What was it?
Big ass concert in Chi-town! Two days, 5 stages (plus one for kids), over 60 bands. This was our third Lollapalooza, and while it may not have beat the first one, it was huge.
Early Acts
The first day started around noon, with a little M83 on our way into the park. Once in, we headed straight for The Dead 60’s ( a very fun ska/Clash-influeneced band – check em out live if you can). They play better to a small venue like when we saw them open for Garbage, but they still rocked out. “I gotta have more cowbell!”
We milled around a while after that, catching a little of Liz Phair’s act (just too poppy!), and from there we set up a blanket to enjoy The Bravery. Their set sounded great, but their performance plays a lot to the people up front, so we didn’t feel much energy from our vantage point.
Content with having watched them do “An Honest Mistake” and “Tyrant”, we made an early exit to get good stage position for the next act…
With a Rebel Yell
Billy Idol. This is a guy I never thought I’d see live – after all, that was a different era. But the Brit was back and as lean and mean as ever. His set was a blast…full of classic hits (“Rebel Yell”, “Dancing with Myself”, “White Wedding”, “Eyes without a Face”, “Flesh for Fantasy”)…and the crowd was rocking out.
Pixies
This was the highlight of the concert for me. An hour after Idol rocked the stage, Frank Black, Kim Deal, and company tore it up with over an hour long set. We were standing about 8-9 people back from the front of the stage. It took standing an hour in 100 degree heat to get that spot, but it was worth every drop of sweat. Hearing songs like “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, “Debasser”, “Broken Face”, “Here Comes Your Man”, “Wave of Mutilation” (twice!), and the closer “Where is My Mind?” is something I’ll never forget.
Day 1 Nightcap
How to conclude such an awesome day? While most of the kids were grooving on Weezer’s cheesy goodness, we decided instead to kick it with the Digable Planets. Donna and I saw them back in the hay in Columbus, and seeing them together again was a lot of fun. The Chicago skyline and ‘Nickelbags of Funk’…a perfect nightcap.
Back for (a little) more
Saturday was phenonemal…and exhausting (we got up early and drove up that day before everything started)…and Sunday was even hotter. Temps hovered around 105 to 110 with some heavy humitity. This day consisted of more up-and-coming bands so we chilled (I mean roasted!) on a blanket and enjoyed more of the festival atmosphere itself. We watched Kasabian (would love to we them again), a little of Tegan and Sara, and a good chunk of Perry Farrell’s latest project, Satellite Party (with bassist Tony Kanal from No Doubt). The latter was quite cool, a definite notch above Porno for Pyros.
But alas, we had to hit the road. A 5+ hour drive and the need to be up early to teach the next day, meant we had to miss The Arcade Fire and The Killers (sniff, sniff).
