2008 Lollapalooza recap, Saturday: Stupid in the name of
08/08/2008
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11:45: De Novo Dahl, Playstation 3 Stage (photo #1, right)
Seeing one of the biggest bands in the world was a huge disapointment, so I started Day Two by checking out a band I’d never heard of. It's a tradition of mine; every year at Lollapalooza, I try to take the time to see a band I know nothing about. Last year it paid off with the discoveries of Matt & Kim and Ludo. This year it paid off with these guys. This dance-friendly indie-rock group from Tennessee quickly won over the early arriving concert-goers with their cute matching outfits and undeniable charm and energy. I was about to walk away in order get a good spot for Does It Offend You, Yeah? when I was drawn back with their stellar cover of “Young Turks” with they introduced as “a song we wrote a long time ago that Rod Stewart made famous.” See? That's so damn cute!
12:30: Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Bud Light Stage (photos #2 and #3)
The dance-punk rockers with an awful name were on my short list of bands that I absolutely had to see this year, and I was able to get a spot front and center for them. Just like Bloc Party, the band from England came out complaining about the heat, and by the end of the set, keyboardist Dan Coop was spewing chunks behind the amps. While they may having been suffering from near heat stroke, that didn't stop the foursome from playing nearly all of their excellent debut album You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (including the excellent instrumental “Attack of the 60 Ft. Lesbian Octopus”) to a small but excited crowd.When singer/guitarist/cowbell connoisseur Morgan Quaintance broke his mic cord while running down to engage the audience, he improvised by motioning the crowd to sing the chorus he couldn't. This would have been my high point for the day if there weren't so many other great acts to come.
1:45: Innerpartysystem, BMI Stage (photo #4)
These guys, however, weren't one of them. This emo-inspired “electronic” band had many a young girl in a tizzy though, which is odd since they're so damn ugly. Whatever, if teenagers are going to go gaga after a no talent band, it might as well be these guys and not Tokio Hotel. I'm obviously not their target demographic, so I leave to check out Foals.
2:15: Foals, Citi Stage
While Innerpartysystem was boring in their blandness, at least they were entertaining to watch. These Briish math rockers (who also complained about the heat) barely moved a muscle when I watched them, and spent far too much time tuning their instruments and trying to get their shit together. By the time they finally started playing, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. While most of the bands at Lollapalooza sounded better live than on CD, these guys sounded a hell of a lot worse and had no energy. Of course, I didn’t have any energy at this point either, so I went to go sit down and stake out a good spot for MGMT.
3:30: MGMT, MySpace Stage (photo #5)
I staked out an excellent spot right behind the sound tent and it was a good thing I got there early because as the band came on stage they were visibly surprised by the massive crowd that had gathered to see them (the sound tent guys were shocked too, as they occasionally peaked up from their equipment to take pictures and awe at the crowd). Even with all that going for them, MGMT kind of stumbled out of the gate, performing a couple slow album cuts before taking things up a notch with “The Youth.” But when they finally got around to “Electric Feel” and their hit “Time to Pretend,” they had made up for the slow start and drove the crowd into a frenzy, complete with inappropriate crowd surfing.
Click here for our review of MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular
5:00: Spank Rock, Citi Stage (photo #6)
The Citi Stage is a mini-oasis, since it's surrounded by trees that provide ample shade. That was the main reason why I was there when the hyper-dirty Spank Rock took the stage. But the exuberance and killer tunes of the electro-rap outfit quickly got me off my feet and in the sun so I could getter better look at the foul insanity that was going down. MC Spank Rock started out solo with his DJs, but after a couple of tracks he was joined onstage by two female singers that he would occasionally hump. His set was nothing but nonstop sleaze that would make Too $hort and 2 Live Crew blush, so of course he was playing on the stage that was within earshot of the Kid's stage. And in case you were wondering, these guys took the prize of best lyric sung at Lollapalooza, with “White girls shake it till my dick turns racist,” from “Race Riot on the Dance Floor.”
7:30: Toadies, MySpace Stage (photo #7)
I often deride people who sit in front of a stage for an hour, missing out on other great bands just so they can be extra-close to another. However, since there was no one of interest to me playing before the Toadies, I became what I usually hate and camped out a good spot for one of my favorite bands from the ‘90s. Recently reunited (albeit without all of the original members), the Austin post-grunge rockers tore up a set that included the excellent new songs “I Am a Man of Stone” and “No Deliverance.” This was a band who knew their audience, though, and dedicated most of the set list to tracks off of Rubberneck. Of course they played their uber-hit “Possum Kingdom,” which singer Valden Lewis prefaced by saying that they “were the one band that plays that one song.” It's nice to see a band have a sense of humor about their limited success.
8:30: Rage Against the Machine, AT&T Stage (photo #8)
Like every suburban white kid with misplaced anger issues growing up in the ‘90s, I was a huge Rage fan, and was totally stoked to see them live for the first time. Immediately after Toadies finished their set, the lights went down on the AT&T Stage and air raid sirens started going off – these guys weren't going to waste any time. At least that was the intention. Three songs in, the band had to stop abruptly because the audience was going too crazy and people were starting to get hurt. After Zack de la Rocha pleaded for everyone to calm down and take a few steps back, the problems continued again, at which point he threatened to cut the show sort. Not wanting to be around when that happened, I decided to get the hell out of there and head for the safety of the media area with my fellow music nerd press.
That would prove to be easier said than done. A quick schematic of Grant Park: to the left and right of the AT&T Stage are stairs that lead up to the upper level of the park. The right side stairs lead to an area of port-a-potties and a media-only exit from which the press area can be accessed. However, these stairs were evidently prime concert-viewing real estate, and many people were using them as an opportune vantage point to watch Rage. Essentially, these idiots were blocking the nearest exit and endangering the lives of those around them because they wanted a good view of the concert. I was tackled and nearly trampled by a stampede of people who were trying to negotiate the narrow pathway that was still available on the stairs. I got to the top of the stairs by the skin of my teeth but wasn't allowed out into the media area because people outside were storming the once-open entrance to see Rage. Pissed off at the near endless barrage of idiots surrounding me, and disappointed with both the quality of Rage's sound system and their playing (they sounded like they were just going through the motions), I left early for the second day in a row.
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