Music: Lollapalooza 2011 - Day 3

Lollapalooza: Day 3

We arrived a little later this day because we weren’t worried about seeing any of the early bands. Plus, we wanted to catch up on sleep. Even though we arrived later than previous days, we still had time to wander around until the first band we wanted to see: The Joy Formidable. In wandering around, we stumbled upon one of the smaller stages and discovered…

The Kingston Springs:

We arrived 15 minutes in to their set. At first, they sounded generic. It was a retro rock, garage band kind of sound. It was good, and moderately catchy, but generic none the less. As the set went on, it became less and less generic. They added keyboard, bells, and even a trumpet. My only complaint is that they never announced any song titles. That makes it difficult to say “THIS song was great, or THAT song had a nice upbeat sound.” While on the band’s website, you can listen to the entire EP, The Vacation Time EP. Upon listening to the song “Vacation Time”, it sounds familiar, and I recognize it from the live performance. The Kingston Springs were a solid band and I expect to see more from them in the future. The set ended, and we moved on to see a band that my friend and I were both excited to see…

The Joy Formidable:

I don’t know much by these guys, but what I have heard, I like. Imagine a modern, heavier version of Blondie from the U.K. and you have The Joy Formidable. The band played much heavier and faster than in the studio. Instantly, I can’t help but pay attention to their drummer. Not only was he very adept at using the double bass, but he was just an all-around great drummer. I love to give credit where it is due, so here it goes. The Joy Formidable had the most skilled drummer at Lollapalooza. As the band played their final song, “Whirring”, three inflatable cat heads began to be blown up on stage. With cat heads fully inflated, the band really rocked out the ending to their closing song and began beating the hell out of things on stage. The bassist picked up a drum (separate from the drum set) and repeatedly threw it on the ground. The female vocalist grabbed a mallet and began pounding on the gong they had on stage. After a while she grew bored with the mallet and began using her guitar to beat on the gong. They finished ten minutes before they were supposed to end, but I didn’t really mind. They played well, and I would much rather have a great 35 minute set, than a good 45 minute set with 10 minutes of garbage. When they finished, we had just over an hour to catch our breath before…

Noah And The Whale:

After a recorded instrumental intro of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Noah And The Whale took the stage, and opened with “Give A Little Love”. Just like The Joy Formidable, I was not very familiar with the band’s material, but I had heard just enough beforehand to know I liked their sound. They followed up with “Give It All Back” and “Tonight’s The Kind Of Night”; both are songs off of this year’s release: Last Night On Earth. Their lead singer sings in a range just great enough to not be considered monotone. However, when he talked to the crowd in between songs, there was no emotion in his voice. I get the impression that is just the way his voice is. The band played with plenty of energy. After another new song, “Life Is Life”, the crowd got really excited for an older song of theirs, “5 Years Time”. It was at this part of the show I felt totally ignorant. They started playing a song that sounded familiar, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. It turns out it was the band’s latest single, “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”, which has been getting moderate radio play. I’ve even heard my wife singing this song. I just didn’t know it was Noah And The Whale. Oh well. Now I know. The band did a great job with their closer, and I would love to see them again sometime. Again, we had some down time before the band I was most excited for on this third day…

Flogging Molly:

This is the third time I’ve seen Flogging Molly, but the other two times were unintentional. The first time they headlined the 2005 Warped Tour in Cleveland, and I barely saw them play before leaving early on what seemed like the hottest day of the year. The second time they were playing at Cleveland’s Great American Rib Cook-Off, and to be honest, I was eating ribs while listening to them. This time however, I had the fortune of picking up their latest release, Speed Of Darkness just months before this show. In my opinion, their latest album is the band’s best work to date. I thought the band showed some musical growth and began to shed off some of the Irish shtick that they and Dropkick Murphys suffer from. “Look at us! We’re drunk and like to fight and we talk with funny accents,” can only be the theme of so many songs before it starts to get old. Don’t get me wrong, I love both bands, but neither has shown anything NEW in their last few albums before Flogging Molly released Speed Of Darkness. Needless to say, I was excited to hear this new material live.

