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Last Active 12-01-11 5:21 am
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| Lollapalooza 2012
I was lucky enough to be in Chicago visiting old friend this past
weekend, and so I got the chance to go to Lollapalooza for the
first time, and certainly not the last. After attending Coachella for
the past two years, I was expecting a very similar type of festival,
with the same type of relaxed atmosphere. I was definitely wrong.
I enjoyed Lollapalooza a lot more than Coachella this year. Maybe
it was the line-up, the wonderful Chicago food, or the beautiful
skyline of Chicago serving as a backdrop to massive stages.
Anyways, here are all the bands I saw and a quick summary, or
review, of them. | | 1 | First Aid Kit
It was a hot one on Friday. Approaching the afternoon it was probably 95
when I saw these guys. Or girls, really. It was a solid 45 minute set, not
only a great way to kick off the festival for me, but a great reintroduction to
how excellent this band is. I'd seen them once before this year, and was intrigued. This time, I was thoroughly impressed. Beautiful crisp and tight
harmonies were nailed, and the closer "King of the World" showed a fun side
to these two swedish sisters. | | 2 | The War On Drugs
Around 2:00 I headed to the smaller stage and got a near-front row spot for
these guys. I only like a few songs from them, but I was still excited. The
songs were a lot longer than they were on the record, with extended and
improvised guitar solos from the 70's looking lead singer and guitarist. It
was a good show all around, with the exception of the last song, which
ended on a sort of poor note (literally, the song ended with a long, distorted
chord that lasted more than 5 minutes and was way louder than it needed to
be). | | 3 | Metric
Excellent show. I was worried that this band wouldn't deliver live, for some
reason. With an hour set, I figured I might get a bit bored. But despite poor
mixing for the first half of the show, Metric played with a ton of energy. It
was an awesome selection of songs, definitely displaying the band's style,
versatility, and catchy-ness. But they didn't play Gimmie Sympathy, so I was
a little bummed about that (First World Problems). | | 4 | Band of Skulls
After a wonderful meal of deep dish Chicago-style pizza, I got a great spot
for one of my favorite bands at the moment, Band Of Skulls. It was a
fantastic show, not much else to say. Tons of energy, great songs, almost
perfect mixing...it was probably one of the best shows of the weekend.
Pretty lame crowd, though. There was like one little group in the corner that
got into. And then there's me, looking like a fool in front of everyone. | | 5 | M83
3rd time seeing M83. I would love to say that each time they are brilliant,
but, well, they're pretty inconsistent if you ask me. When I saw them the
very first time, most of the songs were solid live, despite the frequent tech
issues. I expected that "Midnight City" the first time would be a practically a
religious experience, but it was, well, very mehh. Up until the sax solo, it
was a little disappointing. The second time I saw them at Coachella, the
song "Reunion" was unbelievably fantastic, and "Midnight City" was a bit
lame again. This time, "Reunion" sucked, "Midnight City" was great up until
the all-of-a-sudden choppy sax solo, and "Steve McQueen" was amazing.
Along with this, every time I see them, they come on 15-20 minutes late.
It's still a fun show, regardless, and I honestly look forward to seeing them
a fourth time. | | 6 | The Black Keys
A little disappointed with these guys. For a headlining spot, I was expecting
a lot. I saw them last year at Coachella with a 50 minute set, and they
didn't bring it as much as I'd like them too. Same thing on Friday night, even
with 40 minutes more. I mean, they're great musicians, but there's no spark
live. There's nothing that sets their shows off from anyone else who stand
there up on that stage and plays music. "Gold On the Ceiling" was pretty
badass, though. | | 7 | FIDLAR
First band of Saturday, trying to get a good spot for Givers. It was a very
short show for these LA punk rockers. The lead singer did a total stage dive,
and I'm pretty sure Lollapalooza shut off their power because of it.
Regardless, it was a fun show, and I couldn't wait for Givers. | | 8 | Givers
It might sound crazy by saying this at a young age, but so far in my short
life, I've been to many concerts and seen many, many live shows. On
Saturday, at 2:15, the Louisiana-based indie band Givers played the BEST
show I have ever seen in my life. I literally am speechless when I think
about how phenomenal this show was. An absolutely tremendous display of
music, with delightful banter and amazing talent. If there's one thing you
should take out of this list, it is that you MUST SEE GIVERS LIVE AS SOON
AS POSSIBLE. YOU WILL BE PLEASED, VERY MUCH SO. | | 9 | Neon Indian
Sweet show. I was pretty far, but I was still on the high from Givers. I was
impressed on how similar Neon Indian's live sound compared to his studio
sound. The catchy single, "Polish Girl", was insanely fun to watch. | | 10 | Fun.
