lollapalooza 2009 musings

Lollapalooza is over, and the countdown is reset to 12 months til I see the sun again. This year, the festival that gives meaning to my otherwise dreary existence, and marks the only time of the year I get a mild tan, did not disappoint. There were a number of acts I was very excited about, and as usual, lots of new music for me to discover (and for you too. don't be stubborn!).

I decided to go a little earlier than I usually do on Friday, and got inside around 11:30am, right as it started drizzling. As has become my custom, I bought a t-shirt first thing so I don't have to worry about my size selling out or anything. I opted for the space invaders design. I guess it was a good choice, because everyone kept asking me where I'd got it. I was glad I went early, because the first band I saw was Other Lives on the Citi stage, and they were excellent. Great way to start the weekend. I hope their instruments weren't damaged as they were being rained on (isn't that roof supposed to prevent that?).

Then I headed north, caught the end of Manchester Orchestra, and went over to see Zap Mama. I had spent alot of time on the lolla website, listening to music to figure out which bands I should see of the ones I wasn't familiar with, and Zap Mama was one that caught my attention. Their set didn't blow me away, but it was good. Then I got some food and listened to White Lies, and half of Bon Iver's set, before heading back south.

The Virgins didn't sound so hot, so I kept walking to STS9. They were pretty great, but I had to leave early to get a good spot for Fleet Foxes. By the time they started, it was raining pretty good, and alot of people had umbrellas, which is so rude! But most of them went down when the music started (partially spurred by some anti-umbrella chanting that I'm sad to say I didn't instigate). Fleet Foxes were amazing. I worry about being to able to hear quiet music like that at lolla, what with all the stages. In fact, Iron & Wine on the same stage in 2006 was barely audible over the sound of the techno stage in the distance. But Fleet Foxes sounded great.

After that, I crossed back again for Thievery Corporation. Then Peter Bjorn and John, who sort of sucked, and Of Montreal, who did their cover of Bowie's Moonage Daydream. Somewhere in there, it stopped raining. And finally, I opted for Depeche Mode because they're legendary, and though I like Kings of Leon, I did see them at lolla 2 years ago. Plus, their last two albums sort of sucked, and I didn't feel like hanging out with all the losers who only got into KoL since SXSW. Depeche Mode was good, but 2 hours is a long set! The visual portion was pretty good, with a bright video screen taking up the entire back of the stage. I didn't recognize much beyond their 3 big singles. I never realized Personal Jesus was a blues song! The train ride home sucked because my iPod wasn't working.
note: Between when my train arrived downtown in the morning, and when I got back to the station after the show, I didn't sit down, because it was wet and muddy everywhere. Over 11 hours standing.

Saturday and Sunday the train schedule made it impractical to go as early, which is good because I would have been exhausted. First thing Saturday, I went to Delta Spirit. I seen them open for someone at Metro, so I knew they're good. I love that guy's scream, kinda like Kings of Leon, but a lot less whiny. The sun was out and the ground already seemed pretty dry again. Next was Federico Aubele, another one that caught my attention on the website. He's from Argentina. Again, it didn't blow me away, but he's very good.

Then I went south for Ida Maria. She was really awesome. Love her scream too. I think she holds it back on the record; live, she really lets loose. It was great. Then, went over to see Atmosphere, who I kind of like, but wasn't that great. I think his attempts at humor between songs were angering me for some reason. Next was Chairlift, who was very good indeed. I think their songs are probably better suited for the big outdoor stage than Schuba's, where I first saw them.

Next I made the trek back north for Arctic Monkeys, who I was excited about. But for some reason, the live set didn't thrill me. They didn't play nearly enough from the first album. I hate a band that doesn't know what their best material is (I'm looking at you, Third Eye Blind). I think this was a scheduling mistake, since everyone seemed to be going to Arctic Monkeys. And after they finished, I got some food and went back in to sit on the grass, and you couldn't even move at the bottleneck because so many people were trying to get out. Arctic Monkeys probably should have been on later, and on the bigger stage.

Then I hung out for Santigold. I always thought she was sort of an M.I.A. ripoff, but she does have talent, and her set was really good. People were dancing on top of the structure behind the sound booth.. Back south again, since I've already seen TVOTR twice, and I'm getting sick of them. They're a little overrated. Chilled on the grass near Lykke Li, who sounded alright. Then went down by Animal Collective. Hung out for a bit, but after a while I couldn't stand the sounds coming from the stage. God they suck! So I went over by the main stage to wait for Tool.

Tool was very good, but it would have been nice to see the band on those nice huge expensive TV screens. All they showed for the whole thing was basically music videos, all conceptual stuff and creepy claymation like the Sober video (wasn't too surprised that they didn't play said song). It's a big field; you can't see the band at all unless you got there hours ahead of time. Radiohead last year had the same problem. The screens are huge, but Radiohead broke them up into 6 squares, each showing a different image, so you couldn't see anything because the videos were as tiny as the band.

Sunday proved to be the best day, and the sunniest (hence the name). I started with Alberta Cross, got there just as they finished. So, maybe they're good, I couldn't tell ya. Then went over to the tiny BMI stage (lots of shade) for Esser. He's pretty good I guess. Then south to bake in the sun and listen to Ra Ra Riot. They sounded really good. Next, checked out Bat for Lashes for a minute. She sounded good, but I wasn't in the mood for the subtle textures, so I went back to BMI to check out the Greencards. Last year I discovered an amazing bluegrass group called the Steeldrivers. I tried to find other bands like them, but most bluegrass is shit, usually because of a singer with that annoying country twang that makes me want to retch. So the Greencards are the only other good bluegrass band I've found (besides one called Muleskinner that was only around in the '70s), and they kicked ass. Ironically, most of them aren't even American. Their records seem to be more vocal-based, but for the live show, they were more of a jam band, with some kick-ass fiddle and mandolin solos.

Next, Kaiser Chiefs, who totally rocked. Great at getting the crowd into it, encouraging clapping and singing along (or shouting). I like their records, but I didn't know they'd be this good! Then I went back south and chilled on the grass by Gang Gang Dance, who sounded pretty good. Then my most anticipated group, Vampire Weekend. This was probably the sunniest, hottest hour of the weekend (thank god for those couple clouds), but well worth the cooked flesh. The band sounded great. Since they just have the one album and it's like 40 minutes long, they had time for most of those songs, plus some new ones, which actually sounded quite good.

After that, went to check out Passion Pit, who were good. They played their excellent single The Reeling last, and just then a cool breeze came in off the lake and made everything alright. Then Snoop. Snoop's the man, and the crowd was into it, which was cool. But rap acts are never that great live. The mix is always shit.

After that, I still hadn't decided whether to go to Jane's Addiction or the Killers. I decided I'd rather see Band of Horses than Silversun Pickups, so I went to them and Jane's. Lou Reed went like 20 minutes long, so I caught the end of that. The man's a legend, but that doesn't mean he's going to be any good live. Go listen to a Velvet Underground album. Band of Horses was good, very mellow and spacey. And Jane's was good. I was never their biggest fan, but they're still good.

I started going to Lollapalooza in 2006, and so far there hasn't been a bad year. Pouring rain or ridiculously hot, I don't give a shit, I'll be there. I used to get depressed that I was missing Coachella, but who wants to sleep in a tent??? Every year, 130 of my favorite bands come to my city to play on the same weekend. I love Chicago!.. After JA's set, Perry said something about bringing the olympics to Chicago (and the main stage was called "Chicago 2016"), but today I read that if that happens, there won't be a Lollapalooza that year. Just say NO to the olympics!!!