"My Other Jesus Is A Camaro" and other funny t-shirt slogans
No joke, Lollapalooza was insane. I doubt the average attendee (or critic) hoofed the expanse of Grant Park as many times as I did this weekend. If it's an expanded version of my three-day music coverage you want, then come get it, sugar.
Random Lolla thoughts that didn't make it into the proper articles:
-This fest was a self-contained example of the disparity between art and commerce in the "alternative" music business. On one hand, Lollapalooza 2006 was a magnificent showcase of influential and cutting-edge acts that provided casual fans with potential exposure to dozens of musicians whom they may not have previously heard. On the other, it was a big ol' party in the park, with many gathered to play frisbee with friends, guzzle overpriced domestic swill or simply lay around baiting skin cancer until big radio stars like Death Cab for Cutie, Kanye West or the Red Hot Chili Peppers arrived at the end of the night to soothe their fading buzzes with the balm of familiarity. Most glaring were the cases of homecoming dance staples The Violent Femmes, who play at some Chicago frat bar every other month, drawing a bigger crowd against Sleater-Kinney's (supposedly) final non-hometown show, and the dishearteningly predictable way the audience galloped for the exit as soon as Gnarls Barkley finally got around to playing their top ringtone download "Crazy." Seeing this sort of willful ignorance in action always makes me distrust American music audiences even more than I already do. Sure, Lollapalooza was the only scheduled Chicago stop for some newer acts like Gnarls or The Raconteurs, but many of the other name performers come through town on a regular basis. If the majority of attendees just wanted to hear the same handful of groups they already knew, why didn't they just make the effort to see those bands on their own tours, where they could enjoy longer sets and probably pay a lot less for admission overall? If these radio slave assholes had just stayed home and listened to their Dave Matthews CDs, the walkways would have been much less suffocating. Unfortunately, their dollars also ensured that a fest of this size and magnitude could occur and continue. In a way, Broken Social Scene fans shouldn't be too pissed that the band had to shorten their rapturous set so everyone could stand around for ten minutes waiting for the aged Peppers to find the stage - would BSS have been playing in Grant Park otherwise?
-Planes flying over the festival advertised such disparate clients as an upcoming 311 concert and a new Brazilian steakhouse. This, along with the amount of corporate branding on display (the Petrillo Bandshell was re-dubbed the "Adidas/Champs Stage"), vastly undercut the fest's "alternative" pretentions... not that there has ever been anything truly independent about Lollapalooza in the first place.
-Dig The Roots' enduring influence. The only hip-hop set I saw all weekend that didn't include live instrumentation was DJ Mix Master Mike's, and I tried to catch as many as I could (I unfortunately missed Ohmega Watts and Blackalicious). From Common's and Lyrics Born's basic funk bands to Kanye's and Gnarls Barkley's string sections, it seemed as if bands are now standard for live hip-hop performances. This was kind of strange to me after Pitchfork, where Spank Rock and the mighty Aesop Rock/Mr. Lif combo worked in a traditional rapper/DJ format. Now I'm wondering if Kool Keith will have a band with him on Thursday...
-For a "family-friendly" festival, there sure was a lot of swearing amplified from the stages. The cool parents probably didn't care, but they were too busy puffing reefers to notice. In other words, it was a real rock show: t-shirts with naughty words on them, college girls with their ass cheeks hanging out, the scent of vomited Bud Light wafting by on the intermittent summer breeze. I mean, I'd totally take my kid to something that, but that's why I don't want any.