So, funny story, there was like this crazy storm, and it was gonna be so
fuckin' huge that they had to kick everyone out for a few hours. I was
worried that they would simply cancel all the minor bands before the
headliners (for some reason), but as soon as the storm cleared up, I was
happily back inside, squishing in by the soundbooth to see this band. It was
an impressive show, no doubt. Singer Nate Ruess is one of the most
impressive vocalists I've ever seen. Even with the consistent running all
about the stage and the huge amount of energy flowing through him, he still
managed to hit insanely high notes with ease. The crowd was great, of
course. I'll admit, I went a little insane when they closed with "Some
Nights". It also must feel good to have 4 or 5 thousand people singing with
you. | | 11 | Washed Out
Well, in terms of sets throughout the weekend, Washed Out was the only
band that actually played the least amount of my favorite songs. I
reeeeaally like Washed Out. But, he came on very late, and had enough time
for probably 8 songs. Out of the 8 songs he played, and out of the 12
Washed Out songs I consistently listen to, he only played 3 songs that I
like. But whatever, I have no right to complain. I can, however, complain
about the mixing (I could barely hear Ernest Green the entire time,
harmonies were practically non existent), and the poor stage presence of
everyone in the band but Ernest Green. | | 12 | The Red Hot Chili Peppers
I grew up in California listening to Kroq, so I know a shit ton of Chili Pepper
songs. The show was everything I expected: Tons of awesome banter from
Flea, a great selection of old, high energy songs, and the biggest audience I
had ever seen. It was a good show, and I enjoyed it a lot. | | 13 | Bombay Bicycle Club
It was 12:45 on Sunday, and I was extremely giddy. I've been listening to
these guys since 8th grade, and I was beyond stoked to see them. And of
course, they were wonderful. Phenomenal musicianship, great mixing, stage
presence....it was a show I had been waiting for for a very long time. New
single "Beg" was probably the best of the set. | | 14 | The Walkmen
By far the best show of Sunday. These guys basically played all my favorite
songs. The vocalist gave one of the most impressive performances I've ever
seen, the drummer was phenomenal, and two of the band members came
out in fuckin' suits. It was just so much awesomeness in one show. And I
was front row! It was a very, very good hour. | | 15 | J Cole
Well, I had to get in at least a little bit of rap. I've been obsessing over
"Work Out" for the past 2 months and I absolutely had to see it live. J Cole
was solid. I just wish he played a lot more full songs instead of just a verse
or two. But the crowd was amazing, and the energy throughout the show
never died. | | 16 | Florence + the Machine
Second time I've seen her, and boy, does she deliver. With an hour and 15
minute set, she managed to get the crowd lifting people up, hugging people,
jumping, dancing, singing...it was a very, very good experience. Her vocal
performance was practically flawless as well. Her soft and acoustic rendition
of Leave My Body was phenomenal. Her energy in No Light, No Light was so
fun to watch. Easily one of the best shows of the weekend as well. | | 17 | Justice
Justice. Kicked. Ass. Okay, I'm done. | |
NightProwler
08.08.12 | But what about Black Sabbath?? | jackalope11
08.08.12 | Yeah, I'm a horrible person, I'm a much larger Black Keys fan | NightProwler
08.08.12 | Yes. Yes, you are. | clercqie
08.08.12 | The Black Keys live is just about the music, no fancy show. Or wasn't that your complaint?
Interesting you say you like The War On Drugs, because I know some fellas who did see them (big fans) and say they were terrible. Haven't seen them myself, but I want to. | tarkus
08.08.12 | I TWOD at lolla it was cool | klap
08.08.12 | sweet list, agreed with M83, justice was mehh at coachella, can't WAIT to see walkmen. did you see givers at coachella btw? they were pretty solid there too but not the best haha | Cosmiche
08.08.12 | watching emily haines on stage makes me grin like a little boy | FelixCulpa
08.08.12 | Nice list. Seeing Florence+the machine tomorrow and some of the others band on you list here in sweden at Way Out West. Really looking forward to the next 3 days. | johnnyblaze
08.08.12 | saw the black keys on saturday and i was also mildly underwhelmed. it might've just been the venue, but ya the energy wasnt there. Dan's voice was spot-on though - and they did a sweet jam during I Got Mine to finish the show off nicely. | tarkus
08.08.12 | yeah they suck live | Aids
08.08.12 | nice effort man, glad you had a good time.
riff youre a sad little man | DaveyBoy
08.09.12 | I was watching as much of the live stream as I could, but happened to be mostly free when the storm hit (so missed a few artists I really wanted to see). Enjoyed GIVERS almost as much as you by the sound of it. RHCP were great as per usual. And I know what you mean about The Black Keys. I only saw 'Lonely Boy' later, but it kinda sounded flat. | klap
08.09.12 | i think the black keys sound works better in a smaller venue (club) than a huge festival | treeqt.
08.09.12 | wasn't at the drive-in at lollapalooza? | jackalope11
08.09.12 | Yeah, but I chose Florence because I was already right there after J Cole. Plus I saw like half their set at Coachella this year.
And yes, watching Emily Haines makes me grin too. I nearly died during Lost Kitten. | iambandersnatch
08.12.12 | glad to hear RHCP was good |
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