white noise

Friday

Robert Delong

Atlas Genius

Imagine Dragons

New Order

Killers

NIN

Saturday

Matt & Kim

The National

The Lumineers (barely)

The Postal Service

Sunday

The Mowgli’s

Two Door Cinema Club

Beach House

The Cure

I’m finding it harder to spend a lot of time cooking up detailed posts on here, so I’ll reduce this year’s Lolla to a single mega post to cover the epic three days. For 2012, Justin, Mike, and D and I were joined by Dave and Xian, plus a seven and a half month along Grace!

Friday

Our first day was one of those days you could practically spend all your time at one stage. We got into the park after the first couple sets, but then grabbed a couple beers and a couple smiles and headed down to the main stage on the north where a large crowd was already building up.

Metric

Our first act of the day was Metric, a band I missed seeing in 2010 as they were still emerging. Now with the recent release of Synthetica and “Youth Without Youth”, they had lots of buzz and tons of new fans. The Canadian four-piece gave us an energetic show in the heat of the day and got the weekend rolling nicely.

After Metric, Donna and Justin left our primo spots, just a couple people from the front, to watch Die Antwoord on the next stage over. I really wish I could’ve gone, but I was determined to keep our position for Passion Pit coming up next. So, instead I listened to the distant throbbing bass of Fatty Boom Boom while baking in the sun.

Passion Pit

As Die Antwoord was finishing up, the crowd coming over to the main stage got even denser, but Donna amazingly managed to make her way back over. We’d seen Passion Pit a couple times before, but this was the first time in a festival setting, and the vibe really translated well. Michael Angelakos had recently cancelled some of their tour dates to regroup mentally, and we we’re thrilled to be able see him onstage seemingly to really enjoy himself.

Black Sabbath

It’s impossible to recall an odder choice for a Lollapalooza headliner than Black Sabbath. With three of the original members, seeing the band perform was a rare sight in itself, but at Lolla the resulting mixture of concert-goers it led to was truly odd. Unfortunately staying in place in front of the main stage, meant missing M83, but I hung there waiting with Mike anyway. Once Sabbath came out Mike was finally in his metal element. Seeing Ozzy on stage was nothing like the reality TV version of himself. Even if he was a bit stiff and stumbly on stage, and out of breath at times, damn if he didn’t lay it all out there.

Bassnectar

Roughly half way through the Sabbath set the novelty was wearing off on me, and I left to finish the evening with another band. I felt I’d be underwhelmed by the other headliner, The Black Keys, so I decided to checkout Bassnectar on my own. Or so I thought. Turns out everyone but Mike saw some portion of Bassnectar even though we never ran into each other. The light show was amazing and totally immersive even at a distance. It was an energizing yet chill way to cap off the night.

Saturday

Day 2 got rolling with some more strolling around the park including a stop at the Adidas tent.

Aloe Black

We started our first set only knowing the fun vibe of Aloe Black’s “I Need a Dollar”. Turned out the whole set was really great and danceable.

Next we checked out the PlayStation tent while listening to Neon Indian from a distance. And then things turned ugly. The sunny skies quickly turned dark and all the video screens in the park announced an evacuation.

After the heavy rains of 2011 (during Cage and Foo Fighters) it was really hard to believe they would shut things done. But there was a storm related tragedy at the Indiana State Fair since then which no doubt changed protocol. Bands stopped mid-set. Hundreds of volunteers corralled everyone toward the exists. As we passed the Chow Town food booths, we saw head chef Graham Elliot. He graciously posed for a picture, but then caringly told us to be safe and make our way out. He also said “come on back after things reopen and I’m giving free truffle popcorn to everyone”. That guy rocks!

It was raining as we left the park. By the time we got to the hotel lobby the sky was almost totally dark and there was a full torrent failing.

We enjoyed a midday happy hour back at our hotel room while watching social media for the latest status. Finally after two hours, the rain had passed and they announced the show would go on with a modified schedule.

FUN.