As soon as the first note hit, I dove in to the mosh pit. This was the most punk band at Lollapalooza this year, and I wasn’t going to miss out on this. Normally I would rather sit back and enjoy the show, but I had done a lot of that in the past few days. I knew every song they played: “Requiem For A Dying Song”, “Float”, “Drunken Lullabies”, and “The Worst Day Since Yesterday” to name a few. I was a little disappointed with the song selection though. Only three songs were played off the latest release: “Oliver Boy”, “Revolution”, and “Saints And Sinners”.

No “Speed Of Darkness”,  “Don’t Shut ‘Em Down”,  or “The Power’s Out”. But most disappointingly, they did not play “The Heart Of The Sea”. I was hoping to hear some of these new songs live.

They finished up with “Seven Deadly Sins”. I moshed and had a great time as I was covered in mud. Maybe I’m just a little critical because it wasn’t everything I hoped. But don’t think they played poorly. The band was great and played everything as intense as needed for the live performance. With not many punk bands at Lollapalooza, Flogging Molly did punks proud, and showed that they can put on the kind of show fans will always be excited for. When the last song finished I was dead tired. The next band we wanted to see started immediately after Flogging Molly. On the next stage over, we were ready for…

Cage The Elephant:

Unfortunately, Cage The Elephant attracted quite the crowd, but didn’t have the luxury of playing on the main stage. That made it difficult to listen from far away. And because they started immediately after Flogging Molly, we didn’t have the opportunity to stake out a good spot. We heard their first song, my favorite by them, “In One Ear”. I’m glad we got to hear this live, but the quality was not great because of where we were. My friend really wanted to see the Arctic Monkeys, who were getting ready to play on the other side of the park. Maybe it is a decision I will regret someday, but I chose to go see the Arctic Monkeys over trying to fight through a crowd to get close enough to get a good listen to Cage The Elephant. But I heard my favorite song, so it was on to the…

Arctic Monkeys:

As we were waiting for the band to start, the rain came. For two and a half days we had cursed the hot sun beating down on us, burning us. Now, we were desperately hoping for the sun to come back because this cold rain sucked. The rain actually delayed some of the bands. Luckily it didn’t last too long, as the Arctic Monkeys started about 25 minutes late. This is a band I was totally unfamiliar with. Even after the show I still don’t feel like I know the band very well. It continued to rain through almost their entire set. The only thing I really took away from this show, is that during every song I liked by them, my buddy would lean to me and say, “This is off their first CD.” He mainly enjoys the first CD by them, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, and I can see why. They closed with “From The Ritz To The Rubble”, which was awesome. I feel they definitely saved their best song for last.

Now, it was decision time. The Foo Fighters are living legends. Dave Grohl is already a rock icon. How could I possibly turn down the opportunity to see them live?

This is how I turn down the opportunity to see them live. I like the Foo Fighters’ early material. My favorite song by them is “All My Life”. But I feel like their recent work has been effortless. I get the feeling that they found a formula for classic sounding modern rock, and people flocked to it. Now, they just follow that formula, and regardless of how inspiring the music is, the fans love it. All the Foo Fighters have to do is put their name on something and instantly, it is regarded as great. It’s almost as ridiculous as U2. Also, I can’t help but feel like some people are still rooting for Dave Grohl to succeed because of the “tragedy” of Nirvana with Kurt Cobain ending his own life.

Despite all of that, I probably still would have seen them, if it weren’t for the fact that lately I’ve been really getting in to…

Deadmau5:

(Pronounced “dead mouse” for those of you unfamiliar) That’s right. I am forgoing the living legends, future hall of famers, just to see some guy in a giant mouse head mix music. Deadmau5 was not set to go on until 10:30 p.m. We found or spot to watch from about an hour prior to his start time. Just as at the rave the night before, the glow sticks were already out in full force. This time we were not offered drugs, but instead we were asked if we had any to share. At 10:00 we noticed the dark clouds starting to roll in. Would the clouds just pass over us? If it rained, would they postpone or even cancel the headliners? Questions were racing through everyone’s minds. The rain started, we could see it. It was moving across the rooftops towards us. Deadmau5 wasn’t set to start for another 20 minutes, but the rain wasn’t going to wait. We saw it hit the far edge of the crowd, and raindrops began racing over people, making their way towards us. There was no running for cover even if you wanted to. We were packed in like sardines. All we could do was brace for the impact of the sudden chill.

