!” but when I saw the steady exodus from Grant Park and the impending officers on big horses with bigger guns, I realized I should probably skedaddle.

If you want to understand what it was like being at “the year Lollapalooza was shut down”, just imagine 100,000 concert-goers spilling onto the streets searching for shelter. It was madness- a fairly large group of people were drunk enough already, and the Chicago tourists were confused and dissatisfied with the escape from the Grant Park playpen. On top of that, everyone was abuzz with, "Is it done? Do we go home today?" and the frustration that came with that possibility. All the obvious places were booked- coffee shops, cheap restaurants, book stores and the likes- so we grabbed a cab and headed for the rainforest café. Which was awful. I’m not food critic, but shit, that experience need not be repeated.

By the time we were admitted back in at 6 PM, spirits were high and the grounds were destroyed. The schedule had been totally fucked, creating a mind-blowing complete overlap of Tune-Yards, Fun, and The Tallest Man on Earth; yeah, my top 3 acts for the day. I tried to catch Fun at the small Google Play stage which was packed- I couldn’t see anything, nor hear particularly well. I moved over to TuNe-YaRdS who were extraordinarily fun and upbeat despite the circumstances. Meryl is so talented and versatile, her live show even more impressive at the technicality of it all the second time around. Beyond being incredible musicians, they’re cute and bubbly and engaging; if you weren’t doing your best white people dance to “Bizness” or “Killa”, something’s wrong.  Surely TuNe-YaRdS gained many fans for a phenomenal celebration of the reopening of Lollapalooza in a prime location. With the massive growth and undeniable appeal of Tune-Yards (it’s exhausting to stylize, sorry) I wouldn’t be surprised if they are in Fun.’s shoes this time next year.

We trudged through 6 inch deep puddles of water (goodbye, beloved Toms!) towards the main stage for The Weeknd. For those of you unfamiliar with the group, it’s the stage name of Abel Tesfaye, the elusive man who put out 3 stellar R&B EPs this past year. The Weeknd’s music is the soundtrack for the hazy post-party; it’s dark, moody, emotionally loaded, and a bit mysterious- the exact opposite of a 6 PM performance on the Main Stage at one of the biggest music festivals in the United States. Contrary to critics, I was in love- Abel sounded so incredible live. Despite little stage presence, there was an air of theatricality in how he related with the music; his fingers tensing with frustration, his knees weakening as his voice soared. The live band worked great, particularly with cuts off the Thursday mixtape- for someone with no technical debut record, this man sure has a lot of show-stoppers. Sure, I would’ve loved it more in a dark, stuffy NYC club, but hearing 30,000+ people singing “High for This” together was quite paralyzing. Better yet was “The Birds Pt. 1”, hearing his authentic crooning, “Don’t make you fall in love with a nigga like me, nobody needs to fall” penetrating half of Grant Park has allowed me to listen to his material through renewed ears.

I was more keen on seeing British indie-rockers Bloc Party, but the group was too enthusiastic about Calvin Harris for me to pass it up. It should be noted that I’m pretty unmovable in my stubborn perception of DJ sets; Lollapalooza has so much legendary talent, why waste that opportunity to see someone hit “play” on their MacBook? Still, my spirits were high and I was ready to dance. This was my first official visit to Perry’s, the EDM super-party of Lollapalooza. Harris is a competent party starter, between remixes, hits, and danceable beats backed by an engrossing light show. The crowd was what really made it- audience members danced harder and more passionately than I had been exposed to before. The attitude was relatively contagious. Many consider Harris one of the better sets of the weekend, while I considered it largely unmemorable- I don’t remember much about him, I just remember pumping my fists and not being disgusted with myself for doing so.

I decided to keep the party going with Swedish House superstar Avicii; it was hard to decide between him and Frank Ocean, but I decided to stick with the group. Seated in a booth that was designed to look like a 25 foot head, I felt out of place the second I got there. The crowd for Avicii was more conspicuously on drugs, starry eyed youth crashing into me left and right to tell me how “real my energy was”. It was more alienating than endearing- I don’t think my face has been touched that much all year. Still, Avicii was fun enough. I danced, I laughed, and got to get lost for a bit in the carefree embodiment that I’ve bottled up throughout the summer.

Would I go to see Calvin Harris or Avicii again? Probably not. Has my mind been changed about EDM? A little- it was fun, but not worth an admission ticket. I still stand firm in my belief that music should be good sober or drunk or whichever state you’re in- had most attendees been sober, they would not want to be seeing Avicii. Still, it was an experience that I’ve never had before and I appreciate it for that. After trying to get into an Of Monsters and Men afterparty at the House of Blues (and failing), we trudged home barefoot and got pizza, reflecting on a great day. Tim put it best, if anything, when he said that the evacuation was the best thing that could have happened to Lollapalooza day 2. The heightened spirits upon knowing that the event wasn’t cancelled made the energy in Grant Park magical- we were just excited to see how it would affect the final day of the festival.  

