after a phenomenal and relaxing 9 day vacation (which was really two vacations in one), im finally back to civilization and internet, so i figured id get some memories of what actually went down at lollapalooza down on paper before i forgot them all, so for the next three days ill be bringing you an in depth day by day recap of things i did and saw, complete with lots of pictures (all taken by me throughout the weekend, and mostly not very good/clear pictures) and music from the acts i saw each day. so really this is kind of like a super mega bonus week with a few songs each day throughout the recap rather than just the 1.
day 1 of lollapalooza was, in one word, wet. myself, nick, sater, mark and melissa arrived at the ticket window at about 3 o clock, just in time for nick to get one of the last single day passes just before they sold out. it probably began raining at 12 that day and it didnt let up at all until about 7. i was lucky enough to have a rain jacket all day even though i didnt bring one because nick brought one but he likes being in the rain, so i was sort of dry all day. we walked in and went straight to the beer tent, the only way we were going to make it through that day. as we were already freezing, we gladly paid the $2 for the lollapalooza couzy since beer was served in giant cans this year instead of drafts.
our first stop was bon iver where we met up with karen and louis and ran into jill. ive seen him a few times before, all at festivals, and this show was just as great as all the others. the rain went along perfectly with his tunes and it was a nice mellow start to the weekend.
bon iver – brackett, wi
just before his set ended, i broke off from the group and started to make the long trek across the grounds to check out sts9. on my way i got my first glimpse of the awesomely expanded perrys area that was packed with awesome djs all weekend long and where we would be spending much time. it didnt really look like much early in the day in the rain but it really came alive at night. below is also a shot of buckingham fountain, reinforcing the gloom of the day.
i crossed the field and waited patiently for sts9 to start, and their show was pretty much exactly what i expected, in a good way. lots of cool lights (which normally would not have shown up well if not for the gloomy day) and lots of great and interesting instrumental tunes. definitely got you moving. i can only imagine seeing them at the house of blues late at night and how much more incredible the experience could have been.
since i was on my own, i decided it would be a good chance to try to get up close for my next set, so i left sts9 about 20 minutes early and headed over to the vitaminwater stage to catch crystal castles. luckily the stages were adjacent and they were broadcasting the sts9 show on the screens surrounding the vitaminwater stage, so i was still able to see and hear the rest of the show. i ended up in the 2nd or 3rd row of people just at the right of the stage in front of the large lollapalooza banner. i met a guy behind me whos been renovating the house of adam jones from tool, and he was telling me that he saw and met crystal castles the prior week at all points west and couldnt say enough good things about their show.
crystal castles – black panther
then the show began. madness. jumping. shoving. [aside: i never did understand why standing in crowds it was necessary to get 20 people to push the entire crowd over.] but in the middle of all that, the 8-bit electronic tunes i loved and close ups with lead singer alice. shes a very interesting figure, but definitely a great entertainer. she reminds me of someone i know, but i cant put my finger on who it might be. i had tons more pictures, but its tough to take a clear shot when in that constantly moving crowd.
after jumping around for most of the set and spilling most of my giant beer on everyone around me (luckily everyone was soaked anyway so it didnt matter), i decided to head across the park to meet up with my friends again. on the way i ran into natalie, perhaps the only other chaldean there. we oft talk about our similar music tastes but have never seen each other out and about at one of these things so it was great to see her. i made it to the other side of the park just in time to catch fleet foxes performing “mykonos”, one of my favorite songs of theirs, and ran into nick and melissa waiting for the bathrooms. meeting up at festivals is so much easier when you just run into people without trying.
fleet foxes – mykonos
next up was the decemberists. while i appreciated them playing their entire latest album, i was kind of hoping to hear some other tunes as well, but i was prepared for it since nick told me they did the same thing at bonnaroo (although i think they did play some other tracks at bonnaroo after getting through the album). i think the highlight of their set for me was “the wanting comes in waves”. i love the whole track, but i especially love the “queen of hearts” section, played by shara worden, aka my brightest diamond. she has perhaps one of the most powerful and unique voices out there, and i was especially happy when i saw her come on stage to sing her parts of the song, and she sounds just as incredible live.
i caught a bit of andrew bird (who ive also seen a few times already), grabbed some food, and then crossed the park for the final time for the moment i had been waiting for — depeche mode. they started about 20 minutes late and ended about 10 minutes early, shaving 25% off their scheduled 2 hour set, but they did not disappoint. the visuals, while not always very animated, were always usually pretty creepy, which goes just perfectly with their music. quick rundown of the images below: 1-3 are from the opener, “in chains”. the show started with a still shot of an old man and young boy. throughout the song they morphed into eachother. there was also a woman walking up stairs the whole time, changing into business suits, sweats and bikinis. the second or third song of the set featured the black crow and creepy eyeball looking around throughout. the typewriter pic was during “precious”. the astronauts were from “enjoy the silence” and were the three members of the band walking around the screen, each stopping with their faces in a fisheye lens in the middle of the screen. the last two pics were from, i believe, personal jesus, which had flashing screens of the band members and silhouettes of dancers. pretty cool stuff.
they started out with a lot of what i think were newer songs and to be honest, the set got off to a slow start. louis was even contemplating leaving. but then they definitely kicked it up a notch and had the whole crowd moving. enjoy the silence broke out into a 5 minute electronic dance interlude in the middle of the song, as did a few other songs, leaving the crowd very satisfied at the end. their encore ended with personal jesus, and nobody left for a good 5 minutes as we all waited for them to return to the stage since there was still time left, but they did not return, and that was it for day 1.
the friends i came with had already left since a few of them werent feeling great, undoubtedly due to the 20 ounce beers and incessant rain combo, so i began the long trek back on my own, walking probably a mile before catching a cab, but i did get some quasi good crowd shots on my way back.
i got back to nicks place, took one of those great post-festival showers, and met up with some college friends for a few drinks down the street. i didnt stay out too late though, because i knew that there would be crazy weather change on saturday for day 2, one that involved intense heat.
