Month: August 2011 Page 2 of 3

Despite being their 20th anniversary, I was wholly unthrilled to be attending Lollapalooza this year. My excitement level leading up to the start of the festival was at a near zero level, despite having my weekend pass all set to go. So many of the bands playing were ones I had seen before, and the ones I hadn’t seen I wasn’t all that excited to see anyways. You may be wondering why I even bothered buying a ticket then. The reason was twofold: I’ve gone every year since the festival landed in Chicago back in 2005, and a 20th anniversary is a special thing. Besides that, there were some decent bands playing on the undercard and I kept my fingers crossed for a landmark musical discovery. I’ll get to how that went in a minute, but just before the weekend began, in my mind it was going to be my final Lollapalooza. With increasingly disappointing lineups, higher prices, crowds getting ever larger and the physical toll my body is submitted to over 3 days, as Danny Glover puts it, “I’m getting too old for this shit”. Most of my friends have dropped out in the last couple years citing those same issues, and the fun factor has largely disappeared too. So with a heavy sigh and a negative attitude, I stood in a moderately large line on Friday to get into Grant Park and start my weekend.

Part of me wanted to get drunk and just spend the entire weekend in an alcohol-fueled haze. After a beer and a burger at the start of my Friday though, I started to feel ill. There was a moment though near the middle of the day Friday where a sea change occurred. Not only did I feel better health-wise, but my attitude pulled a 180 as well. I’ll get into exactly what caused it shortly, but needless to say I suddenly remembered exactly why I love the festival and why I wasn’t going to turn the entire weekend into a big pity party. The magic returned, and I never looked back. Music aside though, Lollapalooza still has a few problems that are in need of fixing. Most of the issues stemmed directly from overcrowding, something that naturally comes along with a sell out. With the expanded grounds, something that started last year, much of the body congestion of the past has subsided, save for the areas directly around the stages. When it comes to food vendors and restrooms though, the later it gets the worse it gets. On Friday night I stood in line for 20+ minutes just to get a simple slice of pizza. Saturday and Sunday evenings weren’t quite so bad, but still too long for comfort. Perry’s too, in spite of being expanded to the size of a football field, was ultimately too constrained by the extra large tent that was constructed. After Friday organizers removed some of the panels from that tent just to give people more space. Perhaps they should have just nixed the whole tent idea altogether to allow it the proper room to breathe. Then again, it’s a bit tough to put on a crazy light show or break out your glow sticks in the middle of the afternoon sans tent. The concern at this point is that next year organizers might feel like Perry’s needs even more room to expand and could hypothetically take over one of the areas currently occupied by a larger band stage. That of course remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised if that happens. Ok, let’s talk about the music.

The Highlights

Le Butcherettes, Le Butcherettes, Le Butcherettes! I cannot emphasize enough just how incredible their set was. If you want to know what turned my entire weekend around, Le Butcherettes’ mid-Friday afternoon set did it. I showed up to watch just a song or two because I like their record and quickly found myself so drawn in that leaving became impossible. Teri Gender Bender plays and sings with such intensity that you can’t take your eyes off of her. She runs around the stage, does somersaults, throws her shoes into the crowd and crowd surfs like it’s going out of style. Drummer Gabe Serbian is also a huge asset, playing with such force that he worked himself to a level of exhaustion that culminated in projectile vomiting. It was an epic, infinitely memorable set, and it’s an extremely rare occasion when a band completely wows me on a lark. The purpose it served was to remind me that Lollapalooza and so many other music festivals are largely about discovery – catching that one unexpected set and having an artist win you over by sheer force. Even before Le Butcherettes finished their set, I knew nothing would top it for the rest of the weekend, and nothing did. Still, there were a few other musical highlights worth noting. On Friday I also loved sets by The Mountain Goats and Bright Eyes, but they’re also bands with a lot of years under their belts, making them old pros when it comes to playing live. Saturday’s early afternoon dance party with Friendly Fires was probably the best of the three times I’ve now seen them, and frontman Ed Macfarlane’s trip from the super high stage down into the crowd was a big help in making a gigantic festival a little more personable. Also worth mentioning were strong sets from Phantogram, Death From Above 1979, Lykke Li and Black Lips, which ironically also featured a fair amount of puking. Sunday was bookended with two great live shows, starting with The Joy Formidable’s loud, instrument destroying fun. Then as the rain pounded down harder than it had all weekend, Foo Fighters pushed harder and to much more of an extreme than most other acts. It was as if they were screaming at the clouds, telling them to BRING IT. The crowd, too, stayed for every second and refused to surrender to the elements. That in itself was an unforgettable experience. Arctic Monkeys were also notably great in a shortened set post-rainstorm earlier in the day. I’ve always felt they were a mediocre live act, but there was a spark this time around that just felt so much more right than before.