-I kept track of the cover songs I heard throughout the weekend, at first trying to see which bands were covering other bands who were also performing. The Raconteurs did Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," and DJ A-Trak also worked a snippet of the unavoidable tune into Kanye's set (if DJ mixes count as covers, I should report that Mix Master Mike cut up RHCP's "Suck My Kiss"). Of course, Gnarls themselves did The Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone," but only having one forty-minute album to fill an hour-long slot, they also ran through Holly Golightly's "There's An End" and The Doors' b-side "Who Scared You?" While we were walking in Friday, we overheard Panic! At the Disco ruining Radiohead's "Karma Police." Nickel Creek did Radiohead better with their newgrass spin on "Nice Dream," also working in Britney Spears' "Toxic" and The Band's "The Weight" for maximum festival crowd approval. The Red Hot Chili Peppers plucked out a putrid version of Simon and Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her," prompting me to wonder aloud to the press tent, "What the fuck happened to the Chili Peppers?" I hear that boring-ass Ryan Adams played some Grateful Dead songs which, not being a dirty hippie, I didn't recognize, and while I didn't see them at all, a colleague reported that Calexico played Love's "Alone Again Or" in honor of the recently deceased Arthur Lee. The Go! Team streams themselves doing Sonic Youth's "Bull In the Heather" on their MySpace page, but I don't think they played it on Saturday.
-Chicago is a great city, and I'll never deny that, but I'm not the kind of person who gets all teary-eyed when I see a photo of an old hot dog stand or a highlight reel of Papa Daley siccing the pigs on a bunch of dirty hippies. Still, something about the video screen image during Common's set, as the muscular, bearded rapper sweated it out, working a sea of fans, the skyline towering in the background... it actually got to me. This was a cool thing Chicago did, taking on Lollapalooza, and this year's concerted effort to involve as many notable locals as possible was commendable. In addition to the groups I saw and wrote about, the fest featured the awesome Mucca Pazza, plus Umphrey's McGee, Kill Hannah, The Redwalls, Poi Dog Pondering, Assassins, The M's, Sybris, Catfish Haven and a crapload of other Chicago acts. Now, let's see them invite Pelican and Yakuza next year. (Or are they "too metal" to represent the city's diverse musical palette? It's not like I'm not expecting The Chasm, or Macabre, or Nachtmystium...)
-If people aren't raving about Broken Social Scene's mesmerising performance like they were about The Arcade Fire's last year, there is little hope for we miserable humans. While stumbling away and noticing that a huge grin was cramping my face, I overheard comments like "Like, oh my God, I was seriously moved" and "They were awesome! Who were they?" It's a damned shame that like Sleater-Kinney, they're soon going on an indefinite break, because in a just world, a show like this should raise their profile immensely.
-I saw 58 live musical performers between July 29 and Aug. 6 of this year. Impressive, but it doesn't break my 2003 record of 61 bands in one week. I managed that one thanks to covering Ozzfest and attending Milwaukee Metalfest - its final hurrah, in fact - on subsequent weekends, with an amazing Eels show at Metro in between. Both of these marathon weeks involved festivals, a 2:1 show ratio of metal to alt.rock (reversed this time) and an Eels performance. I can say without a doubt that when you're gorging on live music, they're a fine inclusion.
Random Lolla thoughts that didn't make it into the proper articles:
-This fest was a self-contained example of the disparity between art and commerce in the "alternative" music business. On one hand, Lollapalooza 2006 was a magnificent showcase of influential and cutting-edge acts that provided casual fans with potential exposure to dozens of musicians whom they may not have previously heard. On the other, it was a big ol' party in the park, with many gathered to play frisbee with friends, guzzle overpriced domestic swill or simply lay around baiting skin cancer until big radio stars like Death Cab for Cutie, Kanye West or the Red Hot Chili Peppers arrived at the end of the night to soothe their fading buzzes with the balm of familiarity. Most glaring were the cases of homecoming dance staples The Violent Femmes, who play at some Chicago frat bar every other month, drawing a bigger crowd against Sleater-Kinney's (supposedly) final non-hometown show, and the dishearteningly predictable way the audience galloped for the exit as soon as Gnarls Barkley finally got around to playing their top ringtone download "Crazy." Seeing this sort of willful ignorance in action always makes me distrust American music audiences even more than I already do. Sure, Lollapalooza was the only scheduled Chicago stop for some newer acts like Gnarls or The Raconteurs, but many of the other name performers come through town on a regular basis. If the majority of attendees just wanted to hear the same handful of groups they already knew, why didn't they just make the effort to see those bands on their own tours, where they could enjoy longer sets and probably pay a lot less for admission overall? If these radio slave assholes had just stayed home and listened to their Dave Matthews CDs, the walkways would have been much less suffocating. Unfortunately, their dollars also ensured that a fest of this size and magnitude could occur and continue. In a way, Broken Social Scene fans shouldn't be too pissed that the band had to shorten their rapturous set so everyone could stand around for ten minutes waiting for the aged Peppers to find the stage - would BSS have been playing in Grant Park otherwise?