After having our parade rained on, the perfect choice to start things off again was Fun. They played the smaller grove stage and drew a ridiculously huge crowd. I listed to a few songs with Dave, Xian, and D, but since it was hard to see anything, I headed off early to secure a spot for Franz at the main stage. Just as I got out of the fray I heard everyone burst into “We Are Young”.

Franz Ferdinand

I guess Franz ended up being our big set of the day. They played a great set with lots of hits while the sun sank toward evening. The heavy guitar riffs seemed like good medicine for a frustrating afternoon.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

After Franz I figured my best headliner choice would be the Chili Peppers at the opposite end of the park. Unfortunately having a good spot for Franz meant being buried deeper in the crowd and slower to get over there. As I swung past Perry’s I danced to Calvin Harris’s “Feel So Close” which had spilled into a full on street party. By the time I was past Perry’s, the Chili Peppers were already playing and the path to the stage was a total log jam. It was wall to wall people either trying to get through or straining to see anything from where they were. I watched the video screens for a song or two then decided the energy wasn’t right and it was a lost cause.

Santigold

I decided to head back over to Perry’s (Harris had just ended a couple minutes earlier) to grab an early spot for Santigold. We caught her set at Lolla 2009, but it was packed and we didn’t have a great view. This time I was right at the rail, just very far to the side. Which was fine – my energy was fading and I didn’t need to be in dance central. Without any real expectations I had a great time. She had her trademark backup singers and choreo on stage with some new surprises. At one point they just starting pulling fans on stage. People right next to me hurtled over the barricade to join them. This was one time I opted to hang back and just take it in.

Sunday

The weather forecast for Sunday was all clear, so we partied up and headed out. We started with some shady time under trees at a side stage while Justin and D started bagging their annual recyclables.

We watched a hip-hop act named Overdoz on that side stage, but they were a bit of a mess. One of those times where you’re pretty sure the band is having more fun than the audience. But it was a relaxing start to the day anyway.

Gary Clark Jr.

Next Dave and I swung over to see the blues crunch of Gark Clark Jr. I had listened to a couple of his tracks beforehand, but live is where he really shines.

Of Monsters and Men

From there, it was back over to the grove stage to see OMAM, definitely one of the acts I was most looking forward to. “Little Talks”, and even “Dirty Paws”, had blown up pretty good prior to Lolla so they also drew a oversized crowd for that stage. I got stuck a fair distance from the stage and was unable to even meet up with Justin and D, none the less they were fantastic.

Florence + The Machine

Most of our group took up a comfortable position to watch Florence on the north main stage. I saw a little of her set from a distance, and it sounded great, but I was already en route to my next favorite of the day.

Miike Snow

These Swedish eletro guys had become a favorite of mine over their past couple releases. Even though I was alone for this set I had a great time getting down to their percolating synths and live drums amid the dense swirls of stage smoke. They played an extra long remix of “Animal” for 7+ minutes that was so fun.

Jack White

The last act on our agenda was headliner Jack White. Even though we all spent a lot of the weekend going in different directions, we gradually all regrouped before this set. We set up a couple blankets on a near hillside, and just relaxed as the sun set and the band started. Surprisingly I didn’t get any video of his act. It had been a very long weekend. Jack hit his own singles, some of The White Stripes favorites, and even a Raconteurs song or two. As you’d expect he closed with “Seven Nation Army”. Funny how I’ve heard that riff chanted by more people in the OSU Horseshoe than in Grant Park that night, but it was still an awesome finish.

Like most people in the 80s I dug Men At Work. I wasn’t a big fan, but I’m pretty sure I had Business As Usual on cassette, and I certainly wouldn’t change the station when they were on. But thanks to Zach Braff placing former frontman, Colin Hay in a couple episodes of Scrubs, I grew a deeper appreciation for his songwriting. Colin keeps up a pretty regular touring schedule, playing acoustic sets in small clubs. Finally last night I had a chance to catch one.

His opening act, also solo on acoustic guitar was Chris Trapper. He was a solid opener – of a similar style and laid-back mood. He played an entertaining collection of songs from light to melancholy, with some nice banter along the way. His last song however, really hit us off guard. It was a funeral sendoff, as sung from the recently deceased, with a bit of the feel of an Irish drinking song. The line “Don’t waste time praying, cus I’m never coming back. Just throw a party in my name” got us. Nige would’ve loved that.