That’s when it happened: the most cinematic moment I’ve ever been a part of. As the rain swept across the crowd, the curtain dropped. The fans erupted. Immediately, the lights ignited, and music overpowered both the sounds of the cheering masses and the sudden downpour. Deadmau5 started blasting his rhythms within seconds of the rainfall emerging. Everyone started jumping. Just witnessing the incredible lights and graphics shining down through the pouring rain, on to the thousands of people who were cheering and bouncing, after it all started so suddenly was absolutely overwhelming. The only thing I could do was jump and cheer as well. We were all excited he started 20 minutes early, but I feel people were more so cheering that they were a part of something truly special in that moment, more than they were cheering for the music itself.

The music definitely delivered in its own right. Rarely did a beat actually stop. For the most part, he would just strip his music down, layer by layer, until only the most basic rhythm remained. Then he would rebuild something entirely different, again layer by layer. The lights were far more impressive than Pretty Lights the night before. Clearly, this was a top-notch production. Laser lights, spot lights, giant screens projecting graphics, moving three dimensional cubes scattered amongst the stage, projecting graphics and images on all sides as they moved; no expense was spared. He even wore multiple mouse heads. His finale was “Moar Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff”, in which he discarded the typical mouse head and wore a plain white sheet over his head with two big eyes cut out. The on stage graphics showed his Deadmau5 character running around with Pac-Man with his band of ghost villains. The beats were catchy and the lights were phenomenal. When the song ended, he came out to the front of the stage and took a bow.

And with that, Lollapalooza 2011 was over. I loved it.

Music: Lollapalooza 2011 - Day 2

No clever story to open up day two. We got to Grant Park, and our first stop was…

Grouplove:

Currently, this L.A. based band only has a self-titled 6-track LP. As the band took the stage I was immediately impressed with their look. The lead singer and guitarist both looked like punk rock surfer bums with their long messy hair, tan skin, and ripped up jeans. The drummer looked like he was preparing for a high school track meet with his short running shorts and light tank top. The female vocalist was wearing a long sleeved sun dress, looking like something straight out of “Little House On The Prairie”. Finally, the bassist wore black shoes, black dress pants, a short sleeved black dress shirt and a black hat, complete with a great big black beard. On to the music.

They opened with “Don’t Say Oh Well”, off of the LP. On the first listen, it is very easy to sing along with. Their first full length album, Never Trust A Happy Song, comes out September 13^th, and a good number of songs they played are off that album, so I can’t exactly go back and listen to the songs I loved during the show. These songs include “Lovely Cup”, “Itching On A Photograph”, “Spun”, and “Tongue Tied”. “Spun” was interesting in the fact that it features a ukulele, (or some similar instrument) and despite the happy Hawaiian ukulele sound, the lead guitar has an aggressive distortion while driving the chorus. This band was super enjoyable. Songs from their LP include “Gold Coast”, “Naked Kids”, and the finale: “Colors”. This was a fun band, and I can’t wait for their album to come out. Another unknown band opened the day with a high standard, just like the first day. We had a little bit of time before the next band we wanted to see, but after refilling our water and getting an early jump on lunch, we made our way to one of the main stages for…

Fitz & The Tantrums:

