Lollapaloozin' Saturday

After a fun but wet Friday, I was really ready to take in a full day of what a good festival is all about. I went down around 2 to walk around a little bit before the classic Chicago wet summer heat caught up with me. The first thing that caught my ear was pre-teen Quinn Sullivan on the Kidzapalooza set. He was ripping through some of the best Chicago blues I've ever heard. And when I got close enough to see, there he was, holding the stage with the one-and-only Buddy Guy. After the set, all in attendance literally were bowing to this powerhouse of a performer. I just hope up front there were a bunch of little kiddos to see that who go home and pick up a guitar.

I then headed down the hill to see Miike Snow. They had on awesome black satin jackets and the lead singer/piano player had the Barry Gibb look down packed. The jacket was even zipped down far enough to show off his forest of chest hair. This is one of those shows that will make me dig into their album a little more when I find some time. Not revolutionary, but solid.

A performance I really didn't expect much out of was Atmosphere. So glad I was wrong. A great mid-day Saturday show. Really high energy, playful with the crowd - clearly not their first rodeo. You can tell it was good since it made me go and order my first Redbull vodka. Somehow I felt I needed to match their energy.

That's when the sun was at it's worst, and chilling out on a couch for a while under the trees with a nice breeze and a cool drink was fantastic. Let me tell you the extra 4x price tag for VIP may sound crazy, but it is worth it at this festival. The elements really never become an issue, weather rain or too much shine.

Off then to Artic Monkeys. My two thoughts were. 1) Not a good idea to take quaaludes before you take the stage to try and impress an audience this size and 2) It must suck to now be in your mid-twenties and know your most influential work was when you were 19. I just don't see this band taking it to the next level. Their first album, "Whatever It Is..." will go down as a classic for this decade, but the band will probably go the way of The Strokes. What a shame.

Next up was Santigold, and my buzz level. I really did more listening than watching of this show, but it did sound like a sweet party. We ventured out of VIP to get some food (the Gyro was an AWESOME choice) and ran into the only bottleneck that made me scared the entire weekend. Luckily on the lane we chose, it went OK. But I'm sure it was scary for some people as the push from each direction happened.

Full belly, check. Two drinks, check. Spot on the North side VIP risers, check. TV On The Radio - GO. Another great show by these guys. It's my third time seeing them in about a year, and they did produce my favorite album of last year, so no surprises there. I do think they have maxed out their current show, though. Tunde has all his moves down packed, but because of the smallness of the area he can play in, it seems turned down a level. It is a very minor complaint though. They got the goods, and deliver.

After TV, the hipster crowed moved in mass towards the other end to check out Animal Collective. I wanted to go, but was just too comfortable in the VIP area. I felt my age. Ben Harper, though, made it a little easier to swallow by playing a fantastic Zeppelin cover of "Good Times". Our little accumulated group had a good time clowning on Harper, who seems to be at every festival every year. We figured he was headed to Green Bay for next week's polka fest as soon as he got off stage. But there is a reason why he's always there. He brings it.

About half way through his set, the North stage crowed still seemed completely deserted. For a moment, I really thought the Yeah Yeah Yeah's last minute Beastie's fill in was going to be a disaster. The best thing about having a feeling like this is when the opposite happens, like it did tonight.

As soon as Ben played his last note, the first notes of YYY's "Runaway" filled the air. With the sun setting, and the crowed filling in, it made for a majestic moment. Then, Karen O came out in full post-apocalyptic western shaman garb. Wholly Shit. Immediately, the entire north lawn knew they were watching a band make the leap. This was no longer a club band with a reputation for funky outfits. This was a band ready to lead a revolution back to the days of Bowie and Mercury. And the band knew it too. Their nod to the Beastie Boys by weaving in the "So What 'Cha Want" chords, and slowing "Maps" down to an acoustic sing-along showed this was not a fluke. These are the moments I come to these fests for. I've only experienced a few "I Was There" moments. I'm completely confident Saturday night will add to the list. Thank you Yeah Yeah Yeah's for saving rock and roll.