Well, on to Colin then. Watching his set feels about like spending an evening hanging out at his house. The years of traveling and performing, especially solo, have really given him an ease with it all. He treats you to stories – maybe about a lost friend (sigh), or about a Beatle doing his dishes (poorly), or even just about Thursday nights (solid, they are). And they aren’t just a couple clever sentences segueing songs, but real unrushed sit-back-with-a-beer stories. At times the songs seem like transitions between stories. But his songs were of course the star. His voice filled the room with his unique, part Australian / part Scottish accent, and we were instantly transported 30 (!) years with “Who could it be Now” and “Overkill”.

Back at it for the third and final day!


We took our time this afternoon getting into the park, and once we were, to stroll around. And of course we had to get one more “thrilling” photo from the Adidas shoebox lounge.

By late afternoon we made our way over to see The Cars, a real throwback moment. Though I’m not a huge fan, it was cool to see them play their hits (and be reminded of how many they had). “She Moves in Stereo” was particularly nostalgic as it brought back fond memories of Fast Times. They may have looked awfully aged on stage, but Ric and his band really sounded great.


After their set we made our way to the other end of the park to get a good spot for Cage the Elephant. The first time we saw Cage a couple years early remains one of the best Lolla surprises we’ve had, and we’ve been fans ever since. In the minutes before their set, the wind picked up a bit and the temperature cooled bringing some much welcome relief. And then we noticed the sky.

As the dark clouds quickly approached, Cage took the stage and roared off with their raw energy. It was only a couple songs in when the rain began. The drizzle continued for a couple more songs. The crowd was wet and annoyed with thoughts of soggy shoes for the rest of the day, but they were determined that rocking out was more important than seeking shelter.

And then the sky ripped open and sheets of rain began to pelt us. I don’t know if I’ve ever stood in a rain that hard, and if so, certainly I wasn’t in it long. Now soaked to the bone, everyone’s annoyance with the rain actually melted away. Something crappy had actually turned magical. Cage launched into “Shake Me Down”. Rain slashed onto the stage. Rain exploded off the drum heads and cymbals. Crews scrambled to get tarps over the stage monitors. And then came the bridge. Faces turned up to the downpour. Every hand pointed to the sky and we sang: “Even on a cloudy day, …, I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the sun”.

After Cage closed their set, the rain had moved on, and we waded away from stage. Ruined shoes, cameras, and cell phones were strewn about in the ankle deep water. All across the park there were muddy shenanigans – from dancing, to slides and making mud angels.

The closer on the main stage was the Foo Fighters, but by the time we got over there, the crowd was already filling in. Instead of standing packed in with the masses in the muddy midfield, we grabbed a roomier and less messy spot on a grassy hill a little further back. As dark fell, and the set began, the crowd was gigantic. I’m usually close to the stage for these acts, so this new perspective was remarkable.

Dave Grohl is an amazing talent, and their hits were good, but there were times the Foos sank into a jammy 70s vibe with extended instrumental sections that I found a little boring. But there were also great moments. The rain returned every bit as fierce as earlier in the day, but colder, while they ripped through “Hero”. And it poured. An eye blurring, umbrella bending (for the few that had one) deluge. The crowd shouted the chorus as if to drive back the rain. Like during the Cage set, there was a crazy feeling of community as every drenched person made this downpour something we wouldn’t forget.

Although the rain let up, a couple songs later Justin and I were shivering and questioning whether to stay or move to another spot. Then without warning, Mike said “I’m going in” and ran down our hill (how he didn’t wipe out on the mud I have no idea) and disappeared into the muddy humanity. We just laughed and gradually worked our way up while looking for D who we hadn’t seen since heading back to the hotel to change after Cage. Eventually we got separated, too. It was every man for themselves tonight.