The Lowlights

It’s always tough to say bad things about a band, which is probably why this section will be markedly smaller than the previous one. For Friday, I’ll say the most uninspired live set I saw came from pop star Kerli. Pop star is probably not the right word to use, particularly considering she was playing the tiny BMI stage. Then again, I’m pretty sure Lady Gaga played the BMI stage a few years back. Still, Kerli has a long way to go in both her performance style and songwriting if she’s hoping to reach the next step in her career. In the early parts of Saturday, An Horse’s set really did nothing for me. I think their latest record is simply alright, but as a duo left to their own devices on stage things verged on boring. Straight renditions of your songs while you don’t do much in the way of moving around does not qualify as a good or even okay live show, unless the material is exceptionally strong. There’s a part of me that also wants to mention The Pretty Reckless for their unintentionally hilarious set. I can’t call it bad or even one of the worst things I saw all weekend as it was far too entertaining for that. Put this one into the “so bad it’s good” category. When it comes to Sunday, the most disappointing thing for me was the rain. But since we’re talking music, I’ll also make mention of Rival Schools. Whether it was the scorching sun or poor song selection, something about the band’s set did not sit right with me. The guys were doing a fair amount of jumping around on stage, and that alone is usually enough to help enhance a performance, but not this time. I was left unmoved despite their movement. I realize they have a solid fan base, so perhaps chalk this disappointment up to my own taste – or distaste – for their music.

In Conclusion

So what does all of this add up to? In short, despite my initial apprehension and general disappointment with attending Lollapalooza this year, I’m glad I went. The experience reminded me why I like this festival in the first place and why I’ve invested so much time and money going every year. Despite the great time I had over the 3 days, it’s still going to be tough for me to forget the issues I had with it before the weekend started. Attendance may be stronger than ever, but when you book such high profile acts like Coldplay and Eminem, there are massive fan bases for those artists that will gladly pay top dollar to see their favorites. That seems to be what Lollapalooza has become – a massive money making machine aimed at turning a profit first and bringing in quality artists putting on quality shows second. In spite of a weaker undercard this year, organizers continue to luck out with a few key bookings that are just enough to keep some of us on the hook. Death From Above 1979 was a pretty big “get” this year, and the last-minute addition of Le Butcherettes as a Sleigh Bells replacement was the most inspired move of all. The Pitchfork Music Festival can’t book all the hotly hyped acts, which is why Tennis and Cults made it onto the Lollapalooza roster this year, which was additionally nice. But for every one of those fresh bands, there’s a Flogging Molly, a Cage the Elephant or a Cold War Kids, all of whom have performed at the festival at least twice in the past few years. We’re lucky they didn’t book The Black Keys for what would have been the upteenth time in a row. Sure, you’ve got to book 130 acts every year and there are bound to be repeats, but creativity and diversity remain king. Book more hip hop acts. Maybe explore a little more country or blues. Hell, book Taylor Swift as a headliner since it’s headed that way anyways. Or go deeper into the independent and local music scenes. There are plenty of ways to keep the 3 days every year consistently thrilling, and for long-time attendees, it’s just not there as much anymore. There used to be a wholly rebellious and underground spirit running through Lollapalooza. It was there in the first incarnations, and it was even still there in the first couple years it made a home in Grant Park. Dollars and cents, nickels and dimes seem to be the only “spirit” guiding organizers these days, and the festival is quickly becoming the very thing it used to loathe. Selling out is easy. Keeping your dignity while doing it – that’s hard. So I light a candle in the hopes that in their 21st year, a more mature, forward-thinking Lollapalooza will emerge, one that’s seeking a return to its roots rather than staying the course it’s currently on. Allow me to end on a rhyme. 20 years have gone and passed, I hope my attendance at Lollapalooza is going to last.

