2008 Lollapalooza recap, Friday: 75,000 Radiohead "fans" can be wrong
08/08/2008
Music Home / Entertainment Channel / Bullz-Eye Home
12:15: Holy Fuck, AT&T Stage (photo #1, right)
An odd choice to kick off the main stage, but I’m willing to roll with it. The obscenely named experimental rock outfit kicked things off with a literal boom, as their woofer was cranked to 11 and had the power to shake your short and curlies. As the band tore through one instrumental number after another they held the crowd in a trance, partly because of the odd instruments they were using, which included an array of barely visible keyboards and what looked like something that dispensed film. You couldn’t exactly dance to this stuff, but it was something different.
1:15: Rogue Wave, MySpace Stage (photo #2)
Kicking off immediately after Fuck on the other end of the South field was Rogue Wave, who in contrast to their dirty-minded predecessors, perform strictly by-the-numbers, radio-friendly, somewhat-alt-rock. That’s fine and all, but mid-tempo “indie” rock isn’t the best cure for a killer midday heat wave (the temps were pushing 100 degrees and so was my head), so after a couple songs I sought refuge in the shade.
Click here for our review of Rogue Wave’s Asleep at Heaven’s Gate
3:15: The Kills, MySpace Stage (photo #3)
Slightly refreshed and ready to rock, I made my way back to the MySpace Stage to watch the Kills. Just a dude on guitar and a girl singing; you aren’t going to get much in the way of theatrics when you see the Kills. But you will get serious hard-edged tunes. Alison Mosshart, who resembles an ultra strung-out Patty Smith, seemed visibly bothered by the heat but that didn’t stop her from delivering howling vocals from one song to the next. The heat did bother me, however, and I caught most of their show sitting down in the shade by the AT&T Stage waiting for Gogol Bordello.
4:15: Gogol Bordello, AT&T Stage (photo #4)
From that distance I didn’t get to see much of the Kills, but the trade-off, an up-close view of gypsy punkers Gogol Bordello, was well worth it. Frontman Eugene Hutz enthralled the audience with his manic stage presence and awe-inspiring facial hair (think Frank Zappa meets Salvador Dali). They treated their set like a nonstop party, never slowing down or giving into the heat. They didn't think about the grueling temperatures, so neither did I, making them the first band of the day that made me forget about the agony and let me dance the pain away. They were the best band I saw the first day. And yes, that includes Radiohead.
6:15: Bloc Party, AT&T Stage
I can't garner the energy to enjoy Mates of State and instead I head for the shade and try to rehydrate. By the time I get motivated, I'm able to catch Bloc Party rocking out post punk revival-style on the AT&T stage. The next band up on that stage is Radiohead, so it's not surprising that there's already a pretty massive crowd. Too bad most of them are ignoring the band and either getting wasted, talking on their damn cell phones, or both. Like any good British band stuck in the Chicago sun, Bloc Party complained about the heat, but it didn't stop them from performing admirably in front of the setting sun. They didn't move around much, but they sounded incredible, and highlights included the hit single/Saturn commercial jingle “So Here We Are” and “Song for Clay (Disappear Here),” which includes the second best-line of any song performed over the weekend: “East London is a vampire/ It sucks the joy right out of me.”
Click here for our review of Bloc Party’s A Weekend in the City
7:15: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, MySpace Stage (photo #5)
Radiohead was the only headlining act on Friday, and with one hour to go before they get onstage, the crowds were starting to arrive en masse to the south side of Grant Park to get a good look. Stephen Malkmus of Pavement had the unenviable task of playing on the stage opposite them, and he had little in the way of a crowd for his set. I chose to chill out and listen to him for a while, if only to avoid the growing numbers of drunken early 20-somethings who were oddly pumped for Radiohead. (Who sounds like the old man now? – Ed.) Malkmus attracted an older, more mature crowd who – gasp!– wanted to hear him play instead of hollering incoherently and gabbing on their cell phones. Still, his music wasn't doing much for me, so I decided to duck out and catch CSS, who were playing directly behind him on the Citi Stage.
Click here for our review of Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks’ Real Emotional Trash
7:00: CSS, Citi Stage (photo #6)
No offense to Stephen Malkmus, but he should be playing on the side stage, because the party that CSS was throwing was far too big for the pitifully small Citi Stage. Originally scheduled to play Lollapalooza last year, the band couldn't attend because of flight problems, so they were obviously stoked to be here this time around. Frontwoman Lovefoxx came out in a skintight floral-decorated leotard and Ziggy Stardust-eqsue face paint and danced to near exhaustion. Since Radiohead was just moments away, everyone who was staying to watch CSS obviously really wanted to be there, so the crowd/band interaction was excellent and they went out of their way to repeatedly thank everyone for taking the time to watch them perform. The vibes were so good I half-expected an impromptu conga line to form for “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex.”
8:00: Radiohead, AT&T Stage (photos #7 and #8)
Radiohead were the sole headliners on Friday, but unless you camped out in front of the AT&T stage for three hours (or were a complete dick and shoved your way to the front), you weren't going to get anywhere near them. As the stage lights went up and the sun went down, the band sulked their way onto the stage and immediately began playing “15 Step.” On each side of the stage are two huge monitors that would typically allow those from a distance to at least see something. But Radiohead, placing their “art” above regard to the audience, decided to get fancy with the monitors and make each a six-way split screen showing extreme close-ups of the band. So instead of getting to see Thom Yorke sing “Idioteque,” you got to see his chin. Thanks, guys. Making things even worse were the people watching them. While Radiohead has the reputation of being a “serious band,” they sure do attract, for the lack of a better term, a huge douche bag crowd that would rather drink beer and talk (loudly) over the band's quieter songs. Between that and my deteriorating psychical condition, I ducked out before the set was over. What a waste.
Click here for our review of Radiohead’s In Rainbows
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