I’ve been following this band since they broke onto the scene last year, and saw them last winter in Cleveland, at the Grog Shop. This was the band I was most excited to see on this second day. They came out and opened with “Breakin’ The Chains Of Love”, just as their album Pickin’ Up The Pieces does. They then went in to one of my personal favorite album cuts, “Winds Of Change”. I noticed the band didn’t seem to generate much energy in the crowd. Maybe the set list was a reason for that. They were two songs in to the set, and already turning it down mellow. I love the song, but I just don’t think it had the needed energy for Lollapalooza. “Don’t Gotta Work It Out” was next, and follows the trend of being slower paced. “Wake Up” was slightly more upbeat, but still the crowd didn’t respond much. This continued through “Pickin’ Up The Pieces” and “Rich Girls”. Then they busted out a cover, originally by The Raconteurs: “Steady As She Goes”. This seemed to breathe life into the crowd. That seemed to be all it took to get the ball rolling. Lead singer Michael Fitzpatrick and co-singer Ms. Noelle Scaggs now had everyone’s attention, and got full fan participation in “Dear Mr. President”. “L.O.V.” and “News For You” were played with maximum energy, as well as their second cover of the show, “Sweet Dreams”. It was time for the final song, and everyone who knew had even just heard them on the radio knew what was coming. It seemed everyone there was singing along to “Moneygrabber”. After the show, the crowd erupted in applause. I was a little worried when the show started, but they definitely finished strong. My friend was torn between two different bands at this time slot, but I convinced him to see Fitz. He was more than happy with the result. Now we were on to a band of his choosing…

Death From Above 1979:

I may never let my friend live this one down. We listened to three songs, and left. They all sounded similar. It sounded like the singer was trying to be loud, but instead of singing loudly, he was just screaming. The guitarist, however, was using way too much distortion to make out any sort of distinct or crisp and purposeful notes. Afterwards, my friend made me sit down and listen to a song by them, to prove that he did have a reason for wanting to see them. I will admit that the studio material is much better than their live performance. Unfortunately, Lollapalooza is a live venue, and studio work alone will not get the job done. Next, we saw a band I did not plan on seeing, but the schedule made it possible…

Big Audio Dynamite:

I could write forever about how The Clash changed my life. I could write about how when I was 12 years old, my dad played London Calling and it changed everything I thought I knew about music. We all have that one band that made us rediscover music and reevaluate everything we knew in a brand new light. For me, that was The Clash. Joe Strummer is dead, and The Clash have been dead even longer. But The Clash’s guitarist and Big Audio Dynamite front man, Mick Jones is still alive, and surely, seeing the man who played so many riffs for the band I loved would count for something, right? Unfortunately, no. I tried to love Big Audio Dynamite. I really did TRY to enjoy their music while preparing for Lollapalooza, but I just couldn’t do it. They played “Sightsee M.C!”, “BAD”, and closed the set with “Rush”, but I couldn’t get in to it, not even live. I kept hoping for a song by The Clash. I knew they wouldn’t play one… but I hoped anyways. My 12 year old self was dying to hear that riff from “Should I Stay Or Should I Go”. I walked away before the set was over, and listened to the end with my eyes closed lying on a hill, trying to hide from the sun. It was great to see Mick Jones play, and I totally understand his love for Big Audio Dynamite, but it’s just not the same Mick Jones that is cemented in my imagination. Moving on…

Local Natives:

While talented, these guys were ultimately unimpressive. Their song “Wide Eyes” was good, but everything else seemed to merely fill the background. I kept wandering off in thought, looking up at the airplanes overhead. (Ironically, they have a song titled “Airplanes”.)  At one point I got “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People from the day before going through my head. Local Natives are very folky and chill. I did enjoy watching their two drummers. One sat behind a traditional set, while the other had a myriad of percussion instruments at his disposal. However, they just did not keep me entertained. This might be good music to do homework to, or even to get you relaxed before sleep. I just could not pay attention. So far, Saturday just did not compare to Friday. Little did I know, that was all about to change as we went to see…

Beats Antique:

As we walked to the stage, we had to double check our schedules because there were very few people getting ready to see them. Our schedules confirmed the start time. We figured this was because Cee Lo Green was playing all the way across the park. (On the train ride home, we heard he put on a very uninspiring show.) The music started, and the eastern rhythms filled the area. These two guys from California were experts at crafting this music without vocals. They had some help from some musicians, with clarinets and various instruments. The keyboard player also played drums on select songs, a sitar, violin, and managed the synthesizer as well. The drummer got out from behind the set occasionally to play keys. But let’s not kid ourselves; the music is not what sold this show…

Part way in to the first song, a belly dancer emerged from side stage. She was covered in tattoos. As the first song ended, she strapped on a bass drum, as worn by a member of a marching band. She proceeded to dance around the stage, playing along with the band. At this time, four more dancers came on to the stage, all wearing skin tight skeleton costumes while they slinked and crawled into position in the front of the stage, while the first belly dancer / bass drummer left. As the skeletons danced on stage for a while, another dancer entered from behind the band. She was dressed as a goddess, and had other dancers behind her, manipulating her wings, making it look as though she was flying. When the goddess entered, it scared the skeletons away.

