Lollapalooza review 2
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Lady Sovereign if only because I was expecting the obnoxious better-at-jumping-around-and-screaming-than-rapping Lady Sov my partner-in-scribe Steve witnessed at Intonation. While the pint-sized MC did plenty of jumping and screaming (provoking her to exclaim “I’m losing my voice, bloody hell!” toward the end of her set) she also sounded airtight running through songs from her Stateside debut, Vertically Challenged. With no annoying hype person to back her and distract the audience’s attention, the 5-foot-1 Sovereign was a fireball of energy who chugged booze, quipped at the crowd, called the festival “Lollypalooza,” and was one of the few artists to truly embrace the party aspect of the weekend. (TF) This goes in a three-way tie with The Raconteurs, Thievery Corporation, and Poi Dog Pondering. Jack White’s project didn’t turn in the most gratifying 2006 debut, *Broken Boy Soldiers, but a shuffling live set owing more to White’s kineticism than Brendan Benson’s straight man justified their appearance — not to mention a startling cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy.” Because Lollapalooza was so guitar heavy, Thievery Corporation’s instant-Ibiza throwdown was a welcome breath — as a bonus they alternated vocalists each song between Alana Davis, Loulou, Roots & Zeebo, Frank Orral, and Perry Farrell. Orral returned Sunday night to front Chicago’s Poi Dog Pondering, which, despite most of the crowd catching She Wants Revenge or waiting for Wilco, offered another guitar-less respite when at first it seemed they didn’t belong there at all. (SF)
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Wolfmother. The Australian band had fans flocking to the Q101 stage to see the mega-hyped retro rockers, but they turned out to be just that, hype. The trio were definitely one of the loudest acts of the weekend and one of the closest things Perry Farrell and Capital Sports Entertainment had to a real-life metal band, but volume and distortion didn’t make up for lack of creativity. They were Led Zeppelin; they were Blue Cheer; they were anything but original. Vocalist Andrew Stockdale was genuinely happy to be part of the festival and didn’t even let audio problems during the climax of “Woman” stop him from having fun, but let’s put it this way: Stockdale running around stage flapping a towel, climbing on amps, and punting plastic bottles was the most entertaining part of Wolfmother’s set. (TF) Gnarls Barkley came close due to Cee-Lo’s decision to remain stationary (though the tennis outfits were a nice touch), but Ryan Adams’ meandering classic rock workout seemed endless. Nearly all the performers, except Calexico, acted as if the death of Love’s Arthur Lee didn’t happen. (SF)
BEST COVER
The Dresden Dolls’ rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione managed to match the heaviness and, most importantly, the darkness of one of the Sabbs’ best songs without any of the sludgy guitar riffs, instead relying on their regular setup of piano, voice, and drums. Viglione attacked his drum set with such rigor splinters of wood flew from his sticks, and Palmer wouldn’t be outdone, hammering away at her keyboard with manic energy. Their cabaret punk was like watching a slightly psychotic Tori Amos backed by Tommy Lee. (TF) On the Kidzapalooza stage, The Blisters (with Sam and Spencer Tweedy, sons of Wilco’s Jeff) rattled off an entire set from the fakebook, but none worked as well as The Flaming Lips’ innuendo smash, “She Don’t Use Jelly.” (SF)
BEST OVERHEARD FAN
Security must have been lax in spots, at least according to one patron overheard telling his friends about his ballsy entrance. The bearded, shirtless rule breaker had his ride drop him off near one of the backstage areas and simply hung his shirt from his wrist — where a Lollapalooza band should have been — acted like he belonged, and strolled right past security. (TF) Not so much overheard as overseen, two suggestively dressed co-ed girls coaxed their way past a security guard at the fence with a little skin — and some pictures of Andrew Jackson. (SF)
BEST SINGLE SONG PERFORMANCE
No idea what the Mute Math song title was, but it was the one where the band freaked the fuck out on the AMD stage Friday and started banging on anything they could grab. One member was slapping one of the drummer’s cymbals with his bare hand, another was pounding on an extra kick drum; one member was manipulating crazy Atari sound effects through a sampler, and yet another was throwing cymbals into the air and letting them crash onstage. This New Orleans band was the only act I saw during the weekend who got called back out for an honest-to-goodness encore, not an indulgent, already-built-into-the-setlist encore. (TF) With Sleepy Wonder, Roots, and Zeebo stalking the stage, the audience exploded at the end of Thievery Corp.’s “Warning Shots.” (SF)
MOST IN NEED OF FIXING FOR 2007
The walk between stages wasn’t that bad; I can use the exercise. Port-a-potties were surprisingly clean and stocked through the weekend (though hand sanitizing stages rarely — one in five in my case — had water), and the park grounds were well-kept. Too many bands and stages? I would rather have the choice of walking a mile to see someone I mildly enjoy than choosing between two bands closer in distance that I’m not interested in. But, would it have killed organizers to book a fucking metal band? Queens Of The Stone Age, Wolfmother, and Coheed & Cambria were the closest we got, and that’s not close enough. Just one next year, maybe two? (TF) Despite the spread, better scheduling foresight could have kept Lady Sovereign’s bass from swallowing Iron & Wine’s folk set. (SF)
BEST NON-MUSICAL MOMENT
Hippy dancing during Iron & Wine. This is kind of cheating because the hippy dancing was sort of a musical moment in that it was brought on by the groovy sounds of Sam Beam and the rest of Iron & Wine, but it counts anyway – O.K.? For those not familiar with the “hippy dance” it’s like a more loose-limbed version of Elaine’s dance on “Seinfeld,” lots of jerking, irregular muscle contractions, swaying – preferably with eyes closed. Local jam merchants Umphrey’s McGee’s Friday afternoon set undoubtedly provided the best hippy dancing of the weekend, but since I missed that I had to settle for a brief, but spectacular, example by a woman – wearing tie dye nonetheless – who was going at it so violently during Iron & Wine you’d thought she was in the pit at a Black Flag show. (TF) At the Mindfield field improv/interactive stage, a quest on Sunday set to find who had the strongest heart. So in a red waterballoon toss the losers were treated to being drenched in fake blood. (SF)
Category: Live Reviews