Well THAT was an interesting way to end a weekend. Sunday at Lollapalooza was thrown into an interesting gear thanks to a couple rounds of severe weather that turned Grant Park into something that more closely resembles a lake than a field. The music continued with only minor delays, and when everything was said and done nobody walked away from the weekend without at least a smattering of mud on them. It was a wild time, and had its moments of triumph in spite of the harsh conditions. Allow me to briefly recap the 3rd and final day of Lollapalooza 2011.

My day started off a slight bit later than the first two days, thanks to Sunday brunch and general fatigue. Everyone was looking a little worse for the wear on Day 3, but that’s perfectly normal for a festival of this sort. A couple hours before the gates opened, a heavy downpour came through and created a number of large puddles around the park, and grounds crews did their best to throw some quick dry down to help harden up the ground. Still, things were a bit sketchy during Gold Motel‘s set. The good news was their set was at the Playstation stage (aka the Petrillo bandshell), which is the only paved/permanent stage in the entire park. I arrived just in time to catch their last few songs, all of which were pretty good. I’ve seen Gold Motel once before and they impressed me – this time was basically an extension of that. I’ve got no complaints, except to say maybe the crowd was too small. 12:30pm on a Sunday isn’t exactly a big crowd kind of time though, if you know what I mean.

While part of me had the itch to go see Titus Andronicus in their early afternoon set, I wanted to broaden my horizons a little more and see a band I had never seen live before. The Joy Formidable filled that gap in nicely, and was most convenient for me stage-wise as well. The band’s debut full length “The Big Roar” is filled with excitable and boisterous tracks that often have squalls of white noise in them. That also makes for a pretty good description of their live show, good energy with a heavy dose of loud. While most of the set was solid if not slightly above average, they moved into an amazing category courtesy of their latest single “Whirring” that wrapped it all up. They took an extended outro to the song and destroyed much of the stage using their guitars, which included beating both a gong and a bass drum into submission. If you’ve never seen a person smash a guitar into a gong before, I’d advise you to find a way to catch it – it’s very thrilling.

Rival Schools came on right after The Joy Formidable, and the post-punk/alt rock guys brought a legacy with them. They played with energy and attempted to be engaging with the relatively meager crowd, but ultimately it seemed to be a futile effort. Their stage presence and technical prowess weren’t lacking, but I think their main fault was with their actual songs. For being around for so long, there’s a reason why they aren’t bigger. There’s clearly some who relate to and enjoy their music, but I think I can say that I’m not one of them. Sometimes an overpowering live show can make bad music bearable, but unfortunately I don’t think that was the case here.

With about 10 minutes to go before their set started, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were carefully soundchecking. And soundchecking. And soundchecking. When it came time for their set to officially start, they left the stage for a minute and then came back…and soundchecked again. It took a few more minutes, but eventually they got to a point where everything sounded the way it was supposed to. Or at least sounded manageable to them. To me the first half of their set came across as weak – not that the material or the stage presence was bad, but rather like we were listening to a set being broadcast in mono instead of stereo. It lacked a certain strength. When they got around to “Come Saturday” though, the guitars suddenly sounded beefed up and powerful, remaining so for the rest of the set. Call it a worthy recovery that hopefully won the band a lot of new fans.