No, I am not making any of this up.

The goddess left the stage, and two new skeletons began creeping their way to the stage. These skeletons stripped to reveal women wearing harlequin type outfits underneath. They danced about the stage for a while, only to shoot off guns containing confetti upon the ending of their song. Next, three new dancers entered, all wearing white nurse outfits, but also wearing gas masks. They each had a chair to sit on and dance on through the song. After a few minute they removed the gas masks and continued dancing. They exited the stage, and although we had been shocked at everything we had seen so far, it all still seemed fairly reasonable. The dancers and songs had “themes” and it all seemed to go together.

The finale was all out random madness. Dancers (male and female) came on to the stage wearing various animal heads. The band members also put on animal masks. The female dancers from throughout the show all came back on stage, this time they were wearing luchador masks. They all danced, wrestled, and shot off more confetti guns. Next to the time I saw Alice Cooper, this was the most incredible, over-the-top stage show I have ever seen. This is going to make it very difficult for us to enjoy…

My Morning Jacket:

We honestly were not very excited for either of the main headliners Saturday night: My Morning Jacket and Eminem. My Morning Jacket was just closer to the stage we saw Beats Antique on. We saw My Morning Jacket play “Circuitual”, but it was just not exciting. We decided to make our way over to Eminem since he would be playing with more energy, and that’s what we needed. But we never made it to Eminem. We stopped at the tent where DJs were mixing music. The night before, we were passing by and it looked like a good time. And it’s there I attended my first rave. We saw…

Pretty Lights:

With a name like Pretty Lights, you better put on a good light show. He did put on a good light show. He had a big screen behind him projecting vivid images and vibrant graphics. It was an hour and a half filled with fat beats, glow lights, and jumping up and down. Also, it just wouldn’t have been a proper rave if we weren’t offered drugs. No worries, that got checked off the list. The only thing that really stood out was at 10:00 pm sharp the power was pulled and he was cut off. 

The show ended abruptly, and we made our way to the train.

Music: Lollapalooza 2011 - Day 1

Before I can tell you about Lollapalooza, I need to tell you about getting in to Lollapalooza. Here’s the story… We (myself and my friend, Jordan, from college. He flew in from Colorado while I drove from Akron) exchanged our tickets (bought from a 3^rd party over ebay) for our 3-day wristbands. Now, I’ve been to Lollapalooza before (2008) so, I’m no stranger to the wristband. However, I noticed a little card-stock tag on the wristband. All this tag says is “Lollapalooza 20^th Anniversary”. I thought to myself, that I didn’t need a stupid commemorative tag attached to my wristband, rubbing on my wrist all weekend. So I told my friend I was taking this tag off. He agreed it was a good idea. Well, as luck would have it, that “stupid commemorative tag” had a computer chip in it that they scanned as you came in to the park. I still had my computer chip in my pocket, but my friend must’ve just dropped his on the ground after taking it off the wristband. We got in the line for people having ticket problems. Immediately after we got in line, about 200 other people got in line behind us. There were some major ticket problems of all different kinds. When we finally got to the front of the line, we explained our situation, we took the chips off our wristbands thinking they were just some kind of tags, and my friend no longer had his. But we still had the tickets we used to exchange for the wristbands, so I assumed this would be fixed quickly.

