It was Day 3 of Lollapalooza. I had some sunburn to show for the last two
days, a few blisters, and I hadn’t seen a vegetable in days. But was I tired? Was I ready to give up? NO! Lollapalooza had
saved the best day for last. I was about
to see Palma Violets, Two Door Cinema Club, Vampire Weekend, and my favorite
French pop stars, Phoenix, in rapid succession. And after that, the Alt-J aftershow at Lincoln
Hall. The forecast was sunny and 75 degrees, weather completely unheard of for
the weekend that was usually, as my roommate Megan put it, I’m-gonna-kill-you
hot. I slipped on a bold sundress and my
shiny leopard-print converse and covered myself in sunscreen, ready to finish
off the weekend in style.
Lizzy and I made straight for the north main “Bud Light”
stage for Palma Violets. I’d never seen
them before or even really listened to them much, but everyone I know with good
music taste raves about them so I was down.
We scored a primo spot on the right side of the barrier that runs
through the crowd to the sound booth.
PRO TIP:
This is the best place you can be, even if you’re farther back. It’s a clear line right to the stage with no
one standing directly in front of you (I’m relatively short so this is always a
problem for me). Plus, you have something
to lean on during the wait between shows and some personal space. Also the artists often run down the pathway
next to the barrier so you might get to see them up close. To sum up: the middle barrier is your best friend. If you secure a spot there you’re
set for the day.
Anyway, back to the music.
Palma Violets put on an outstanding old-fashioned punk rock show. They opened with a cover of “California Sun” which got the 1:00
p.m. crowd dancing immediately and the dancing pretty much continued to the end
of the set. At one point the band abandoned all
instruments besides drums and a guitar, leaving the rest of the members free to
jump and dance about the stage with wild abandon. Though lately I’ve been more into folky or
electronic music, I’ve marked them down as the next band to listen to obsessively.
Palma Violets at Glastonbury earlier this year (they're better at streaming than Lolla)
But here's what I saw!
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| Aaaand into the crowd! |
Aware that I’d be on my feet until at least 2 am, I left
the main stage right after Palma Violets to find somewhere to save my strength. I quickly checked my Lollapalooza
mobile app to see who was playing on the smaller stages and found Nightmare
& the Cat playing at BMI (BMI wins again!).
I sat on the stairs near the stage and watched the young LA band
perform. I liked them. Here’s a song:
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| Nightmare & the Cat at the BMI stage |
Once they finished I went to grab some sustenance for myself and
Lizzy. She asked me to get her a lobster
corndog from Grahamwich (I tasted it – amazing!) and I bought myself some
truffle parmesan fries from Edzo’s. I
tried to save them to eat throughout the day but I ate most of them while I
watched the end of Alex Clare’s set. He’s
the guy who sings “Too Close,” that song you’ve probably heard everywhere. Knowing nothing about him besides that song,
I was surprised to see that he was a stocky ginger bearded man in a denim
shirt. I’d expect to see him in a quiet
folk band, not belting out mighty soulful electronica. Appearances can be deceiving I guess! I’m not sure I’ll become his biggest fan but
he has a fantastic voice and the crowd was enthusiastically singing along to
all his songs, not just the single.
I managed to get back to Lizzy at our barrier spot, and we sat
and ate while we waited for Two Door Cinema Club. I’ve been listening to Two Door pretty
steadily for the last two years. Their
music is irresistibly fun, with bouncy and bright guitar riffs and quick beats
you can’t help but dance crazily to. Oh,
and they’re all just 23 years old, same as me. The last time Lizzy was here for Lolla we got
into their after-show despite not previously having purchased tickets, spent
the show alternately watching the band and chatting with Hannah Hooper of
Grouplove, who had opened. After that
show we met the band outside and spent about 15 minutes just talking to Sam
Halliday, Two Door’s guitarist.
But back to Sunday’s show.
Alex Trimble, lead singer, walked onto the stage as easily the most
dapper performer I’d seen all weekend, in a pressed black suit and crisp tie. They opened with “Sleep Alone,” the bouncy
first single from Beacon. The band’s fast,
beat-driven songs kept the crowd dancing and singing for the full hour they
played. Alex Trimble’s voice sounded as
pure as ever (it’s just sooo nice on the ears) and Sam and Kevin were in top
form. I wouldn’t be surprised if they
were moved up a slot by their next Lolla.
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| See what I mean about the middle barrier? GREAT VIEW. |
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| How debonair! |
When Two Door ended Lizzy made a bee line to the autograph tent to meet them. I stayed at our primo spot for Vampire Weekend, who I hadn’t seen since my first Lollapalooza in 2009. I chatted to the guy next to me who had driven up from Florida for the festival. We talked about bands (the main subject of Lollapalooza conversations with strangers), and though our taste definitely differed, we were both crazy excited for Vampire Weekend. We watched as the crew set up the stage with an immense floral-print background, giant mirror, and floating Corinthian columns which somehow managed to reflect the band's cheeky style of music.
