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.
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