-Planes flying over the festival advertised such disparate clients as an upcoming 311 concert and a new Brazilian steakhouse. This, along with the amount of corporate branding on display (the Petrillo Bandshell was re-dubbed the "Adidas/Champs Stage"), vastly undercut the fest's "alternative" pretentions... not that there has ever been anything truly independent about Lollapalooza in the first place.
-Dig The Roots' enduring influence. The only hip-hop set I saw all weekend that didn't include live instrumentation was DJ Mix Master Mike's, and I tried to catch as many as I could (I unfortunately missed Ohmega Watts and Blackalicious). From Common's and Lyrics Born's basic funk bands to Kanye's and Gnarls Barkley's string sections, it seemed as if bands are now standard for live hip-hop performances. This was kind of strange to me after Pitchfork, where Spank Rock and the mighty Aesop Rock/Mr. Lif combo worked in a traditional rapper/DJ format. Now I'm wondering if Kool Keith will have a band with him on Thursday...
-For a "family-friendly" festival, there sure was a lot of swearing amplified from the stages. The cool parents probably didn't care, but they were too busy puffing reefers to notice. In other words, it was a real rock show: t-shirts with naughty words on them, college girls with their ass cheeks hanging out, the scent of vomited Bud Light wafting by on the intermittent summer breeze. I mean, I'd totally take my kid to something that, but that's why I don't want any.
-I kept track of the cover songs I heard throughout the weekend, at first trying to see which bands were covering other bands who were also performing. The Raconteurs did Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," and DJ A-Trak also worked a snippet of the unavoidable tune into Kanye's set (if DJ mixes count as covers, I should report that Mix Master Mike cut up RHCP's "Suck My Kiss"). Of course, Gnarls themselves did The Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone," but only having one forty-minute album to fill an hour-long slot, they also ran through Holly Golightly's "There's An End" and The Doors' b-side "Who Scared You?" While we were walking in Friday, we overheard Panic! At the Disco ruining Radiohead's "Karma Police." Nickel Creek did Radiohead better with their newgrass spin on "Nice Dream," also working in Britney Spears' "Toxic" and The Band's "The Weight" for maximum festival crowd approval. The Red Hot Chili Peppers plucked out a putrid version of Simon and Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her," prompting me to wonder aloud to the press tent, "What the fuck happened to the Chili Peppers?" I hear that boring-ass Ryan Adams played some Grateful Dead songs which, not being a dirty hippie, I didn't recognize, and while I didn't see them at all, a colleague reported that Calexico played Love's "Alone Again Or" in honor of the recently deceased Arthur Lee. The Go! Team streams themselves doing Sonic Youth's "Bull In the Heather" on their MySpace page, but I don't think they played it on Saturday.
-Chicago is a great city, and I'll never deny that, but I'm not the kind of person who gets all teary-eyed when I see a photo of an old hot dog stand or a highlight reel of Papa Daley siccing the pigs on a bunch of dirty hippies. Still, something about the video screen image during Common's set, as the muscular, bearded rapper sweated it out, working a sea of fans, the skyline towering in the background... it actually got to me. This was a cool thing Chicago did, taking on Lollapalooza, and this year's concerted effort to involve as many notable locals as possible was commendable. In addition to the groups I saw and wrote about, the fest featured the awesome Mucca Pazza, plus Umphrey's McGee, Kill Hannah, The Redwalls, Poi Dog Pondering, Assassins, The M's, Sybris, Catfish Haven and a crapload of other Chicago acts. Now, let's see them invite Pelican and Yakuza next year. (Or are they "too metal" to represent the city's diverse musical palette? It's not like I'm not expecting The Chasm, or Macabre, or Nachtmystium...)