Wrong. They would not help us. They said they could not help us. Because we didn’t have the chip, and our names were not on the tickets (bought from 3^rd party on ebay), we had no proof that we actually paid to get in, so they would not do anything for us. When we realized they were not going to help us fix this problem, we began to get upset, so they had a security guard escort us away. We walked away, dejected. Our only hope was to find that chip somewhere on the sidewalk, on the streets of Chicago, somewhere between where we got the wristbands and the front entrance. We scanned the sidewalk, not really expecting to find the chip, already hatching up schemes how one of us would have to jump the fence while the other got in with the one chip we had. Suddenly, I saw it: on the ground and trampled on. I dove to the ground, nearly knocking people over in the process. We actually found the tiny chip. After some discussing what to do now, we decided to just try sliding it on the wristband and see if it would scan anyways, in its shambled state. It DID scan in. We made it. Now, after our trip nearly ended before it truly began, it was time to rock out. On to the first band…

The Vaccines:

We were simply happy enough just being in the park at this point. My friend remembered enjoying the one song he sampled from The Vaccines. So we saw them first. They erupted on the stage with a fury of punk energy. Now, these guys are not punk, but their energy and tempo on stage was just what we needed to make us forget our stress of almost not getting in. The one song my friend knew, “Post Break-Up Sex”, was good, but they played it early. So now we had no idea what was coming. They slowed things down with their song, “Wetsuit”. This song started out slow, but had a chunky feel with the drum beat of the chorus. Every time the chorus came around, the energy of the band and crowd would increase. The singer would sing more passionately, and the band would play heavier. This song was constantly building. By the time the last time through the chorus was building, the band had escalated things as much as they could, and the crowd was eating it up. The chorus broke and so did the crowd. The singer was yelling out the chorus along with all the fans. Everyone was bouncing to The Vaccines… well, everyone listening around 1:15 anyways. With their pseudo punk energy and moderate use of synthesizers these guys embodied everything that is classic U.K. music. They closed out their set with “Norgaard”. After listening to the studio version, they must have played it at double speed live. And the studio version (On the album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines) only clocks in at 1 minute 38 seconds. The song ended just after it started. It left us reeling, but hungry for more. The Vaccines cemented themselves in my mind. I’m now a fan. Immediately after The Vaccines we saw another band at my friend’s urging…

The Naked And Famous:

It’s hard to write a lengthy review about bands I didn’t particularly enjoy. Maybe it was the heat of the sun beating on us. Maybe we were still filled with energy from The Vaccines only ending minutes earlier. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for relaxing music. Whatever the reason, The Naked And Famous were easily forgettable when compared to other bands we saw. However, two songs stood out: “Punching In a Dream” and “Young Blood”. Both are off their album, Passive Me, Aggressive You. After going back and listening to their album, I’m a little surprised they didn’t have more energy live. It seems their music could transfer well live, but maybe the outdoor festival just isn’t their environment. I could find myself liking this band; they just didn’t do it for me at Lollapalooza. When The Naked And Famous were done, we had a little time to kill, but we hung around the same stage because we wanted a good spot to see…

Foster The People:

Ah, yes. One of the most anticipated bands of the day. I had been listening to their album, Torches, for a few weeks prior to Lollapalooza. While it’s enjoyable, I was concerned how it would be live. I wondered how much energy could really be put in to these songs; even the single, “Pumped Up Kicks”. Sometimes it feels so good to be wrong.

Foster The People played with surprisingly high intensity. What was also impressive was how the songs were played. There were four different keyboards on stage for different members of the band. Lead singer, Ben Foster, is a very talented musician. He sings, plays keys, guitar, and at one point he even joined the drummer as they both played on the same set from opposite sides. Foster The People sounded great, and took away all doubts I had about their ability to bring the needed energy to Lollapalooza. Also, it needs to be said. Ben Foster has some nice dance moves. The man is a great musician and singer, but he is also light on his feet and entertaining to watch; moving around while he sings. The band played most of the songs off of their only release, but they also played a cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”. They finished their set with the aforementioned hit single, “Pumped Up Kicks”.  Great show. I can’t wait to see them again.

