How to spend Lollapalooza
Think of it as the difference between being at work and being at home. When in the confines of your abode, do whatever you want. But out here, you play by our rules. And this schedule is how to maximize your time this weekend.
Friday
11:00 B.O.B.
12:00 Wavves
1:00 Los Amigos Invisibles
2:00 DECISION: Mavis Staples vs. Raphael Saadiq
Boy, not much love for soul fans this year. Someone’ll need to answer for why Palooza’s truest performers play the same slot; we’ll go with Staples, because the family’s from here and we’re not stupid.
3:00 DECISION: The Big Pink vs. Drive-By Truckers
Not a difficult choice, really. The Truckers play five local shows roughly every two years, while Big Pink, given music’s cyclical nature, might never come back from London with their J&MC stomp. Download “Velvet.”
4:00 The New Pornographers
5:00 The Dirty Projectors
6:00 DECISION: Jamie Lidell vs. Hot Chip
Both Brits, danceable, and coming off underwhelming recent albums. Our money’s on Lidell, whose stylistic range trumps HC’s lo-fi indie rave-ups.
7:00 Jimmy Cliff
8:00 DECISION: Lady Gaga vs. The Strokes
This isn’t a contest, really. The Strokes are here for rockists who won’t “lower” themselves to the Gaga phenomenon. Do yourself a favor, and come see a show.
Saturday
11:00 Mynameisjohnmichael
12:00 The Morning Benders
1:00 Wild Beasts
2:00 Stars
3:00 DECISION: Against Me vs. The XX
From a purely logistical standpoint, even if you’re at The XX stage, you’ll only be able to hear Against Me (or Dawes or Dan Black or Gogol Bordello). Save yourself the frustration.
4:00 DECISION: Gogol Bordello vs. Grizzly Bear
This GB matchup plays more on primal instinct than musical preference. Gogol sound the same song-to-song, gig-to-gig, but they’re wildly more interesting to watch than Grizz’s “more interesting to hear” approach.
5:00 Metric
6:00 DECISION: Social Distortion vs. Spoon
The paradox of Spoon’s popularity is they aren’t built for big shows and, ironically, we don’t expect Transference to be very transferable to the outdoors. When it doubt, go with fist-pumping man-rock, even when past its prime.
7:00 Cut Copy
8:00 DECISION: Phoenix vs. Green Day
To be repeated Sunday, this is all about generational divide and how one thinks a Saturday night should be spent. We’ll take lite dancing over teen rock operas.
Sunday
11:00 Miniature Tigers
12:00 Nneka
1:00 Company Of Thieves
2:00 DECISION: Ike Reilly vs. Blitzen Trapper
Anyone who missed Fleet Foxes will find BT’s fourth album to come at the exact right time. Locals, however, might be best served with Reilly, who’s become inseparable from his Libertyville neighbor, Tom Morello.
3:00 Freelance Whales
4:00 X Japan
5:00 Erykah Badu
6:00 DECISION: Flosstradamus vs. MGMT
A year ago we’d reverse this, but MGMT’s transition into headier territory might not soothe your withering patience on a sunbaked Sunday afternoon. Locals Flossy D, however, are bound to hit that mashup you never expected to come.
7:00 The National
8:00 DECISION: Soundgarden vs. The Arcade Fire
Easily the most cruel trick of the tournament, this split will be made on age lines like Phoenix and Green Day, but here we have to go with Soundgarden. It may be a hard ticket, but you can assume Arcade Fire will return. Even with Chris Cornell so far up his own ass, we’ll bank on a redemptive “The Day I Tried To Live” to close the fest in style. And pray he leaves the leather pants at home.
Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly
