Lollapalooza: Friday
Dominick and Amy tackles Friday's schedule and catch Lady Gaga, Foxy Shazam and Matt & Kim
Lollapalooza has returned to Chicago. This year’s festival is bigger than previous years, with over 120 bands over about a mile of festival ground. Decisions were tough but Dominick Mayer hit up the best of Friday, with a little help from fellow writer Amy Dittmeier.
Foxy Shazam: Noon-12:30, Sony Bloggie stage
A couple years ago, I saw Foxy Shazam at Warped Tour, mostly because I thought the name was awesome. What I wasn’t expecting was for a man who looks like a cross between a French swordsman and a matador to throw himself across the stage while belting out glam-rock ballads that owe a great debt to Queen and to the genre of ‘80s hair metal. Frontman Eric Nally showed up at Lollapalooza ready to go, and go he did. Over the course of Foxy’s 30-minute set, he ate lit cigarettes, performed elaborate spinning routines with the microphone stand and climbed all over the stage. Lest you think it was his show, though, the entire band got into it, stomping on pianos and carrying Nally around on their shoulders while performing guitar solos. The band’s ridiculous brand of cock-rock balladry may seem like a gimmick at times, but their live show alone will take them as far as they want to go.
The Walkmen: 1-2, Adidas MEGA stage
The beginning of The Walkmen’s set was plagued with sound issues, as they tried to kick into “Blue As Your Blood,” only to find that the audience was thrusting their fingers upward instead of enjoying the song. Once they got off the ground, they finally got to play an okay-but-not-great set. The standout, as is often the case with the band, was frontman Hamilton Leithauser. His vocal range is every bit as incredible live as on record, and it’s a shame his band couldn’t keep up. To wit: During “All The Hands & The Cook,” Leithauser’s yelping shouts were on point, but were distracted from by guitarist Paul Maroon’s inability to stay with the song’s rapid time shifts. There’s also a certain disconnect within their discography at this point, as the ferocity of their early records is now offset by the more melodic direction of the new tracks played off the upcoming Lisbon. But hey, they closed with “The Rat” and the audience cheered. Isn’t that what counts?
Mavis Staples: 2-3, Budweiser stage
Mavis Staples has been around for longer than most of the artists performing this year have been alive. The 71-year-old gospel/soul singer recorded with the Staples Singers for years, and is still performing with an overwhelming gravity. You know a singer is a powerful presence when Jeff Tweedy comes out to play guitar for part of her set and simply stares in awe. Her set consisted mostly of material from her forthcoming record You Are Not Alone (which Tweedy produced) and of old standards, such as a spine-chilling cover of “The Weight” that had the crowd on its feet and cheering. By the time she closed with “I’ll Take You There,” a rendition that saw her leave, return, leave again and be cheered back to the stage a third time, it was clear that she’d won over every single person in the audience, no matter the age or musical taste. This will surely go down as one of the weekend’s best sets.
Ana Sia: 2:15-3:15, Perry stage
Let’s start this off by saying that the Perry stage is an entirely different world from the festival. The Perry stage hosts the DJs of Lollapalooza and had over the years has grown from a small tent on the north corner of the fest into a small stage in the thick of the fairway. Full of energy and less than sober people, it’s definitely a hot spot if you’d like an act with a little more spunk. Ana Sia hails from the West coast where she and others are pioneering a new type of electronic music. Combining dub-step, glitch, and what she calls “global slut psy-hop,” Ana Sia brought the proverbial house down during her set. No samples for Ana Sia, she flies solo with her music. Her gritty electronic beats and heavy bass rattled the ground, getting people out of the midday heat funk and onto the dance floor/area. (AD)
Drive-By Truckers: 3-4, Playstation stage
The afternoon might not be the best time for a band like Drive-By Truckers. People are in that middle space of their daydrinking where they’re not rowdy enough to cut loose, but too dragged to jump around like a standard, sober audience. So, they just kind of politely stand and listen. The Truckers’ set didn’t do much to rouse the crowd from their midday lethargy either, as it was simply a fun, tightly played but forgettable set of rootsy Southern jams. I will, however, emphasize “tightly played,” for Patterson Hood & company are one of those live bands who have clearly honed their songs to absolute perfection and don’t miss a beat. Not a bad set, but not a particularly noteworthy one either.
