As Told By: Lollapalooza 2011

A few of us went to Lollapalooza in Chicago from August 5-7. We had a great time. Read about our collective experience.

Playlist and pics also after the jump!

“The Casual Vomit” - Jona’s account of The Black Lips at Lollapalooza 2011

Saturday at this year’s Lollapalooza meant only one thing in my mind - finally seeing

one of my favorite bands, The Black Lips. I ventured alone to the spectacle, which

allowed me to squeeze in as close as I wanted to the stage without concern for the will

and dedication of others. The crowd was on the younger side, and definitely a bit rougher

around the edges than those at the Friendly Fires show I had just left. I knew my decision

to be several feet away from the stage meant I would have to be an active audience

member, a challenge I was more than ready to face.

The Blips (acceptable abbreviation?) charged the stage without much proceeding fanfare,

to which the crowd erupted into moshing, fist pumping, screaming, crowd surfing, and

semi-violent dancing. I of course felt compelled to do as thy neighbor, shoving and

flailing through a slew of favorites from the band’s earlier releases. The energy of both

the band and the crowd seemed to be endless, with the beaming Chicago sun and guitar

feedback seeming to only feed the sinful merriment. The band was nonetheless proud of

their revelers, with guitarist Ian Saint Pe commending “Ya’ll are the real deal, thank you”

before jumping into the next song.

During an especially sentimental song to me, “O Katrina!,” (which is about the Hurricane

of the same name), guitarist Cole Alexander contributed to the Lolla set quite a

memorable rock-and-roll moment. Between shouting lyrics into the mike, he turned to

the side and released a hefty amount of vomit onto the stage. Alexander’s colleagues

seemed pretty unfazed by the spewing juices, not giving so much as a concerned glance

towards the guitarist. That did not stop the crowd from reacting to what I can only

accurately describe as “the casual vomit.” The masses erupted into a chant of “puke

again!” after the end of the song, to which the band only picked up unopened beer cans

and threw them at the crowd. Either they disliked the demented encouragement or I

didn’t want the crowd to puke from the heat exhaustion as well. Not sure which triggered

which.

Aside from “the casual vomit,” my first Blips show really presented few surprises.

A healthy mixture of old and new material satisfied my dual interest in hearing old

favorites and getting a taste of the forthcoming album. The band played just as any

garage rock band should, devouring the stage in an eruption of hissing guitar and raw,

youthful energy. In the age when mega light shows, elaborate set designs, and theatrical

introductions have become the norm, it is all the more refreshing to witness live rock

music in its purest form. Those that went to see The Black Lips at Lollapalooza were

given a fast paced combination of blues-rock, vomit, and social unrest. I couldn’t have

asked for more.

Nicolette's take on the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. show:

Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott are the duo that make Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. They hail from Detroit, a city that can be said to be synonymous with music. The American band plays indie-pop songs over electronic instruments mixed with dreamy vocals.

Their first EP, Horse Power, settled well with listeners and built their fan base leading up to their first album released in June of this year, It's a Corporate World. This may have been the reason for the amusing shirts they wore during their show that read "Your Ad Here".

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s performance on the Google+ stage at Lollapalooza made for an intimate, organic experience ending with a flood of bubbles from the stage. Their upcoming shows on their U.S. tour will take them from Colorado to Las Vegas and are guaranteed to enamor new listeners.

Amber reviews Death From Above 1979

I was 16 years old, had darker hair and I was wearing a blue velour zip up hoodie when I heard 'Black History Month' (Josh Homme Remix) in a classroom of my highschool from a Youtube video. I thought the song was immediately haunting and weird and I wanted more of it. I remembered the name and downloaded it when I got home. I quicky learned the DFA 1979 catalogue. The Canadian duo are easily recognizeable, with JFK (also a member of MSTRKRFT) and his handlebar moustache and Sebastien Grainger with his long bleach blonde hair and all-white ensemble. Dance punk is the perfect way to describe their sound. The Lolla crowd was both dancing and thrashing.......and sweating. It was 3 something and the sun was brutal. I was late to the show so I ran to the stage and when I got there I felt such a rush, probably because of both dehydration and excitement. The dove into classics such as 'Romantic Rights', 'Do It' and 'Dead Womb' and ended, making everyone wanting more.

After breaking up in 2006, 2011 is sure to be a good year for DFA because they reunited for a tour. Before I booked my flight to Chicago, I was gonna buy a ticket to see DFA in New York. I'm glad I didn't. Their Chicago performace was all I needed.