After rocking out to Monkey Wrench, and now being separated from everyone in our party, I decided to sprint down to the other end of the park to see the last of Deadmau5’s set. I should have been exhausted, but I weaved through the muddy grounds with ease. The sounds of the Foos faded and the EDM thumping grew louder. As I crossed the middle of the park, the combination sounded like a crazy house remix of “Best of You”. I made it down to the other main stage in time to catch the massive rave during a mashup of “Professional Griefers” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”. Then Deadmau5 switched from wearing his trademark mouse helmet to a thin sheet and launched into a crazy finale of “Ghosts N Stuff”. Words can’t describe the soul shaking wall of sound as those synth chords blasted across the field.

Walking away after the set, I somehow ran into D in that sea of thousands of people. Justin met up with us back at the hotel along, with a very, very muddy Mike grinning ear to ear. It was the perfect end to the festival.

Recapping Day 2 in slightly more digest form. Woke, ate a little breakfast, and enjoyed the mega-Osco/Jewel. There was just a bit of morning rain so, we waited to head in until about 2. We again had a couple early beverages to warm up for the day, and a couple might’ve become a couple too many for Justin – he was completely lit 🙂

Good thing our first act was one where he could some blanket time. We watched Skylar Grey, who is best known for singing the hook on hits by Eminen, Lupe Fiasco, and Ditty Dirty Money.

I’m not sure if her own songs are quite as strong as her six pack abs, but her cover of “Zombie” by The Cranberries was fun. All in all, a nice set on a small stage to start the day.

As a crew we weren’t moving quickly, so I decided to skip running over to catch indie act Dom, and we worked our way over to claim a good spot at one of the main stages where we’d hang the rest of the day. First for us on that stage was the reunited Big Audio Dynamite. I watched their Coachella set online so I had a good idea of what to expect. And they delivered. With Mick Jones and company on stage, the mid-80s sure didn’t seem 25 years past, as they rolled through hits like “The Bottom Line” and “E=MC2“. A lot of the crowd looked too young to appreciate the set, but there were older folks (like us) who were really loving watching one of alternative rock’s elder statesman.

After B.A.D. we waited at the same stage for an unusually long amount of time until Ceelo Green finally came out. The crowd had grown bigger (and denser) during the wait, so people were getting pretty anxious for his set to start.
In his intro his all-female band dressed in S&M outfits took the stage; they were kinda cool, but also kinda awkward. Then Ceelo came out and they launched into a rocking, but sloppy cover of Danzig’s “Mother”. Ceelo himself was dressed like one of the Road Warrior professional wrestlers (or an extra from the movie of the same name).

He made it through megahits, “Crazy” (by Gnarles) and “Fuck You”, and a few other covers, but his set was apparently plagued with sound issues. It clearly upset him and even led up to one song restart. After about twenty minutes he cut things short, which didn’t sit well with the crowd which had waited so long.

Last up for the evening was Eminem. Kinda like Gaga the year before, I was looking forward to seeing such a massive act that I wouldn’t normally go to. His set filled the just the prescribed 90 minutes, but it packed in a lot of music, a lot of power, and damn, a freakin lot of words! I figured I knew a couple Slim Shady songs, but I was really blown away by the fanatics surrounding me in the crowd, who could spit the lyrics word for word the entire time. He had a live band which really gave the show a great presence, and he was joined by several guest on stage during the night. First was Royce, then Bruno Mars, and later Skylar Grey for “I Need a Doctor”. The crowd was massive and thoroughly hyped. He closed with “Lose Yourself” and it was crazy.

Another edition of the massive music festival has come and gone, but this one bearing the significance of being the 20th Anniversary of Lollapalooza. D and I saw the very first edition back in 1991 and it still stands as one of the best days of live music we’ve seen. Back then, Lolla was a single day, single stage, touring festival and the lineup consisted of (the brand new) Nine Inch Nails, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T, Living Color (in their hey’), Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Jane’s Addiction. For the past seven years, Lolla has been grounded in Chicago, initially as two days, then as three. We’ve been to 4 of those 7 now, and it just keeps getting bigger. Just how big? Lolla sold out this year, with 90,000 attendees per day.

