Phoenix Grabs stage at Lollapalooza

Every year at Lollapalooza there are always great alternative bands that headline the Budweiser stage. Phoenix, a band who has been present in the alternative scene for about ten years, was welcomed to headline the stage this year on Saturday night. Their ambient music was a nice counterpart to the opposing band, Green Day,  playing a few hundred yards across the park. Before their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their fan base in America included french following indie trendsetters, but with their latest album, their sound and lyricism has expanded. Now they have are one of the most popular bands in  mainstream music. They have acquired new fans without losing their unique sound that made them independent in the first place. Their performance at Lollapalooza was not as groundbreaking as their music, it was reserved as far as live performances go. Fans were pleased to hear the similarity between the live performance and the tracks on the album, but their was hardly an additional accent that came from the musicians in their live set. The members did not step out in front of the crowd to show something that is not already in their music. Maybe they have reached their edge.  Still, it was still a pleasure to mellow out and recover for day three of Lollapalooza with Phoenix.

Phoenix grabs stage at Lollapalooza

Every year at Lollapalooza there are always great alternative bands that headline the Budweiser stage. Phoenix, a band who has been present in the alternative scene for about ten years, was welcomed to headline the stage this year on Saturday night. Their ambient music was a nice counterpart to the opposing band, Green Day,  playing a few hundred yards across the park. Before their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their fan base in America included french following indie trendsetters, but with their latest album, their sound and lyricism has expanded. Now they have are one of the most popular bands in  mainstream music. They have acquired new fans without losing their unique sound that made them independent in the first place. Their performance at Lollapalooza was not as groundbreaking as their music, it was reserved as far as live performances go. Fans were pleased to hear the similarity between the live performance and the tracks on the album, but their was hardly an additional accent that came from the musicians in their live set. The members did not step out in front of the crowd to show something that is not already in their music. Maybe they have reached their edge.  Still, it was still a pleasure to mellow out and recover for day three of Lollapalooza with Phoenix.

Lady Gaga Hits Main Stage at Lollapalooza

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga on stage,  raised the bar this year at Lollapalooza 2010 as one of the most extravagant performers to date. Her costumes were monstrous and fantastical, and with a $150,000 production cost, it was expected that the show would melt faces. Even with minor sound issues, her message to fans was clear: little monsters be free! Be different! But these minute long pep talks cut into the flow of the show and the her little monsters lost their momentum. She kept reflecting on how she was picked on and neglected, and wants to tell those in the same position that they are not alone. Yet, as noble of a message as that is, her drama seemed to outshine her virtue. The performance was still a sight to see, full of eye candy and fireworks . Gaga has great intent but we hope she knows that is smart to know where your own two feet are before stepping out into a world of fantasy.

Lollapalooza 2010

If it’s August, and you’re in Chicago, you know it’s hot. If you’re in Grant Park between Friday and Sunday, it’s even hotter. And bigger, too. This year’s Lollapalooza, Chi-town’s biggest annual music festival, has clearly evolved into a massive, well-oiled machine, welcoming near 100,000 music fans a day from across the country. Lolla’s creator, ex Janes Addiction lead-man Perry Ferrel, has expanded the grounds to encompass nearly all of Grant Park with two new stages. With a party this size you’d expect the trash-cans to be overflowing, the lines too long, and the masses almost unbearable, but Lollapalooza has managed to keep up with it’s ambitious aim to provide a larger and better experience. Throughout the day volunteers and employees pick cans off the grass, deliver ice to vendors, and keep the restrooms sanitary. When it got too hot, a shady and unoccupied space was never hard to find. Finding a good place to eat was our last worry with two cuisine-filled streets on the North and South sides of the park. The one thing we did have to worry about was how we would see our favorite acts between seven stages, with up to five of them blasting at once.

As always, the festival hosted some of the biggest acts around. Most events have a handful of head-liners, but Lollapalooza’s list can be best described as a collection of who’s been who in the past three decades of music, with Lady Gaga, Green Day, Phoenix, The Strokes, Soundgarden, ¬Arcade Fire, Cypress Hill, Blues Traveller, Jimmy Cliff, Social Distortion, and MGMT to name a few.

Greenday

The rock trio that brought us the stoner-garage-punk-laden Dookie (1994) is still at it in the wake of their well received and heavily promoted 2004 American Idiot release. Their scheduled two hour and fifteen minute set, which singer Billie Joe Armstrong promised to break, stretched fifteen minutes past the festivals nightly 10:00 conclusion. Green Day’s set was filled with the same poignant and youthful energy that made them famous. They played a mix of old and new with songs like Longview and Boulevard of Broken Dreams , appeasing what we estimated was the largest crowd for any performer during Lollapalooza – filled with both tweens and older adults. A set filled with synchronized fireworks, tight riffs, and dexterous fills from drummer Tre Cool kept it rocking. While the theatrics of Armstrong often took precedence over the music they managed to hit all of the bases (even playing a cover of Hey Jude). The band ended their two and a half hour performance with Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) to tuck Saturday’s Lollapalooza into bed. Their stage presence has not diminished with time and Green Day was truly a memorable performance that codified their position among the biggest rock acts on tour.

Soundgarden

After a thirteen year hiatus the ultra-heavy grungers of Soundgarden are back in the studio again and, even better, back on stage together. For frontman Chris Cornell, who has directed Audioslave and recorded three solo records in the meantime, there was no better place for this reunion to occur. “I’ve played more shows in Chicago [than anywhere else],” said Chris, alluding to his affection for The Windy City. In their younger years, Soundgarden treated the city as a base-of-sorts because of Kim Thayil – guitarist and life-long Park Forest, Chicago resident. That Sunday, it was a sweet feeling tinged with sour. The old-guard was definitely there, as forty-somethings pushing ear-muffed toddlers in strollers was a common sight, and a few of the younger fans managed to pull themselves away from The Arcade Fire for this performance. But to put it simply there was a simultaneous vibe of awe and nonacceptance. During their famous Black Hole Sun, the crowd managed to chant out the refrain, but many of the lesser-known tunes left people gently swaying or bobbing their heads trying to keep up with Kim’s arpeggios and bassist Ben Shepherd’s rumbling notes. Cornell’s vocals were powerful but off at times while drummer Matt Cameron (who drums for Pearl Jam, as well) delivered in timely fashion as he always does, banging along with the wildly orchestrated, off-beat, and jazz-influenced slamming rhythms he’s known for. A few folks in the crowd insisted that they sounded like it was still 1997. Others were delighted to hear one of the heaviest bands in rock and roll back together. It was an experience any true Soundgarden fan could easily enjoy, but a show somebody unfamiliar with the group would have had trouble digesting.