Cymbals Eat Guitars: 3:30-4:30, Sony Bloggie stage
It was hard to decide to give these guys another chance, especially after seeing their terribly underwhelming set at the Metro back in April. However, hearing that they killed at Pitchfork last year, I went with the benefit of the doubt, and I’m glad I did. CEG’s brand of shoegazer indie sounds better live than on record, which is why the tracks off last year’s Why There Are Mountains sound gigantic on a stage, where they sounded twitchier on record. As is often the case, a major highlight of the set was “And The Hazy Sea,” which is currently their signature track and a soaring example of both Joseph D’Agostino’s ferocious cries and the abilities of the band to manipulate the loud-quiet dynamic to excellent effect.
Kidz In The Hall: 4:30-5, Perry’s stage
Double-0 and Naledge have always considered themselves Chicago transplants, despite their formation in New England. The Windy City frequently gets namechecked in their songs, and so it’s no surprise that they showed up ready to get people dancing. At first the Perry’s crowd was a bit tentative, as they’d been covering themselves in confetti and body paint while jumping around to various DJs for most of the day, but the live band backing the two MCs got people going in no short order. The setlist was heavy on tracks off their new album Land of Make Believe, their best stuff to date, but the live band may have been a questionable call. As much as I’m all about live-band hip-hop, there was something almost nu-metal about their set, insofar as it involved a lot of double-bass drumming and half-naked drunk girls being pulled onstage to rub against Double-0. They rallied at the end, though, with their best-known “Drivin’ Down The Block,” which got the heads bobbing and the rap hands waving.
Matt & Kim: 5-6, Adidas MEGA stage
Ladies and gentlemen, a major candidate for “set of the festival.” Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino noted early on that they played Lolla 2007, and much like that other Lady playing later Friday night, had a nothing slot early in the day, only to come back years later and find thousands of people waiting for them. Matt & Kim’s power-pop might not be for everybody, but “everybody” needs to check and see if they still have a pulse, because rare is the band that brings this much unbridled glee to a show. Because a lot of their songs are on the shorter side, M&K compensated by performing covers of Alice Deejay and Biz Markie, as well as taking a brief break to booty dance while held up by the audience and climb the scaffolding on the side of the stage. And when they played beloved tracks like “5K” and “Lessons Learned,” you’d be pressed to find an audience member not smiling a mile wide. The band, too, couldn’t have been more genuine; neither stopped smiling for the entirety of their nearly 50 minute set.
Fuck Buttons: 5-6, Sony bloggie stage
Coming off the success of 2009’s Tarot Sport, Fuck Buttons took to the Sony bloggie stage to show US audiences what they are all about. Unfortunately for the band, most people didn’t seem to get it. Fuck Buttons is known for their sometimes abrasive style and spacey electronic drones which set next to Matt & Kim doesn’t seem like the best choice if you’re looking for a something a little more poppy. However the crowd did slowly grow and a few concert goers seemed to get into their set. Andrew Hung and Ben Power used live distorted vocals and drum triggers amongst their predefined beats to make for an interesting set. Not the most engaging but when you’re a two man electronic act it’s hard to interact with the crowd. Perhaps Fuck Buttons could have faired better at the Perry stage, but their music could be too spacey for the drugged out and inebriated crowd that inhabits the DJ stage to dance to. Plus I think if Fuck Buttons had visuals, it would be the kind that would freak people out. (AD)
The Black Keys: 6-7, Budweiser stage
It’s hard to rate a Black Keys set at this stage in their careers, because it’s something like reviewing a Pixar movie. Of course it’s going to be awesome. But can you still be impressed when you expect and receive something excellent? That’s the issue at hand with their Friday evening set, because while Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney more than owned their set of dirty blues rock, there was nothing to really make the set a standout. Both are excellent musicians, and per their recent release Brothers, busted out the keyboards and other extra instrumentation for a while. The audience, however, was surprisingly unmoved; except for a vocal contingent right up front, most people weren’t even bobbing their heads. It may just be burnout; the Keys have had some kind of presence at nearly every Lollapalooza since it came to Chicago in 2005. The set was really, really well played, but I don’t feel like anybody’s going to be talking about it at weekend’s end.
Chromeo: 7-8, adidas MEGA stage
Chromeo is a band that runs the risk of not being taken seriously. Known for their 80s sound and catchy pop songs, these two fine Canadians have fought against initial critics who thought their music was just a joke and returned to Lollapalooza this year for their second set at the festival. P-Thugg manned the talk box while Dave 1 took to main vocals and guitar. Together as Chromeo, they brought down the house. The duo played songs from their Fancy Footwork and their upcoming album Business Casual, including my favorite single “Night By Night.” The great thing about Chromeo is that they are a band that sounds good on record but even better live. Their on stage dynamic is incredible and energetic and flows over into the crowd. Diehard fan or not, it’s hard to keep your foot still during a Chromeo set. Not to mention those keyboards with sexy legs make the mind boggle. (AD).
Jimmy Cliff: 7:15-8:30, Playstation stage
When you ask anybody in America who helped bring reggae over, you’ll hear Bob Marley’s name a lot. But if you ask people of a certain age, you’ll also hear about Jimmy Cliff. It was underwhelming when the Lolla lineup was released, to hear how many people didn’t even know who Cliff was or why he was billed so high. Those uninformed critics were silenced Friday night, because the 62-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer came ready to move, and move he did, in more ways than one. Still able to dance, Cliff shuffled his way through a set full of his best-known material, cuts like “You Can Get It If You Really Want” from his classic film The Harder They Come and his cover of “I Can See Clearly Now.” The major standout, however, was a cover of Cat Stevens’ “Wide World” that had the entire audience stunned, mouthing along at rapt attention.
Lady Gaga: 8-10, Parkways stage
I came into Lady Gaga’s set as a doubter. As Chromeo raged on I already saw women dressed in Gaga outfits and make-up, young teenage girls, and gay men of all ages headed towards the Parkways stage to get a good spot for the “Monster Ball.” I opted for a safe spot on a nearby hill, away from the crowd but still a good spot to see Gaga’s stage antics. Even there I couldn’t escape screaming teens and middle-age couples making out (seriously, security came and pulled two 50-somethings off of each other). Between them and Gaga’s odd opening, which had her doing “Dance in the Dark” behind a sheer sheet, I was ready to write off her set as a disappointment. I’m somewhat glad I stayed for her whole set. The girls did die down once their “goddess divine” finished her opening number and addressed the crowd and Gaga put on a weird but visually-enticing show. Her set included some of her biggest hits choreographed to her performance storyline. For example “Paparazzi” was done while fending off the Fame Monster, who tried to tentacle rape Gaga but her awesomeness seemed to fend it off. Needless to say the crowd was in an absolute tizzy the entire time. One thing I didn’t care for was the performance art side to Gaga’s live show. I’m all for some slam poetry and disturbing visuals, but I also think there’s a time and a place for it. In the middle of Gaga’s two hour set was neither. The entire theme of Gaga’s performance was that she and her misfit crew are on their way to the Monster Ball and get lost and sidetracked by dancing and hot boys. Which is cool by me. However these mini-performances as well as Gaga’s multiple addresses to the crowd, ranging from gay politics to having the audience clap for her or else she’ll die, took away from her set and ultimately slowed it down. I understand since her set was so elaborate that there needed to be some creative diversions while they changed costumes and adjusted the set dressings. But there had to have been a way to do this where it was still fitting with what Lady Gaga is all about – boys, girls, sex, and glam. Blood and avant-garde poetry doesn’t seem like Lollapalooza’s thing. All in all, I heard “Bad Romance” and left a happy concert goer, albeit frustrated with rampant teenagers and unneeded performance pieces. (AD)
Saturdays’s agenda: Punk rock day on the South field with Against Me!, Gogol Bordello, AFI, Social Distortion and Green Day on deck. Stay tuned to HEAVEmedia for interviews with Friday performers Fuck Buttons and Chromeo.
Photo from Lady Gaga’s set courtesy of Lollapalooza
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Aug 07, 2010 @ 9:09 am
