Lollapalooza, Fri 7 - Sun 9 August
I was lucky enough to attend Chicago’s annual Lollapalooza Festival at the weekend. Situated in Grant Park, with the skyline on one side and Lake Michigan on the other, it’s easy to get to, there’s no camping, the bands have a stunning backdrop, and it’s unlikely to pour down with rain like British Festivals. Well actually…
Friday 7 August
The festival opened on a grey overcast day, the first raindrops appearing just as the crowds started to arrive, and the rain persisted until the evening. For some bands this didn’t matter at all. White Lies performed a tight early afternoon set, which was well-received by the audience, closing with new single Death.
As the rain continued to pour, Bon Iver was not really the kind of music to lift the crowd’s spirits. Most of the crowd were ill-prepared for the weather, and there were some amusing plastic bag shoes and plastic bag hats. Unfortunately, Bon Iver’s melodic drone needed either good weather or patience and this afternoon both were in short supply.
With no shelter from the rain to be had anywhere, moving on to the Perry’s stage (the new dance area) to get fully involved with some dance action seemed the only sensible course of action. The Bloody Beetroots’ hard squealchy beats did the trick and then some. They may have overused the breakdown and drop a little but it was a good trick, as were the spider masks they wore. The crowd danced in the rain, soggy revellers crowd-surfed and a four-year old girl spent the entire set on her father’s shoulders waving her arms in the air with the best of them. Who needs sunshine?
It had finally stopped raining and it was time for Friday’s headliners, Depeche Mode. I’d seen them before at 2005’s Benicassim and found their set a bit heavy and dark. Tonight they were like a different band, they had impressive lights and video displays, and after a slow start they finished the set strongly with Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence and more classics. A varied and entertaining first day at Lollapalooza then.
Saturday 8 August
On Saturday the problem was with the heat rather than the rain, as Atmosphere took to the stage in the early afternoon. Frontman Slug amused the crowd by talking repeatedly between songs, and whilst the beats lacked bite, the rapping was superb, this was great sunny daytime music.
Saturday seemed to be the busiest day, and the crowd for Arctic Monkeys’ mid-afternoon slot was huge. Two things that strike you as Josh Homme plays the eerie organ intro to Pretty Visitors is how ridiculous they look with long hair - they are about ten years too young for hair that long, and skinny Alex Turner’s decision to wear a muscle man vest is questionnable, but you have to love them for trying. The second thing that strikes you is how much harder the new songs sound. In typically awkward fashion they proceeded to play 6 songs from Humbug, which isn’t even released yet, and only two from Whatever People Say I am That’s What I’m Not. This was something of a shame, as the new album requires repeated listening to enjoy fully which even illegal downloaders hadn’t had the chance to do, but the flip side is that this band is in no danger of turning into another Oasis, sticking to what they know and picking up the pay cheques. The new album is very different, with its dark desert-tinged atmosphere. Of the new songs, Propellor and Pretty Visitors sounded the best, along with new single Crying Lightning which was superb. There was no doubting that the biggest cheer came for a frantic version of Dancefloor, but Brianstorm, This House is a Circus, If You Were There Beware and an extended version of Flurescent Adolescent also went down a storm. The Monkeys seemed to find the heat a problem, with both guitarists regularly wiping down their fingers, although drummer Matt Helders didn’t show any signs of flagging. Disappointingly, all it would have taken was When The Sun Goes Down and another old singalong to turn an ok set into a great set. Arctic Monkeys? Awkward Monkeys.
Next on the Budweiser stage were TV on the Radio, who had there moments, with Golden Age, Crying and Love Dog being superb. This is one band who probably sound better in the studio than live, their delicate mix of keyboards, horns and multi-vocals was a little lost in the wind today.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, last minute replacements for the Beastie Boys after Adam Y’s recent cancer scare, headlined Saturday. Whilst being disappointed at missing out on the Beasties, I was looking forward to seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the first time. Appearing onstage in a bizarre hat and feathered Japanese cape, Karen O had the crowd in the palm of her hand as she launched into opener Runaway. Entertaining, sexy and fun, this was a bright and colourful perfect Saturday night show. It sometimes seems a shame that they have taken a new electro-route when they have such a good guitarist in Nick Zinner, but it really makes sense with huge shows like this. Beefing up a garage rock sound inevitably morphs into a kind of U2 style stadium rock, something Kings of Leon are currently struggling to come to terms with whilst maintaining their dirty southern roots. The crowd were well up for this, dancing as Karen O hopped around the stage, spitting water into the air, moving her arms like a geisha and deepthroating the mic before a pair of giant inflatable eyebals were released into the crowd. The only disappointment was the non-appearance of an expected cover of the Beasties, although we got the guitar riff from So Watcha Want. As Karen O cried “Best! Crowd! Ever!” it was difficult to argue.
Sunday 9 August
One of the earliest acts of the day on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year, still managed to pull an impressive crowd thanks to the hype currently surrounding her. It was too hot for my pasty English skin, but every person I asked who saw Bat For Lashes said she was great. Kaiser Chiefs also went down a storm, somehow finding their usual energy in the punishing heat to stir the crowd with rousing versions of Ruby, Angry Mob and I Predict a Riot.
Vampire Weekend played the perfect sunny afternoon slot, with their World Music-inspired hits of Oxford Comma and A-Punk, and dedicating Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa to the late Chicagoan John Hughes, whose Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was set in the city. In their ridiculous shorts they champion geekdom, but there is something glorious in not caring how you look, and they still managed to get the whole crowd dancing with their African-Indie whatever you want to call it.
When I got to Passion Pit there were grumbles that they had been put on too small a stage, a large crowd turning up to the tiny Citi Stage to see the Massachussets band’s lively electro-pop. It is easy to see why they’ve been compared to MGMT, with their high vocals and synths. Like them, not every song hits the spot but those that do provoke an uncontrollable urge that starts with a tapping of the foot and ends up with body shaking and arms waving in the air. Meanwhile on the main stage Snoop Doggy Dogg drew a huge crowd despite playing against Lou Reed, but on a hot afternoon do you choose to Walk on the Wild Side, or to shout out “I Wanna Get Fucked Up” along with 30,000 others? it was a tough choice but Snoop Doggy Dogg gave a polished party set, playing plenty of his classics.
On one of the second stages Silversun Pickups began nervously, lead singer Brian Aubert’s voice sounded a little off and it seemed maybe the moment had got to them. As the sun set behind the Chicago skyline however, they seemed to grow in confidence, and were clearly now enjoying the moment as their melodic rock got a great reception. The excellent drummer is particularly fun to watch, with flourishes such as reaching behind his head to smash his cymbal in an extravagant movement mid-pummelling. The last two songs were ramped up, with closer Lazy Eye featuring plenty of squealing feedback and driving bass and drums. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat then, and they showed their appreciation to the crowd with a thousand thank-yous.
Jane’s Addiction wound up the festival. Perry Farrell, dressed in a gold tuxedo, sleazing and sauntering around the stage like the ghost of Jim Morrison. They opened with Mountain Song as a helicopter with spotlight swooped low over the crowd. They were harder than I expected, producing a big sound with Dave Navarro wrestling with his guitar until it produced some classic rock riffs. At the end of a well-received set, Perry Farrell took time to thanks the organisers and even big up Chicago’s 2016 Olympics bid. And then it was all over (too soon). A great festival in a great city, you couldn’t ask for much more.