-If people aren't raving about Broken Social Scene's mesmerising performance like they were about The Arcade Fire's last year, there is little hope for we miserable humans. While stumbling away and noticing that a huge grin was cramping my face, I overheard comments like "Like, oh my God, I was seriously moved" and "They were awesome! Who were they?" It's a damned shame that like Sleater-Kinney, they're soon going on an indefinite break, because in a just world, a show like this should raise their profile immensely.
-I saw 58 live musical performers between July 29 and Aug. 6 of this year. Impressive, but it doesn't break my 2003 record of 61 bands in one week. I managed that one thanks to covering Ozzfest and attending Milwaukee Metalfest - its final hurrah, in fact - on subsequent weekends, with an amazing Eels show at Metro in between. Both of these marathon weeks involved festivals, a 2:1 show ratio of metal to alt.rock (reversed this time) and an Eels performance. I can say without a doubt that when you're gorging on live music, they're a fine inclusion.
posted by SoulReaper at 5:59 PM
2 Comments:
DAY ONE:
Lollapalooza 2006 opened with hearty hellos and a bittersweet goodbye, presenting a marathon of alternative rock that filled Chicago's Grant Park with music lovers from near and far.
The festival, which opened on Aug. 4 and continues through Aug. 6, is double the size of last year's Lollapalooza. Eight stages contained everything from straight-ahead rock to edgy hip-hop, although at its mid-afternoon height, only four of them housed bands simultaneously.
The walk between the main stages took roughly 15 minutes — and that's if you didn't stop. When foot traffic became heavier as the more popular bands began their stage time, a cross-park walk could take 20 minutes out of music-watching time. This forced fans to make some tough choices, because there was often no reasonable way to catch a significant amount of two major acts' sets.
Perhaps the biggest draw of the day was The Raconteurs, the rock band formed by White Stripes leader Jack White with his friend, singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, and the rhythm section of garage revivalists The Greenhornes. Their tight and punchy set was met with a rapturous welcome, their hard rock and post-punk-inspired rhythms shaking the moist and pungent ground. White proved to be a solid ensemble player as he wrung scorching solos from his guitar and sang infectious harmonies with Benson, at one point slipping on the damp stage floor but never missing a fiery note.
Although they didn't play at the end of the night, Sleater-Kinney was Friday's de facto headliner. The Portland, Oregon-based trio plans to go on "indefinite hiatus" after two final hometown shows next weekend, so this was many fans' last chance at seeing the ladies' fabled ferocious live performance. They went out with passion intact, Corin Tucker howling from the gut and Carrie Brownstein yanking melodically economic shards of punk from her guitar. Having contributed to the indie rock and riot-grrl scenes while maintaining a strong, evolving identity, Sleater-Kinney will be sorely missed.
Ar rhe end of the night, the popular choice was emo pop stars Death Cab for Cutie, but at the other end of the park, Ween put on a typically well-rounded set that more capably reflected the Lollapalooza creed of diversity. Though Dean and Gene Ween began their career as lo-fi pranksters, they have evolved in brilliant pop songwriters, stylistic chameleons who moved from psychedelic droning to funky jams to muscular country in their Friday night set. They've also picked up a fan base from the jam band crowd along the way, and they appeased them with a few extended bits featuring Deaner's guitar wizardry.
Acting the part of a true rock star, British rapper Lady Sovereign came on stage 24 minutes after her scheduled start time, but she quickly launched into the role of aggressive party starter. With the raw energy of a live band behind her, her boisterous growl took on a punkish energy. Lady Sovereign was so loud, in fact, she all but drowned out poor Iron & Wine, who was playing nearby. The soft, pleasant folk style of songwriter Sam Beam also took a blow from the setting sun, which blazed straight into the eyes of anyone trying to watch their set.
The Secret Machines suffered no such sound bleeding. Their British-sounding psychedelic rock took on a "wall of sound" quality typical of shoegazer bands like My Bloody Valentine, spiked with spooky Pink Floyd vocals. They ended their jam with a storm of howling noise and flashing lights, leaving a lasting imprint on anyone standing nearby.