We returned to this event with D’s brother, Mike, and nephew, Justin. After their first Lolla last year, they couldn’t wait to get back. We met up downtown before noon, got checked in, and had a pre-concert beverage (or two) before heading out.

The first day started with rushing in to catch the set by Young The Giant. It was a warm sunny afternoon and jumping around to “My Body” was a great start for the festival.

From there it was a brisk hustle down to the other end of the park to catch The Naked and Famous. With their shimmering, poppy synths they sound quite a lot like Passion Pit, only the lead singer is a woman, which gives them just a hint of Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs vibe. Their set at Lolla sounded great, even if it was a little low on stage energy.

Following Naked and Famous was one of our most anticipated acts of the day (or the whole weekend), Foster the People. We’ve been fans of Foster since last Fall, when D first heard “Pumped Up Kicks” and knew it’d make a great Halloween party song. Since then they’ve really blown up, hitting lots of festivals this year, even if they’re not necessary a mainstream name yet. Since we were already at this stage for Naked and Famous, we moved up even closer after their set ended and wound up just a few people back from the front. Lead singer, Mark Foster, came out in a long sleeve dress shirt and black trousers – way overdressed for the hot summer day. A couple songs in his entire shirt was drenched.

The band sounded great, they had great energy, and the crowd was phenomenal. There was more crowd surfing during this set than probably any other act we saw over the weekend, and definitely more than at any of the headliners. It reminded of Matt and Kim’s set from last year and Dan Deacon the year before. With Foster, Lolla 2011 had officially hit cruising altitude.

After Foster, we grabbed a bite to eat, more drinks, and chilled out (literally) in the Dell Lounge tent. A worker there snapped our pic on a tablet and emailed it to us.

After resting up a bit, it was time to hit the DJ stage. This year Perry’s was set up under a huge tent. It was a interesting setup – something I’ve seen from other festivals – as it allows for hanging light over the crowd and projecting things on the tent above them. I guess it was a little more immersive than the open outdoor stage they’ve used in the past, but mostly you were just more immersed in people. And heat.

We caught the last few minutes of The Bloody Beetroots’ set. The tent was completely packed. Too packed to dance, but it didn’t keep the mass of bodies from trying.

Next up, was who I most wanted to catch at Perry’s, Skrillex. Somehow, even more people pushed into the text. D had enough before the set even started and bailed to listen from outside the tent. Justin has left for other stages earlier, so it was just Mike and I. As the awesome waves of dub got under way, it seemed like an endurance challenge just to stay in there. The day was already warm enough, and with all these people stacked in the tent, the temps inside soared. Lights swirled, lasers wooshed. Exhausted fans would appear from somewhere deeper in the scrum and squirm their way out. Around 20 minutes into the set, a girl behind me vomited – missing me but got the guy next to me. Mike and I decided listening outside the tent would be fine indeed.

Before leaving Skrillex rocked us with a mix of the Ludacris hit “Move Bitch”. Oh yeah!

We decided we weren’t ready for another dance crowd, so instead of watching Crystal Castles (who were darn good in the rain a couple year’s ago), we grabbed a shady spot under a tree to watch OK Go. They did a decent set, but without their clever videos, they didn’t overwhelm me. One unique highlight was when they performed “Return” with only hand bells.

And of course, their biggest hit was fun to see live.

Digging on the mellower vibe for the rest of the night, we decided to skip the huge headliners, Muse and Coldplay, and instead finish the night with a much more intimate set by Ratatat. They are an electronic duo; one mostly plays synths part with a guitar, while the other switches from guitar to various synths and drum controllers. Their music is instrumental and downtempo, and I very much like gaming and coding to it. Their stage show features all kinds of visuals and very strange videos, and there are never spot lights on them. Incidentally, this makes recording their show quite difficult as they grove along in relative darkness.

It was a great end to our first day. We were tired, but not exhausted, and would be ready to hit Day 2.

