Lollapaloozin' Friday

As my socks dry out this morning, it's time to look back on friday at Lollapalooza.

Unfortunately the first word to come to mind is rain. There was a steady downpour through the afternoon. It didn't ruin any of the shows or fun, but it did limit the amount of movent around the fest. I didn't brave the crowds and stayed spoiled under the south stage VIP tent most of the afternoon.

We walked in to the dramatic sounds of Gaslight Anthem. They had a good sized crowd considering the heavens were open, and they gave all they have. It will be interesting to see if they can step it up a level with their next album. They also gave a shout out to the Lolla crew saying the fest was so well organized and everyone is so friendly. They clearly were excited to be here, and showed it.

After Gaslight, the rain went to another level, so we spent the next 2 hours drinking, socalizing, and listening to Heatless Bastards and Sound Tribe Sector Nine from afar. The Bastards bluesy rock was appropriate for the weather, but STS9 was blah.

By 5, we had a good enough buzz that the rain could be ignored. So we ventured to the north side for the first time. It was well worth it. If a band was ever made to stop the rain, it is Fleet Foxes. Their sunny harmonies seemed to will the rain away. While they were on, we took advantage of the premium passes to get on the stage for The Decemberists. Good call by us.

Colin and the band killed it, playing straight through their new prog rock cocept album The Hazards Of Love. The highlight was The Wanting Comes In Waves, with Shara Worden stepping out in front of the stage. Wow! Her pipes are amazing, and as she scorched out "This is how I am RE-PAID!" the crowed spontaniously erupted. Easily the musical highlight of the day.
If there is a downside to being on the side of the stage, it's the fact you are with a lot of people who aren't real fans. It's just people with connections. Nothing spells that out more than the guy behind me that asked me if Wanting was on The Decemberists new album. He may not have been a fan when he got on the stage, but he left one at least.
After Decemberists, we hustled back to the south side for Of Montreal. My one regret of the day was not getting to their stage early enough to be up close. They put on an amazing show, including strange all red dancing people, a feather blowing gun, and a kick ass cover of Bowie's Moonage Daydream. Freak out indeed. From afar it was cool. I'm sure up close it was epic.

By the time Depeche took the headlining stage, the weather cleared, and the crowed filled in the south lawn. It wasn't as packed as last year for Rage, but I'm sure Kings Of Leon sucked most of the kids to their set. Depeche was a solid 8, but not over-the-top great. Clearly the die hard fans up close had a great time. But the gap between the crowed and the VIP area didn't translate too well. A big factor was the choice to show the main screen graphics on the two side screens instead of shots of the band. It was hard to connect with them from a distance. But that didn't stop me and a few other DM lovers from dancing and wailing to the classics. Everything IS alright tonight.



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