When Ezra, Rostam, Chris, and Chris took the stage and launched into "Cousins", the frenzy began and only escalated to madness when they played "Diane Young" as their fourth song of the day. Ezra Koenig, simultaneously silly and deadpan, is a fantastic frontman and the rest of the band was just as into it. They surprised the crowd with their early, not-on-an-album "Ladies Of Cambridge" and it seemed like over half the crowd knew every word. It was just really a great show and I'm having trouble describing it as I was bouncing and singing and deliriously happy the whole time.
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| GRR WE ARE VAMPIRES |
My choice for Best Moment of Lollapalooza came during their set. It wasn't even the band's doing. During "Giving Up The Gun" (elated they played it as it's one of my favorites) a shirtless guy ran onstage behind the band. For a moment I thought maybe it was another Lolla artist come to collaborate on the song. This thought was immediately dismissed once I saw a security guard RUN AND TACKLE HIM TO THE GROUND, SUPER BOWL-STYLE. I really have never seen anything like it. It was like a movie or an SNL sketch. The band didn't realize what had happened til he was down and continued to play the song with wide-eyed, bewildered faces. Thank god someone got it on video:
EPIC.
The sun was beginning to set on the last day of Lollapalooza, but the best was yet to come. Phoenix. My favorite French pop maestros finally put out their fifth album this year, Bankrupt!, and I hadn't seen them live for three long years. Phoenix is one of those bands that are just incredibly good at what they do. They're creative and fresh and ever-evolving, leaving the best artists of the moment in their wake. Phoenix has something for everyone: shimmering guitars, catchy hooks, earth-shaking bass, clever and mysterious lyrics, you name it. Their latest album especially hints at their friendship with Daft Punk. Having seen them before (so close I could see up Thomas Mars' nose, actually) I knew I was in for a great show, but I had no idea.
The show began with the big screens live broadcasting the band arriving at the stage piled onto a golf cart, ascending the stairs and walking onto the stage. Everyone went wild. They knew exactly what the crowd wanted, starting the set with "Entertainment" from the new album and then wasting no time playing "Listomania" from the huge 2009 Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. You would have never guessed that the audience had spent the past three days jumping about in the sun nonstop, such was the energy. Each song flowed perfectly into the next, as if they were all written together. Phoenix even did two live mashups on stage. It was impossible to tell when "Trying To Be Cool" seamlessly transitioned to "Drakkar Noir" which in turn became "Chloroform"; I was dazzled by the bass and the lights and Thomas Mars's lilting vocals. The band kept this up as they began "Love Like A Sunset", the instrumental number from WAF. I was thinking that it was odd they'd choose that one instead of the instrumental from their latest album, when all of the sudden they were playing "Bankrupt!" It was such a perfect segue... and then they did it AGAIN, back into "Love Like A Sunset", ending with brothers Christian and Branco performing their signature guitar duet. Pros. Absolute pros.
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| The palace at Versailles, their home town |
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| "Love Like A Sunset": Super talented siblings |
Thomas Mars descended from the stage to get up close and personal with the crowd for "1901", something I'm pretty sure he does at every show. But I became fully convinced of his insanity and brilliance when he ran past me down the middle barrier, into the thick of the crowd and CROWDSURFED THE WHOLE CROWD during "Rome". I'm not sure if it was lunacy or bravery or both that led him to do this, to trust thousands of hands to lift him up, to safely transport him back to the stage in the midst of their music-induced fervor. But he did it. As he neared the edge of the crowd, the riff from "Entertainment" brought the show full circle. It was over. My head buzzed from the mind-blowing sound, drunk on the dazzling performance I'd just witnessed.
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| Getting cozy with the crowd in "1901" |
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| ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME ROME (a.k.a. THOMAS MARS YOU CRAZY MAN YOU) |
Watch Phoenix's full Lollapalooza set here.
Unbelievably, the night was not yet over. Lizzy, my cousin Lindsey, Anna, and I had tickets for the Alt-J after show. I was still processing Phoenix when we arrived at Lincoln Hall, my favorite venue for its intimate size and excellent shows. Guards, the opening band, was in the middle of their set and I really enjoyed the few songs I saw. Around midnight Alt-J began. I have yet to find a comparison to Alt-J.... their blend of poetic lyrics with a mix of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, and smattering of folk influences (they quote Johnny Flynn in "Matilda") makes them hard to pin down. I always feel incredibly cool listening to them. The mellow music soothed my mind while the beats drowned out the aching of my feet and everyone danced. They closed their set with my favorite song of theirs, "Taro," written for Gerda Taro, the female photographer on the front lines of the Spanish Civil War.
"Tessellate" -- Triangles are my favorite shape too.
Alt-J was the perfect cool-down from the marathon of the weekend. I fell into bed that night, ears ringing and music in my head. Until next year, Lollapalooza... maybe I'll add Bonnaroo in 2014??
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