I woke on Day 3 of Lolla still thinking of that impressive Green Day show. I knew it wouldn’t be topped today, but their were still some great acts in store. For the first time in this installment of Lolla we got some rain in the morning. Not too hard, but enough to decide to miss a couple early acts and have a couple drinks at the hotel instead. By about 2:00 it had cleared up and we headed in.

We took more time today to check out the pretty large section of vendors (a part of Lolla since the start). The guys picked up a couple tee-shirts and I found a cool guitar strap repurposed out of a seatbelt from a FedEx truck. We also hit the Adidas shoebox diner and got a couple silly photos taken.

For the day’s first act we returned to the DJ area, Perry’s, to catch some NERVO. The sisters from Australia were laying down some nice beats while the gray skies were clearing up. It wasn’t the frenzy of Steve Porter, but it was a good warmup for the day.

The next band we caught was Hockey , a new act from Portland with a couple catchy singles. They played on a small side stage and it was nice to walk up and be close, but not in a crush of people like so many of the other acts.

After just a few songs we made our way back to the other end of the park. As we passed Perry’s again, Perry himself was in the middle of a DJ set. After listening for a few a moving on, we made it just in time to catch the last couple songs from X Japan at a distance. I wish we’d caught a little more of their set, because they really threw down in their long awaited first performance in the States.

Next up, along with some lounging, was a chill set by Erykah Badu. After that I was tempted to fight the crowd to see some of MGMT’s set, but opted to grab dinner instead. I’d need the energy for the next act.

Just as evening approached, Cypress Hill took the stage. Their set reminded me a lot of Snoop’s show the year before: energetic, nostalgic, and well, smokey. A string of 90’s hits like “(Rock) Superstar”, “Dr. Greenthumb” and, of course, “Insane in the Brian” had the diverse crowd pulsing hard while band members took turns hitting their 7 foot bong.

Our closer for the festival was Arcade Fire. Even though I think opposing headliner, Soundgarden, drew a big crowd, there was an absolute sea of people already crushing in for them. We decided to sit this set out from a distance and enjoy a nice patch of grass. At times I wished I was up in the frenzy, but taking in the whole scene from a distance was an appropriate way to close out the awesome weekend. Arcade powered through hit after hit, and with the crowd singing throughout, I realized just how popular they had become in the past couple of years since their first Lolla appearance.

As their set finished and we walked under the inflatable, and real, stars overhead the crowd continued singing the chorus to “Wake Up”. A continued into the downtown streets.

After a great start to Lolla, we launched into Day 2. After some coffee and a morning walk around downtown we headed into the park around 1:30. To start the day D and Mike checked out the Prius tent and got some other swag, while Justin and I headed to Perry’s (the DJ stage).

Whether you’re a fan of techno or not, Perry’s is always worth at least one visit. Steve Porter rose to internet fame when he remixed the Slap Chop infomercial into an auto-tuned rap. Turns out he’s an all around fun DJ. He had the crowd jumping at Perry’s for a solid hour with great beats and crazy video mashups on the screen behind him. I was going to catch The XX’s set, but we were having such a blast at Perry’s it didn’t seem right to leave for a much more mellow show.

One thing you must always be on the lookout for is crowd surfers. Although they were most frequent during the big shows, I learned the hard way that even at Perry’s you’re not safe.

After dancing our butts off, we grabbed some food and drink. Once again, with Chef Graham Elliot as food director, Lolla had the best food I’ve ever seen at a festival. Throughout the weekend I enjoyed some awesome BBQ, classic deep dish pizza, and of course Elliot’s lobster corn dogs.

The rest of the day was about rocking out, so we started with AFI. They were (predictably) screamy, and very loud, but the few songs I knew sounded very good.

After about 4-5 songs in, it was time to switch over to claim a close spot at the main South stage for the evening’s last two acts. D and I grabbed a decent spot right on the rail to the left of the stage. You really can’t beat a rail vantage point – even if you’re off to the side there’s no one to look over and people aren’t constantly trying to push past you. First up was Social Distortion. They played all the staples and sounded good, but it was a notch less intense than the club show I saw them at last Fall. Some of the songs seemed arranged a little slower (e.g. “Ball and Chain” really crawled) and others just didn’t seem to have the usual SocialD fire. Or maybe the momentum was just slowed with the bits of between song banter (which I actually enjoyed). But even with a little less spunk, Mike Ness and company still put out a solid set of old school punk rock.