It was hard to tell if England's Editors intend to be an Interpol rip-off or if they just draw from a similar pool of goth/new wave touchstones as the suave New Yorkers. Regardless, Editors spun shoegazer guitar webs, dance-punk rhythms and morose vocals into a driving drone that was ultimately less crass than the promotional hand fans stamped with their logo which littered the park's much-abused grass.
Ryan Adams' country rock was soulfully delivered, but hardly a highlight. His languid ballads hung like limp noodles in the hot afternoon sun, while his stadium rockers, while serviceable, came off rather stiff. Compared to the panoramic country-tinged pop My Morning Jacket performed on the same stage later, Adams was pretty bland.
One of America's most perpetually underrated alternative rock outfits, Eels, didn't have that problem. As frontman Mark Oliver Everett launched a cheerful cover of "That's Life," he summed up a fan's reaction to the way the band's deep, personal roots and pop rock has been ignored by the mainstream. After this raucous and tender showcase set, that ignorance will hopefully disappear.
DAY TWO:
Kanye West strode onto the Lollapalooza stage a hero to his city, and he gave that love right back.
The second day of Lollapalooza showed how much the fest has changed since its 1990s heyday as a touring showcase of alternative hard rock bands. Hip-hop was always a component of Lollapalooza, but West's evening send-off just capped a series of strong sets that explored myriad avenues hip-hop has taken on its road to being the largest market force in popular music today.
West is not only the biggest-selling Chicago rapper in history; he's a critical and fan favorite who amounted to the biggest star of the weekend. Controversial political statements and accusations of cockiness fell by the wayside as hits like "Jesus Walks," "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and "Gold Digger" bumped throughout Grant Park. A string section accompanied the set, lending a lush opulence to West's solid, soul-based tracks that even early technical problems couldn't drain. Along with striking images of Kanye dominating against the twinkling city skyline, the video screens next to the stage allowed a great view of DJ A-Trak's turntable skills, something you wouldn't get to see at a club set.
Acknowledging the wealth of talent with which the producer/MC has worked, West used part of his stage time to showcase red-hot local rappers Rhymefest and Lupe Fiasco, plus guests ranging from southside megastar Twista to undergrounders GLC and Malik Yusef. The young blood held their own, but another of West's collaborators, introspective hometown rhymer Common, outclassed them all as an MC, storyteller and moralizer. As he bounded back and forth across the stage, his galvanizing and gimmick-free show included a brief tour of hip-hop classics and a heartfelt shout-out to God, but mainly thrived on Common's personable crowd interaction, authoritative voice and realistic yet positive lyrics.
The group fest organizer Perry Farrell introduced as his "favorite band in the world right now," Gnarls Barkley, emerged to the strains of Queen's "We Are the Champions," drawing a large afternoon crowd. The duo of vocalist Cee-Lo and DJ Danger Mouse scored this year’s most unlikely hit with the cool soul number "Crazy," but with a full band, back-up singers and their own string section (everyone clad like tennis players), it was clear their little collaboration has hit the big time. The Gnarls debut, "St. Elsewhere," is a loose but somewhat dark concept album about insanity, an infectious mash of goth-soul that deals with such topics as paranoia ("The Boogie Monster") and suicidal urges ("Just A Thought"). Those who only knew the single were surprised by a series of moody jams and quirky dance tracks that toyed with the fun side of madness, along with covers ranging from The Doors to garage rocker Holly Golightly.
Bay Area MC Lyrics Born led a band steeped in dirty funk, spitting intricate rhymes with a breathless flow and singing in a deep, bluesy growl while encouraging the audience to stop complaining and embrace love. The dynamic rapper of Japanese-Italian descent rose above the backpacker pack on Saturday, while his own object of affection, Joyo Velarde, played the sultry diva, letting loose her impressive pipes at the side of the gravel-voiced yet undeniably smooth LB.
