So I am still on a high from my Chicago trip and I think it deserves more than one post. I decided to write down a few of my thoughts on the bands who performed during Lollapalooza. Here are my Top 5 (plus one) Bands.
The outfits were loud, the crowd was thumping, and the music was outstanding. But what really pushed this act into greatness were the backup dancers. Too good to be described in words.
5. Ra Ra Riot
I am going to be completely honest, there is one rather large reason this band is ranked ahead of Santi and that reason is featured in the pic above. (I will give you a hint: It is not the lights or the microphone. The music was also really hot.
The total surprise hit of the three days we spent at the festival. We walked to the stage on the first day just to see where it was and boy were we rewarded. Great dancing music with heart. Sadly, lead singer Saam Hagshenas (pictured above) said they only two songs available to the public at this time. It won't be that way for long.
I have always had a special place in my heart for Kaiser Chiefs (By always I mean the last two years). They seem like a tight group of British guys just out to have a good time. I was excited to hear a few of their songs but didn't have very high expectations for their set. My expectations=completed shattered. Kaiser Chiefs is a great live band. Lead singer Ricky Wilson climbed on the rafters, jumped into the crowd, and even joined the ASL interpreter to sign "Kaiser Chiefs." It was a romp and I loved it.
The crowd was by-far the best for this super-fun falsetto pop group from Boston. Way more crowd-surfing. Way more jumping up and down. The crowd singing along to the chorus "higher and higher" on Little Secrets was awesome. These guys are still new and can use a little tweaking up their stage presence. They really have no where to go but up.
They flippin' blew my mind. Tunde Adebimpe's energy. Jalell Bunton going mad on the drums. The horn section. Dancing Choose. Wolf Like Me. Kyp Malone's beard! They were secretly the band I was most excited to see and they didn't disappoint me. Not even a little bit.
Honorable Honorable Mention- Other Lives (can't wait to pick up one of their albums), Ben Folds (play something we know, Ben!), Vampire Weekend, Snoop Dogg, Coheed and Cambria (love the hair, bro), Portugal. The Man (I didn't like them as much as the guy in the Eeyore tank top did, but they were good), Alberta Cross, Kings of Leon (would have been better if we were closer).
Meh- Thievery Corporation, Hockey (the sound cut out on these poor guys after about two songs), April Smith, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (were next-door stage neighbors to a rap group that totally drowned them out), Gomez, Carney.
Disappointing- Andrew Bird (Snooze-fest 09), The Killers (Don't get me wrong, I still love the Killers. When they played they were very good. Unfortunately, every song had a 30-second pause before the next and Brandon Flowers would not shut up. I think he is still there on that stage going on about their plane ride to Chicago. Shut up and play, dude!).
Poop- Peter Bjorn and John (Could never reel me in), Joe Pug (Not your fault, Joe, I had no clue you sang country), Los Campesinos! (Their music was OK, but the lead singer really freaked me out), White Lies (I'll pass, thanks)
Overall, it was a great experience. I know if I would not have went this summer I would have persuaded myself to go eventually. Would I do it again? I don't know. For all the good times, there were the times we pushed through nine billion people to make our way from one end of the park to the other. There were the times we chugged ten bottles of water a day and saw a girl faint. There was the day it rained and we all got covered in mud. There was all the second-hand weed inhalation. There was the time we nearly had vomit thrown at us. Somethings might be best experienced once.
Oh what a time we had. If you notice most of these pictures are bright and white it is because the camera's settings just loved to change as it bounced around in my pocket. Bleh.
