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I’ve been to all the Lollapaloozas at Grant Park (and more than a couple back in the 90s’s too) and I’ve always kind of half-assed them. They’ve never really gotten the attention and adoration from me that Coachella has. Which really isn’t fair, because Lollapalooza is almost as good as Coachella. Almost. And this year it came close enough that I’m not mourning (much) the fact that I missed Coachella again this year. This was by far the most enjoyable Lollapalooza yet.

My previous gripes about Lolla were these: it’s laid out in such a way as to cause massive traffic jams in the center of the park and it’s ridiculously hot and humid.

This year the weather helped out considerably with that second one: although it was surface of the sun hot on Friday, Saturday and Sunday were perfect. It was nice enough that I dared to drink beer during the day – an act which would have resulted in certain death in the heat of previous years.

As for the crowd traffic: this year I went with another approach. I minimized my trips across the park. If it was between two bands I kinda liked, I went with the closer one. I ended up skipping a few sets that I might have enjoyed marginally more, but not as much as I enjoying not making the trek across the expansive Grant Park. With the exception of one poor set choice on my part, the plan worked out almost perfectly.

So who did I see? Honestly it’s a bit of a blur. I’m having to refer to my schedule right now to recall. Ok, it’s all coming back to me now…. The Enemy UK, The Kills, The Black Keys, Cat Power, Grizzly Bear, CSS, Radiohead, The Gutter Twins, Booka Shade, Explosions in the Sky, Jamie Lidell, Battles, Toadies, Rage Against the Machine, Wilco, The Whigs, Nicole Atkins & the Sea, Amadou & Mariam, Iron & Wine, Love and Rockets, The National and Nine Inch Nails.

Instead of reviewing each, let’s give awards. After all, how many ways can I say a bunch of bands rocked?

The Awards:

Band I Missed But Would Have Most Liked to Have Seen

That has to be Rogue Wave. I’m not a huge fan, but the album has really grown on me these past few weeks and I really would have liked to have seen them. But the line was so ridiculously long to get in on the first day that after standing in line for an hour, I only made it in time to see The Kills.

Best Set

Either CSS or Toadies. I’ll say CSS because I’ve never seen them before and they were played a high energy and danceable set. And by the time they played “Alcohol” and “Alala” the crowd was on fire. However, Toadies put on a hell of a performance too. And after playing “their big song” (whichever that was) a lot of the crowd cleared out and Jim and I got with in 15 people of the stage. Awesome performance – like a cross between the Pixies and Soundgarden.

Worst Set

Without a doubt: Battles. It was practically unlistenable. They sounded a bit like Tortoise, but only if you took everything I like about Tortoise out of the equation and just left experimental instrumental music. It was so bad we left to watch Lupe Fiasco – which also sucked, but at least it was listenably well-executed sucking.

Hottest Set

Had to be The Kills, and they were feeling it too. They ended their set 20 minutes early, and I don’t blame them. Wearing all black and rocking out into the early afternoon sun is a good way to give yourself a coronary. They put on a great set while they could though.

Biggest Freaking Crowd I’ve Ever Seen

Radiohead drew more people to their stage than I’ve even seen in my life. It was China showed up to hear Karma Police or something. I love Radiohead, but I’ve seen them three times before – so I wan’t going to try and be a hero and get up any closer than the back third of the field. No worries though, they sounded great. Surprisingly mellow and sleepy set though – I had expected a bit more energy from the performance.

Surprisingly Worst Sound From Band I Looked Forward to The Most

I love the band Love and Rockets, but their sound was abysmal. If I didn’t want to hear a few songs from “Earth, Sun, Moon” so bad, I might have left and checked out Gnarls Barkley. The guitar was too bright, the vocals too soft, and there were to keyboards at all – despite the heavy use of keyboards in their recorded output. But they did play “No New Tale To Tell” and “Mirror People” so it was all worth it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 7:35 pm and is filed under Concerts, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.