Lollapalooza review
Lollapalooza
Grant Park, Chicago
Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5, 2007
(Click above for more than 150 exclusive Lollapalooza photos)
The summer festival can sometimes be a dicey proposition. Heat, rain, long lines for food/drinks/toilets are all conditions likely to arise. But you can’t deny the opportunity that it presents to hear lots of music in a short time span. Now in its third year as a one-stop destination, Lollapalooza 2007 delivered 130 bands on nine stages over three days with the city by the lake as its backdrop. Andy Argyrakis and Curt Baran paid witness.
Fully embracing the festival vibe, The Polyphonic Spree were simply ebullient. Part commune, part cult, the members, led by hyper-kinetic lead singer Tim DeLaughter, (which numbered, well, let’s just say there were a shit load of people on that stage!) were all adorned in matching military uniforms and sang as if they were trying to lasso the blazing afternoon sun. Every time it veered dangerously close to being hokey, DeLaughter would totally make you believe in what he was selling.
The male/female vocal tradeoff of Silversun Pickups kicked up a fair amount of dust thanks to a mixture of mighty harmonies and grimy distortion . . . Locals Chin Up Chin Up channeled its avant garde pop styling on record to a more aggressive and insistent live setting . . . Enduring navel-gazing favorites Sparklehorse continued setting up dreamy pop arrangements over poetic lyrics . . . Alternative-country troubadour Charlie Musselwhite also displayed colorful songwriting across harmonica soaked guitar growlers.
Equally impressive but stylistically different were Against Me! The Gainesville, Florida quartet drew heavily from their exceptional new release (New Wave) and it became readily apparent that a recent move to the majors has only served to fortify their socio-political resolve. A weekend highlight for sure.
At this point, Ted Leo And The Pharmacists are practically honorary Chicagoans considering the frequency with which they play this fair city (hell, even the label they record for is based here). Still, their brand of punk rock bravado and politically charged vitriol never gets old when they’re wrapped in hypersonic melodies.
Herky-jerk guitars and impossibly catchy hooks reigned supreme during The Fratellis’ tautly-delivered performance . . . Ghostland Observatory also took an electronic direction earlier that day, though the duo’s bizarre dress code (pig tails and capes were amply present) distracted from the otherwise outrageous blend of dance rhythms and scorching alternative rock.
On a much more fashion-forward note, DJ-doused rapper M.I.A. turned heads with her skin tight club apparel, but she proved to be much more than merely a pretty face. The overly hyped Londoner provided a compelling blend of soulful rhymes with Jamaican flavoring . . . Compared to her enthralling performance, white-washed soul-wannabes G. Love & Special Sauce were an absolute joke, trading R&B-inspired jams across acoustic guitar, harmonica, and stand-up bass. The band had one of the most faithful followings of the day, but nonetheless provided a highly watered-down version of funky rock ‘n’ roll loaded with lengthy instrumental detours.
Intimate music can sometimes get lost in translation in a festival setting. But Blonde Redhead managed to sidestep said pitfall. Kazu Makino’s vocals floated heavenly across Hutchinson Field as her bandmates painted a musical canvas that was at once delicate and muscular.
Prior to that evening ender, LCD Soundsystem got the party started for Daft Punk, though James Murphy and his backing band (which included a live DJ) didn’t strike up nearly as much sensory overload. But the group’s low-key presentation couldn’t squelch the delectable grooves it produced, which ran the gamut of new wave to modern disco.
Festival curator Perry Farrell hit cruise control during a set with his new outfit, The Satellite Party. The quintet delivered adequate versions of songs from the Jane’s Addiction (“Stop,” “Mountain Song,” “Jane Says”) and Porno For Pyros (“Pets”) catalogs.
The North Stage (brought to you by, as all the other stages were, a gigantic, faceless corporation whose logo you’d recognize immediately) wrapped up Day 1 with co-headliner Ben Harper. Backed by his versatile band The Innocent Criminals, Harper’s lap steel provided a menacing counterpoint to his backing musician’s reggae-tinged sojourns. At times, the extended jams lasted well past their freshness date, but they were a model of restraint when Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder joined Harper for a seething take on Bob Dylan’s “Masters Of War.” (Harper would return the favor Sunday night, working through the new Vedder composition “No More.”)
Though co-headlilner Daft Punk haven’t exactly been active on the charts as of late, the group continue to earn feverish responses overseas, a condition that translated to a certain degree in the Windy City. Combining the best of robotic rockers Kraftwerk with elements of Underworld and The Chemical Brothers, the masked men pulsated throughout favorites such as “Robot Rock” and “One More Time,” turning Grant Park into an artificial rave for the moment. And while Daft Punk were able to generally translate their club-thumping repertoire into the gargantuan outdoor campus, the show still would’ve been better suited in the sweaty confines of the Aragon Ballroom (or another comparitively intimate venue). After a while the band’s beats all seemed to run together, with casual fans gradually thinning out by the end of the first hour.
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