So it was a good historical segue into the new(er) school of punk(pop) rock, with Green Day’s headlining performance coming next. I really didn’t like Green Day through the 90s, and I didn’t particularly care for them in most of the 00s either. I’m not sure if it was their pop-ified version of punk, Billie Joe’s affected singing accent, or all the endless media adoration. It wasn’t really until American Idiot that I began to appreciate them for being anything more than a snotty pop hook generator. Even then I’d say I wasn’t a fan of the band, but rather a fan of a handful of songs. That would change tonight.

Even before SocialD finished, but especially after they did, fans flocked to that field in droves. I don’t know if Green Day drew more people away from their headlining rival (Phoenix) than Gaga did from hers (The Strokes), but I wouldn’t doubt it. As the crowd rushed in, I worked and worked my way to Mike and Justin who were more centered in front of the stage. Turns out we’d only be together for a short time – a couple songs in and the moshing ripped us in different directions.

Early into the set Billie Joe announced “You paid your hard-earned money to buy a ticket to tonight. It is my honor and my privilege to give you the best fucking show you’ve ever seen in your life.” And man he wasn’t far off. OK, I might be hard pressed as to whether it made my top 5, but it possibly was the best set I’ve witnessed at any Lollapalooza (and that’s going back to ’91).

For a solid two and a half hours Billie Joe, Tre, Mike and their touring players put on a clinic in running a rock concert. Their set list was constant stream of greatest hits spanning the past 20 years. Even their older stuff which I didn’t think I cared a lot for turned out to be a fun blast of nostalgia. The crowd was captivated, sometimes thrashing, sometimes swaying, but shouting along every note of the way.

But how in the world do you keep tens of thousands of people entertained for that long? I mean, these are people who have been rocking out in the hot sun for two days. You throw everything but the kitchen sink at them, is how. As we learned, Billie Joe is really a master of working a crowd. For starters, he’d coordinate crowd chants constantly throughout the show. They also took tangents at two different points to play snippets of covers (including “Sweet Child O Mine”, “Ironman”, “Highway to Hell”, “Shout”, “Satisfaction”, and a great sing along of “Hey Jude”). Then there was the firing of t-shirt cannons and fire hoses into the crowd (which was sweet relief). They even had big concert cheese in the form of pyro and (really loud!) fireworks to punctuate points throughout (and a barrage at the end). Hell, he even dropped trou and mooned everyone at one point.

But what was most cool were the many opportunities he took to pull fans on stage. In one song Armstrong brought up about a dozen fans to sing and dance around the stage. At another point he brought up a kid to stage dive back into the crowd (which was pretty scary given the stage setup). He also got a little girl to come up at one point and lend some acting. But the most memorable came during “Longview,” when he called a random “skinny little shit” up to completely take over the vocals from start to end. The kid (obviously a huge fan) nailed it – he worked the stage like a pro, running from end to end, and never dropped a line. Impressed, Billie Joe gave the kid his guitar when the song was over.

The show ended with a 1-2 punch of “When September Ends” and “Good Riddance”. For at least the last hour, my voice was shot, my feet aching, and my arms too tired to raise, but as the last of the fireworks ash fell on our heads and the field began to clear we couldn’t stop talking about how utterly surprised and amazed we were.

After having such a blast at the 3-day music fest last year, we decided to buy tickets to the 2010 installment long before any of the bands were announced. We also got tickets for D’s nephew and brother just to introduce them to the party. When the lineup was announced earlier this year, the top acts were a slight disappointment – there were plenty of middle bands I like, but the headliners weren’t as much to my liking as the previous year. Sure enough though, as the dates neared I became more excited about the bill. I remembered how much fun it is in Grant Park, and that you don’t need to be watching your favorite bands to have a great time.