Now we had a small break in the day. So we got food, refilled our water, etc. We then caught the tail end of…

Two Door Cinema Club:

They had a massive amount of people watching them. I just didn’t like it. The only song that made me want to hear more was their closer, “I Can Talk”. I’m glad we didn’t waste time watching their whole set. Starting immediately after them, a band worth seeing based on name recognition alone…

A Perfect Circle:

James Iha is one of my favorite modern guitarists. I loved his work with Smashing Pumpkins, and I really enjoyed the super group Tinted Windows, despite releasing only one album. But I’ve never quite loved A Perfect Circle as much as his other endeavors. I’m only familiar with their work because of radio play. I didn’t have very high expectations for them, or place a very high value on making sure I saw them at Lollapalooza, but I’m glad I did. In my short time I watched, they played “Imagine”. After watching the beginning of their set, I really wish I could have stayed to watch the whole thing. We had to leave to make our way almost all the way across the park to see perhaps my most anticipated band of the entire 3-day weekend…

OK Go:

As Tinnie Tempah finished his set, we dashed up front as his fans left. Apparently Tinnie Tempah fans are not OK Go fans. As we fought upstream, against the current of people leaving, somehow we found the guardrail by the front of the stage. We managed to get to the front row for OK Go. This couldn’t have started any better. As they took the stage, each member was wearing a different brightly colored suit: blue, red, yellow, and green.

Just as on their recently released live album 180/365, they started their show off with “Do What You Want”. The song list from this live album contains very much of what they played at Lollapalooza. “White Knuckles”, “A Million Ways”, “Invincible”, “Here It Goes Again”, and “Skyscraper” name a few of the highlights. The band performed a song entirely with hand bells as well as the lead singer immersing himself 25 feet within the crowd while he played guitar for a song. This band may seem gimmicky from time to time, especially if you only know them by their outlandish youtube videos. All their gimmicks and videos aside, this band was made to play live. Front man Damian Kudash had beautiful control of the crowd with his banter from the stage. After instructing their fans how to sing the chorus of the last song, they closed the show with “This Too Shall Pass”. When the last note hit, and my body finally stopped shaking from standing in front of the speakers for the entire show, I was in amazement. On a day, where I thought OK Go was under billed by not playing on any of the four main stages, they brought their A-game and put on the kind of show I was hoping for. There it was: the highlight of my day. However, there was still one more band to see. With Coldplay and Muse playing head-to-head at opposite ends of the park, the choice couldn’t have been easier. We saw…

Muse:

We tried to get back across the park to see Muse as fast as we could, but they started just as soon as OK Go was finishing, and leaving early was not an option. As we approached the field where we would be seeing Muse from, I could not recognize the song. Unfortunately just as we got close enough to make out the song, it ended. After a small bit of silence, the band erupted with the thick bass, distorted sound, and drum beat that is “Super Massive Black Hole”. Not only did the band sound great, but they had a very impressive light show. They played with some small hexagon shaped screens behind them, and also had impressive graphics on the two large screens next to the stage. Other stand out songs included “Undisclosed Desires” and “Time Is Running Out”. They must have played “Uprising” early in the set. Oh well. The band finished their set 20 minutes early, leaving time for an encore. I think it’s a little ridiculous that the schedule says Muse will play until 10:00, so they finish their set up, so their encore fits in to the time slot. I know the idea of a true encore is dead in the live rock scene, because all encores are already planned out, but finishing a set early so the encore finishes at 10:00 on the dot… I don’t like the idea. Regardless, for their finishing song, Muse played my favorite song by them, and possibly the most epic, larger than life, feeling song ever: “Knights Of Cydonia”. With a killer light show, tons of on stage smoke, and the entire crowd chanting the lines, it was a great way to finish out day 1 at Lollapalooza.

We almost didn’t get in (in part to my own stupidity), but then did get in (because I was able to find the computer chip on Chicago sidewalks), were surprised by bands like The Vaccines and Foster The People, and had expectations fully met by bands I knew and loved in OK Go and Muse.

Music: The Pre Concert Build-up

I remember my dad telling me not to get too excited. I was bouncing with energy as we drove to the House of Blues in Cleveland. I remember him telling me that there were only two members left out of the original five. Even so, how could i NOT bounce with energy? My excitement for this concert had been building for weeks, and i was just about to explode. We were on our way to see the New York Dolls.