If you’ve ever heard a single song from Flogging Molly before, then you likely know what you’re getting into going to see them live. It is always a party, filled with energy and a certain rowdiness. Grab a pint of Guinness, slam it down, and then bounce around with some strangers. The crowd was big, and so were the mosh pits, and if you were in the vicinity you easily could have wound up covered in beer. That’s just the reality of the Flogging Molly live show. I’ve never had a bad time seeing them live, and hopefully you haven’t either.

At the end of Flogging Molly’s last song, somebody pointed out to me that there were some very dark and threatening storm clouds moving over the park. The sun suddenly vanished and things started to look dangerous. Cage the Elephant took the stage and began to plow through their set with remarkable energy that also included frontman Matthew Shultz jumping into the crowd almost immediately. They ran through a number of their radio hits before the sky finally opened up and a massive torrential downpour struck hard. Most were unprepared for such a storm, having only the clothes on their backs and nothing in the way of ponchos or umbrellas. The trees and a scattering of tents became the only form of shelter for 90,000 people, and it was NOT a good situation. I brought an umbrella but still couldn’t bear to continue standing out in the open as the bottom half of my body was getting soaked because the rain was so heavy and a light wind was pushing it more sideways. So I wound up spending a good 30-45 minutes under tree cover, and in the very far distance I could hear bits of Best Coast performing. I wish I would have made it over to have seen their performance. That was the plan before the weather hit.

As the storms eventually subsided, I made my way across the park to catch what was left of the set by Arctic Monkeys. Turns out, they hadn’t even started, the organizers putting up a “Weather Delay” sign on the video screen while we waited for the rain to fully stop. A few minutes later it did, and the band came out to thunderous applause. Their set was shortened by about 15 minutes, but they made the absolute most out of the time they were given. Having seen Arctic Monkeys a couple times before, I’ve always been rather unimpressed with their live show. It was an energy issue mostly, with problems also stemming from appearing to play every song exactly how it sounds on record. This time there was a vibrancy I’d never seen before, and the songs cracked like bolts of lightning in the post-rainstorm environment. Perhaps it was simply the joy of the rain having stopped that brought everyone’s spirits up, or maybe that was just me. Or maybe Arctic Monkeys have gotten markedly better live since I last saw them 2 years back.

My intention was to see most of the pre-Foo Fighters set from Explosions in the Sky, but thanks to the explosions of rain from the sky a short while earlier, much of the park was underwater. As a result, moving around became exceedingly difficult, as did navigating the area directly surrounding the stages. The goal was to either give up and just allow yourself to get covered in mud, or choose your steps carefully and try to stay as dry as possible. I went with the latter, which meant skipping EITS to seek the drier land of pavement known as Columbus Ave. for some dinner. Sorry boys, what I heard of your set from across the field was a delight.

Last but certainly not least, Foo Fighters had a 2 hour musical extravaganza to close out the festival. They started, quite naturally, with “Bridges Burning”, the first track off their new (and great) record “Wasting Light”. It was around that time I noticed those super threatening storm clouds had shown up again, looking more menacing than ever. A good gauge to determine how bad a weather system will be is to stare at the Willis Tower and see if the top of it is visible. Not only was the top half of the Willis invisible, but a whole bunch of other buildings close to it were completely gone. Low hanging clouds mean rain, and boy did it rain. In spite of the extreme downpour, nobody blinked. The crowd didn’t move. They danced in the rain. The Foo Fighters rocked harder than ever. The entire band was covered in water from head to toe, completely slaying “My Hero” while everyone sang at the top of their lungs. Mud was everywhere. Puddles and flooding was everywhere. Nobody cared anymore. It was nature throwing all it had at us, and we held our heads up high and threw it right back. 20 minutes later, the clouds had moved past and the skies had cleared once again, but there was still a rock show going on. It went on for another 90 minutes, in which Foo Fighters played hit after hit after hit and the crowd just ate it all up. It was, in a word, awesome. In the case of man vs. nature, man won. I can think of no better way to close out the 3-day weekend.