The first day started with the long early morning drive up. We hit a bunch of construction which delayed us close to an hour, and that led to us missing B.o.B. – one of the few hip-hop acts this year. Missing that, we met up with the boys, got settled into the hotel and headed out the park around 3.

After a quick spin across the park, we grabbed a good spot for Devo while we listened to the last half of Big Pink’s set from a distance. Devo came out with good energy considering they’re, well, older, and the lack of comfort their various costumes must’ve afforded them in the mid-day heat. They mixed a few new tracks with a solid setlist of favorites and they all blended in. “Jocko Homo”, “Girl U Want”, and of course “Whip It” were highlights. The large crowd, full of all ages, proved that the band’s following had not de-evolved too far after all this time.

From Devo it was over to the adjacent stage to watch young indies, Matt & Kim. I first heard a random single from them in 2006 and have been a fan of their infectious lo-fi since. They amassed a big, energetic crowd and they fed off of it in a musical frenzy. You could just see the awe in their eyes every time the looked out to the crowd. It’s nice to see performers openly have as much fun (if not more!) as their patrons, and Matt & Kim certainly did (e.g. Kim crowd surfed and booty danced while supported on the crowds hands). In addition to their own hits they threw in diverse covers of crowd pleasers, like Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” and techno anthem “Better Off Alone”. After finishing their hit “Daylight”, each ran off the stage and to the rails to greet fans. I had my hand out for a high five and got a solid shake from Matt instead. The show was a sharp contrast to mega-headliners, Green Day and Gaga, with its barebones production and completely spontaneous vibe. While the headliners were amazing, the Matt & Kim set really embodied the Lolla spirit.

After Matt & Kim, we stayed at the stage until Chromeo came on, instead of fighting our way into the Hot Chip crowd. Chromeo is a funky duo transported straight from the 80s. I could have stayed and jammed to their whole set (we had a great spot up front), but after about 3 songs we heard that Hot Chip was finished on the main South stage. This meant that people would start rushing over to get good Gaga goggling positions in what was sure to be a huge crowd.

We got fairly close to the right side of the stage, probably about 8-10 people back from the rail. At that point people were packed densely and fiercely holding their ground. Looking behind me I felt pretty good about where we were. I figure there were probably 50,000+ people behind us 🙂

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an act at Lolla use a curtain on the main stage (imagine the amount of fabric!), but it was a sign that the set ahead would have some theatrics in store. Besides this heavy, opaque curtain a scrim was used with video projections during set and costume changes.

The show was definitively a finely choreographed spectacle. Through the show she and her numerous androgynous minions explained the origin of the Monster Ball and encouraged all her “little monsters” to “show their teeth”. She displayed a lot of voice and certainly a lot of skin. She also showed some piano chops and even played a bit with her stiletto boots. Gaga seems to be very conscious of mixing singing, dancing, theatrics, and instrument playing. With all these together she seems actually seems to stand apart from other pop icons.

At one point she singed from high up on an elevated platform and played this cyberpunk keytar.

Later after another costume change, she danced in something that looked like a huge fringe lampshade.

Although mostly frenetic and aggressive, Gaga had a softer moment or two. Her new song “You and I” with her at the piano provided a nice contrast that the throngs of fans could sway to. Then in a moment she couldn’t have even planned, fireworks at nearby Soldier Field’s Family Fun night went off through “Monster” and ended exactly with the song.

There was no shortage of shock and awe. At one point she told the crowd “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I have a pretty tremendous dick — so get your dicks out!” There was also an interlude when she danced with her DJ, Lady Starlight, to Metallica’s “Metal Militia” reliving what they did back at Lolla 07. Later, as she got into her biggest hits, there was plenty of blood smeared about her and her dancers.

I don’t really get much out of Gaga’s fashion antics, but this geometric dress was pretty awesome.

Last but not least, the massive animatronic fame monster ravaged Gaga. WTF

Gaga was quite the experience; not my favorite Lolla performance, but full of enough craziness that you really did feel like you got a good chunk of entertainment for your ticket dollars. Perry Farrell said that Gaga rolled into Grant Park with 18 trucks and that really accounts for a circus within Perry’s summer circus.