I am already on a train to Day Three so yesterday’s recap will be brief.
Saturday was not Friday. Does that make sense? It didn’t have the ridiculous pop star headliner or the accompanying crazies, and so by proxy it didn’t seem like Day Two had the same buzz (where buzz is a combination of excitement and the desperate need to be looked at). That’s not a bad thing.
What Saturday did have is a collection of great sets from some grittier bands than Friday, including Against Me!, Spoon and Gogol Bordello.
Set I Loved The Most: Gogol Bordello. I knew I needed to see them after missing their last appearance in ’08 (I was seeing The Black Keys). I also kinda figured I would enjoy the set. On both cases, I underestimated. I don’t know how I’ve waited so long to see their “gypsy punk” act live. The whole set was like a shot of adrenaline on a hot afternoon, and a sea (well, ok, I pretty big lake) of people were all bouncing, clapping and dancing to the music. A couple of kids near me were doing that idiotic punk/ska kick-dance that has a real name that I’m not even bothering to look up on Google, but it quickly gave way to a big group of people dancing a makeshift Hora along to the beat. The songs blended together (partially because I only know the songs off their Super Taranta! album), but it felt like one long party in the Chicago sun. I’ve enjoyed a lot of sets this weekend, but Gogol Bordello was an experience.
Set I Would Skip On Second Thought: The Morning Benders and Skybox. All of my Saturday morning choices – MyNameIsJohnMichael, the Morning Benders, Skybox and Harlem were mildly disappointing, although the first and last of that list were definitely the best. I might have enjoyed them more if I looked into material beyond what was sampled on the Lollapalooza website, or if I pushed up further instead of hanging near the back of the crowd, but at the same time, I could have slept longer, showed up in time for Against Me! and been none the wiser.
Weird Development That Affected My Appreciation Of A Set: Franz Nicolay appearing with Against Me!. I like AM, and I love The Hold Steady, Nicolay’s previous band. So when he left Hold Steady because he wanted to be more musically adventurous, I didn’t expect him to show up with a punk rock band. The sight of a tie-and-vest Nicolay playing accordion alongside Against Me!’s black-tee-and-guitar trio was very strange.
Song Of The Day: (tie) Spoon’s “Written In Reverse” and Phoenix’s “Lisztomania”
On Deck: Oh boy, today is packed. Mumford & Sons, The Antlers, Frightened Rabbit, The National, Arcade Fire and Band of Heathens
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