The Dolls had just reformed with their three living members the year before for a festival in England. Since that time, original bassist Arthur Kane died of leukemia, leaving only frontman David Johansen and rythym guitarist Sylvain Sylvain left. The two found new members, and decided to set off on a U.S. tour. Nearly 30 years after they broke up, the New York Dolls, were touring. It can be argued whether or not the Dolls were punk or glam, but to me they were icons. Johnny Thunders died long ago, and the passing of Arthur "Killer" Kane was still fresh on everyone's minds, but could these New York Dolls we were going to see on stage really be THE New York Dolls that I had heard on cd and in my head? Or, were we going to see a couple old guys play their hits with a young backing band? My dad didn't want to see me disapointed, and tried to warn me. But I was young and couldn't possibly imagine the show not living up to my expectations.

What my father and I witnessed, we still talk about to this day. The show was nothing like either of us had preparred ourselves for. It was possibly one of the greatest sets either of us has ever seen preformed live. There was no mistake. This was not some band just going through the motions, trying to relive the glory days. They were for real. The band was smooth and cohesive when they needed to be, and rough around the edges at all the right parts. They kicked ass. They played fast and hard. They were the New York fucking Dolls.

Fast forward a few years to 2008. The lineup for Lollapalooza is released, and one headliner makes my jaw drop: Rage Against the Machine. This is a band I missed the boat on, and didn't become a fan of until after they had broken up. I never thought I would get a chance to see them live. Here was my chance.

The plan was set: my friend Jordan and I would meet up in Chicago and go to Lollapalooza for the sole purpose of seeing Rage. Yes, there were other bands we wanted to see, and even preformances I still talk about to this day (Louis XIV, Butch Walker, Brand New, The Ting-Tings), but we would not have even considered going if it wasn't for Rage. They were scheduled to headline Day 2. So we got to the stage they would be playing on before noon, and camped all day. Waiting. We would move closer every so often, making friends with those around us, also waiting for Rage. It must have been over 90 degrees. 45 minutes before Rage was set to go on, I got that feeling... I had to go to the bathroom. I hadn't gone all day, and I'd been trying to stay hydrated. So I did what any loyal fan would do. I stuck an empty bottle down my pant leg, peed in the bottle, screwed the cap on, dropped the bottle on the ground, and kicked it forward into the crowd of people... all while standing shoulder-to-shoulder, packed in like sardines.

Their preformance that night was like none other. They played the songs I knew and loved to perfection. Clearly, the band had not lost a step since they had been broken up. It was the most electrifying show I've ever seen. Seriously, I have never left a concert with my heart pounding and blood pumping as fast as it was after seeing Rage Against the Machine. As we left Grant Park, making our way to the train back to the hotel, fans were still screaming and cheering through the streets of Chicago. The yells echoed off the buildings all through the area. It was an incredible atmosphere. The air was humming with energy. It was a surreal experience all together. I will never forget it.

My love for Rage Against the Machine, spawned my intrest for their guitartist, Tom Morello's solo career. His music, even though acoustic is usually not my cup of tea, strikes something deep inside me. It is a similar feeling to when I listened to London Calling by the Clash for the first time. The political angst, social unrest, and disgust of greed are all ideas I can easily get behind. Morello has toured for his solo project, calling himself The Nightwatchman, multiple times, but always opening for someone bigger, who demands a hefty ticket price. I began to doubt if I would ever get a chance to see Morello's Nightwatchman material.

In addition to this, It has been announced that Tom Morello is creating, and writing a comic book to be released this October. I won't get sidetracked by discussing the details, but I will say that the more I learn about Tom Morello, the musicians that inspired him, what his passions are, and the professional goals he has, are very similar to my own. As cheesy as it is, I want to see him succeed, because that would mean that some of my dreams are attainable, and would serve as motivation for me to continue to work towards them.

Yesterday, I learned that Tom Morello, The Nightwatchman, will be headling the Grog Shop in Cleveland, OH with guest Tim Mcilrath (lead singer of Rise Against). ...I've never been this excited for a concert before.