I didn't get to see as much of the music as I would have liked, because Monkey and I were doing interviews and filming a bunch of stuff that should be up on the homepage by the end of the week. (Slippy is in the process of going through a ton of footage, and making my camera skills look a lot better than they really are!). In any case, what I did see was terrific.
On Saturday the first band I saw was Hard-Fi. They are a group of young lads from West London. They kind of sound like the Kaiser Chiefs, but with more of the Specials in their sound. I thought their debut record (Stars of Cctv) was good, but seeing them live made me dig their sound even more. I hope they do a small club tour in the States as I would like to see them indoors.
Other highlights included a super high energy set from the Kaiser Chiefs, even though their singer was losing his voice, and an incredible performance by the Walkmen that I think took everyone by surprise...people started showing up half way through the set because of how loud their crowd was. The old men (and lady) at the show also proved they could hang with all the young hipsters, as both Billy Idol and the Pixies rocked like it was 1994 (84). That pretty much sums up Saturday. I wish M83 would have played later as their music is better suited to dusk or night, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre provided some good comedy.
Sunday was brutal, but was worth every drop of sweat to see the Arcade Fire. This was the first time I saw them live, and they definitely did not disappoint. They had one of the biggest crowds at the festival and one of the biggest groups of people on stage that I have ever seen. Violin players, accordion player, drummer, percussionist, guitars, keyboards and I think they even had a couple of singing monks. Every band has a moment when they become something bigger than just a "rock band," and I think this performance did that for the Arcade Fire. In 10 years from now people will be talking about how they "saw the Arcade Fire play the first Lollapalooza in Chicago, before they were big." That's how huge I think this band is going to be over the next decade.
Sunday also saw great sets by Louis XIV (if you like glam rock, I mean real glam rock like T-Rex, 70s Bowie, and the New York Dolls then you will LOVE this band), Ben Kweller (always solid power pop in the vein of Cheap Trick meets skinny Elton John) and the Dandy Warhols (hopefully finally putting to rest the Brian Jonestown vs. Dandy Warhols debate...one is actually a professional band and the other is a touring comedy troupe/circus).
I also want to mention how Kasabian might have made a name for themselves with their performance...they actually had people dancing in heat that could kill a camel. I have seen them a couple of times before, so I didn't get the full impact of how blown away people were how saw them for the first time but they definitely created a buzz for themselves.
To close out Sunday, the Killers took the stage and did what the Killers do...made girls cry, guys sing and all the other bands look just OK. Of all the artists that performed, they seemed like the truest "arena" band there. It's amazing how quickly they have made their ascent to the top of the ranks, and even more astonishing that they have only done it with one record. While I don't think their longevity will outlast bands like the Arcade Fire, I do think that they are one of the most entertaining and fun bands to come around in a long time. And for all of you indie-forks out there, please relax and remember that it's ok to have fun sometimes.
So that is a brief description of what I saw at Lollapalooza. Be sure to check out the feature we did on the festival on the LG homepage. It should be up late Friday night. Can't wait for next year...
