SUNDAY (8.9.09)
By sunday the heat/humidity was ridiculous. It was easily one of the hottest days of any Lollapalooza I have attended. Luckily, it was also had some of the best performances of weekend.
BAT FOR LASHES
Bat For Lashes was an unfortunate victim of scheduling. She played a great set, with plenty of energy and fire, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Playing the kind of subtle, piano driven stuff that she does is lost on most of the crowd this early in the afternoon. At 130 most people are just hanging out or walking around trying to find something to watch and those who have planted at stage are far more concerned with finding a beer and chatting with their buddies than watching the band. I don't blame those folks, I've been there, I'm just saying Bat For Lashes probably would have been a lot better with a time slot later in the day. It didn't help that some drunk asshole yelled all the lyrics to her set finishing "Daniel" as she was singing them. Still a solid, enjoyable performance.
KAISER CHIEFS
I used to like the Kaiser Chiefs, but I kinda got bored with them pretty fast. They did put on one hell of a show. I just chilled back and layed out in the grass, but they were giving the crowd all the stuff us festival goers eat up; handclaps, call & response, etc. They were one of the most pleasant surprises of the weekend. This massive fire hose attached to a giant fan that blew mist over the crowd was THE most pleasant surprise of the weekend:
THE HOOD INTERNET
I actually planned on seeing Gang Gang Dance in the time slot following the Kaiser Cheifs, but as I was walking past Perry's DJ stage I heard something familiar. The music of french electronic duo Justice...except some Phil Collins vocals had been mixed on top of it. At that moment, all bets were off. I made a bee-line for Perry's and yet again, this turned out to be a great decision. I saw some DJ pair called The Hood Internet. Whatev, they were just mixing for the crazy-ass dance party that was going on around the stage. Like I said, when in doubt always always always go to Perry's, its where the party never stops. Don't believe me? Check this out:
The whole crowd stopped to cheer on this 10 year old crowd surfer with dyed green hair. What a badass. This is much weirder.
Yes. That is an old dude crowd surfing with a lightsaber. I love you Lollapalooza.
OLD POET DUDE
Those who have been to Lolla before know to always keep a look out for this guy. I have no idea who he is. I do know that he goes around to random stages at random times and reads original poetry. Its usually about the band, but is also too abstract to really figure out how or why. Anyway, he usually gets the people pumped.
PASSION PIT
Best performance of the weekend. Period. They were just incredible. I only got into them a few weeks before Lolla but I really fell hard for their debut LP Manners. I still can't stop listening to that album. So I was pretty amped up to see them because they are such a new and exciting band, and there is something special about seeing a band right on the cusp of taking off. The crowd was beyond packed. Once they started, it was just pure chaos. There was so much jumping and dancing and crowd surfing. Only two times in my Lollapalooza history have I jumped/danced harder than at Passion Pit and that was at Girl Talk in 08 and Daft Punk in 07. And I don't dance for just anybody. Passion Pit was the apex, the pinnacle of the weekend. I had more excitement, sweat, and fun during their set than any other during the whole weekend. Their brand of pop is just pure energy and it translated beautifully live. Every chorus is an epic sing a long, and each song seemed to big more epic than the last. They were, in a word, perfect.
SNOOP DOGG
It took me about a half hour to recover, both physically and emotionally, from Passion Pit and as soon as I did, Snoop D-Oh-Double-G was there to get the party going again. Although I wasn't able to enjoy the show in quite the manner in which I had hoped, I still had a blast. I mean, he started his set with "The Next Episode" and then "Gin and Juice". Snoop Dogg is the crowd pleaser. He did his hits, he did a Tupac tribute, he played "Jump Around" which caused break dance circles to form, he did call & response, he did it all. There was a cloud hanging over the crowd that you wouldn't believe. He finished his set with a repeating chorus of "Na na na na Na na na na hey hey hey Snoooooop Doooooooggg".
Look. People dancing in the middle of the crowd. Hilarious.
I LOVE MY CITY
I love my city. I mean just look at it. Ain't Chicago the prettiest thing you ever did see?
THE KILLERS
The Killers headlining set, much like both the Kings of Leon and the Yeah Yeah Yeah, felt like a coming of age ceremony. Lead singer Brandon Flowers even humbly announced that this was the largest crowd they had ever played for. But Perry Ferrell doesn't pick somebody to headline his festival if he doesn't think they can handle the job. So the Killers did their home city of Las Vegas proud and put on a Show. I loved the band's first two albums Hot Fuss and Sam's Town but to be honest their third album Day & Age didn't do much for me. However, the songs that were boring and forgettable on that album were given new life on the giant Chicago 2016 stage. I mean, any concert with pyrotechnics is going to be a good time. Their biggest songs like "Mr. Brightside" and "All These Things I've Done" were huge, but the weekend closing "When You Were Young" accompanied with a shower of sparks and other explosives was truly one of the best moments of the weekend.
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