Other acts blended an influence from hip-hop into their own idiosyncratic sounds. Washington, D.C.'s Thievery Corporation took a base of thumping trip-hop/acid jazz into the stratosphere with a cornucopia of global flavors ranging from Latin funk to Middle Eastern lilt to dancehall swagger. With a parade of guests providing exotic percussion and vocals (including Poi Dog Pondering’s Frank Orrall), TC's core duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton defied easy categorization as electronic dance producers.
Peeping Tom, the new solo project of vocal gymnast Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas), pumped out soulful hip-hop-based pop with a supporting cast that included DJ Mike Relm, rapper/human beatbox Rahzel of The Roots and all three members of Brooklyn’s Dub Trio. Patton, clad in a dapper white suit he soon soaked through, moved from a seductive croak to a soaring croon to a sinister bellow on standouts such as "Don’t Even Trip" and "Your Neighborhood Spaceman," proving that even such an obstinately weird singer can deliver catchy tunes.
Perhaps the most enthusiastic show of the day came from England's The Go! Team. A highlight of last year’s Intonation Music Festival, their unique collision of pop-soul in the Jackson 5 vein, jump rope rhymes, simplistic '80s rapping, '70s cop show horn lines, DJ scratches and fuzzy indie rock guitars oozed bright colors from every cranny. Vocalist Ninja, dressed like a thrift-store cheerleader, cooed and chanted a succession of fun dance-rock numbers built for group chant-alongs, which the audience quickly provided.
Drawing no audible inspiration from hip-hop, The New Pornographers cranked out the day's final set of buoyant power pop. The Vancouver-based collective ended with a jubilant rendition of "Sing Me Spanish Techno," leader A.C. Newman obviously touched by the crowd's boisterous affection. Along with an ardent performance by reunited suburban emo-punk legends The Smoking Popes, they were among Saturday's strong bill of alternative rockers, which included kaleidoscopic pop alchemists The Flaming Lips, guitar wonders Built To Spill and unsinkable art-punks Sonic Youth.
DAY THREE:
By the time the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage to close Lollapalooza 2006, some attendees had already been through three full days of live music, long walks, humidity, sunburns and partying just a little too hard.
Despite this, a commendable number of fans remained in Grant Park until the end Sunday night, when the veteran California funk rockers returned the role of Lollapalooza headliners for the first time since 1992. The band was slicker and mellower this time, and singer Anthony Kiedis' macho rapping hasn't aged as well as John Frusciante's guitar skills or the heavy grooves maintained by bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith. The Chili Peppers avoided the nostalgia route, sticking with their syrupy recent material until finally closing with their signature "Give It Away." Sounding like a tired cross between acolytes like Sublime and some anonymous jam rockers, the popular favorites are godfathers of the alternative rock scene that birthed Lollapalooza, but their sun-drained L.A. languor don't represent where it is now.
More exciting and relevant were Canadian indie supergroup Broken Social Scene, who played a shortened 45 minute set to make room for the Chili Peppers. Up to eleven musicians were on stage at once (referred to by founder Kevin Drew as "the whole band"), among their ranks other Lollapalooza performers such as singer Leslie Feist and members of Stars. Their upbeat, experimental yet danceable pop had a more forceful feel than the ragged-edged studio versions, the end result a simply massive cascade of guitar, brass and vocal harmonies. What mini-suites such as "Fire Eye'd Boy" and "Superconnected" lost in melodic intricacy, they gained in joyful energy that topped even that which BSS' countrymates The New Pornographers launched from the same stage the previous night.
A big afternoon letdown came from the ridiculously low sound levels afforded The Shins, which prompted a few chants of "Turn it up!" before many gave up and moved on. While a huge number of fans gathered in front of the stage to see the Oregon-based quartet, any audience members watching from further back had to strain to make out their pleasant indie folk-pop. One hopes that those who slunk away in disgust wandered to Of Montreal's set, as their bouncy sugar pop almost made up for The Shins' sonic neutering.
