Lollapalooza: Day 1 - August 3, 2007

Chicago, Grant Park [11 am to 10 pm] ~$195

"Music Tasting and Other Delights..."

We set out for Chicago Wednesday afternoon and arrived Thursday evening (with a stopover in northwestern Pennsylvania). The road trip was fun, as we brushed up on possible Lollapalooza music...and Friday I was set...

I arrived at Grant Park around 1:30 pm and caught some of Colour Revolt's set. I had only heard a few songs of theirs, but I was looking forward to hearing them. They sounded great on the small stage, in the mid-day sun (as I often said "I'll have to check out more songs of theirs"). People were sitting under trees or standing in front of the stage. Lollapalooza wasn't crowded yet (Friday had the smallest crowd, as expected), but it was early still.

This afternoon session shall be called the "music tasting", for I heard a few songs from a variety of bands. Leaving Colour Revolt I headed over to Son Volt's stage. Son Volt had a perfectly pleasing sound coming from the stage. They brought a nice rock to the building crowd, but, man, the sun was even hotter at their area. Surrounded by the city skyline to the west of the park and Lake Michigan to the east, we just baked out in the open throughout the early afternoon sets at Grant Park. With this being the case, and knowing that I had a full weekend of music ahead, I made my way to the trees lining this end of the park and enjoyed Son Volt from a shaded distance.

Though I was thoroughly enjoying Son Volt's set, I tried to check out Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, but they must have ended earlier then scheduled. Ahhh...the schedule. You learned very quickly to plot out your day well if you wanted to get the most out of the festival. The walk between the North and South ends of the park was lengthy when you consider that it may take up to ten minutes just to get from one excellent act to the next. Each end of the park had about three stages near each other (with staggered band schedules) and three other small stages in between. I wasn't the only one constantly checking out the pocket schedule and map to figure the next best move. (By Sunday afternoon, my pocket schedule was looking as wore and beaten as I was starting to feel.)

It was hot, I was hungry, and a band seemed to end earlier than stated, so I grabbed some food and hit the shaded ground to relax and digest. I only sat for a few minutes as I realized that I was nodding to the music coming from the stage near by. The band sounded really interesting and I had never heard them before. I made my way over to the stage and checked out a great set by Viva Voce. This duo was an excellent discovery for me. I had read about them, but I never heard their music before. They were great!

In the same vein of "discovering" new sounds, I had the pleasant surprise of catching the tail end of The Polyphonic Spree as they played a manic cover of Nirvana's "Lithium". I was making my way past Buckingham Fountain when I heard this interesting cover and walked over to their area to see twenty people in white robes making some great noise. They finished their set with an excellent song, and I added them to my list of bands that I must see when I get home (I'll be writing this a lot throughout my review of the weekend). They were a beautiful experience that I wish I caught more of.

The 3:30 to 4:30 set didn't have anyone playing on my "had to see" list, so I checked out Electric Six - didn't like them. Checked out Against Me! on the recommendation from a Chicago paper and really didn't like them, Slightly Stoopid (same), and eventually settled on finding some shade near the stage where M.I.A. was going to perform and not far from where Sparklehorse was playing. Though I know most people would think I was crazy not to choose Sparklehorse from the start, I only know their latest album and don't care for it, so I was up for some "music tasting." With that being said, I'm glad I landed near Sparklehorse because they were playing some beautiful music. It was great listening to them under the trees in Grant Park.

Now, M.I.A. was on my short list of acts not to miss (especially after missing her at Siren Fest two weeks earlier). I had been waiting anxiously for this part of the day. M.I.A. came out with her DJ and backup dancer/singer. I enjoyed her set and stage presence, but though I enjoyed it, I felt that her show was lacking something. Early on in her set she told us that she lost her voice in California, but would soldier on. Her vocal problems weren't that noticeable (only really apparent when she and her backup singer harmonized). With this being the case, I accepted the flawed harmonies and enjoyed the dancing, singing and DJing (though more dancers were needed on stage). The set was really good considering (especially with M.I.A. coming down to the audience, climbing up the scaffolding and shaking around the stage in general) and now I'm sure that I have to her in a small club atmosphere.

From M.I.A on I was on a mission. Forget the "music tasting", the next few hours were set... On the run to Blonde Redhead, I heard great sounds coming from The Rapture, but I had to keep going (adding them to my list of shows to catch in the future of course). At the Silversun Pickups stage I heard more great sounds and the band say "...thank you, but what are you doing here? You should be over at Blonde Redhead." "That's right", I thought, and added them to my growing list. They were dead on. Blonde Redhead was amazing. They truly started my night. They played an excellent set and the crowd was very appreciative of the scene they were creating. Song after song Blonde Redhead (as with many bands throughout the weekend) reminded me that Canada and Iceland didn't have the music market cornered. We New Yorkers seem to forget how many great bands today, not just in our distant and recent past, but today, we have coming from our city (more on this later).

Next up - Satellite Party! Though their album hasn't blown me away (or disappointed either), who could pass up seeing Perry Farrell's new band?!? So, I wanted to see this band, but didn't expect the show they played! Starting off (as I was getting booze), they ripped into "Stop!", an excellent, classic Jane's Addiction song. Perry and his new band embraced playing Jane's and Porno for Pyros and we all loved it. People were singing along, dancing, just having a manic good time. Half the songs of their set came from this repertoire! (Peter DiStefano from Porno for Pyros even came out to play "Pets" and other songs.) Their set provided a recharge that I was sorely needing, since I had driven to Chicago the day before and had been standing for a large part of the day. Satellite Party was great to experience. Perry was full of life and ready to rock, and so they did.

From this great set I was lucky enough to have LCD Soundsystem playing at the other stage in the same field as Satellite Party. I had really fallen for them since their recent "Sound of Silver" album and have read many other blogs raving about Jame's Murphy's live presence, so this was an act I was looking forward to. They carried the momentum of the previous three acts onward! LCD Soundsystem were the highlight of Friday. They were amazing! What an intense performance! James and the crew played a hard charging, percussive onslaught of music from their two albums. Every song seemed better than the last! The crowd danced. James crooned, screamed, beat the cymbals next to him. He even brought on the night as the band played into the darkness with James yelling at the lighting crew to "fuckin' turn them [the lights overhead] off!" It was frenzied and it was fun all around. (Though I am giving the ultimate rating away early in my review, LCD Soundsystem were the top act of the festival for me. I can't wait to see them play with Arcade Fire on October 6.)

Of the two Friday headliners, Daft Punk and Ben Harper, I chose Daft Punk (especially with James Murphy's commands of "Go over there! Go over there!", pointing to Daft Punk's stage). Daft Punk were a perfect ending to this night. I was happy to (sort of) relive my electronica days as Daft Punk lit up (literally) the night from their electric pyramid playing their infectious dance music. Everyone was moving, while, at the same time, mesmerized by the stage lights and images. They played a full, excellent set leaving no one less than satisfied that this was going to be a great festival...

Videos:

Blonde Redhead - "Melody of a Certain Three" from Lollapalooza, August 3, 2007

LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" from Lollapalooza, August 3, 2007

Daft Punk - Encore from Lollapalooza, August 3, 2007

Friday Set Lists from Lollapalooza.com