Review of Lollapalooza Day 3

All of the mounted excitement of Lollapalooza 2012, the event I’ve been hyping myself up for about 9 months, I thought would hit its peak as I furiously packed my bag at the ambitious hour of 8 AM. I didn’t account for the weight of the event itself and the continued excitement that would build as I entered Grant Park at 11 AM on Friday, a clash of subcultures, delicious food, the city of Chicago, and music. This is the first time I’ve gone to a concert by myself but it was no matter- the music, and 100,000 other attendees, were more than enough to make me feel like I was amongst pals.

I started my day at the side stage to catch First Aid Kit, expecting a massive crowd for the first band of the stage. Most other attendees weren’t as ambitious as I was with early arrival; the crowd was big, but not worth braving the intense morning heat that characterized the first day. The band graced the stage with an adorable guard, an adolescent shyness that was only broken with their music. With impossibly long hair and flowing fabrics, the girls embodied the soft beats of their folk-pop as if at a rock show, dramatically thrusting their bodies with their melodies. It was a great way to start the day, moving through crowd-pleasing hits like “Emmylou” and “King of the World” as well as deeper cuts from EPs and The Lions Roar. The Swedish duo kept the commentary to a minimum, but their big smiles and enthusiastic performance conveyed their pleasure to be onstage quite loudly.

Next I moved to the forested Google Play stage to see Anamanaguchi and enjoy some of the “South Side Chow Town” offerings at Lollapalooza. Known best for their work in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Anamanaguchi’s 16 bit Nintendo beats combating with playful guitars was a solid good time, albeit not suited for seated enjoyment. Still, I bounced in place and enjoyed the sunshine and crowd enthusiasm. I went to the smallest stage of Lollapalooza, the BMI Stage, to catch Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band. Again, my familiarity with his work is limited beyond a close relationship with Jesse Lacey and Andy Hull. I understand their partnership- Devine brooded a bit, but played indie pop/rock suited for late night campfire enjoyment, filling the forested embankment with swelling hearts and head bobbing choruses. The popularity of his early morning set begged the question about the conspicuous absence of co-performers Thrice, Manchester Orchestra, and Brand New.

Blind Pilot took the stage at the hottest part of the day, my sopping shirt and pressing headache taking away from enjoying the performance sufficiently. I took a seat as they cut through the breezy hits off We Are the Tide and sounded spot-on; sure, there wasn’t much performance value, but there needn’t be. Blind Pilot are the soundtrack to a carefree summer day at a picnic, meant to be enjoyed from a blanket with a soft smile and early summer contentment. I would’ve put them at 2010’s B.O.M.B. Fest in Connecticut; a community event where the music was a complement to the atmosphere. While waiting for Die Antwoord, I caught Metric heating up the main stage (the first band to really do so). Metric are the kind of alt-rock band that gets a shrug from me- not bad, but the passive tone of the songs doesn’t particularly engage me. Still, the band sounded great and held nothing back- if you had asked the members of the group, there was not a shred of detachment in the music, throwing themselves across the stage and encouraging the audience to do the same. Cool stuff.  

The set of the day easily was South African freak dub-rap group Die Antwoord. DJ Hi-Tek came out first, pumping up the audacious crowd into a full blown EDM dance party before Yo-Landi and Ninja took the stage. Once the crowd was furiously stomping and bumping, the two took the stage to a deafening scream; the expectations were high for a great set. They fulfilled the audience desires, proving to be some of the greatest entertainers I have seen onstage. Throughout the hour long setlist, the crowd was consistently dancing and laughing hard at the duos antics- from wild moves (Ninja furiously thrusting and Yo-Landi flashing the crowd) to spot-on delivery of wild lyrics (‘I rub my dick on expen$ive shit’ is a new classic), they seriously came through. Surprising was how engrossing the set was- no one could stop moving, and the talent of the Zef-style of the group behind gems like “I Fink U Freeky”, “Enter the Ninja”, and “Fatty Boom Boom” became only visible through their live performance. They’re quite competent rappers, contrary to popular belief; they furiously busted out verse after verse out with their unique vocal delivery impressively. If they made anything clear, it was that Die Antwoord isn’t going anywhere anytime soon- so naysayers might as well join the party before it gets even bigger.

I had planned to go right to Passion Pit after Die Antwoord but needed to charge my phone, a service provided on the other side of the park for free (really, it was pretty sweet). I ran back and apparently didn’t miss anything as they were cutting into “Take a Walk” to a packed crowd. I have heard mixed things about Passion Pit’s performances so I was glad that they put on a fun show, ably making their technical dance-pop transfer to a live performance. Lead singer Michael Angelakos sounded so awesome I honestly thought he was lip-syncing, until a few riffs demonstrated otherwise. After a series of cancelled performances, many were worried about their Lolla show, but Passion Pit did it up- although it should be noted that newer tracks off Gossamer are much better live than Manners cuts. They did good, though- not something I would feel compelled to revisit, but it was a satisfying enough way to end out the day.

Yeah, I ended my day there. Spending 8+ hours in the swelling heat alone is an exhausting process, especially with a daunting car ride ahead, so I booked it back to Milwaukee. I missed The Black Keys, M83, Black Sabbath, and a River City Extension aftershow. I’m most upset about River City Extension, to be honest- but I needed to get myself back on the road after a satisfying first day in Grant Park. I was more than ready to cut into the more exciting second and third days of Lollapalooza.