Savanna's full-festival recap

Day 1

The first day of Lollapalooza was very bright and very hot. Accordingly, I spent most of the day in a haze of heat delirium and can only remember the early afternoon by consulting the official lineup and straining my memory. I started the day with a few bouncy songs from Tennis, then wandered over to the Naked And Famous, who absolutely killed it. In the short 45 minutes between TNAF and Foster The People, I lost my will to remain standing and took refuge under a tree on a conveniently placed grassy knoll, from where I watched Foster The People, felt ashamed of my inability to handle the heat, and giggled far more than I should have at the phrase “grassy knoll.” Several hours and two life-saving fish tacos later, I was at the Bud Light stage watching Bright Eyes perform. I’ve wanted to see Bright Eyes for a long time, but expensive tickets and bad reviews had kept me away up until now. His set was terrific, and like most performers at Lolla, heavy on fan favorites. Towards then end of the show, I think after the band played Road To Joy and my brain exploded, Connor Oberst leapt off the stage and hugged all of the security people, making that the first and only time I saw any of the stage security people smile. The Bright Eyes set left me invigorated and cheerful enough to think I was up to trying to make it to the front of the google + stage to see Ratatat, one of the four day 1 headliners (the other three were Coldplay, Muse, and Girl Talk). I battled my way into roughly the third row, where I was immediately engulfed in a pool of sweaty, shirtless people and almost instantly was sapped of my Bright Eyes-induced euphoria. I bailed and watched the show from the outskirts of the crowd, where I tried not to be distracted by the chicken footage projected onto large screens.

Day 2

On day 2 I intentionally threw good sense and concern for my health to the wind. Fortunately, Saturday was mostly overcast and much cooler than Friday, which is probably the only reason I’m not still recovering from heat stroke in a Chicago hospital. After dancing my way through Phantogram and Fitz And The Tantrums, who played an inexplicably cool cover of “Sweet Dreams are Made of This,” I trekked back over to the Google + tent, intending to find my friends and grab food. I found them in the front row at Dom, and shortly thereafter we all decided a front row spot at the stage where The Drums, Lykke Li, and Beirut would all be playing later that day meant more to us than food or water. Remarkably, we all lived to tell the tale. The Drums were predictably awesome (catch them at grand central this October), and Lykke Li was... Lykke Li. She was amazing, from her wind-breaker like poncho, to her dancing, to the band member who looked remarkably like Ron Burgundy. Beirut awed us with horns galore, and a real encore. I’m sure you’re all used to the schtick most bands like to pull of walking off stage, letting the crowd scream for a bit, then returning for a final song. This, for the most part, didn’t go on at lolla, mostly because the stages were running on such a strict schedule. Beirut ended their set, left the stage, and the crew began to pack up their equipment, but persistent chants of “one more song!” brought Zach Condon and company sprinting back on stage, instrument cases in hand.

Lykke Li

Day 3

The Day 3 lineup was my favorite. This was fortunate, as nothing but some of my favorite bands could have made me continue to torture my already bruised and blistered feet. After an interview with Young Man in the morning, I headed over to the Bud Light Stage to see Noah And The Whale. The crowd was an interesting mix of actual NATW fans, people waiting to see Flogging Molly, and Deadmou5ers who apparently really, really wanted a good spot for the 9:30pm show. Their set was (almost) everything I had hoped it would be, except that in my wild preshow fantasies I hoped Laura Marling would show up and rejoin the band (she didn’t). From there I bounced by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., who were SO GOOD, and then saw Young Man. They mostly played material from their new album, which was very good, but I was sad not to hear some of my favorites from Boy.

Then, sh*t got real. As I waited in the crowd for Arctic Monkeys, ominous clouds gathered overhead, finally erupting into a storm that delayed the show for 45 minutes and insured no one’s shoes made it out of the festival without a smelly coating of mud. Now, I’m used to Miami thunderstorms, which just mean very wet heat. In Chicago, the storm made the temperature drop significantly. This meant my friend (and WVUM DJ) Emily and I had to hug each other for warmth while my umbrella did nothing to protect us from the drenching. But the suffering was worth it, because then A DOUBLE RAINBOW spread ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKY for Arctic Monkeys. They are quite possibly my favorite band ever, so this double rainbow was just too much to handle. It was an excellent set, and the best ending to Lollapalooza 2011 I could have possibly hoped for.

And our playlist from the Lollapalooza recap show, which aired on Friday August 12 from 3-5PM:

Fitz and the Tantrums- Rich Girls

Lykke Li- Little Bit

Arctic Monkeys- She's Thunderstorms

The Drums- Forever and Ever Amen

Mark Ronson Ft. The Daptone Horns- God Put a Smile Upon Your Face

Cold War Kids- Santa Ana Winds

Black Lips- Hippie, Hippie, Hoorah

My Morning Jacket- Rocket Man

Boy and Bear- Feeding Line

Best Coast- When I'm With You

Foster the People- Houdini

Young Man- Five

Phantogram- As Far As I Can See

Daedalus- LA Nocturne

Pretty Lights- Hot Like Sauce

The Glitch Mob- Drive It Like You Stole It

Modeselektor- The Black Block

Friendly Fires- Show Me Lights

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.- Vocal Chords

Dom- Bowl Cut (Aislyn Remix)

The Chain Gang of 1974- Hold On

Portugal. The Man- The Dead Dog

Death From Above 1979- Romantic Rights

Ratatat- Lex

Local Natives- Sun Hands

Cults- Never Saw the Point