Thankfully, the sound levels were adequate for hometown heroes Wilco. The band stayed away from their more experimental recent material, focusing instead on rootsy, anthemic tunes spotlighting Nels Cline's tasteful guitar flourishes and Jeff Tweedy's plain, plaintive voice. Most effective were "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" and "Via Chicago," shadowy pop songs with starker cores than breezy, windows-down candyfloss like "Heavy Metal Drummer." Following fellow locals Poi Dog Pondering and preceding Blues Traveler, Wilco provided a perfect buffer for jam fans who didn't want to wander from the north end of the park.
Wilco's Americana flavors were echoed by Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass act whose gradual evolution toward acoustic indie rock crystallized in a lilting cover of Radiohead's "Nice Dreams" (followed, to much applause, by Britney Spears' "Toxic"). Nickel Creek's real strength came when the trio stretched out. Mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and her guitarist brother Sean volleyed dizzying rhythms around each other, their stellar interplay less an informal hoedown than instrumental mastery at work.
The Reverend Horton Heat also mesmerized with instrument skills, guitarist Jim Heath's voice sounding hoarse but his guitar wrangling wringing with typical rockabilly-gone-punk fury. Local violin prodigy Andrew Bird sculpted lovely chamber folk-pop symphonies by looping his own delicate string manipulations, gradually layering acoustic guitar, xylophone, electronics and even whistling over the mix until the speakers seemed bursting with sound.
Festival host Perry Farrell popped up to introduce legendary Invisibl Scratch Piklz turntablist Mix Master Mike. No stranger to ballyhoo, Perry called MMM the "best DJ in the world" before thanking those assembled for contributing to the weekend's success and leading a "peace toast" with champagne he handed to the crowd. Farrell's adorable little son bopped as his dad previewed a new party rock tune recorded by his band Satellite Party, which, like much of the material from the singer's ill-fated 2003 Jane's Addiction reunion, sadly seemed ready-made for a malt beverage commercial or TV series intro. As for Mix Master Mike, his skillful cutting of hip-hop, dance and hard rock hits was far more successful in getting bodies moving.
Los Angeles' She Wants Revenge slavishly aped Joy Division and Depeche Mode, vocalist Justin Warfield writhing and posturing like a dimestore Ian Curtis. The UK's Hot Chip plied a much more intriguing sort of dance rock, with chiming indie rock chords woven into dangerously funky disco pop.
At the close of a successful Lollapalooza 2006, the question remained how the fest can possibly expand without overwhelming its current space. Even though it expanded to double the space of last year's event, Lollapalooza's walkways seemed eternally clogged throughout the weekend, a phenomenon that increased every day as line-ups progressed toward more popular acts.
Scheduling was amazingly tight, and the organizers should be commended for adhering to such a daunting clockwork plan. Still, while the programming of diverse acts was also admirable, in reality fans come out to an event like this to see what they like, and when a slate of hip-hop or indie rock acts successively performed at opposite ends of the park (as was the case on Saturday), that crush of constant foot traffic could not be avoided. This also caused fans to miss parts of sets they were enjoying in order to make it through the oncoming hordes in time for the next. Hopefully, this will be taken into consideration next year.
Hey, I got a reader complaint:
"lollapalooza: complaining [SoulReaper] doesn't know what he's talking about; broken social scene's set was from 7:30 to 8:15 as clearly stated in all the schedules printed up weeks ago. RHCP was scheduled to start at 8:15 and they ended up having to cut 2 songs from their set to accomdate the 9:45 curfew. 70,000 people came to see RHCP not broken social whatever."
Yes, it was clearly stated ahead of time that Broken Social Scene was only going to play a 45 minute set, as opposed to every other act playing in the latter half of the day getting a full hour. This was done to accomodate the Chili Peppers' longer set, as they were playing adjacent stages, and according to the Lolla message boards, BSS agreed to do this so they could hopefully play to the large Chili Peppers crowd.
My point in mentioning it was not only that BSS are the more relevant (as opposed to popular) band, but that there were six other stages not being used at the time - Blues Traveler was playing on the other end of the park, but BSS could have gone on any of the middle stages, packed the motherfucker and played a full hour without interrupting the Californication marathon. In fact, eveyone could have played longer if that had happened.
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