Lollapalooza Squared

It was one degree shy of the all time heat record. 104 degrees in the shade. 115 degrees on that heat index thing they configure. 4 people died in the Chicago area from heat exhaustion. So why did I, a person that despises the heat, spend 12 hours straight smack in the middle of it all?

LOLLAPALOOZA!

I know what I said. You don't have to throw it back in my face. I recently spent a lot of time ranting about Perry Farrell rubbing his tempting festival in my face while I was currently in one of the most difficult financial times in my entire 37 year old life. But you see, that is the irony of this whole thing. I received some generous gifts for my birthday last week. Among them - cash. So, I decided to forgo eating for a while and spend $60 of that money on a one day ticket to Lollapalooza. Granted, I missed out on The Pixies and Weezer, but there were 9 bands playing on Sunday that I wanted to see. As opposed to only 5 on Saturday. Besides, I will try to catch Weezer when they go on tour this fall with the Foo Fighters. (Hopefully I will have a job at that point - at least I wont have to deal with the heat)

So anyway, I experienced Lollapalooza yesterday. In all that heat. And today, I am suffering from a mild form of heat exhaustion myself. Forget that my body looks like a lobster and my skin is begging to feel the effects of its age. I also have been having migraines and stomach aches. Plus, I slept until 11:00 today. Today is one of those days it's good to be unemployed.

Let's get to some of the highlights, shall we?

OK GO - Odd, but great energetic set. Including a great cover of the Violent Femme's "Prove My Love". Good way to start my day. Fun party band. Go see them live if you get the chance. When they wrapped their live set, they actually played the recording of their new single, rather than play it live, and they danced to it - Village People style.

The Ponys - Solid punk band from Chicago. With a girl bassist that also sings. I stayed for about half their set. Then I had to go get some *rest, shade and water.

*This is repeated about every hour.

Blue Merle - I checked these guys out because I haven't heard any of their music, but I have heard a lot about them. They played covers of the Talking Head's "Psycho Killer" and the Police's "So Lonely" and some other slow song I didn't know. I got bored and went over to'

Kasabian - These guys sound like a cross between the bands Oasis and Manbreak. A sonic flavor over heavy guitar and lyrics that come out like rapping on occasion. I was sort of impressed and probably will buy their album. If you like this kind of music, you should too. Not too much stage presence though. They sure said 'fuck' a lot. And 'God Bless You'.

Dinosaur Jr - These guys look old. Probably because they are. They've been around - off and on - for...ever. I watched about 1/3 of their set - which included a brutal version of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven". Which I was sort of fond of. If you like heavy distortion in your music and don't mind someone occasionally screaming incoherently for no reason, you probably like Dinosaur Jr. I had to, at least, check them out, but now I know why I never bought their albums in the 80s and 90s.

Tegan and Sara - A two girl band with organ and guitar. They were actually interesting. Until Sara got heat exhaustion and threw down her guitar and walked off the stage with no explanation. Tegan took that as her cue to shine on her own.(This is something they don't tell you on the Lollapalooza website.) But then the set began to fall apart. As did I.

Drive By Truckers - What can I say? These guys are awesome. Their lyrics poignant and funny and sad and brilliant. If you like your music deep fried and country-fied, you should definitely go see these guys when they come around. If you are just starting out with their music, get Declaration Day.

* I am going to skip down and comment on the Killer's set next. I know this is out of order from how my day unwound, but I want to save the best for last.

The Killers - Okay, I saw these guys a little over a year ago as the opening act for a band called Stellstar in a tiny club that holds about 500 people. I was right up on the stage at that time. Nobody knew who they were then. The cult of "Somebody Told Me" hadn't swept the radio yet and Hot Fuss was months from being available. When I witnessed them that first time, I thought they had something. I was honestly impressed.
To see them in the midst of about 15,000 people, as one of the headliners of Lollapalooza, with everyone screaming out the words to all their songs, was quite interesting. Good for them.
While it was a great set. Full of energy and emotion. (As Automatic can attest to, since I phoned him and held up the cell phone to capture their rousing closing of "All These Things That I've Done" - like an idiot I did this for my friend - the things we do) But it was sort of bittersweet. Made me long for those times of band anonymity where you can still enjoy them in the tiny bars before they explode into stardom. Yesterday did not compare to that opening Chicago set in the Double Door two winters ago. Maybe they just had so much more to prove back then.

Arcade Fire - Okay, I have been listening, enthralled, to Funeral for months, but had yet to see them live. Now I am hating myself for missing their tiny bar set before they "made it big". This band is brilliant. In so many ways. There must have been about 7 or 8 of them on the stage, but it seemed like a dozen. They were all over the place. Constantly switching instruments. (Everyone played everything) Creating elaborate, high-stakes dramas between themselves and the audience. Truly compelling. Truly original. I mean, I have a hard time describing their music as it is, but to see it all played out in front of you is another animal altogether. Double xylophones, accordions, wood on a stick, violins and a French horn (which Win Butler - the main singer - called a 'freedom horn' - "don't let those French bastards suck you in with their labeling - it's dangerous - dangerous, I tell you".)
If you do not have a chance to see these guys live, you must find some video of them performing so you can see what I am talking about. I really am at a loss describing them and don't do the set justice. They are beating on things with drumsticks, from the microphone itself to each other's heads. Chasing each other on and off the stage. They are maniacs and so spectacular to watch. When they finally closed the set, as Win was singing the final strains of Rebellion (Lies), he walked off the stage and into the middle of the crowd - out into the midst of us - touching the common folk - and then just disappeared. Brilliant, I say, brilliant.

If there was anything that was worth all the pain (money and heat) of Lollapalooza, it was Arcade Fire's set alone. I even left the park during Death Cab for Cutie's closing , but I was okay with that. They might not have been done but I was. I got my fill of the day through AF alone.

Oh yeah, there were a lot of interesting naked people there as well. But hey - it was hot.